Blog | Protect Us Kids

In Memory of Edward T. Pound

covsecsupport@covenantsec.io (Covenant Security ) — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 17:27:00 GMT

Edward T. Pound (Ed), age 77, passed away peacefully at his home in Rockville, Maryland on Sunday, July 25, 2021, surrounded by his family. Ed was the adoring husband of 58 years to Eileen Pound, doting father of his daughter Karen and her husband Mitch Weintraub, devoted Grandad to Matthew and Emily Weintraub, and an inspirational older brother to his sister Lorene Roland.

Ed was an essential part of the Protect Us Kids Board bringing his years of experience and passion for child protection advocacy. His many written and consulting contributions as well as his drive to stand up for those less fortunate or unable to, will be sorely missed.

When asked why he spent so many years working late nights and weekends burning himself at both ends for a story, Ed told his grandson Matthew, “When I think about what I do, I see myself as the eyes and ears of the little guy—the people who have no voice.” That quote perfectly embodies who Ed Pound is.

Read the full obituary here .

In Memory of Edward T. Pound

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What Parents Should Teach Their Kids About Online Safety

covsecsupport@covenantsec.io (Covenant Security ) — Wed, 02 Jun 2021 23:38:00 GMT

What Parents Should Teach Their Kids About Online Safety

The internet can be a great place to learn, play games, shop, and have fun, but it also has a darker side. Criminals can use the internet to groom kids who are prone to the harmful tactics of predators and cyberbullies. There is a lot of inappropriate and obscene content on the internet that the kids should not be able to access.

We want to educate you as a parent or guardian so you can take necessary actions to protect your children from exploitation, cyberbullying, and cyber harassment.

Here’s the Top 6 Important Internet Safety Tips For Parents That They Must Set For Their Children & Teens!

The easiest and most important you can do is to make rules and create guidelines for your kids to make it clear what they should and should not do. Make sure that you clearly convey the dangers that are associated with the internet. When young kids are using the internet, adult supervision is necessary. Teenagers will certainly have more privacy but it’s still important to have open communications with them about appropriate behavior and monitor their online activities. You can also use monitoring technology such as Bark to make sure you know who your children are talking to and who is trying to talk to them.

Sharing on social sites, such as Facebook , Instagram , is quite common nowadays, but privacy issues are still there. You must teach your children to be careful while posting anything on these sites, as these sites allow everyone to talk to strangers online. They must not post any personal information, photos, and details like phone number and address, that can reach the wrong hands. Make your kids aware that they must not share anything with someone they do not know. Making online friends is fine as long as they don’t reveal too much to them. Also, they must first inform you and get your approval before meeting them.

Besides social media sites, messaging apps and games are also potentially used by predators for cyberbullying and harassment. Make sure that you review the games and apps before your kids download them. Clearly explain to them what dangers they might encounter while using a particular app.

Another thing that you must be wary of is online shopping. You must monitor your kids’ online purchases and make sure they do not buy anything without your consent. We know that online shopping is the trend, but online fraud is quite rampant too. And since kids and teens can be tricked more easily than adults, they need strict supervision in this regard.

The internet can be a dangerous place with many predators, and your kids can become a victim of cyber harassment, sexual abuse, and exploitation. So it is important that they know about body safety and boundaries. Teach them to say ‘no’ to any inappropriate request both in the virtual as well as the physical world.

Encourage your kids to talk to you about everything. Tell them that you are always there for them and that they can always share their problems with you. That will help your kids to fully express themselves without hiding anything. If they encounter cyberbullying or any inappropriate thing online, or if anyone asks them to engage in any inappropriate or sexual activity, they must immediately report it to you.

Regularly talk to your kids about how they are using the internet. Remember! Communication is the key to avoid a lot of disasters! So be sure to frequently communicate with your kids so that they can feel at ease while talking to you about any problem.

What Parents Should Teach Their Kids About Online Safety

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A Survivor’s Guide to Money – Virtual Book Launch Aimed at Survivors of Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking

Fri, 30 Apr 2021 20:00:00 GMT

On 12 May, FAST’s Survivor Inclusion Initiative will host a virtual launch for “A Survivor’s Guide to Money,” a new book by sex trafficking survivor leader and The Avery Center for Research & Services co-founder Megan Lundstrom that focuses on practical lessons for survivors of modern slavery and human trafficking in their path to financial independence.

The launch event will feature expert speakers, including Christian Wenaweser, Daniel Thelesklaf, Sara Crowe, Lou Walker, Vanessa Whale and Alexandra Cerquone, who will discuss the economic abuses involved in trafficking, the role of financial institutions in providing access to financial services, and the long journey to financial recovery for survivors.

