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Parents Place Podcast

Malouf Foundation on Child Sex abuse and Trafficking


You might have heard of Malouf pillows, mattresses, or other home goods, but they happen to do SO much more! Sage Hancock is here from The Malouf Foundation to tell us about what they do, and why they do it. She gives us signs to look for, how trafficking looks in our communities, and ways we can help.


Guest Bio:

Sage Hancock is passionate about making an impact and creating positive change, especially when it comes to women’s rights and advocacy. As executive director of the Elizabeth Smart Foundation and director of impact at the Malouf Foundation™.


Sage helps oversee the strategic development and planning of each organization and program, including OnWatch™. 

Sage has several years of direct nonprofit experience. She’s helped grow nonprofits from their beginning stages, served on several nonprofit boards, and aided in the donation and grant solicitation process for various local causes. She has a Master of Business Administration degree from Louisiana State University.


A lover of the great outdoors, Sage and her husband, Porter, enjoy boating, camping, biking, snowboarding, and spending time in the mountains together.


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Can't Listen? Read the Transcription Here:


Jen: Welcome to the Parents Place podcast with Hilary and Jen. 


Hilary: Welcome to the Parents Place podcast. We are excited to have you guys with us today. We have a local guest from a local agency whom we love and adore. So, we are so excited. I am happy to introduce Sage Hancock here and she is from the Malouf foundation. And if you are local and you live in Cache Valley, you probably are already familiar with Malouf and all that they do, they provide such a service to our community and are involved in a lot of fundraising efforts that many of our community members have been a part of. But Sage, I'm going to let you introduce Malouf. And if you want to, you can introduce. For those of you that maybe don't know Malouf, they have the business side to the Malouf company, but also the foundation side as well too. So, I'll let you explain a little bit about Malouf from what you guys do. 


Sage: Yeah. Thank you. I'm so excited to be here. So, Malouf, we do a lot of things. We have our hands in a lot, but we focus primarily on bedding and furniture for the home. And so, we do that through we sell through wholesale channels, we sell through channels like Amazon and Wayfair. We really focus on just getting individuals the best sleep products and the best furniture through any different channel that we have and something about us is we are a certified B Corporation, which means that we do prioritize people, product and the planet together, and so what that looks like on our end is we have Malouf Foundation. Malouf Foundation started years and years ago, back when Malouf started as just a simple way of giving back those basic items to people who need things. So, we were giving out sheets and beds, mattresses to domestic violence shelters to homeless shelters, things like that. And we really became aware of a need and as years and years progressed of working in this space, we really honed in on a specific mission of confronting child sexual exploitation. Primarily, we focus on online abuse and sex trafficking, but we also look at root causes such as child sexual abuse as well as sexual assault. So, we do that we by focusing on three pillars, education, healing and advocacy. Something that I like saying at least internally is our education resources. We work really hard to make those free and accessible to everybody in the Community so they can help take apart in confronting this together and then healing and advocacy. We really focus on doing individualized care, one-on-one for survivors of sex trafficking, of sexual abuse of any sort of sexual exploitation. So that can look like renovating a child's room after they've been abused. It can look like providing a full ride scholarship to a survivor of exploitation. And then an advocacy. It can also look like having children's advocacy centers. We have our first one in Ohio right now. So that's just like a big brief overview of what we do with the foundation and with the company. And the two really are so intertwined and we love being in Cache Valley and being able to work in this community together. 


Hilary: Oh my goodness and we are so excited that you are here. We are so lucky. And for anyone that has ever purchased the Malouf products, you know that they're amazing. You got to get the bedding. You got to get the mattress. Oh, my goodness, they're so good. So, the business started and then the foundation followed shortly after. Is that right? 


Sage: Yeah. So, it was actually pretty unofficial for a while and we were just giving away product. And in 2016, we formalized as a 501C3. 


Hilary:  I was gonna say are you located in the same facility or are there different locations for foundation versus business? 


