A new ally joins fight to end teen sex trade
Reposted from the Star Tribune

Women’s Foundation of Minnesota has launched a $4 million campaign to halt trafficking of teen girls.

Terry Williams stood in front of guests at a swank Wayzata home on a recent evening, carrying a message that wasn’t exactly cocktail party fare. Surrounded by lovely furniture and a glowing fireplace, she showed them a gritty film titled “Minnesota Girls Are Not for Sale.” For the next 45 minutes, a dozen guests sipping wine learned about a new $4 million, five-year campaign to halt sex trafficking of teenage girls.

“Most people are quite shocked that this is happening,” said Williams, of the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota, the campaign’s sponsor.

Such unlikely house parties are taking off across the metro area, as the foundation launches the first philanthropic campaign in Minnesota — and one of a handful in the nation — focused on teen sex trafficking. READ MORE

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention has released
Bullying in Schools: An Overview.

This bulletin examines the connection between different types and frequencies of bullying, truancy, and student achievement, and whether students’ engagement in school mediates these factors. It discusses the results of three studies conducted in 2007 at the National Center for School Engagement, and compares these results with those from a Swedish study. The authors conclude that victimization in the form of bullying can distance students from learning. Schools can overcome this negative effect if they adopt strategies that engage students in their work, creating positive learning environments that produce academic achievement.

Print copies can be ordered online from the National Criminal Justice Reference Service.