Is your friend or family member acting different? Are they more distant, sneaky, depressed, or just out of it? Have you ever considered that they may be undergoing child abuse or being trafficked? Child abuse and human trafficking are very real and it surrounds you everywhere.
It’s a very heavy and sensitive topic, but not one that should be ignored. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, human trafficking is defined as “a crime involving the exploitation of a person for labor, services, or commercial sex.”
In San Diego county itself, according to San Diego Health Services, there are about 67,694 reports of suspected child abuse yearly and about 11,773 reports of human trafficking yearly under the age of 18. Stated by the County of San Diego Health and Human Services, that is equivalent to 6% of people under the age of 18 who are the victims of child abuse. 32% of the reported victims experience human trafficking in the San Diego county.
Now that we’ve looked at the grand scheme of San Diego County, let’s zoom in and talk about the Helix Community itself. Within the Helix staff they are trained to protect their students so those stats can be lowered or brought down to none at all. Helix wishes to create a community that lets for everyone to be seen, helped, and safe. For this to be implemented, teachers undergo training that prepares them for these situations.
In this interview with Mr. Morris, Helix Social Science teacher, he discusses the process of the training about child abuse and human trafficking over the years as well as his personal experience or feelings towards it.
Question #1:
I was wondering if you could walk me through the process you have to go through with Child Abuse and Human Trafficking training?
Answer :
The training came up a few times and [teachers] had to work on how to identify types of traffickers as well as signs of students being trafficked (such as dress, behavior, academic habits, etc.).
Question #2:
What are your thoughts behind the Helix community and its surroundings regarding child abuse and human trafficking?
Answer:
Awareness is good, it’s hard to figure out the best way to communicate to students without scaring them. Maybe awareness in advisory, [we] don’t want to scare anyone or have an issue with a parent without being sure.
In another interview from Ms. Sayre, Helix English teacher, she shares about her personal experience and recollection of the trainings:
Question #1:
I was wondering if you could walk me through the process you have to go through with Child Abuse and Human Trafficking training?
Answer:
[The staff] all do online training where they hear interviews of survivors and of perpetrators. They complete readings and quizzes. She personally feels that the interviews are the most powerful part, especially of the perpetrators.
Question #2:
What are your thoughts behind the Helix community and its surrounding regarding child abuse and human trafficking do you see or hear about?
Answer:
She is unsure of her surroundings or how many cases are missing/ignored. “You don’t know what you don’t know,” she says.
Question #3:
How do you feel personally towards child abuse and human trafficking, is it important or a passion in any ways to you?
Answer:
She takes the role of mandatory reporter seriously. Especially as an English teacher, because students sometimes share things in writing which cause her to feel heavy hearted. She also believes that Helix is better than other schools, mainly because of students’ access to our social workers.
These interviews show the involved community that Helix is when it comes to child abuse and human trafficking. Now how can students, parents, or other members of the Helix community contribute to help the San Diego community be more aware of child abuse and human trafficking, and how they can help?
A few ways to help raise awareness or to help is to be educated in what you are looking for in people when it comes to child abuse and human trafficking
According to Love146:
Possible Signs of someone who is being abused or trafficked:
Unexplained injuries
Sudden behavioral changes or extreme behaviors
Fear of adults or figures of higher power
Scripted answers
Malnourishment
These are a few of the signs, but there are many more. Now you have the information, how do you feel you can help the Helix community?
Here’s a website to take action on raising awareness:
https://love146.org/resources/ 