Digital exploitation has rapidly evolved into a global public safety and child protection crisis, with the FBI and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children reporting record levels of online enticement and financially motivated sextortion in recent years. Although most teens engage with social media and digital platforms daily, many caregivers and youth-serving professionals remain under-equipped to respond effectively to disclosure and establish practical safety norms. This presentation examines Influenced™, a research-driven prevention program developed by The Exodus Road to close this gap through specialized curricula for students in grades 6–12 and their caregivers. The presenter argues that effective prevention must move beyond fear-based messaging toward skills-building and “digital resilience,” pairing age-appropriate digital literacy with trauma-informed, survivor-advised content and clear pathways for help-seeking and reporting. The session will describe core program components—including student workshops, caregiver education, interactive learning tools, and school-based implementation models—and share key programmatic learnings from more than 122 live workshops delivered across eleven U.S. states and Latin America. Findings include a case example in which 50 students disclosed 105 instances of targeted online predation, underscoring both prevalence and the importance of creating safe, structured environments for disclosure. Attendees will leave with an understanding of The Exodus Road’s scalable model, gaining insight into how its design, delivery, and evaluation approaches can be adapted for digital safety initiatives. Attendees will also learn actionable strategies to strengthen caregiver–youth communication and community response. The presentation concludes with recommendations for applying this tailored approach across education, social service, and community-based sectors.
Trigger Warning: This presentation contains information (written, spoken, or visual) that may be triggering or (re)traumatizing to attendees.
Laura Parker is the CEO and Co-founder of The Exodus Road. With over 14 years of experience in global anti-trafficking work, she has led programs internationally, with recent focus on prevention education initiatives in the United States and Latin America that emphasize data-driven digital safety, youth resilience, and survivor-informed approaches.