Background:
Grooming is a term that has gotten a lot more attention in the media over the last couple years, but what exactly is grooming? Does it only happen to children? Is it online or in-person? How does it apply to trafficking situations?
Action: Gain an Understanding
What is Grooming?
Grooming is a form of abuse that involves manipulating someone until they are isolated, dependent, and more vulnerable to exploitation.
No one is immune to grooming. Although some are more vulnerable than others.
Ex) Minors are often targeted due to their innocent and trusting nature.
The Process of Grooming
Building a Relationship: A groomer must establish and build a relationship with someone in order to groom them
A groomer may suggest they are in a romantic relationship with their victim.
A groomer may position themselves as a mentor to their victim
A groomer ultimately wants to be a dominant figure in the victim’s life.
A groomer does not always only focus on building a relationship with just the victim. They will also often work to build relationships with the victim’s family, friends, and loved ones to seem even more harmless and trusting than they really are.
Gaining Power: A groomer is always seeking power over those they desire to control.
Power is gained through various forms of manipulation
Convincing the victim they are in love with each other and that the victim needs the groomer
Ex) “I’ll love you if you do this for me/I’m the only one who truly cares about you/This is just what people in love do/If you love me you’ll do this.”
Blackmailing the victim
Ex) “I’ll tell everyone you did these nasty things if you don’t continue/I’ll share your private photos with the world if you don’t do x/I’ll hurt your family if you tell anyone.”
Keeping it a Secret: Groomers will tell their victims to keep it a secret, for obvious reasons, because what the groomer is doing is wrong and more often than not could get them locked up, however their victims do not always see this understanding.
Groomers will tell their victims even if they do tell no one will believe them.
Sometimes groomers will make the victim believe whatever they’re doing was their idea and that the victim wanted it.
Groomers will try and make their victim feel extra special because they share secrets.
These secret keeping tactics are especially used when victims are minors or youth.
Action: Watch This
Watch our TikTok which shows an example of how pimps and traffickers groom young people with seemingly harmless interactions at first, that soon become more than the individual could ever imagine.
Learn how the Epstein/Maxwell case involved grooming tactics similar to other predators.
Action: Read this
Learn how grooming took place in Mandy’s story as a familial survivor of human trafficking
Action: Raise Awareness
Share these social cards on social media to raise awareness about what grooming is.
You can also share directly from Rollerskate to Liberate’s social pages!