When I tell people my role at Switch is the Prevention Coordinator, almost always it is followed up with, “What is prevention?” That is when I dive into my elevator pitch about the main parts of our prevention program which sounds something like:
“Prevention is our program that focuses on youth ages 12-18 years old. However, we also work to educate parents, teachers, and those who work with youth on a regular basis. Our goal is to equip these populations with the knowledge and resources to be able to protect themselves and others. We partner with an organization called Love146 to use their evidence-based curriculum with youth. This curriculum discusses the realities of trafficking, sexual assault, how to have healthy relationships, consent, how to recognize vulnerabilities, internet safety, and how to safety plan for risky situations. We also work to empower parents and youth leaders to have these conversations as well.”
While this is a brief overview of what our program has to offer, I always walk away feeling that the value of prevention is gravely misunderstood. Even when the responses are “That is so great!” or “We need more of that in our community, our schools, our churches, etc. etc.” Yes, we do, but do you know why? Why is it important to have these conversations with our kids? Why is it important that parents and teachers know what they are up against?
A lot of times we do not address things until they are happening or have already happened, and that is also the approach to trafficking. How can we get them out of the life? What are the signs someone is being trafficked? What services are most needed for someone coming out of the life? What if we didn’t even have to address these questions because we worked hard to not get there in the first place?
That is the point of prevention.
We are proactive in our approach so that we do not have to be reactive. Since we know that most people are trafficked by someone they know, trust and allow into their lives willingly, we need to be teaching youth what healthy versus unhealthy relationships look like. What is actually normal in a relationship? We need to talk about red flags and teach ways to set healthy boundaries in different relationships. We need to empower our youth to make good decisions for themselves, recognize what potentially risky situations are, and equip them with the knowledge to navigate those situations. All youth have vulnerabilities and could find themselves in a trafficking situation, so let’s help them to be aware of those
If we do prevention effectively, we can stop trafficking before it even begins. How will you invest in prevention? To learn more about how you can get prevention in your community, email aly@switchsc.org.
