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Child Sex Trafficking Discussion To Be Held In Decatur

The "Know The Signs" presentation will be held August 9 at Decatur police headquarters.

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DECATUR, GA — A discussion is being held next month at Decatur police headquarters on child sex trafficking. The “Know The Signs” presentation on domestic minor sex trafficking by Georgia Cares is designed to educate youth between the ages of 11 and 18. The training will be interactive and engaging, with videos, activities, and discussion around the epidemic of child sex trafficking and what it looks like here in Georgia.

Dinner is being provided for youth attendees by local author Liz Lazarus, who is raising awareness on the issue of DMST in her next novel. There is no cost.

The event will be held Friday, August 9, from 6-8 pm at police headquarters, 420 West Trinity Place.

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According to the Department of Homeland Security, human trafficking is "modern-day slavery and involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act." Human trafficking is not the same as human smuggling, which involves illegal transportation of a person across a border.

Read: DeKalb Child Rape Suspect Arrested At Atlanta Airport

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The different kinds of human trafficking include sex trafficking, forced labor, and domestic servitude. Sex trafficking victims may be forced, threatened, or manipulated by promises of love or affection to engage in sex acts for money. Any person under the age of 18 involved in a commercial sex act is considered a victim of human trafficking.

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