“In the minutes leading up to it, I was nervous, but when they called me on stage, I felt this sense of calm come over me because I knew that this was the only way I could raise awareness,” junior Julia Teves said.

TEDxClayton HS Youth is a student-run event where highschool students in the St. Louis area deliver an informative speech relating to the theme, this year’s having been the empowerment of teenage vision according to TED.

Among the eight students chosen to speak at this event was Teves, who chose to speak on the topic of child grooming, a global issue very important to her.

“Through my personal experiences and through experiences that I have researched, I know that there is not [enough] education and there certainly is not enough awareness on this topic,” Teves said. “I knew that if nobody’s going to raise awareness about it, then I absolutely should do my part.”

Child grooming, as described by Teves in her talk, is “adults particularly paying attention to children for the purpose of cultivating an inappropriate and intimate relationship.”

Teves’ in-depth research led her to read countless books, articles, documentaries and talks addressing child grooming.

Although she only gave her presentation earlier this year, Teves’ research started at the very beginning of her freshman year.

“I used this topic for an ALARP presentation a couple of years back and so I researched the topic for an entire semester. I did a 30 minute presentation on it and that’s when I knew that this was a topic I was passionate about and I would take every opportunity I could to talk about [it],” she said.

Teves said that it was difficult to research about this topic as it made her feel uncomfortable.

“Yes, it was uncomfortable. But, as I started researching and I discovered the need for awareness and education, it was not difficult anymore,” Teves said.

When she heard about the application for TEDxClayton HS Youth during her sophomore year, she didn’t hesitate to apply. Days later, Teves got an email back saying she has been selected.

“I was so excited. Not only because I was selected to give a talk, but also to get my message out there because I knew that this was a perfect outlet for me to share my message with thousands of people,” she said.

Teves wanted her speech to recognize child grooming as a global issue.

“I’m attempting to take this local issue and kind of enlarge its importance so that the whole world will know the importance of awareness and education,” she said.

According to NSCPP, 6,350 child grooming crimes were recorded in 2022-2023 which is an 82% increase from 2017-2018.

Another statistic by the Child Crime Prevention and Safety Center, states that 50% of online child grooming and sexual exploitation happen to people between 12-15 years old.

Teves said she will continue to spread awareness for child grooming and won’t hesitate when another opportunity to give a speech will present itself to her.

“Right now, there’s zero education and people are very vulnerable to this issue,” Teves said.