Child Trafficking in Schools: A Prevention Perspective
Format
Workshop
First Presenter's Institution
Love 146
First Presenter’s Email Address
jessica.stewart@love146.org
First Presenter's Brief Biography
Jessica Stewart, MA is a Prevention Advisory Specialist with Love146 a human rights organization that combats child trafficking. Jessica has a MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Richmont Graduate University and is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Georgia. She has over 8 years of experience working with families to reduce trauma and build resilience in children including building school based mental health programs and providing prevention education in the school systems. Both Jessica’s experiences working with youth in school and child welfare settings and being a child of Nigerian immigrants has increased her passion to increase health equity in school systems for the flourishing of our youth. She also enjoys taking breaks from her advocacy work to spend time traveling, eating diverse foods, and hanging with her family which includes their overly active pup Layla.
Second Presenter's Institution
Love 146
Second Presenter's Brief Biography
Tenisha was born a Hoosier, and lived in Indiana up until her early adolescent years. College brought her to the University of Texas at San Antonio, where she earned her Bachelors of Science with a concentration in community health. There, she started her journey with nonprofits and became an educator on teen pregnancy prevention. Furthering her education and travel, she moved to Houston, TX and earned her Masters of Public Health, while continuing her work reducing teen unplanned pregnancies. Tenisha joined Love146 in October 2019 to advance her passion in public health prevention.
Location
Session Four Breakouts (Ballroom D)
Strand #1
Hands: Safety & Violence Prevention
Strand #2
Heart: Social & Emotional Skills
Relevance
Through experience working with youth in diverse settings, the presenters will provide information on how to effectively reach and empower at-risk youth through prevention education. This session will highlight prevention strategies to protect against child trafficking by utilizing resources to decrease the likelihood of victimization as a result of youth’s vulnerabilities. This matches the third strand of “hands” through providing participants with an understanding of the impact of trauma on increasing youth vulnerabilities for exploitation, trafficking, and unhealthy relationships in order to ensure safety for all children and youth.
Brief Program Description
Through guided discussion, group and individual activities, Jessica Stewart, LPC will be taking us through this interactive learning forum to provide participants with an opportunity to identify characteristics of effective prevention education programming; principles of trauma-informed practice and implementation within community settings; and lessons learned from working with at-risk youth and confirmed survivors of trafficking.
Summary
This presentation is based on strong program theory and research to include cognitive theory, empowerment theory, health belief model, and precaution adoption process. Our presentation reflects best practices in the field of prevention from a public health perspective seen in similar violence prevention education curricula.
Evidence
Chang, K. & Hang, R. (2017). Public health approach to preventing human trafficking).
Katie M. Edwards, Teresa C. Kulig, Bridget Diamond-Welch. (2022) A Response to Lesak et al. (2021), “Recommendations for Educating Youth about Sex Trafficking”. Journal of Human Trafficking 0:0, pages 1-8.
Nation, M., Crusto, C., Wandersman, A., Kumpfer, K. L., Seybolt, D., Morrissey-Kane, E., & Davino, K. (2003). What works in prevention: Principles of effective prevention programs. American Psychologist, 58(6-7), 449.
Learning Objective 1
Objectives: Learn to define human trafficking, identify risk factors, and protective factors
Learning Objective 2
Learn to identify characteristics of effective prevention education programming
Learning Objective 3
Learn principles of trauma-informed practice and implementation within school and community settings
Keyword Descriptors
Child trafficking, prevention education, trauma informed practices, at-risk youth, public health, violence prevention
Presentation Year
2023
Start Date
3-7-2023 8:30 AM
End Date
3-7-2023 9:45 AM
Recommended Citation
Stewart, Jessica, "Child Trafficking in Schools: A Prevention Perspective" (2023). National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference. 61.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/nyar_savannah/2023/2023/61
Child Trafficking in Schools: A Prevention Perspective
Session Four Breakouts (Ballroom D)
Through guided discussion, group and individual activities, Jessica Stewart, LPC will be taking us through this interactive learning forum to provide participants with an opportunity to identify characteristics of effective prevention education programming; principles of trauma-informed practice and implementation within community settings; and lessons learned from working with at-risk youth and confirmed survivors of trafficking.