Applying Technology to fight trafficking and empower Survivors.
Every day in the United States, there are thousands of new ads selling sex online. Chicago is a regional hub for the online sex trade. On a single night in February 2021, we tracked over 700 listings of males selling sex in and around the city. Most of these ads are posted by teenagers and young men who are desperate to survive.
In the last year, we’ve witnessed an alarming increase in the online sex trade. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children noted that online child sexual exploitation reports had doubled in 2020. Crisis calls to the National Trafficking Hotline had spiked 40% over pre-pandemic rates. Sadly, because of technology, exploiters cannot only reach more people, but they can also go about it with greater anonymity.
“It’s easier than it’s ever been,” a survivor told us, “If you have a smartphone, ordering a boy is like ordering a pizza. You never have to leave your house. It is so sad. So scary.”
With posts coming from every neighborhood in the city, traditional intervention and outreach methods alone can’t scale to the size of the problem.
Like you, we refuse to let traffickers and exploiters claim a monopoly over technology. We believe in meeting survivors where they are wherever they are.
To meet this challenge, Emmaus is partnering with Seattle Again Slavery to use their technology Freedom Signal.
Freedom Signal is an online app specializing in reaching victims of online sex trafficking or sexual exploitation. The software scours the dark web for the contact information of those selling themselves online. With the contact information, our team will start a conversation via text.
When a potential victim replies to a direct outreach message, it enables Emmaus to develop relationships and build trust with men and boys looking for help – in the very same way Emmaus has been building trust on the streets for 30 years.
Freedom Signal was designed by software engineers and trafficking survivors to address our population’s specific needs while ensuring a safe, direct communication channel.
Counter-trafficking organizations that have used Freedom Signal have reported an exponential increase in people reached. According to their data, victims are 244% more likely to engage through this method, and text outreach has proven to be ten times more effective than street outreach alone.
Freedom Signal is a game-changer. We will finally have the tools to reach thousands of exploited males and provide support, empowerment, and freedom right to their cell phones. After 30 years of connecting on the streets, we are excited to expand our ministry and bring hope and healing to more men and boys.
We are deeply grateful to our donors whose compassion for the hurting and deep desire to seeing injustice opposed is changing lives and creating a beacon of light on the dark web.