Sage: So, we are located in the same office, right in Cache Valley. It's really great because we're able to really be involved in, for example, like the graphic designers and the copywriters who work on the business side, they also are able to work on the foundation side. So, it really helps all of us be focused on one common goal together. 


Hilary: And for those listeners out there that maybe know someone or maybe someone that could benefit from. Like you said, the education, the healing or the advocacy. How does one get in touch with those services? Is there an application process? How does how does that work to be involved in that? 


Sage: Yes, thanks for asking. We try really hard to just streamline everything so anyone can get services as quickly or as easily as they need. So malouffoundation.org is our website that hosts all eight of our programs and then you can just go through each of the pillars. So, education, healing and advocacy, education wise, my biggest push. Especially for this audience. Is On Watch and Raise. On Watch is a one hour free training on how to look out for signs of sex trafficking and then raise is our apps with specifically designed for parents completely free peer reviewed by over 50 experts and teaches you how to not only help nurture your relationship with your child. But also what to do? Once you navigate weird things like inappropriate content, if your kids see something online, predator cyber bullying, things like that, and then on the healing side, there's contact forms and there's all of that on the website as well. If there's someone, whether it be you or anyone else that you know. That could benefit. Those are all done right through the website as well. 


Hilary: OK. And we will make sure that we include all that information in our show notes so that our listeners have the have the links to not only your website, but then also so that they can access that information. I thought you said it was an app. Is that right? 


Sage: Yes, so Raise is an app as well, which is perfect. Easyjoinraise.com you can learn more and as well on joinraise.com there's an app guide which has every single social media platform that you can think of and actually talks about specific warnings for parents as well as things for them to be aware of if their child is using any of those apps. 


Hilary: Ohh my goodness amazing. OK, I love it. I love. It and correct me if I'm wrong. I'm I saw a recent Post on social media that you also partner with Elizabeth Smart and her foundation as well too. 


Sage: Yes, I'm happy you asked. So that's actually how I joined Malouf Foundation. I'm fortunate enough to be able to oversee the programs for Malouf Foundation and how I got involved was I was actually the executive director of the Elizabeth Smart Foundation and we were running our programs there and funny enough, our pillars were education, healing and advocacy. And we were really focused on confronting sexual assault and sexual violence in the communities, specifically for women and children. And we had worked with Melissa Foundation for a handful of events. And the more Elizabeth and myself and our team worked with. Just Maloof and their foundation and their team in general, we really just felt inspired and we're really excited about the possibility of what it could look like if we were to formalize our working together and so we officially merged in January of last year and it has been, it's been great ever since, especially when you look at, you know, Malouf, foundations, mission of confronting child sexual exploitation, the root cause of that so often. Starts with child sexual abuse prior to that, and so if we can address both of those together, that's something that hopefully we'll be able to just accomplish more and more change and make an impact in this space. 


Hilary: You know, being in the nonprofit world for many, many years, it's such a breath of fresh air when we have nonprofits come together to work towards a common goal rather than competing against each other because I think so often we all have a very similar mission. But we kind of stick to our own and I think we could do a lot of service to our community if we realize. Hey we are working towards the same thing. Why not work together? And so, I love that you guys have been able to do that to be able to bring those two powerhouse foundations together. And I can only imagine what you guys will do. In the future, so and you have a big correct me if I'm wrong, you have it wrong. You have a big event coming up soon, right? 


Sage: We do. April 28th is our annual Malouf Foundation summit. Where we have speakers from all around the country come survivors, experts, people who are really there to inspire change and it's really exciting. It's a day event where you learn and you feel a lot of heavy topics, but you also are able to be really motivated. And feel inspired on what you can do as an individual in your community to make a difference right here. You can register at malouffoundation.org/summit and yeah, you can either go in person, down at the Capitol, in Salt Lake. We have a few spots left as of me saying. Right now, or there's a recording that you can sign up for to get after. 


Hilary: Perfect. Now, if unfortunately this podcast airs after the 28th, will you still have that recording on your website by chance after the event? 


Sage: We will, yeah, yes. 


