prevention

The Rotary Club of the Pacific Northwest Ending Sex Trafficking is partnering with 3Strands Global Foundation to bring trafficking prevention education to youth in Washington state through their PROTECT curriculum. PROTECT’s goal is to prevent the crime before it starts. Through PROTECT curriculum delivered by trained educators, students are taught to identify abusive tactics and signs of exploitation both online and in person, helping to keep themselves and others safe. PROTECT trains educators and adults to identify and respond to signs of human trafficking, and equips them to build and implement a reporting protocol. To-date PROTECT has been used to educate over 800,000 students in six states.

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On May 4th, 2023 a bill was signed into law making trafficking prevention education mandatory in Washington state middle and high schools starting with the school year 2024/25. School districts or individual schools who are interested in acquiring this proven curriculum and receiving Rotary funding support to implement it, are encouraged to reach out to start the conversation. 

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For more information about PROTECT and the work of 3Strands Global Foundation, you can listen to a presentation by their CEO Ashlie Bryant to the Rotary Club of Seattle. An overview of the work by our Rotary Club starts at minute 15:00 and the text of Virginia's talking points for a discussion about trafficking with teenagers can be found here. Ashlie's remarks begin at minute 24:13.