New study aims to address child sexual abuse before human trafficking occurs

A new initiative in Georgia aims to tackle human trafficking by addressing child sexual abuse, with a survey launched to understand public perceptions and awareness.

The nonprofit Saprea, in collaboration with Georgia State University, is conducting an online survey to gather data on how people perceive child sexual abuse and its preventability.

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Channel 2 Anchor Jorge Estevez learned that this effort comes in response to alarming statistics showing that 87% of trafficked children have experienced sexual abuse before being trafficked.

“As Americans, we like to solve problems, but we only solve problems that we believe are solvable,” said Chris Yadon, Managing Director of Saprea.

Chloe Taylor Brown, a former victim of sexual abuse who later became a model, shared her emphasized the need for open conversations to prevent such issues from being swept under the rug.

“It’s very painful, and if I think about it right now, I can go back there and be in all that pain,” Brown said.

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The survey, overseen by Professor Jennifer Jiles at Georgia State University, aims to provide a baseline understanding of public beliefs about child sexual abuse.

“[The goal] is to get a good baseline understanding of what people think about child sexual abuse and whether or not it happens and whether it’s preventable,” Jiles said.

The findings will help Saprea launch a campaign to educate the community and combat misconceptions.

Previous surveys conducted in Utah demonstrated that public education can significantly change perceptions about the preventability of child sexual abuse, dropping from 60% to 40% over a few years.

You can click here to take the survey.

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