TAMIU Annual Report 2021

court diversion. We hope to help the County’s children by identifying children at risk of sexual exploitation, working with schools and agencies to provide services and identification tools,” she said. Bernat says the billboard, located at 5823 McPherson, is an extension of her involvement in providing a support network to address the needs of sex trafficked victims. She has been at work addressing the challenge of trafficking in her research, service, and teaching for some time, and considers it a guiding life mission. “I have been working on issues pertaining to the sexual exploitation of youth and youth resilience for decades. My research expertise is invaluable to help the community network partners in using tools to identify potential victims and create a network partnership that is dynamic and responsive. I will be providing both a program and a process evaluation of the diversion court. I will assist in grant writing and providing research expertise to network partners and the community,” she noted. Of the Digital Billboard Campaign, she says she believes sharing this important message at such a large scale helps to underscore its significance for all. “The digital billboard is essential to help broadcast to the community the dangers of online sexual exploitation and to bring awareness to adults and teens. Over 95% of teens are online. Sexual exploitation can happen by friends and strangers. It is important that children do not send nude pictures and if they are sent pornography that they report it. “The campaign is a great way to help youth know that friends ‘don’t’ ask for sexual pictures and ‘don’t’ send sexual pictures and videos. Once sexual pictures of youth are ‘out’ on the web, the pictures can be sold and resold for many years. The youth who sent a nude picture can be further exploited by those who manipulate them in a variety of sexual exploitation ways -- leading to sex trafficking,” she shared. The billboard is a tool, but Dr. Bernat said there are plenty more tools to be utilized. “There are additional research and implementation steps that I am continually working on with TEN members and partners,” she assured. In the meantime, the message rings loud and true: R.E.A.L. Friends Don’t. To learn more about this initiative, please visit https://www. realfriendsdont.org/ ALUMNI 22