Vanguard peer educators teach H.B. high school students about dangers of human trafficking

Los Angeles Times

02-04-2025

In 2002, the first human trafficking victim identified in Orange County was an Egyptian girl enslaved by a couple in Irvine for two years after they smuggled her from Egypt. Irvine, a master-planned city, is often listed among the safest in the country for its size.
Shyima Hall, the victim rescued more than two decades ago, started speaking out publicly against human trafficking. Now Vanguard University peer educators in the 'Live2Free' human trafficking awareness club are striving to give local high school students the reality of the situation regarding human trafficking in the county.
'I think people need to be more aware, especially in the O.C., where it's somewhere that's perceived to be so safe,' said Vanguard senior communications major Jasmine Allen. 'Children in general need to be educated on this stuff, so that's why I joined Live2Free, just so I can be part of spreading the awareness of human trafficking and making a change.'
Vanguard's Global Center for Women and Justice launched 'Safe Communities, Safe Kids,' a three-year pilot program designed to increase human trafficking awareness and prevention education in county public schools, last fall. The program was made possible by a $825,000 grant from the Samueli Foundation.
Several Vanguard Live2Free peer educators present the curriculum as a group to local students. The college students are also paid for their efforts, through the grant money.
Huntington Beach Union High School District has been a key supporter as the program has launched, said Jamie Macintosh, Vanguard program coordinator of 'Safe Communities, Safe Kids,' adding that the university is seeking to expand the program to other county school districts.
On Friday morning, freshman students in Leonard Ibarra's third-period health class at Westminster High School received a presentation from four of the peer educators, who went over the two types of human trafficking — labor and sex trafficking — while touching on topics like 'sextortion,' when children can be threatened or blackmailed, and grooming.
They also acted out a scenario where a male coach called a female student-athlete who was home alone, offering to bring her food. The Westminster students were asked to identify the numerous red flags in the coach's dialogue, ultimately labeling him as an untrusted adult.
'That is one of the most impactful things that the students catch onto,' Macintosh said. 'It's like, 'Oh wait. That was kind of weird.'
'A lot of times, it's like, oh, I didn't realize that's what it was, because it's so normalized. We've had so many students be like, 'That boy asked me for nudes.' When we're like, 'No, they shouldn't ask you,' they're like, 'What? I just thought that was normal.' Like that's just part of being a teenager.'
According to the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force 2023 Victim Report, two out of five sex trafficking victims are minors. Female minor victims make up 32% of all human trafficking victims identified in Orange County, with male minor victims at 4%.
The Vanguard peer educators underwent 40 hours of training as 'Safe Communities, Safe Kids' was launched, Macintosh said. They'll return to Westminster High on Friday for the second part of their presentation, which will deal more with relationships and who, exactly, can be considered a trusted adult.
The students are given Jolly Rancher candies for their participation in the presentation.
'I think it's very beneficial that we are college students,' said Live2Free member Coco McLeroy, a junior at Vanguard. 'We've been in their shoes. We were just in high school three years ago, so I feel like they listen to us more, because they can relate to us and we can relate to them.'
Ibarra said his students have a wellness center on campus, featuring four mental health specialists, where they can go if they're uncomfortable with a conversation.
'For me, just making them aware is the biggest thing,' he said. 'My biggest goal is to make them aware of what actually can happen if they run away from home, or if they just have a situation where they have a controlling boyfriend, or if they get pulled in by the helpers of the pimps to do these things.'
Many of the freshmen did appear to grasp the lessons imparted.
'I'll probably be more cautious, more careful who I talk to,' said Jade, a student in the health class whose last name is withheld for privacy reasons, in an interview following the class. 'I talk to almost everyone. I'm really social, but you have to be careful.'
Students are given a sticky note on the back of their resource guides where they can give feedback about the presentation, or ask questions. Those questions are given to the teacher, especially if it's something alarming, so he or she can follow up.
'What we really want is those questions where students disclose a little bit more,' Macintosh said. 'They don't feel comfortable raising their hands and saying, 'This is what is going on,' but they might feel comfortable writing it.'