Our trip culminated with a day of educating two high school classes at Thurgood Marshall Academy. We all felt more comfortable teaching today because of our experience from the previous day. Yet again, the students were very intelligent and open to discussing the issue. They were very inquisitive and asked questions about who a human trafficking victim is and how pimps manipulate them. It was cool to see the students connecting the issues that we talked about to their lives, people they know, and things they have seen in their community.
Some common misconceptions came up in our discussion with the students. Some of the kids get their ideas of human trafficking from shows and movies such as Taken. However, Taken is an inaccurate depiction of what human trafficking is. Most victims are not kidnapped, they are manipulated into "the life" through force, fraud, and coercion. It is really important for youth to understand this so that they are careful and aware when they are talking to people on the internet or on the street.
Another misconception we came across was the idea of prostitution. Sex trafficking means that the victim lacks choice but the term "prostitution" implies choice. When you consider that one girl is forced to have sex with 20 men a day you realize that no one chooses to do that.
One of my favorite parts of the trip was seeing how the students at Thurgood Marshall understood human trafficking and now know the signs of human trafficking so that they can intervene in the lives of their peers when they notice something. It was also amazing to see how our group worked together as a team and answered questions that the students had. I'm excited that we, in our small way, could be a part of preventing the victimization of someone.
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