Hilary: Perfect. So if you're hearing this at some time in lets say May potentially I'm not sure when this will be aired, just head to the Malouf website and they should have that there so. That is fantastic. Well, let's talk a little bit more about the topic as that's I think what we want to focus on today, so. I think you and I again have very similar causes in our mission of protecting children and educating our community. So, let's talk about sexual violence and sexual abuse as a as a whole. First, statistically speaking, I know that that we've heard a lot of statistics and sometimes it seems like we're getting better at preventing it. And sometimes it seems like we're not making any stride. What do you tend to find statistically speaking, where are we at when it comes to reporting and prevention? What does it look like for? 


Sage: That is such a good question and I actually have very conflicting feelings about that, because something that I know without a doubt is that sexual abuse and sexual assault, they are underreported to an extreme degree. So, the more that we open up about it, the more that we talk about it, the more that we try and normalize these conversations. And have words like sexual abuse not be maybe cringed at a little bit, or not be turned away from. We're going to continue having that problem of under reporting. And so, when I see numbers that are higher, I don't think to myself. Ohh my goodness, the world is getting worse. We're having more and more cases, I think to myself that while that most likely is true, especially due to the increase of online exploitation. I also think that underreporting has happened. So often, and I'm hoping that more children and more individuals are able to feel safe in reporting those, so I think. We're both in line with one in five children in the United States before they turn 18, will be sexually abused in Utah. We're the third highest state. Our numbers are higher than that and we are closer to one in four. And so that's something that I hope that we can bring down and I hope that we can normalize talking about this. So kids feel safe. And so kids understand especially what's maybe happening to them and they for example, a great organization, Saprea, another great organization, prevent child abuse in Utah. Malouf Foundation is part of a coalition on fighting this here in Utah. And if we can just help kids understand a little bit more. So they are feel empowered to report it. The numbers might sting a little bit. But each child getting the help and care they deserve is so much more important than that. 


Hilary: Yeah, I so we teach and in school abuse prevention program to our elementary students here. And we actually use prevent child abuse. Utahs Elementary School program to do that. And so I've had the chance to teach that for years and years. And I remember a specific student that I taught, who disclosed that he was being sexually abused by someone that he knew quite well. And when I asked him after the after the situation if he had ever told anybody about it, he said, I never had because I didn't know. I didn't know what was happening to me, was not OK. And it was such an eye-opening experience to remind me that that there may be a lot of children, a lot of youth that are experiencing. And they may not know, though, what's happening to them is not normal and is not OK. And so I love that that you say, you know, we want to spread the word and we want to educate and let individuals know that that this is a problem and that as a community we can watch for those warning signs and we can take the steps that we need in order to ensure the safety of these children. Because as adults working with youth, it should be one of our primary missions in life is to ensure the safety of our common. 


Sage: I completely agree, and especially like the safety of our children, I mean, the way our children are raised today is what our Community and what our whole population is going to look like in 20 years. And if we can't change that right now, there's going to be generations who don't understand the, you know, one like you mentioned that it's not OK. But to like how to have these open conversations? So hopefully this generation of kids can teach their generation of kids. 


Hilary: So, do you feel like we're getting better at talking about it? 


Sage: Maybe it's just because I'm in this space, but I think so. I really think that we're getting a little bit better. I think that we're able to have these conversations. I feel like a few years ago I never would have been able to public speak and say rape without people maybe cringing a little bit or. And I think that still happens, but I think that we're normalizing a lot of this in a way that we're talking. This is a big deal. This is something that we need to address and it's something that we need to all be OK with not being OK with. You know, it's something that we need to be comfortable enough to talk about it so we can actually try and fight it. 


Hilary: And you know, we've, we've had multiple podcasts in the past about the idea that this conversation doesn't just have to happen once. I mean, this is an ongoing dialogue that we have between, you know, parent and child that, you know as a community, as a whole, it's not necessarily something that we can say. All right, we're going to talk about this once, and then we're going to wrap it up and all it good for the rest of our lives. This needs to be a constant conversation so that we can remind and we can educate and we can provide more insight and guidance when needs be so I’m glad we are getting better! 


