Weaver’s interim study suggests earlier education to protect students from human trafficking

OKLAHOMA CITY– Sen. Darrell Weaver, R-Moore, held an interim study Tuesday to evaluate how to best educate students on human trafficking and prevent them from becoming a victim.

“It is sickening to hear that the average age of human trafficking victims is just 12 years old,” Weaver said. “We must start educating students of the dangers of human trafficking sooner to prevent them from becoming another victim of this epidemic. Many students also don’t understand the various ways they can be preyed on like through social media or by their friends or family. We heard from various organizations who are on the frontlines of this issue, and I appreciate them for sharing their ideas for how we can better implement this education, awareness and prevention into our schools. This will be a continuing conversation as we consider how to reach students of all ages and craft policies and awareness campaigns to prevent human trafficking and provide further resources for victims.”

Experts from the Oklahoma Commission on the Status of Women, The Demand Project, Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy, and The Dragonfly Home weighed in on the issue during this Education Committee meeting, which can be viewed at https://oksenate.gov/live-proceedings.

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For more information, contact: Sen. Darrell Weaver at 405-521-5569 or email Darrell.Weaver@oksenate.gov.