Human Trafficking Prevention Strategies for Vulnerable Students.

Posted May, 27, 2024, by Mindi Wisman

In January we told you about our human trafficking prevention work with The National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments (NCSSLE). Today we want to highlight our latest anti-human trafficking publications—a webinar and accompanying tipsheet on human trafficking prevention strategies for vulnerable students.

Having physical, learning, or other disabilities, being a newcomer to the United States, and/or being unstably housed or homeless make some students more vulnerable to human trafficking and child exploitation than others. For example, current research tells us that approximately one in five runaway and homeless youth are victims of trafficking. Collecting accurate data on youth survivors of trafficking is challenging, since many cases go unreported. But we do know that in 2021, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received more than 17,200 reports of child sex trafficking from all 50 U.S. States, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, which included every type of community: large cities, small towns, and tribal land.

The resources we’re highlighting in this post focus on the unique vulnerabilities of specific populations of students and how to address them. Cultivating a schoolwide culture of belonging and safety, modeling healthy adult relationships, and meaningfully engaging families, caregivers and the community at-large, are especially key for those vulnerable to trafficking. You will see here several examples of effective practices already in use. We hope you find them helpful. Please let us know what you think!