On Tuesday, Oct. 10, the Criminal Justice classes welcomed two guests from the Women’s Center High Desert for an important and eye-opening presentation about human trafficking and online predators.
“It is essential for high school students to be aware of the dangers and consequences associated with human trafficking and online predators,” said Criminal Justice Teacher Rick Smith, a retired Ridgecrest Police Department detective.
Smith, who has experience investigating cases about human trafficking and online predators, teaches his Criminal Justice students the importance of being aware and knowing the risks, signs, and methods of human traffickers; being cautious while on the internet; trusting their instincts in sticky situations; the reality of human trafficking and online predators; and other concepts that can provide students with their own line of defense against predators in real life and online.
The two presenters were Teresa Dampier and Cynthia Gibbons from the Women’s Center High Desert, an organization that provides housing and help to men and women who are experiencing domestic violence.
Dampier and Gibbons shared a number of personal experiences with the class to show that domestic violence and sexual assault can happen to anyone.
Dampier noted that people who experience human trafficking are most commonly trafficked by people who are known to them, and that human trafficking affects the lives of more than just the victims.
Dampier said that her goal is to give students the knowledge to be able to protect themselves and others around them.
“Being a victim does not take your power away, you are not alone and you have options for help,” said Dampier.
Dampier spoke about how her experiences from when she was younger made her aspire to help other people who are in an abusive relationship with their friends or family.
She says that based upon her experience and analysis, people who are human trafficked are usually kept isolated from the outside world and imprisoned in their own houses, especially if the perpetrator has taken them into a different country and they do not have any legal papers. As a result, victims feel like they cannot seek out help in fear of being deported or being arrested by the authorities.
At the end of her presentation, Dampier urged students to be cautious and mindful of what they post and share online, as well as who they speak to.
“Nobody wants to talk about it, no one wants to talk about online predators, but these [predators] will tell [you] anything [ to try to get you to come with them],” said Dampier.
The National Human Trafficking Hotline is 888-373-7888,
