Tampa Teens

Protecting Students from Predators

Problem

Florida ranks 3rd in the nation in cases reported to the human trafficking hotline. The average age of youth trafficked in the state is 11 to 13 and up to 70% of exploitation begins online. To address the problem, Florida Department of Education passed a rule requiring K-12 schools to teach child trafficking prevention.

Solution

Aware that children spend a fraction of their lives online, a team of high school and college students collaborated with their former teacher to design social media safety lessons to ensure students stay safe while navigating social media and online gaming. The lessons not only create awareness of how predators lure children but explain what they can do to prevent being extorted and exploited.

#WeDelete

There are separate lessons for elementary, middle, and high school students presented in an interactive video fromat addressing:

Tactics predators use
The reason to delete all unknown friend request
The importance of connecting with a trusted adult NOW
Stages of human trafficking and strategies to avoid being exploited (High School)