January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month. Human trafficking is a modern-day form of slavery involving the illegal trade of human beings for the purpose of exploitation for commercial gain. School counselors, administrators, and teachers should know how to identify potential cases and how to help children who are being trafficked. Trafficking can involve school-age youth, particularly those made vulnerable by challenging family situations, and can take a variety of forms including forced labor, domestic servitude, and commercial sexual exploitation.
The U.S. Department of Education has released a guide for educators on ways to identify and help prevent child trafficking in schools. Human Trafficking in America's Schools is a free guide for school staff that includes information about risk factors, recruitment, and how to identify trafficking; what to do if you suspect trafficking, including sample school protocols and policies; and other resources and potential partnership opportunities.
We, as educators, play a unique role in the lives of our students and can learn the signs and indicators of trafficking to join in the fight against this form of modern-day slavery. For more information on the indicators that school staff and administrators should be aware of, and how to report potential incidents, please check out the Department of Education Office of Safe and Healthy Student’s Fact Sheet on Domestic Human Trafficking.
In addition to the fact sheet above, you can register and order free materials for distribution to your staff and students from this government website: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/
Everyone who is part of the school community—administrators, teachers, bus drivers, maintenance personnel, food service staff, resource officers, and other school community members—has the potential to be an advocate for child victims of human trafficking.
In order to further assist educators and school officials, the National Human Trafficking Resource Center has developed an online training tool entitled ‘Human Trafficking Awareness for Educators’. This training aims to raise awareness for educators and school officials on how human trafficking affects schools and students in the United States and offers best practices and suggestions for building a response to trafficking.
Thank you for taking the time to provide this information to your school community.
If you have any questions or would like to have this topic presented, please do not hesitate to contact our regional office at 816.268.0400.
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Jeanne Ackerson | U.S. Dept. of Education, Region VII |
Office of Communications & Outreach
Phone: 816.268.0401 | Jeanne.Ackerson@ed.gov |
Office of Communications & Outreach
Phone: 816.268.0401 | Jeanne.Ackerson@ed.gov |
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