A bill introduced into the state Legislature would mandate middle and high schools teach students about the dangers of human trafficking, a crime that state data indicates is on the rise in Florida.

The bill, introduced by state Sen. Greg Steube (R-Sarasota) and state Rep. Ross Spano (R-Brandon) would mandate that health education classes cover the “dangers and signs of human trafficking.”

“The human trafficking education portion of the health curriculum shall include, but is not limited to, information on the warning signs of human trafficking, terms used by traffickers, red flags that would indicate a trafficker’s malicious intent toward a student, websites that are popular with traffickers, and details on how a student may get help,” both the Senate and House versions of the bill state.

Linda Geller-Schwartz, an advisory board member with the Human Trafficking Coalition, or 1HTC, said the bill is a significant step in raising awareness for what is becoming a growing problem impacting both men and women, but mostly women and girls.

“This would provide the impetus,” Geller-Schwartz said. “This would provide the mandate.”

According to the Washington, D.C.-based anti-trafficking nonprofit Polaris Project, more than 8,000 cases were reported to the group’s national hotline in 2016. That’s up from 3,400 cases in 2012.

“Are more people coming forward or is there more trafficking?” Geller-Schwartz asked. “I think it’s both.”

Florida is behind California and Texas in leading the nation in human trafficking, according to Polaris figures. The group tracked 550 reported cases in 2016, up from 237 reported in 2012.

The Florida Department of Children and Families tracks three primary categories of human trafficking: Sexual exploitation by a non-caregiver such as a strip club or an escort service; sexual exploitation by a parent, guardian or caregiver; and labor trafficking “also referred to as slavery or servitude.”

Florida Keys case

The Keys had a high-profile case that ended in the conviction of a Florida Keys Children’s Center staffer, Ricky Atkins, by a jury on federal sex trafficking charges in 2015. Atkins, 30, is serving a 31-year federal prison sentence. Authorities say he convinced two teenage girls to run away from the shelter and become prostitutes in Miami-Dade County and elsewhere in the state.

Atkins and his partner, Sandra Simon, posted prostitution ads for the girls on the website Backpage.com. The site has come under intense scrutiny because of the Keys case and many others like it. Simon, who testified against Atkins, was sentenced to 11 years.

A New York-based women’s rights advocacy nonprofit, Legal Momentum, sued Backpage in U.S. District Court in Orlando earlier this month on behalf of a a teen who was reportedly raped after an ad about her was placed on the website.

“The online exploitation of teen girls is the biggest human rights violation of our time,” Carol Robles-Román, president and CEO of Legal Momentum and a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said in a statement. “Backpage.com knowingly facilitated this evil and must be held accountable to the harmed girls and to the organizations that provide them services so they can heal and recover."

Backpage closed its “Adult Services” section under increased scrutiny from law enforcement, but ads like the ones that advertised the Children’s Shelter girls have simply moved to the site’s dating section, the Miami Herald reported earlier this month. Anti-trafficking groups say websites like Backpage are specifically to blame for the increase in reported trafficking cases.

“The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has reported that over the last five years it has seen a 98 percent increase in reports of suspected child sex trafficking, much of it online,” Legal Momentum states in Feb. 7 press release. “Seventy-one percent of the recent child sex trafficking reports it receives are linked to Dallas-based Backpage.com, which brings in roughly $9 million in revenue per month through sales of sex ads (including ads selling children).”

Geller-Schwartz said human trafficking is becoming so lucrative, it is attracting criminals away from other illegal enterprises, like drug dealing.

“You can only use drugs once,” she said. “You can keep using people.”

If you are a victim of human trafficking, or know someone who is, or you suspect is, call the Polaris Project’s hotline at (888)373-7888 or text 233-733.