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Ariel Winter now works with an organization called SOSA (Safe From Online Sex Abuse), which fights online child sex trafficking
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She says her reasons behind joining the org are personal, and that she’s been that kid who was preyed upon online before
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During the undercover stings, she dresses up as an underage girl and chats with perps. SOSA then works with law enforcement and vice squads to get the predators arrested
For a decade between 2009-2020, audiences knew actress Ariel Winter as the adorable, studious middle child Alex Dunphy on the hit sitcom Modern Family. And while she’s still acting and producing new projects, Winter, 27, has also leaned into a surprising new passion: fighting against online sexual predators.
“I started working with an organization called SOSA (Safe From Online Sex Abuse) a couple of years ago,” Winter tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story. “They’re an amazing organization. They fight child sex trafficking online, which is usually the precursor to in-person trafficking,” she says.
Her involvement began when she and her boyfriend Luke Benward were watching TV and happened upon the Max TV show Undercover Underage, which followed SOSA’s missions.
Courtesy SOSA
Ariel Winter for SOSA
The small organization of women acts as young decoys to lure in Internet pedophiles in sting operations, and then work with local law enforcement and vice squads to arrange in-person meetings with those looking to abuse children, and get those perpetrators arrested.
“The show just impacted me deeply because I was that kid so many times over that was preyed upon in person online,” Winter says. “I was just like, God, I would love to be able to help be a part of that. I don’t want to say there’s a solution, but I would love to help take some of these people off the streets.”
Related: ‘Modern Family’ ‘s Sarah Hyland and Ariel Winter Talk Difficulties of Growing Up in the Public Eye
Benward encouraged her to contact SOSA to see how she could help, and soon she was volunteering and eventually even joining undercover missions operations herself.
“It’s nerve-racking,” Winter says of joining the stings. “We build decoy rooms in case the [perp] wants to see our rooms; we have personas. It’s very serious.”
SOSA’s founder, Roo Powell, is beyond grateful for Winter’s support. “Ariel really feels strongly about this,” Powell says. “She showed up, and she was like, ‘What can I do?’ I feel so lucky to have her get behind our mission. It’s been really meaningful, and the benefit has really been in raising awareness for both parents and kids of the dangers lurking online.”
Diana King
Ariel Winter
Related: Modern Family‘s Ariel Winter, Now 27, Reveals She ‘Left L.A.’ to Build a New Life After Traumatic Childhood (Exclusive)
For her part, Winter says she’s been shocked at how much she’s learned along the way.
“You’d be blown away by the number of people you encounter [who are Internet predators],” she says. “It could be anyone. The person sitting next to you or sleeping next to you. They don’t look like the ‘monsters’ you think they would.”
To read more about Ariel Winter, pick up the new issue of PEOPLE on stands now.
She adds that going on the sting ops, while an honor, can also be tough.
“I didn’t realize it would bring up some of the things past traumas for me that it did, but when you’re in disguise as a 12-year-old and someone is telling you what they’re going to do to your 12-year-old body… it’s hard,” she says.
Diana King
Ariel Winter
She just hopes that her work will get the attention of parents, who she says need to be better informed about just how prevalent online predators are, lurking in chatrooms of games like Roblox, or even in coloring apps designed for toddlers.
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“People want to turn a blind eye and pretend this part of the world doesn’t exist or isn’t as prevalent, but it does and it is, so much,” she says. “Kids are so vulnerable to being exploited online in this heavily digital age. Parents think, ‘I love my child, I’m present in their lives, they have friends, this wouldn’t happen to them.’ But it can and does happen to anybody.”
Diana King
Ariel Winter
She adds, “SOSA is just as passionate about educating parents on how to keep their kids safe as they are about catching sex traffickers. They even help pay for therapy for victims. It’s an amazing organization.” (They have a new show documenting their work called SOSA Undercover on YouTube.)
Her work with the organization has given Winter a sense of gratitude. It’s also helped with letting go of childhood trauma.
“I experienced a lot in my time in this industry and a lot just in so many other areas,” she says, noting that she’s lucky she never fell prey to addictions like so many other child stars. “I feel so lucky to have come out where I have now,” she says.
Visit sosatogether.org for more information.
Read the original article on People
