The ValYOU Project©
CURRICULUM DESCRIPTION
The ValYOU Project© is more than a curriculum - it is a partnership with Childhood Victories, Inc., students, educators, parents, and advocates.
The goal: To bring awareness to the societal injustice of human trafficking and educate students regarding how to recognize unsafe and high risk situations, so that they can prevent and interrupt exploitation, assaults and human trafficking.
This curriculum takes an empowering approach to challenging topics, providing teen-centered learning objectives that are:
- Evidence-based
- Survivor-informed
- Trauma-informed
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Each person has unique, intrinsic value.
- The importance of self-worth and self-respect.
- Identifying support systems - familial and non-familial - and why they are important and necessary.
- Define what Human Trafficking looks like in the world.
- How traffickers fill 'voids' and trick people into trust.
- The difference between Human Trafficking and sexual exploitation.
- Top Recruitment Tactics - Different schemes and manipulation strategies unsafe people use to gain a victim's trust.
- Control Tactics of Traffickers - How exploiters/traffickers use weaknesses to gain trust to get closer than normal; and use that to slowly gain control and manipulate a person.
- The effects alcohol and drugs have on judgement and personal safety.
- Unhealthy Relationships - Warning Signs.
- Recognizing Red Flags - Online (for Middle School students).
- Safe Dating Strategies (for High School students).
- Street Savvy - How to carry oneself and project confidence - even if you're shy.
- Oversharing and objectifying yourself on social media can put you in a vulnerable and high risk position.
- Why your digital footprint matters.
- Scenarios for staying safe.
- How to position yourself to stay empowered and serve as advocates.