Sage: I completely agree. Yes, well, and especially like. It has to be constant as the world keeps changing too, you know like. Things like only fans and TikTok and certain dating apps. Those weren't around when I was younger and when I first had dating apps in college, like my parents didn't understand the dangers of those, and now I look at the dangers of those with traffickers and I understand that that's one of their primary to both for getting younger women and younger men to be involved in their trafficking situations. And those are conversations that should continue to happen, not only to help create that trust with parents and their children, but also because things keep changing too, right? Like things continue to change when you continue having those conversations. As the world changes. 


Hilary: Yeah, there was a quote floating around on social media. Probably still is at this point, but it says something to the extent of. We can't raise our kids the way that we were raised because we they live in a different world than what we lived in and they're going to encounter different problems than what we would have ever imagined. So, we've got to reevaluate our dating game because it looks different, and that's not necessarily a bad thing? It just requires that we shift and shifting is hard for a lot of us because we're we like comfort and we like security and we don't necessarily like to be put out of our comfort zone. But it's a need that we have. So, speaking in regards of maybe educating our community as a whole. What are, as a parent, as a Community member, what are some of the signs, the warnings that we may want to be aware of when working with these youth who may potentially be victims, are there certain signs and symptoms associated with abuse? 


Sage: Yes, that's a great question. So, I think that there are a few different ways that we can look at it. The 1st is any sort of physical science, I think that's the most obvious, but it's something that I obviously want to bring up first. So, bruising at multiple stages, it's not like they had one little bike crash and they have one nasty bruise on their leg. You can tell that there's been multiple occurrences that would cause bruises over several weeks. That's a sign of abuse as well as any sort of like extreme timidness with a child. So, if they pull away, if they don't make eye contact, if they have any sort of dissociated state, if they kind of like zone in and out if they seem extremely tired, which is maybe a little out of the ordinary if they immediately, maybe, like recluse into themselves. If they typically were very sociable and friendly and have lots of friends. And then they shut themselves out and they immediately like, don't hang out with friends anymore and they keep to themselves. Those are all signs. And while maybe one sign in and of itself is not like a definitive sign of abuse, looking at all of those signs together can help maybe create a story of, this seems like something is off. And then what I'll always say is if you have a gut feeling about something, if instinctually you feel like something is wrong, that's not something to ignore. And so. If that followed with any sort of other sign or any sort of maybe red flag in your head, that is definitely a time that I would report that it's always better safe than sorry. 


Hilary: Oh, we talked to our little ones about how it's their uh oh feeling. It's that just that feeling that tries to tell you that something is not quite right. And when we feel that feeling, we have it for a reason. So, we don't ignore it. We need to listen and respond to it. So, and it's, you know, it does never go away as an adult. It's still there. So ohh yes, and will you remind us, Sage, on the protocol for reporting, particularly in Utah where we are, what is the procedure for doing so if we do happen to suspect that there is abuse happy. 


Sage: Yes, so real quick. If you are in any sort of like child leadership position. So, if you are an educator or anything like that, make sure you understand your mandated reporting guidelines because those are different and in some situations and in some jobs where you do work with children, you may be required to report. Things that seem suspicious, but if there's anything immediate, so if you're observing anything, call 911 immediately. If not, you can call just CPS for a well child visit, and you can simply just report a case if there's something that isn't involvement with sex trafficking or suspected sex trafficking. The best case to go as a national human trafficking hotline, which is 1-888-373-7888, and then another resource to bring up is NCMC. At the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, they do a lot with online abuse and so that you can help report a case there and you can help. They can even help get pictures taken down, things like that. 


Hilary: OK. So helpful. And again, we can include that information in our notes as well too for those that are listening that want to make sure they have that as a resource. Now I'm curious to explore this because you mentioned earlier how often times sexual abuse leads into sex trafficking or sex exploitation. So, help us to understand maybe what that process tends to look like. 