A Survivor’s Guide to Money – Virtual Book Launch Aimed at Survivors of Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking

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Online child sex abuse spiked by 31% in 2020, with at least 13 million disturbing images on Facebook and Instagram

Sun, 24 Jan 2021 14:37:00 GMT

There was a sharp increase in child sex abuse imagery being posted and shared online during the coronavirus pandemic, much of it hosted on Facebook and Instagram, according to data shared exclusively with Insider.

Former Scotch College teacher Andrew Robert Grant jailed for child exploitation offences

Sat, 16 Jan 2021 07:35:00 GMT

The actions of a veteran Victorian teacher who preyed upon children, getting them to send him explicit pictures of themselves, has been described as “depraved” by a judge.

How to build a safe online environment for children

Tue, 20 Oct 2020 19:23:00 GMT

“This National Cyber Security Awareness Month we have teamed up with our cybersecurity partners Lady Askari to create a list of practical tips for parents to help keep their children safe online, by creating a safe environment, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keep an eye on our social media for Lady Askari takeovers and expect regular guest blog posts from this great organization doing extremely important work!”
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How to build a safe online environment for children during the covid-19 pandemic

Due to the gravity of Covid-19, we have witnessed widespread closure of schools and physical distancing measures across the world that have caused adults and children to create ‘the new norm’ through online platforms. Following the spread of the pandemic, internet usage has increased tremendously to support children’s online learning, socialization, and play. Yes, the internet, mobile phones, and other digital media provide children and young people with access to information, communication, and entertainment, however, it may also increase kids’ exposure to online risks such as cyberbullying, online predators, scams, inappropriate websites and malware.

Globally, in comparison to their parents, children tend to have more skills, understanding, and maneuver easily on the internet exposing children to dangers adults may overlook. With that said, building a safe online environment for children requires collaborative action by parents, governments, social workers, and school authorities.

What can be done by national governments and school authorities?

A. Reinforce governmental prevention and response to online dangers

Governments should enforce new and existing legislation, backed by law enforcement to help monitor and respond to increased online risks. They should also, increase educational initiatives on child online safety through media and other communication channels.

B. Reducing access to harm

Governments should work together with the information technology industry to ensure that measures (such as easy to use safety features on mobile phones, laptops etc) have been put in place to protect children from online dangers.

C. Support parents to ensure the safety of their children

The government should provide parents and caregivers with guidance on how to report and respond to online inappropriate content and online predators. In instances where a child experiences online harm, it is important that they have the necessary counseling to promote their recovery and rehabilitation. Moreover, children should be equipped with the information needed to navigate safely and make informed choices in their online lives

D. Provide safe online learning experiences

Schools should revise their safeguarding policies to reflect the situation of children learning from home, monitor and regulate interactions between teachers and students. School authorities should adopt anti-bullying rules to online platforms and communicate them to students and teachers.

What can parents do?

A. Establish limits on internet use

Explain to your children why some sites are inappropriate and what sites they can or can’t visit. Find a balance between online time and other activities. It would also be helpful to pin or bookmark their favorite sites on the browser to avoid visiting other sites.

B. Open communication

Discuss with your kids the different dangers there are on the internet and instruct them to tell you about any incident that makes them feel uncomfortable or harassed.

C. Monitor online activities

Monitor your kids online activities religiously; ask them details about their online friends, go through their browser history, use parental monitoring software and use the apps that they are using.

D. Prevent unwanted exposure

Always check privacy policies for your child’s sites before they sign up and change account accessibility settings to private to prevent friend requests from strangers. Help your child to fill out online profiles, let them use nicknames and make it clear that they should not share their personal information.

Lady Askari, in conjunction with our community partners SheHacksKE and Protect Us Kids Foundation is available to do online child protection webinars to help parents and guardians keep children safe as they use technology. For more information about our online child protection program, contact us at childprotection@ladyaskari.com

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How to build a safe online environment for children

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DMV’s Powerhouse Black Women

Sun, 17 Feb 2019 04:57:00 GMT

Veda T. Woods, founder and CEO of the Protect Us Kids Foundation, Dr. Regina Hampton, founder and medical director of Doctors Community Hospital Breast Center and Jasmine Jones, co-founder of Cherry Blossom Intimates, discuss with Pat Lawson Muse how they’re working every day to improve our communities.

Veda Woods: Dedicated to protecting youth from internet predators

Fri, 01 Feb 2019 23:21:00 GMT

“I’m a huge advocate of providing people with awareness and education so they can help themselves.”

