The PowerUp Program: Human Trafficking Prevention Training for Youth

Community Safety

Expand existing project, program, or initiative

The UCLA Law Review published a study in 2015 that found children of color made up a disproportionate number of sexually exploited youth. Of those interviewed for the study, approximately 67% of youth picked up for "prostitution" were children of color. They also found that the racialized sexual exploitation of people of color during slavery and colonization still impacts cultural expectations and beliefs today about the availability and use of children of color for commercial sex. This leads to the "adultification" of Black girls as well as stereotyping them as hypersexualized, and thus consenting to their victimization. There are a myriad of services available for youth who have already been victimized, but there is grave need for more work around preventing victimization of our black girls to begin with. In Los Angeles County approximately 71% of youth exploited between 2014-2018 were African American.

Aimed at addressing the identified issue, The Power Project (TPP) seeks to scale its PowerUp Program, which provides critical human trafficking prevention training that is engaging, age appropriate, and evidence-based. We serve youth ages 12-21, with a focus on at-risk youth of color, as well as teachers, administrators, social workers, staff, and parents. Our training is designed to raise awareness about human trafficking, how to recognize the signs of trafficking and recruitment, and offer safety tips. We want to meet youth where they are and provide multiple touchpoints in which they can access our training. Expanding this program will allow us to make training available in schools, youth community centers, and group homes. Our goal is to provide consistent support in the community, establishing ongoing partnerships with each agency, and delivering multiple trainings to their youth and staff on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis. To ensure youth are receiving relevant information, TPP first conducts discovery meetings with agencies interested in training. During this meeting, partner agencies share pain points and challenges they are facing as it relates to human trafficking. TPP then guides the agency through a menu of PowerUp training options that can assist in addressing their needs. As needed, we can co-present with interpreters for youth needing spoken interpretation as well as sign language.

There are a myriad of services available in Los Angeles County for youth who have already been victimized. But there has been a lack of concerted effort around prevention. Also, the services that are available can only be accessed by agencies that partner with the County, leaving other youth community organizations and schools without access to this critical training. TPP serves the community as a whole and provides training wherever it is needed. Some of the limitations in other human trafficking prevention programming include sharing a limited view of sex trafficking and a lack of diversity in voices around this issue. TPP takes a more inclusive approach to prevention and education. Our innovation lies in developing training that addresses multiple topics related to trafficking and is applicable to all genders and ethnicities, but we are intentional about highlighting black girls and changing the narrative that they are in need of less protection than girls from other ethnicities.

All attendees will be asked to complete a Likert-scale survey to measure their baseline understanding of program objectives. This information is compared to responses to the same questions at the conclusion of the training session. In addition, attendees are asked to write in responses speaking to how they plan to put what they have learned into practice and providing feedback on possible improvements of the training. The measurable goals are: 80% of participants will be able to identify at least 3 risk factors that could lead to sexual exploitation 80% of participants will be able to identify at least 3 key indicators of child sex trafficking 80% of participants will be able to identify at least 2 ways in which to provide trauma-informed support to youth The training program is considered effective if approximately 80% of participants who complete the survey mark an average score of 3 or higher on the post test, indicating an increase in knowledge of human trafficking.