Sage: Yes, I'm happy that you asked. So, sex traffickers, they have a really good Mac for exploiting the vulnerable. For those who have experienced trauma prior. Those are the individuals that are often trafficked or exploited as teenagers or as adults, and they're some stats as high as 89-90% of those who are trafficked were first abused as a child, so the correlation is really high, but oftentimes it happens because a child was abused, most likely by a family member. Most child sex abuse cases happen at the hands of someone you know, and because of that, that child who then becomes a teenager then becomes an adult, they are looking for a safe place. They are looking for someone who can give them everything that they've wanted. They're looking for somewhere that they can feel finally feel loved in that way that they've just been seeking that. They've been missing because they've most likely been abused by a parent or by an uncle or by someone they're supposed to trust. traffickers then take advantage of that through boyfriending or grooming scenario where they make them feel loved, they make them feel special. They make them feel like they're the most important person in the world, and then they take advantage of that. They take advantage of that, either through their own sexual pleasures and their own desires, or by utilizing them. And making money by selling them either to friends, strangers, things like that. But I think that key component in there is they find individuals who are vulnerable, who are seeking that love. 


Hilary: OK. And I know there's probably a lot of individuals out there that they're thinking. OK, I'm not. I'm trying not to be naive, but I recognize that that the child sex sexual abuse might happen. But trafficking in in Utah, I think there's probably a lot of people that are thinking that that couldn't be happening. I mean. Now those are things that you see on, you know our HBO. Some movies or whatnot and so talk to us maybe about the statistics associated with that. 


Sage: Yes. So, like sex abuse, trafficking is very, very under underreported. However, there are still hundreds of cases in Utah each year and something that I think a lot of people don't understand, which you mentioned is that they don't see sex trafficking happening here. And it's because it looks different here in the United States. It's not like somebody comes in and kidnaps your child and then sells them on this underground sex market. Often times here in the United States. 40% of it is happening at the hands of a family member and so how we understand that sexual abuse is happening to children. We also understand that parents, aunts and uncles, cousins are using that. As one step further and they're taking advantage of it and they're making money just by unfortunately like charging. I'm trying to think of like a nice, more professional way to say this, but charging for sex services for underage children, and so that's what it looks like often. And then runaways and any sort of individual in like experiencing some sort of homelessness, some sort of instability of housing or resources that can often be utilized and exploited in exchange for or providing things like utilities or rent or things like that, people will say, hey, you know, like we will pay for your electric bill, we will pay for your housing, we will pay for this. If you work for us, and if you do this and so, oftentimes those that are being trafficked, they don't know that they're being trafficked, they wouldn't call it that. They simply feel like they have a boyfriend or a friend who they owe and they're just trying to help satisfy that. 


Hilary: And I'm assuming a lot of the signs and symptoms to watch out for with trafficking are probably the same with sexual abuse. You probably see a lot or is there any other warning signs that we would want to watch out for? 


Sage: Yeah. So, a lot of them are very similar. That is correct one additional thing to point out is self harm indicators. That can often means something as well, and then one other thing, as I mentioned, grooming and boyfriending, especially if there are young individuals, teenagers, you know I would say 12 to 18 who they start getting expensive gifts they maybe get an extra phone. They start dressing differently by clothes that weren't purchased by their parents. They start, yeah, wearing jewelry. They start wearing things that may seem like they're being asked to try and look older. Those are all signs to maybe just be a little bit more aware of as well. 


Hilary: Yeah, I remember attending a conference where the facilitator was talking about grooming in the grooming cycle and what a perpetrator tends to do as part of that process. And I remember somebody bringing up the fact that we use that term grooming and sometimes. It almost comes across well. I mean, I guess what this individual is saying is, is she saying, you know what? I don't think grooming is a harsh enough term, it's manipulation is what it is, it's, manipulation at its finest. 


Sage: I love that. 


Hilary: And that really is that that really is what's happening to these. To these victims is that it's power and manipulation, and I think oftentimes. These victims don't even know like you. 


