Back-to-School Safety: Protecting Youth from Traffickers This School Year
*Information and resources provided by The Blue Campaign through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Fall is a time of exciting transitions; the seasons are changing, kids head back to school, and many of us ease back into routines at work after summer vacations. With everything in flux, it’s easy for things to get lost in the shuffle. Unfortunately, these are the conditions that human traffickers often try to exploit. While the start of a new school year brings renewed structure, it can also be a time when children might feel overwhelmed or isolated as they try to adjust to new schedules and environments. In this transitional time, seemingly ordinary parts of a child’s day, such as the walk home from school, the wait at the bus stop, after-school activities, or time spent online, can become opportunities for traffickers to make contact.
This back-to-school season, it’s critical that parents, caretakers, educators, and youth professionals know how to spot the signs of exploitation to help prevent youth trafficking. You can help by:
- Learning to recognize the key indicators of human trafficking
- Knowing how to report if you suspect a child is being exploited
- Making trafficking prevention a part of daily conversations with the kids and teens in your life.
Trusted adults who are alert and informed can make the back-to-school transition safer for everyone. For more guidance and information visit: Back-to-School page.