Anti-sex trafficking lessons now free for WA students. It began in Tri-Cities
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Mirror Ministries’ ‘ProtectEd’ curriculum is a one-hour lesson for 7th–12th graders.
- ProtectEd is available free through Washington’s Open Educational Resources Hub.
- At two recent Tri-City school visits, four children were identified as possible victims.
A Tri-City nonprofit’s new anti-sex trafficking curriculum aims to have far-reaching impacts across the Evergreen State to help prevent teens from falling victim.
“ProtectEd: Equipping Students to Recognize, Resist and Report Exploitation” is an hour-long prevention lesson for students between 7th and 12th grades.
The materials that stress a proactive approach already are having an impact on students in the Mid-Columbia region, and it’s available for free through Washington’s Open Educational Resources Hub, an online resource catalogue managed by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.
At recent school visits in the Tri-Cities region, four children came forward after the presentation saying they may have been victims of sex trafficking, said Tricia MacFarlan, CEO of Mirror Ministries.
“We’re seeing that being impactful already, and we’re just barely getting started with it,” she said.
The rise of youth sex trafficking across the U.S. is a concerning trend, prevention advocates say, especially as rates of online crimes have spiked in the years since the COVID pandemic.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reports there’s been a more than 900% increase in reports of child exploitation between the start of 2024 and 2025, mostly due to new requirements for tech platforms to report suspected instances, MacFarlan said.
Mirror Ministries created the curriculum in response to a new Washington state law requiring school districts to offer instruction in sex trafficking awareness and prevention to students at least once before they graduate high school.
That law found that Washington state was the sixth-largest epicenter of sex trafficking in the country, and that nearly half of all victims were minors in school.
Mirror Ministries is a Christian nonprofit focused on ending the sex trafficking of minors in the Tri-Cities region, through local education, intervention, restoration and post-trauma care. It also operates Esther’s House in Franklin County, a residence for survivors.
They also offered support and resources for victims following a series of raids on massage businesses under suspicion of human trafficking.
Over more than a decade, it’s served more than 800 with case management services, advocacy and therapeutic services. Last year, it made 170 new assessments and served 270 individuals.
That doesn’t tally the countless others they’ve reached through prevention and educational opportunities — which has been a key component for the nonprofit, they said.
Mirror Ministries staff see a future where youth exploitation is greatly reduced through the power of education.
“We want to prevent exploitation and sex trafficking whenever possible, rather than simply respond after young people have already experienced the trauma of trafficking,” MacFarlan said in a statement.
“Each year we conduct hundreds of presentations reaching thousands of individuals. ‘ProtectEd’ is a natural extension of that mission. We are excited to introduce it to our larger Washington state community.”
‘Comprehensive’ resource
The curriculum equips students with tools to identify potentially dangerous situations, establish health boundaries and understand where to seek help.
It’s age-appropriate and accessible for teachers, counselors and trained guest speakers to use.
Kylie Glendenning, community engagement specialist, said current sexual education curricula only briefly addresses the issue of trafficking.
With the increase in online exploitation, they said it’s important to give students and children a full picture of information to make smart decisions.
Many students — both boys and girls — may not know that they’ve fallen victim to blackmail or extortion.
But statistics around sex trafficking tend to be underreported even today, with a majority of public agencies and prosecutors nationwide believing the crime is rare or nonexistent in their communities. Resources to address and respond to trafficking can be especially slim in rural communities.
Laurie Dils, associate director of health and sexual health education at OSPI, said “ProtectEd” will help fill that information gap.
“This resource is comprehensive, offering a substantial collection of supplemental materials for those who want to explore topics more deeply, as well as supporting skill development related to personal safety,” Dils said in a statement.
Anyone with questions about trafficking or who believe they may be a victim can call Mirror Ministries’ 24/7 hotline at 509-212-9995.