Sage: Yeah, it's an emotional hold on man, and they don't realize what's happening, and oftentimes they maybe even feel guilty and they get deep enough into it. They don't feel safe talking about it. And yeah, I love the maybe change of wording from calling it grooming to calling it manipulation because I agree. I agree it is manipulation and there's an emotional hold to it. 


Hilary: So, let's talk a little bit about that online component because you know our social media, our dating apps. And then that sites are not going away anytime soon. And if anything, it's going to become a bigger pull in our lives. And so do you have any practical tips as parents, as adults, working with you, on protecting children on an online platform? I have a teen myself and I feel like. It's so hard to stay up to date on safety and protocols because as soon as some type of safety blocker is created, there is. Something else that's created to counteract that, and so what are some? What are some tips that you can provide for parents when it comes to online safety? 


Sage: Yeah, yes, yes. The first thing I'll say real quick is Raise the app for that. That is meant to address it. So please, if you are a parent, download, raise and go through the individual learning modules on that because that will provide so much more information than we'll talk about today. But the first thing that I would say that I have seen time and time again is if you completely block out social media. That without having any sort of conversation about the dangers of it, you're leaving your child exposed to still experiencing it through other avenues, like through friends phones, through YouTube videos, through things like that, predators have gotten real tricky. They're finding like games like words with friends is an example from my old days. So, like they're finding games that have those built in chat. Apps and there's no way that we can stay on top of all of those. And so, if you're a parent that chooses to say no social media, you still need to be having those conversations about the dangers of social media. Just blocking it is not enough. And then once they turn 18, if they don't have those. Conversations integrated beforehand and if they go out and they buy themselves a phone they won't know the dangers of social media. They won't know the dangers of reading apps I can say from a trafficking standpoint with online enticement, 26% of traffickers who are utilizing online enticement to try and get new recruits as they would call it, use dating apps 8% alone, use Facebook and 8% alone use Instagram. And so even understanding the dangers of that and talking with your child, I think are so, we're in the second thing I would say is just don't assume that any app is safe because that I have seen time and time again gaming apps. Things like that are being utilized. There's a lot of apps that are under covered or pretend that they're different apps, but then I would just encourage to have really open conversations. I think that's where everything starts is if you can have these safe, open, transparent conversations with your child where you show that you're not perfect and you want them to maybe tell you their flaws as well. When they first experience something especially in a young age. Online, hopefully that you become that person that they turn to, to talk to and ask questions about it. 


Hilary: Exactly. I was just thinking that before you started. It's, you know, we've all heard that old phrase. It's not an if, but a win sort of a situation. And unfortunately, I feel like with. But how smart? I don't want to use the word smart, I'm giving them. I was going to say I'm putting them on a pedestal, but we'll use that word manipulation, manipulation again. But how manipulative these individuals are, it's, I think it will happen where something is going to come up online. And we want to be that person that our child goes to say, hey mom, somebody said something or there was this website that listed this, you know that that made this comment or there was this picture here and I get it I get that it may be a little bit embarrassing, but we want to be that person that they go to and we want to. And still confidence in our kids and we don't want to shun them or cause them to feel embarrassed like we want to be that first person that they go to. And so. I just think keep that door open, keep that door open because. If we're not that open door, then they'll find a different open door. And like you said, we're, we don't know. What that will be at that point. 


Sage: I completely agree, like in my opinion, it's kind of that metaphor of when you feel sick, you drink water. This is the drink water version of it. It's the thing that's said time and time again of, like, nurture those parent child relationships be that safe and trusted adult for your child. It seems so obvious, but it's honestly one of those things that it's so simple. But it can have the absolute biggest effects now and life long. 


