As someone who was trafficked as a child, and now helps trafficking victims, both in justice work and as therapeutic foster mom, I'd like to offer a few work on these QAnon conspiracy theories (1)

First, child rape trafficking is real. It happens in every city and many towns. Most victims are poor, many kids of color, many from foster care. The majority are teens but some are younger. (2)

Child trafficking is nothing new, it just moved off the streets and out of view. When I was being trafficked as a child it wasn't even taken seriously. The documentary Streetwise is a good example of how it used to be. (3)

The internet has allowed children to be held in hotel rooms where pedophiles can access them online, making it harder for law enforcement. However, such rings are regularly busted when police are given resources. (4)

The people that facilitate child rape trafficking are pimps out to make money, but the real power is the men who buy children, and they come from all walks of life & politics. Our culture fetishizes sex with youth and blames the victims (5)

If you want an example, look at who gets arrested for "prostitution." It is usually the victims. Not the buyers. Our culture attaches stigma to having been trafficked. I've had people shame & blame me, too. (6)

As someone who works with victims, I can vouch there is no conspiracy run by Dems who are drinking the blood of kids. Does this even need to be said? The truth is child trafficking has been here for decades and normalized as prostitution.(7)

If we truly care about trafficking victims, we would focus on catching men who buy children, and resources on helping kids, such supporting more therapeutic foster homes to help victims heal. (8)

My take is the QAnon conspiracy theory is same as the ritual satanic panic of the 1980s. It is misleading and keeps people from examining the normalization of childhood sexual abuse. Only this is much bigger & more dangerous (9)

* ugh typo. Few words, not work