Human trafficking is estimated to be a $150 billion a year business. The buying, selling and using of people – children, women, men – makes more money than the combined annual revenues of Starbucks, Google and Nike combined. Alicia “Kozak” Kozakiewicz was one of the millions who are victimized by this crime annually.
“At the age of 13, I was groomed and lured from my home by an internet predator,” she says with complete candor. “He kidnapped me, held me captive, and streamed the abuse online. Miraculously, I was rescued by the FBI. Most abductees in similar circumstances are not recovered.”
By 14, Alicia knew what she had to do help her healing process and also to help others. She knew she had to share her story. “I had become the first widely-reported Internet-related child abduction case. Following my rescue, the healing process began. I realized that this had happened because internet safety education was nearly unheard of. I resolved to begin sharing my story and experience to highlight the existence and prevalence of online predators and to empower others to keep themselves and their families safe.”
Nearly 20 years later, Alicia is still sharing her story, traveling across the globe to speak to audiences of children, families, teachers and law enforcement in an effort to raise awareness of online predators, child abduction and child sexual exploitation. Her resolve at 14 led her to create The Alicia Project. Still in existence today, the agency pioneered internet safety and sexual awareness presentations for children. A TCSPP forensic psychology alum, Alicia has trained the FBI, and testified before Congress for the Protect Our Children Act. She has been featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Phil, Good Morning America and in the New York Times.
“In this fight, my goal has always been to create actionable, positive changes. While the Protect Our Children Act was passed into law, it was never fully funded, leaving law enforcement overworked and underfunded and children in danger. In response, I began to work alongside the nonprofit PROTECT and together we passed Alicia’s Law in twelve states, which helps to fund the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force, providing resources, training and boots on the ground.”
The fight continues for Alicia, on multiple fronts. Most recently, she has prevailed in her efforts to get the term ‘child pornography’ changed to ‘child sexual abuse material’ (CSAM) and ‘child sexual abuse imagery’ (CSAI). “This is not pornography,” she says emphatically. “These are crime scene images and videos of children being sexually abused.”
Alicia also works with Airline Ambassadors International as a human trafficking awareness trainer and spokesperson. “Air travel is the quickest and most convenient way to transport victims. We train airline employees, both in the air and on the ground, how to be aware and act when they notice the signs of trafficking.”
For Alicia, the goal has always been to help and prevent what happened to her from happening to others. To her way of thinking, the best way to do that is through education. Every time she takes the stage, gives an interview or leads a training, she’s aiming to educate as many people as she can.
She leaves us with so me startling facts. “There is still a deeply held belief that human trafficking happens elsewhere, when in fact, it happens everywhere, including your neighborhood. In the US, the average age a child is first entered into human trafficking is between 12 and 14 years old. While many victims are young girls, victims of all genders and demographics are trafficked. It is both a domestic and global crime. Victims are trafficked within their own country, as well as to countries near and far. Human trafficking is at crisis levels, however, we can fight against this epidemic if we have the proper tools. One such tool is education.”
Connect with Alicia: @itsaliciakozak
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