A Hopkins High School junior is taking her push to better educate Minnesota students about sex trafficking to the State Capitol.
Seventeen-year-old Jessica Melnik and other Hopkins students joined legislators at the Capitol on Monday to unveil a legislative proposal that would provide optional sex-trafficking education resources to schools across the state.
"Ultimately, it will be great if everyone has to be taught about this," Melnik said. "It'll give schools more options, and I think that schools will definitely be more likely to take on these bigger issues knowing that the government supports it."
The new legislation would allow school districts to include sexual exploitation prevention instruction in health curricula. This could include age-appropriate instruction on detecting sexual exploitation, and how offenders identify, groom or desensitize victims.
Melnik is the founder of Girls United MN, a nonprofit group from Hopkins High School that seeks to empower female K-12 students. The group first learned about sexual exploitation after hearing of a past Hopkins student who was trafficked.
In November, the students began contacting local legislators, county attorneys and nonprofits for help. By January, the group had gained bipartisan support for a bill expected to be considered in the upcoming legislative session.
"Jessica's leading a charge that you wouldn't anticipate for a junior in high school," said Rep. Randy Jessup, R-Shoreview, chief sponsor of the measure in the House.
The bill would expand on "Erin's Law," a measure enacted last year that gives schools the option of educating students on sexual abuse prevention. Under the plan, school district officials could consult with other federal, state, or local agencies and community-based organizations to craft the best tools and programs to prevent child sexual abuse and sexual exploitation.
