HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- Henrico students will soon start learning about human trafficking during their Health and PE classes.
Henrico has been a leader in the last decade piloting a national human trafficking prevention program at two of its high schools.
Soon that framework will have a much wider audience as the district is bringing the curriculum into the classroom at all Henrico middle and high schools.
“We’re very excited about the opportunity to have a curriculum that is evidence-based and is research-based," Education Specialist Health and Life Education Mark Brandenburger said about the curriculum that was created in conjunction with the state and local human trafficking prevention organization Free Kind. "Our state did the difficult work identifying the need and also creating laws and support with the general assembly to make sure it was a part of our standard of learning."
The National Human Trafficking Hotline reported 16,710 children were victims of human trafficking in 2021, up from 12,011 victims in 2015.
"Our students are acting more independently than ever in adolescence and to help make them life-ready we need to prepare them for becoming safe in their communities and knowledge and knowing what dangers may be presented but resources and referrals and where do we go with these concerns," Brandenburger said. ‘We have unique relationships with our students as health educators our classrooms are a safe space already and it allows us to layer in the difficult topic of human trafficking."
The class is designed to equip students to recognize the warning signs of human trafficking and empower them to practice healthy boundaries to keep themselves safe.
"It is not what it was in the ’80s and '90s as child abduction but more along the lines of students being coerced into relationships, labor or domestic servitude," Brandenburger said. "Our goal is prevention 100%."
The district said, like all curricula, parents will have the opportunity to view it and opt their children out if they are not comfortable. The lessons will be rolled out in the spring.
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