Human trafficking conference organized by Prince Andrew High pupil

A student at Prince Andrew High School in Dartmouth, N.S., turned teacher for the day to educate her peers about human trafficking.

Hailey Thomas will talk to her entire school Friday. It started out as a class project, but grew much bigger. The Grade 12 student hopes it will change a few lives.

"I was a bit flabbergasted by the fact that this happens so much; not just in Canada, but in Nova Scotia, and Dartmouth specifically,” she said.

"I had a distant relative become a victim of human trafficking. At the time I didn't know what that was, so I looked into not only the case, but also just human trafficking in general."

When Thomas got assigned a project on it for her international baccalaureate program this semester, she decided to share what's she learned by holding a conference.

'How's it going to stop?'

She and other speakers will teach the school about sexualized violence, human trafficking and other related issues. She said few organizations deal directly with human trafficking, making it harder for people to find help.

“If there aren’t even organizations talking about this, how’s it going to stop? Which is the point of this conference, to start conversations and raise awareness,” she said.

Her teacher, Amy Smith, says it'll be challenging to inform students of a range of ages.

"The presentations will inform students and be clear and real about what human trafficking entails and how girls the age of our students are very often lured into it,” Smith said.

Teachers and guidance counsellors will be available after the presentations if students need to talk about it.