Combating human trafficking through education and awareness

Supervisor Jim Desmond

5th District

San Diego County, known for its beauty and promise, is now marred by the grim reality of human trafficking. According to the FBI, San Diego is one of the country's 13 hotspots for human trafficking.

A study by the University of San Diego and Point Loma Nazarene University estimates sex trafficking generates more than $810 M annually for San Diego's underground economy, with up to 8,000 victims per year, with victims averaging 16 years old. The same study found that 90% of high schools researched across San Diego County reported cases of sex trafficking and that 100% of those schools' reported recruitment of their students.

I am committed to pushing forward legislation that will tackle human trafficking head-on by focusing on a crucial aspect: awareness and education.

Education is power. For human trafficking, it holds the potential to prevent our youth from becoming victims. I am advocating for a curriculum that raises awareness about the tactics employed by traffickers, the red flags of potential trafficking situations, and how to seek help if they or someone they know falls victim to this sinister trade.

By instilling this curriculum from an early age, we can cultivate a generation that's vigilant and compassionate. Young minds armed with the tools to identify and thwart human trafficking can be our greatest allies in this fight. With their empowered actions, we build a stronger, safer San Diego for everyone.

Our strategy for a more secure future encompasses several critical elements:

Increasing human trafficking evidence-based training and educational materials across the County to parents/guardians, students, school staff, and teachers

Working with education institutions, officials, and the California State Legislature to require enhanced human trafficking awareness education in the classroom for all staff, teachers, and students.

Explore opportunities for additional funding to support on-campus human trafficking prevention programs.

Furthermore, we are proposing the initiation of a human trafficking awareness promotion campaign that showcases the risks and signs to be vigilant for. The power of this campaign lies in its ability to infiltrate public spaces – from billboards to posters near transit stations, ensuring no corner of our County remains untouched by this vital message.