HOW WE BEGAN

My toddler was pulled from my arms in our local grocery store by a harassing stranger who attempted to leave while soothing her with, "Say bye-bye to Mommy". I would later find out these four prowlers were a sex trafficking ring whose leader had been let out of prison just two weeks earlier.

Once safe, your mind reels. I sat limp in front of my computer screen half wanting to know what I just encountered and half not. But, knowledge empowers and my family’s safety was worth it.

What I uncovered was my worst nightmare.

As an educated woman, invested in her children, in a free-thinking country, how did I not know about child sex trafficking; the fastest growing crime worldwide (United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime, 2019)?

How did I not know of the nearly 1000% increase in this epidemic over the last five years (NCMEC)?

That we are living in the “age of pedophilia” (FBI), that there are 750 thousand pedophiles trading in child porn & rape online every second worldwide (Terre Des Hommes 2019), or that this sickening business produces more profit in a single year than the MLB, NHL, NFL, and MBA combined (ILO 2019)? And, how did I not know my children, your children, were a traffickers’ sought after product?

There was no one to tell me. 

The child sex trafficking trade wasn’t just in third world countries like I had vaguely heard about. It was in my country, my cities, my small town, and it had now invaded my own home. I briefly shared a warning that cited this research. Only ever intended for my local mom-friends, it is estimated 60 million people read this caution when it became a viral fury. It is clear. Parents want to be informed and empowered, yet there is little research that is conveniently in one place, current, trustworthy, and sensitive in appropriateness - especially for young audiences.

Mindful of my own fearful encounter and using my professional experience in education and corporate training, I created something that didn’t exist for us yet. Along with expert contributors you can meet here, I developed Vigilant Families, a comprehensive and cutting-edge concept specifically for grandparents, parents, young adults, and children wanting to secure their safety and increase knowledge that proves powerful. Vigilant Families is an online video resource library, created collaboratively with seasoned experts, that empowers entire families to outsmart traffickers and predators using continually current, informative content. 

More Resources from Our Founder

Here are some additional resources for parenting empowered:

• Visit AmandaFlo.com and request any of the free resources
• Purchase #1 Bestseller, Unraveled: Mothering Fiercely in a World Full of Fears in print, e-book, or audio on Amazon or AmandaFlo.com.
• Subscribe at AmandaFlo.com for updates

For your good, 

Amanda of AmandaFlo.com