The Pasco County Commission on Human Trafficking works to promote public awareness of the existence of human trafficking not just here in the Bay Area, but across the state. They do so by building relationships with the community.
Megan Harding, Pasco County Commission on Human Trafficking School District Representative and the Pasco County School Board Chair, and Meghna Manjith, President of Teens Battle Human Trafficking discuss their campaign to educate youth about the dangers of grooming.
The STOP.BLOCK.TALK campaign is a youth-led effort to educate teens in Pasco County about what grooming can look like and provides examples of situations that youth might find themselves in that make them feel uncomfortable. The message of the campaign is to stop the interaction immediately, block that person from having further contact, and talk about what happened with a trusted adult.
One of the most common myths about human trafficking is that people are kidnapped. While this does happen in a small percentage of cases, most youth who are trafficked are groomed and manipulated into the trafficking situation, in many instances by someone they know and trust. Traffickers attempt to gain full control over their victims by building a relationship, gaining trust, meeting needs, and manipulating them into cooperating in their own exploitation. From a prevention standpoint, it is critical that our youth recognize these grooming tactics and feel empowered to immediately put a stop to them
For more information, visit PascoCountyFL.net/Services/Human_Services/Human_Trafficking.php or follow them on social media @KnowMorePasco.
