Teachers and school faculty are key agents of change in the life of a survivor. It takes one call— one report— for a child’s exploitation to be brought to light.
Teachers are the number one source of reports to Childline,1 yet only account for 1% of reports to the human trafficking hotline, both nationally2 and in the state of Pennsylvania.3 What does this tell us? Clearly, educators are on the front lines of engaging with students and advocating for their safety. However, by providing human trafficking training, we can equip school faculty with the knowledge and tools needed to continue intervening in the lives of students involved in human trafficking situations.
Moreover, students themselves are key witnesses to the events unfolding in the lives of their peers. With age-appropriate training on human trafficking, we can empower students with the knowledge needed to help keep both themselves and their peers safe.
And how relevant is the threat of human trafficking to minors? Research shows that:
- Nearly one-quarter of Pennsylvania’s known victims are minors.4
- 42% of children involved in sex trafficking are trafficked by a family member, which could mean that school may be their only safe outlet.5
- Traffickers often recruit online and prey upon children, yet many minors do not know what human trafficking is or the tactics utilized by predators.6
- 1 in 6 runaway youth reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in 2021 were likely victims of sex trafficking.7
- Traffickers often target areas where youth congregate, like schools and online platforms.8
Although these facts may seem daunting, there is hope! Knowledge is power, and in this case, knowledge of human trafficking in the hands of students and school faculty is a powerful tool to combat this criminal industry and serve survivors.
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References:
1 “Child Protective Services 2021 Annual Report”, Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, (2023) https://www.dhs.pa.gov/docs/OCYF/Documents/2021-CPS-REPORT_FINAL .pdf
2“National Report for 2021”, Polaris Project, (2023) https://humantraffickinghotline.org/sit es/default/files/2023-01/National%20Report%20For%202021.docx%20%283%29.pdf
3 “Pennsylvania State Report for 2021”, Polaris Project, (2023) https://humantraffickinghotline.org/sites/default/files/2023-01/Pennsylvania%20State%20Report%20For%202021.docx%20%281%29.pdf
4 Ibid.
5 “Human Trafficking Trends in 2020”, Polaris Project, (2022) https://polarisproject.org/202 0-us-national-human-trafficking-hotline-statistics/
6 Ibid.
7 “Child Sex Trafficking Overview”, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, (2023) https://www.missingkids.org/content/dam/missingkids/pdfs/CST%20Identification %20Resource.pdf
8 “National Report for 2021”, Polaris Project, (2023) https://humantraffickinghotline.org/si tes/default/files/2023-01/National%20Report%20For%202021.docx%20%283%29.pdf