Grooming
When a sexual or other kind of predator sets the stage for abusing another, such as a child or other person (as in the case of sex and theory human trafficking).
Trust: May give toys and/or other gifts and favors to the intended victim to gain trust.
Alienation: Settings the stage for the intended victim to become alienated from their primary caregivers/circles or family and community.
Fear/dependency: Sets up a power dynamic in which the victim feels too afraid to report the abuse, perhaps by involving the victim in activities their friends and family might judge the victim negatively for, such as drug use (or even the abuse itself).
Trust: May give toys and/or other gifts and favors to the intended victim to gain trust.
Alienation: Settings the stage for the intended victim to become alienated from their primary caregivers/circles or family and community.
Fear/dependency: Sets up a power dynamic in which the victim feels too afraid to report the abuse, perhaps by involving the victim in activities their friends and family might judge the victim negatively for, such as drug use (or even the abuse itself).
By the time the girl understood how bad her situation had become the neighbor had been grooming her so carefuly and for so long that she felt she could not go home or to the police and so saw no way out of her situation. Thankfully a relative noticed her distress and had the sense to seek help from the county's intervention program.
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