Last Year of Middle School

Lesson Plan #6

Ideas for Prevention

(45 minutes)

Objectives:  Students will develop a better understanding of how recruiters operate. Students will brainstorm about how the most vulnerable can be protected and how to make themselves less likely to be victims.

I. Teacher asks students to review the common ways recruiters hunt down their victims, based on their readings and discussion thus far. (5 minutes)

1. Pretending love at first sight and offering a marriage proposal with a promise of a beautiful life in a richer country. “Let’s go to Italy. I’ll work; you’ll stay at home, and we’ll have a great life together.”

2. Creation of a seemingly “accidental” meeting (though it is well-planned by the trafficker in reality) where the girl is introduced to a boy by someone she already knows. Soon the boy claims to be in love with her and begins to buy her gifts and expensive dinners.

3. Creation of an introduction to an old acquaintance, someone who is not a complete stranger and thus more likely to seem credible and trustworthy, who claims to know of a well-paid job abroad for an attractive young girl.

4. An offer made to the girl’s family to buy her so that she can be taken to another country where that family already has member living. The trafficker lies to the family saying that he will take her to live with her relative there and help her to find work. The relative is never contacted.

5. Selling by the girl’s own relatives, either knowingly or unknowingly (a complete exploitation of human rights).

[Teacher allows time for questions. If the teacher does not know the answer to a question a student has posed, consider challenging the class to find out and offer a reward (such as bonus points) to the student who can find out the answer by the next class.]

II. Explanation of “Red Flags” (i.e. warning signs of a potential trafficker). (10 minutes)

Students think on their own and tell the teacher. For example:

1. A boy who suddenly falls madly in love with you, giving you gifts and praising your beauty, though he does not know you well. 

2. A boyfriend who promises you your life will be perfect in another country.

3. The phrase, “There’s no way you could be successful or make any money here in Albania.”

4. A boyfriend saying that there’s no need for the girl’s family to know about their relationship.

5. A boyfriend pressuring you to leave your family without saying anything to them.

6. You are “just the right person” for the perfect job abroad.

7. If knowledge of a foreign language is not required for a job abroad.

8. If a girl’s appearance or beauty is a job requirement.

9. If someone pressures you to make a decision before you are ready.

10. If someone insists on keeping your passport.

11. If a passport or other official documents are not needed for the move abroad.

12. Insistence on using false documents. 

13. If communication between people who are supposed to be relatives seems odd. Relatives should know each other well.

14. Other typical phrases: “You could make as much as $1000 a month.”

“A beautiful girl like you, doing this kind of job could make a lot of money in _____.”

“I’ve helped girls like you before and they came back and even bought themselves an apartment.”