Back to school: Actions to keep students safe

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It’s September! A new year! That means thousands of students across Canada are heading back to school. Many young people are also likely leaving home for the first time to attend a new school, often in a new city. This transition can be a time of excitement and anxiety, but also one of vulnerability. This is why engaging in conversations about school safety should also include conversations about human trafficking.

Schools are meant to be a safe haven, but the grooming and luring of children and youth for commercial sexual exploitation often happens on campus and in our schools. While the most recent statistics suggest that human trafficking largely affects females ages 18-25, we know that exploitation can begin much earlier. There are possible risk factors that can increase a person’s vulnerability to being trafficked, but it can happen to anyone from any community.

Here are some practical actions to incorporate in your back-to-school routine.

For parents:

  • Talk to your kids about online grooming and luring. Traffickers are increasingly using social media to facilitate sex trafficking and access to new victims. The Canadian Centre for Child Protection has some great resources for parents, kids and youth around online safety.
  • Understand that peer-to-peer recruitment happens in schools, and that sex trafficking is often perpetrated by an intimate partner, friend or family member.
  • Know the signs of trafficking and share them with the young people in your life. Have open conversations about consent, peer pressure and healthy relationships
  • Share information about the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline (1 833-900-1010) with a young person leaving home for the first time and talk to them about safety planning.

For educators and school staff:

  • Teachers and administrators should know and recognize the signs of trafficking to better support healthy learning environments and ensure student safety.
  • Administrators should consider inviting a local organization or police service which specializes in anti-human trafficking education and awareness training to come and talk to students and staff. These conversations sometimes lead to disclosure of trafficking or sexual exploitation from youth and provide an opportunity to access support services.
  • School staff should develop a comprehensive anti-trafficking policy and ensure all staff are properly trained.
  • Ensure that school safety policies are enforced, especially visitor policies.
  • Schools should download and post the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline posters around campus in students and staff frequented areas like cafeterias, lounges and washrooms.

For youth:

For Indigenous-identified youth:

  • Know the signs of human trafficking and the common ways that traffickers recruit victims.
  • Do some safety planning with a trusted family member or friend if you are leaving your home community to attend school.
  • Understand where and how to access the supports and services in your new community, ensure you have access to emergency telephone numbers, and know your rights.
  • If you need assistance or counselling, Hope for Wellness offers support to anyone who self-identifies as Indigenous in French and English as well as Cree, Ojibwe and Inuktitut upon request.
  • The Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline can provide its services in 27 Indigenous languages.

For post-secondary students:

  • Post-secondary-aged students should be wary of so-called modeling jobs and job advertisements that promise hundreds of dollars per day. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
  • Review your favourite rideshare company’s commitment to addressing human trafficking and rider safety tips. Uber has developed rider safety measures and tips online and in the app.
  • Attend campus orientation talks, understand the emergency safety infrastructure, such as walk safe programs, and the support services available to students on campus.
  • Students can spread awareness of human trafficking on campus, and in their extra-curricular activities by starting an anti-trafficking student club, sharing the Hotline number on campus or volunteering with an anti-trafficking organization.

School administrations, school boards, community members, parents and members of the student body all have a role to play in addressing this issue, preventing it from occurring and ensuring our schools remain safe spaces. If you or someone you know might be a victim of trafficking, you can call the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline 24/7/365 to access confidential supports and services. We are here to help.