The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) announced on Wednesday its #TNSafeSummer program, which aims to help parents ensure that their children remain happy and safe during the summer months.
One resource is called the #TNKidKit.
“For parents and caregivers of children and teens, fill out a #TNKidKit, by clicking the following link – #TNKidKit – and update it at least once a year. It contains vital information needed by law enforcement should your child go missing,” TBI said.
As part of the kit, TBI’s Shelly Smitherman discusses what to do if a child goes missing in a video.
“When a child goes missing, every second matters,” said Smitherman. “So does having the right information.”
“Introducing the TNKidKit, key questions and a place for pictures,” she said. “Free, easy to use, and ready to pass along to police in the event of an emergency. Just download [it], fill it out and keep it in a safe place. Like you, we hope you’ll never need it. No one wants to think about one of our kids going missing. But if taking two minutes to prepare right now could make a difference when it matters most, wouldn’t you?”
TBI also warns of online dangers for children and provides resources for online child safety and what to do in a case of “sextortion,” where an abuser threatens to leak lewd images of a person should that person refuse to comply with the abuser’s demands.
The law enforcement agency is also offering resources on human trafficking and directs parents to a website called ithastostop.com.
“It doesn’t just happen in movies. It happens in small towns and big cities. And yes, it happens in Tennessee,” that site says. “It is modern-day slavery, in two different forms.”
Those two forms are sex trafficking and labor trafficking.Â
Sex trafficking is defined as follows by TBI:
Sex trafficking occurs when a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion if the victim is 18 years of age or older. Any minor who performs a commercial sex act is defined, under federal and Tennessee law, as a victim of sex trafficking, regardless of the use of force, fraud, or coercion. The term ‘commercial sex act’ is the giving or receiving of anything of value (money, drugs, shelter, food, clothing, etc.) to any person in exchange for a sex act. Commercial sex acts may include prostitution, pornography, and sexual performance. Some forms of sex trafficking include pimp-controlled trafficking, gang-controlled trafficking, or familial trafficking. In some cases, minors engage in ‘survival sex’ in order to meet basic needs such as food or shelter.
“An honest day’s work deserves an honest day’s pay. Forcing, frauding, or coercing someone to work manual labor isn’t just wrong. In Tennessee, it’s also illegal,” the site says of labor trafficking. “It can happen anywhere, and victims can be any age, race, gender, or nationality. Traffickers might use violence, manipulation, or false promises of well-paying jobs or romantic relationships to lure victims.”
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter.
All parents should take advantage of this knowledge that can help to keep their children safer.