Placer County has seen a sharp increase in Sex Trafficking over the past few years. In 2015 we provided services to 10 victims of sex trafficking. In 2018 that number jumped to an astonishing 229 victims!
Stand Up Placer has been serving Placer County for over 40 years. We are the only state designated Human Trafficking, Domestic Violence, and Rape Crisis Center serving Placer County. We are a 501(c)3 nonprofit. Here are some facts that you need to know.
- Most Placer County victims of sex trafficking are local citizens being trafficked by local citizens.
- Stand Up Placer works closely with Roseville Police Department’s Crime Suppression Unit to respond on scene with law enforcement and offer immediate access to advocacy, counseling, safety planning, food, and clothing.
- Traffickers groom their victims in much the same way as sexual molesters. They use force, fraud, or coercion to trap a victim into a life they feel powerless to escape.
- There is no such thing as a teen prostitute. Teens do not have the legal capacity to consent to sex. They are victims of a crime and have rights.
- Many victims are trafficked by their own families.
- Criminals who have trafficked in guns and drugs in the past are increasingly engaging in sex trafficking. They see their vulnerable victims as a renewable resource they can use multiple times every night. Some victims are raped 10-20 times every night earning their trafficker $1,000-$2,000 per victim every night. A trafficker with 5 victims can make up to $10,000 daily. Traffickers are financially incentivized to continue trafficking. The best way to stop trafficking is to stop demand. We must stop the purchasing of sex.
- Purchasers of sex in Placer County are known to be very wealthy, educated, and nonviolent. This is attracting the sex trade to our county.
- Many victims are first groomed through social media. Most parents we speak to report not knowing their teen’s passwords for their phone or applications. Parents must be active in their teen’s life, know their friends, and check their phones.
- Do not allow your teen to have friends on social media who they have never met in person.
- Allowing a teen unfiltered access to private messaging on social media is equivalent to allowing them to be alone in a dark alley with a total stranger for hours at a time. Parents, please review your teen’s phones and apps. Have them charge their phones in common living spaces, not their bedrooms.
- Parents, be a safe person your teen can talk to. Make sure they have other adults they can talk to as well.
Stand Up Placer is here to help. We offer 24/7 crisis intervention by phone at 800-575-5352. We have a safe house in an undisclosed location where victims can escape violence. We offer therapy, support groups, case management, legal assistance, court accompaniment, on-scene emergency response, long-term housing, emergency food and clothing, and so much more. No one needs to go through this alone. Please call. We are here to help.