A Response to Lesak et al. (2021), “Recommendations for Educating Youth about Sex Trafficking”

We are writing in response to the Lesak et al. (2021) article regarding recommendations for educating youth about sex trafficking. Although the authors raise very important points, we want to highlight factors not discussed but which are nonetheless critical to consider in prevention. These include (1) moving beyond victimization reduction only initiatives and instead focusing on how prevention efforts can target potential bystanders and perpetrators; (2) thinking more critically about the safety and acceptability of mixed gender groups in the delivery of trafficking prevention programs; and most importantly (3) thinking about programming at the outer realms of the social ecology that move beyond a sole focus on youth.