Dad Uncovers Sex-Trafficking Scheme in Daughter’s Instagram Account, Posts Viral Warning to Parents

Mon, 06 Aug 2018 13:12:00 GMT

When you hear the words “human trafficking” what comes to mind? Do you understand how terrible it is yet think “that’s not really impacting me personally”? Instagram…

Maybe it is and you don’t know it because we are not talking about it enough. Tadacip 20 mg http://www.wolfesimonmedicalassociates.com/tadacip/

What I am about to tell you is very personal and dear to my heart, many tears have been shed and countless months of detective work to come to the story I am about to tell you.

A year ago, Michigan was #2 in the nation for human trafficking based on phone calls received by the human trafficking hotline. Today it’s still in the top 10, however falling lower to states like California and Nevada due to the volume of vacationers that visit those states. Get Xanax 2 mg online http://kendallpharmacy.com/xanax.html

It all started about 5 years ago with a 15-year-old boy named Bruce on Instagram. Bruce was a young attractive Hispanic boy, seemingly normal in every way. Little did he know he was the first step in an elaborate human trafficking ring. Like many of our children today they really do not understand how the social media outlets spread the entire world and with that come serious threats if not monitored.

North Carolina mom warns of popular ‘Roblox’ video game after 7-year-old’s avatar ‘violently gang raped’

Sat, 07 Jul 2018 05:43:00 GMT

Amber Petersen was lounging in bed with her 7-year-old daughter last week, watching her play the popular children’s video game “Roblox” on her iPad when she saw a disturbing display on the screen.

Her confused daughter, Brooklyn, paused and showed her mom the screen, which Petersen says showed a female avatar — her daughter’s character — being “violently gang raped” on a virtual playground by two male avatars.

Training in Brazil helps identify abuse victim

Tue, 03 Jul 2018 02:07:00 GMT

BRASILIA, Brazil – An INTERPOL training course in Brazil has led to the arrest of a man suspected of sexually abusing an infant, as well as the production, possession and distribution of online child sexual abuse material.

The two-week (7-18 May) training course, which was held in partnership with the Brazilian Federal Police, focused on the use of INTERPOL’s International Child Sexual Exploitation (ICSE) database to identify victims of abuse and ultimately, their abusers.

Training with an impact

During the course, 22 federal and state police officers analysed ongoing cases, some involving Brazilian children, and were trained on the latest techniques in investigating online child sexual exploitation.

One of the videos, which dated back to 2014, involved a six month-old baby.

Because they were working on ‘live’ cases, officers immediately put theory into practice. They were able to identify language elements and other details, which led them to a suspect who was a member of the child’s family.

Last week, Brazilian Federal Police officers arrested the suspect in Foz do Iguaçu. At the time of his arrest, police seized DVDs, mobile devices, cameras and hard drives that had been used to store, produce and distribute child sexual abuse material.

Based on the information gathered at the scene, Brazilian officials are now investigating two other cases involving the same suspect.

Valdecy Urquiza, Assistant Director of INTERPOL’s Vulnerable Communities unit, hailed the training session as an operational success: “We are always just one connection, one clue away from a break in a case. All it takes is the right person with the right tools and skills to make that connection. That is what INTERPOL strives to bring to the world’s police.”

“This case reinforces the importance of the ICSE database in identifying victims of abuse, but especially for the need to keep connecting new countries, training investigators and sharing information.”

The International Child Sexual Exploitation database

Available through INTERPOL’s secure global police communications system (known as I-24/7), the ICSE database uses sophisticated image and video comparison software to make connections between victims, abusers and places. It allows specialized investigators from 54 member countries, as well as Europol, to share data with colleagues across the world.

By analysing the digital, visual and audio content of photographs and videos, victim identification experts can retrieve clues, identify any overlap in cases and combine their efforts to locate victims of child sexual abuse.

The arrest in Brazil comes as INTERPOL is launching an upgrade to the ICSE database. Version 4 provides specialized officers with enhanced features such as a more efficient upload process, advanced sorting of videos and images, statistics, chat functions between officers and interconnection with national child exploitation databases. ICSE version 4 is the culmination of a 30-month project funded with the support of the European Commission.

To date, more than 14,000 victims have been identified via the ICSE database, leading to the arrest of nearly 6,300 offenders worldwide.

Source: INTERPOL

Training in Brazil helps identify six month-old sexual abuse victim

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Exploratory Assessment of Trafficking in Persons in the Caribbean Region: The Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, The Netherlands Antilles, St. Lucia, Suriname

Tue, 19 Jun 2018 19:26:00 GMT

Description

The information obtained during this research, while not allowing any overall estimates on the magnitude of the problem, referred to numerous concrete cases of both human trafficking and exploitation of persons working in degrading and inhuman conditions in all participating countries which included The Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, the Netherlands Antilles, St. Lucia, and Suriname.

