Identification

Familial exploitation involves family members selling their minor children for money, drugs, or something else of value.  Manufacturing and exchanging child pornography also falls under this category. Exploitation in this manner results in severe psychological trauma and negatively impairs the child for a lifetime.  Families who exploit their children commercially often have many adversities, dysfunctions, and disorders that create a household dynamic of coercion and secrecy, making identification and intervention incredibly difficult.  These children often attend school, church, and other community functions, but go unnoticed as needing assistance. While identification is difficult, it is not impossible. SAFE is a group of 40 adult survivors of childhood sexual exploitation working to build assessment tools and trainings for schools, churches, social services, medical professionals, and law enforcement.