Students Play “Snakes and Ladders” and Learn Lessons Against Human Trafficking

The Tlaxcala state of Mexico has had over a decade of high-profile cases of sex trafficking. In response, a non-profit group has launched workshops allowing schools to teach students how to reject falling prey – or predator – to trafficking.

Many of the students’ families traffic women for a living, and even encourage their children to follow suit one day and join the family business. One of the teachers running the project explained that its not uncommon to hear a student say statements such as, “I want to be a trafficker like my grandfather,” and she hopes that, through these workshops, they can “see that it’s not normal … that it’s violence”.

“What we’re attempting here is a relationship of equals, saying men and women can reach their potential,” explains Alejandra Mendez, head of the Centro Fray Julian Garces, the group that started the workshops in 2014.

The workshops include games like Snakes & Ladders played with a twist, where panels explain that sexual relations should never be forced and that men should shun the idea of human trafficking. Other workshops involve scenarios about trying to develop healthy relationships, or where older students roleplay as teachers and asking blunt questions about trafficking or other forms of violence against women.