Safeguarding youth from trafficking

DAY 6: HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT THE RISKS OF BEING TRAFFICKED

We might think about trafficking as something that happens to other people, in other places. But we, our loved ones or people we know, may not be as removed from trafficking as we might like to think. Trafficking for sexual exploitation may start with a relationship, often known as ‘grooming’. Youth going through challenging situations, who have perhaps run away from home, or who are looking for adventure, may be susceptible to being enticed into what becomes an exploitative situation.

Watch the video above to see a representation of how a student is exploited in the commercial sex industry. 

(Note: The video is not graphic or sensationalized, but, because seeing a young person shown in a trafficking situation, particularly a sex trafficking situation, can be upsetting, you may find it difficult to watch or choose not to watch it before moving to today’s challenge. However, because young people are at risk and this is an important conversation to have with them, please consider watching and sharing, as appropriate.)

Do you know any youth or people who work with children or young people who need to hear this message? Use the educational and awareness-raising videos at A21 as a starting point to talk with youth you know about the circumstances in which a relationship or a job offer may not be what it seems. (A21 offers several examples for the USA, Thailand and UK, but most situations apply broadly.)

Be sure to watch them on your own first for age-appropriateness and to brainstorm talking points. You may want to ask how the youths in these videos ended up in their situations. What were some red flags? What could they have done differently?

Most importantly, make a plan with the child —studies show that people who make contingency plans are more likely to follow through on a course of action.

After you talk with a child or young person or share it with a parent, teacher or someone who works with children or young people, tell us in the record your action box how the conversation went. What was their reaction? Push-back? Strong emotions?

Be sure to let us know you’re committing to take action today by clicking or tapping the ACCEPT CHALLENGE button on this page.

Then, once you’ve had the conversation, don’t forget to come back and record that you’ve taken action.

If you missed any of our previous Freedom Fortnight challenges you can still take action here.