Hilary: We were just having our Stepping Up for kids yesterday. Our big event at the Family Place just kind of kicking off child abuse Prevention month and one of the speakers there talked about the protective factors and how one of the biggest protective factors that a child can have is having one adult role model in their life and that may be a parent. That that may be a neighbor. That may be a coach, that may be a teacher. But having that one individual in their life that they know that they can go to in a time of need, how that helps buffer so many other things that may potentially happen. So, you know, we may not be a parent ourselves, we may be an adult working with youth and we can still be that person for those kids out there who will need us. So I, we could talk about this for many, many, many hours to come, but we won't. I can see that our time is kind of coming to a close, but Sage, I'd love to hear maybe some final thoughts from you on maybe one or two final takeaways if for our listeners out there. Is something that you would want them to hear, that could essentially help that one child who may be being hurt at this point. 


Sage: Ohh yeah, that's a ohh that's a that's a loaded question. I think the very first thing that I would say that if I could ask every single person in this valley in this state in this country to do that I think would make a friends, it would be to dedicate a few hours today this week, this month right now. Like I'm not going to go later than this month and we're, you know, most of the way through it to get educated on these causes. On these signs, on what to do if you see something. By taking the time to, I mean even listening to this podcast is an amazing example. But just by taking the time to understand the signs of abuse, what you can do that will help so many people, it will help. Maybe a child that you will see, but it will also help yourself feel empowered where you're not living in that dark space of I don't know what would happen. But I'm hoping that you'll also have those conversations naturally in the future with additional children, with friends, with family, and you'll be able to pipe up and you'll be able to just. Continue to spread that wisdom, so getting educated is one of the biggest things that I wish that everybody would do in this course because it's heavy and it's dark. But it's so, so important. The second thing that I would focus on is actually just understanding child sexual abuse is not something that does not happen in your neighborhood. It is something that happens everywhere. It's something that happens in the wealthiest of areas. It's something that happened in the poorest of areas. It happens in. Every state in every country. So does trafficking, but so much of the root cause of trafficking starts with child sexual abuse, and if we can understand that, if we can all be committed to not living in this world where we pretend it doesn't happen, we'll be able to address it, we'll be able to confront it and we'll be able to help a lot of children. Who are living in the dark and who are experiencing this type of trauma that they either know is wrong and they don't have someone to tell or they don't understand what's happening to them, but they feel uncomfortable and they don't know where to put those emotions. They don't know where to where to turn to, and so those are the two things that I would I would love to just like. Put on a pedestal and beg people to do. 


Hilary: Ohh my goodness. Sage, thank you for coming here. And giving us the opportunity. To talk  to you about this. To open up this conversation. To bring up these important points and for our community to know that. That we as individuals we as a village, have a role in preventing and interrupting child sexual abuse and child and exploitation. So thank you for giving us. Thank you for being on this platform to allow us to have this conversation and hopefully this conversation will spark many other conversations to come in your home for those listeners out there, hopefully this is. This is the starting point for you to say. You know what we have got to start talking. We've got to start talking together as a family. It's there's power in words and we need to do more. Of it so. Thank you for being here and thank you for your for your words of encouragement. Thank you for your powerful message that you shared. As I said earlier, we will we will include the resources that Sage has mentioned in our show notes so that you can refer to that. We're so grateful for the Malouf Foundation for all that. You would do both for our valley, but for our nation, because clearly you are reaching a broader population than just Utah. And we're so grateful for that. So for our listeners out there, thank you guys for being here. Feel free to reach out to us with any questions or comments that you may have. And just remember to be kind to one another. And we will see you next week. Thanks again. 


Jen: Thank you for listening to the Parents Place podcast. If you would like to reach us, you can at parents@thefamilyplaceutah.org or you can reach Jen on Facebook. Jen Daly - the Family Place. Please check out our show notes for any additional information our website. Is thefamilyplaceutah.org. If you're interested in any of our upcoming virtual classes, we'd love to see you there. 

 

Subject Resources:

2. Raise App Website: https://www.joinraise.com/

3. Human Trafficking Hotline: https://humantraffickinghotline.org/en

4. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children: https://www.missingkids.org/


Contact us:

-Email us questions or topic ideas: parents@thefamilyplaceutah.org



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