{"id":1498,"date":"2026-02-20T20:01:31","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T20:01:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/schools.wrdsb.ca\/alternative-education\/2026\/02\/20\/february-22-is-human-trafficking-awareness-day\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T20:01:31","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T20:01:31","slug":"february-22-is-human-trafficking-awareness-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/schools.wrdsb.ca\/alternative-education\/2026\/02\/20\/february-22-is-human-trafficking-awareness-day\/","title":{"rendered":"February 22 is Human Trafficking Awareness Day"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In 2007, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ontario.ca\/laws\/statute\/17h12\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Government of Canada<\/a> designated February 22 as Human Trafficking Awareness Day. In the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB), it is an opportunity to bring awareness to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The signs of trafficking<\/li>\n<li>Support education that empowers students<\/li>\n<li>Promote actions that help prevent exploitation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Human trafficking impacts communities across Canada. As a school board, we acknowledge the role we play in supporting the safety and well-being of WRDSB students.<\/p>\n<h2>Supporting Students<\/h2>\n<p>Each year, WRDSB staff are required to complete professional development about human trafficking and sexual exploitation. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ontario.ca\/document\/education-ontario-policy-and-program-direction\/policyprogram-memorandum-166\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Keeping Students Safe Policy (PPM 166)<\/a>, a first of its kind for an education sector in Canada, sets a strong foundation for Ontario school boards to build upon to create local anti-sex trafficking protocols.<\/p>\n<p>Through this mandatory learning, which is directed through the Ontario Ministry of Education, staff learn:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The signs of human trafficking<\/li>\n<li>How to support a disclosure<\/li>\n<li>How to refer students to supports in our schools and community<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Know the Signs of Human Trafficking<\/h2>\n<p>The Ontario Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services offers resources to help learn about the possible <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ontario.ca\/page\/recognizing-human-trafficking#section-5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">signs that someone is at risk for human trafficking<\/a>. They also offer resources to support parents, families and caregivers with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ontario.ca\/page\/talking-children-about-human-trafficking\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">talking to children about human trafficking<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In WRDSB schools, awareness is promoted through posters provided by the Ministry. The \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcss.gov.on.ca\/documents\/en\/mcss\/humantrafficking\/poster\/HT_Poster-11X17-EN-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Know the Signs<\/a>\u201d posters are located in all WRDSB Grade 7-12 schools.<\/p>\n<h2>How to Get Help<\/h2>\n<h3>Canada\u2019s Human Trafficking Hotline<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/canadianhumantraffickinghotline.ca\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Canada\u2019s Human Trafficking Hotline<\/a> can help youth, caregivers, service providers, educators, hotels and other industry staff report tips or access information about:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Human trafficking<\/li>\n<li>Local support services<\/li>\n<li>Law enforcement and emergency services across the country<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Call the confidential 24\/7 Hotline at 1-833-900-1010 or <a href=\"https:\/\/canadianhumantraffickinghotline.ca\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">chat live<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Cybertip.ca<\/h3>\n<p>Do you have concerns about online luring and other areas involving child exploitation on the internet? Report them on <a href=\"http:\/\/cybertip.ca\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">cybertip.ca<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Local Resources<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/kidshelpphone.ca\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kid\u2019s Help Phone<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li>1-800-668-6868 (24-Hour Support)<\/li>\n<li>24-hour live chat available<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sascwr.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li>519-741-8633<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/wcswr.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Women\u2019s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region (WCSWR)<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li>24\/7 Crisis Support Lines\n<ul>\n<li>519-742-5894<\/li>\n<li>519-653-2422<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/sadvtcwaterloo.ca\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Treatment Centre<\/a>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/211ontario.ca\/service\/75212039\/waterloo-region-sexual-assault--domestic-violence-treatment-centre-waterloo-region-sexual-assault--domestic-violence-treatment-centre\/?searchLocation=South+Bruce&amp;topicPath=53&amp;latitude=44.0423571&amp;longitude=-81.1189742#refresh\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cambridge Memorial Hospital<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/211ontario.ca\/service\/73441934\/waterloo-region-sexual-assault--domestic-violence-treatment-centre-waterloo-region-sexual-assault--domestic-violence-treatment-centre\/?searchLocation=South+Bruce&amp;topicPath=53&amp;latitude=44.0423571&amp;longitude=-81.1189742\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">St. Mary&#8217;s General Hospital<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vswr.ca\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Victim Services of Waterloo Region<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To find other services in our community, visit the Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/canadianhumantraffickinghotline.ca\/services-near-you\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">National Referral Directory<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In 2007, the Government of Canada designated February 22 as Human Trafficking Awareness Day. In the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB), it is an opportunity to bring awareness to: The signs of trafficking Support education that empowers students Promote actions that help prevent exploitation Human trafficking impacts communities across Canada. As a school board, [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\" role=\"complementary\"><a href=\"https:\/\/schools.wrdsb.ca\/alternative-education\/2026\/02\/20\/february-22-is-human-trafficking-awareness-day\/\"><strong>Read more about<\/strong> <cite>February 22 is Human Trafficking Awareness Day<\/cite> &#187;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1143,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/schools.wrdsb.ca\/alternative-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/schools.wrdsb.ca\/alternative-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/schools.wrdsb.ca\/alternative-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schools.wrdsb.ca\/alternative-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1143"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schools.wrdsb.ca\/alternative-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1498"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/schools.wrdsb.ca\/alternative-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1498\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/schools.wrdsb.ca\/alternative-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schools.wrdsb.ca\/alternative-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schools.wrdsb.ca\/alternative-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}