Victims of human trafficking in the Caribbean region were found to be men, women, boys, and girls from the Caribbean as well as extra-regional countries. These victims were found in multiple forms of exploitation including sexual exploitation, forced labour, and domestic servitude. While women and girls were found to be vulnerable due to gender based violence, discrimination, and sexual exploitation, boys were increasingly found to be at risk. Some boys living on the streets and were exposed to drug traffickers, while others were forced into sexual relationships with older men as a means of survival.

This research was primarily a qualitative exercise and was not intended to supply statistics as to the numbers of trafficking victims within each country, but rather to provide a starting point for the participating countries to examine the problem of human trafficking within their local context and to encourage dialogue about how to combat this crime within the Caribbean region.

Exploratory Assessment of Trafficking in Persons in the Caribbean Region: The Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, The Netherlands Antilles, St. Lucia, Suriname

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CARIBBEAN: Businessman charged with child prostitution, human trafficking in Trinidad

Tue, 19 Jun 2018 19:22:00 GMT

CARIBBEAN360 – A 30-year-old businessman has been charged with multiple counts of child prostitution, human trafficking and assault, following a three and a half-month investigation by law enforcement officers.

Anthony Smith was due to appear in the Port of Spain Magistrate Court today, after being charged yesterday.

Police say the proprietor was held after extensive investigations that began on September 23, 2015, following a raid at a house in Arouca.

Smith is facing one charge of recruiting a child for the purpose of trafficking; 17 charges of sexually penetrating a child contrary; five charges of child prostitution; and three charges of assault.

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CARIBBEAN: Businessman charged with child prostitution, human trafficking in Trinidad

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Record number of slavery victims referred in UK, says report

Sat, 31 Mar 2018 19:02:00 GMT

More than 5,000 potential victims of modern slavery and trafficking were referred to UK authorities last year, a record number, a report has revealed.

The National Crime Agency said British nationals made up the highest number of cases for the first time, followed by people from Albania and Vietnam.

The number of children thought to be victims rose by 66% from 2016.

The agency said the increase in referrals was “driven by greater awareness” of the problem.

The NCA said the increase in child referrals was partly because of the growth of a drug supply route, known as “county lines”.

This is where city-based gangs use young people as couriers to move drugs like heroin and crack cocaine to rural and coastal areas.

“They are enticed by wealth but quickly coerced by violence,” said the NCA’s deputy director, Tom Dowdall.

Investigators said this was largely the reason for the rise in the number of UK nationals involved – up to 819 last year from 326 in 2016.

Last year, 5,145 potential victims of trafficking and slavery were flagged up to the National Referral Mechanism, which identifies and supports victims.

That was the highest number recorded by the UK authorities since the figures were first compiled in 2009 – and a 35% rise from 2016.

The report found that forced labour accounted for 2,352 cases – almost half of all referrals.

The figures also showed that in a third of cases (1,744) it was suspected that people had been exploited for sexual purposes.

More than 2,000 children (2,118) were referred for help, compared with 1,278 the previous year.

The analysis showed that 116 different nationalities made up the referrals from 2017, with Albanian (777) and Vietnamese (739) nationals the next most commonly reported potential victims after the British.

Will Kerr, NCA director, said greater reporting of modern slavery was behind the overall rise in referrals but that the figures “almost certainly represent an underestimate of the true scale” in the UK.

He added that authorities were dealing with an “evolving threat” as criminals go into online spaces – particularly “adult services websites”, to enable their offending.

Victoria Atkins, Home Office minister for crime, safeguarding and vulnerability, said the figures showed more potential victims were being “identified and protected” because of an “improved understanding of modern slavery”.

She said the government was “leading the world in our response to this horrendous crime”.

What is modern slavery?

The Modern Slavery Act was introduced into law in 2015 .

It states an offence is committed if someone holds another in slavery or servitude or requires them to perform forced or compulsory labour.

The legislation also increased the maximum jail term for people traffickers from 14 years to life.

Modern slaves in the UK, often said to be hiding in plain sight, are working in nail bars, construction sites, brothels, cannabis farms and in agriculture.

Traffickers are using the internet to lure their victims with hollow promises of jobs, education and even love.

There is no typical victim. They can be men, women or children of all ages but it is normally more prevalent among the most vulnerable, minorities or socially-excluded groups.

Many believe they are escaping poverty, limited opportunities at home, a lack of education, unstable social and political conditions or war.

Sources: Anti-slavery.org

Record number of slavery victims referred in UK, says report

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