Every year, the President proclaims January as a month dedicated to the awareness and prevention of human trafficking:

“Around the world, human trafficking has stripped nearly 25 million people of their safety, dignity, and liberty — disproportionately affecting historically underserved and marginalized communities.  During National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, we reaffirm our commitment to ending this inhumane and immoral practice in all its forms.  And as we bring perpetrators to justice, we renew our pledge to help survivors recover and rebuild their lives.”

In recognition of National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Office of Safe and Supportive Schools and the National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments hosted a two-part miniseries focused on the roles of families in human trafficking, including participation, prevention, and intervention:

• Part 1: Supporting Students Who Have Experienced Familial Human Trafficking: (Archived from Jan. 11) The first webinar of the two-part miniseries described the unique needs of students trafficked by a family member. Subject matter experts, including people with lived experience, provided brief presentations on the impacts of familial trafficking and, through a panel discussion, shared approaches to supporting these students.

• Part 2: Engaging Families in Preventing and Addressing Human Trafficking: (Recording from Jan. 25) During the second webinar, subject matter experts offered a variety of approaches for school personnel to work with families to build protective factors in their children to lessen the risk of victimization and to support students who have been trafficked.

Also, in recognition of National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a Newly Revised Faith-Based Community Leaders Human Trafficking Toolkit which is a human trafficking resource to engage Houses of Worship and the community to help raise awareness of human trafficking. It also provides guidance on how to respond to the needs of victims or those vulnerable to harm. The toolkit is also available in Spanish. Learn more about other DHS Blue Campaign Resources, including the General Awareness Training Video.