This engaging journey will provide a greater understanding of how childhood sexual abuse, the foster care system, and human trafficking are all connected. Amy’s personal testimony will leave you inspired and hopeful for a future without human trafficking. Amy explains how her own experience with abuse, severe disassociation, substance abuse, and cognitive issues set her up to be a target for predators. Children in foster care, runaways, throwaways, and homeless are at a much greater risk of being trafficked than the typical child in America (Gerassi, 2015;

Landers, 2017). Preventing human trafficking has proven to be a difficult endeavor, but do not lose hope. Through holistic approaches in mental health, intervention and restoration are possible (Bessel, 2014). This session will explain the physical, emotional, and spiritual impact that trauma in childhood had on Amy’s life and how her experiences can be used to identify and respond to victims, and potential victims, of human trafficking.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Describe how early childhood sexual trauma creates greater vulnerability to sex trafficking.

·  Discuss the connection between foster care youth, runaways, throwaways, and homeless children and sex trafficking.

·  Explain how early intervention, support systems, and holistic therapy options can prevent sex trafficking through research and the presenter’s personal testimony.

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Empirical evidence indicates that traumatic brain injury (TBI) is often an undiagnosed consequence of exposure to trauma. There is limited to no research regarding brain injury rates among survivors of human trafficking although substantial evidence is available among similar trauma populations including survivors of domestic violence and refugees. Diagnosing TBI in survivors of trauma proves difficult due to symptom overlap with other diagnoses including dissociation, posttraumatic stress disorder, and substance abuse. Survivors of brain injury experience cognitive, physical and/or psychological symptoms which may impact their participation and independence in daily activities. This presentation aims to provide education on brain function, the symptoms of TBI, impact of TBI on everyday functioning, and screening tools and compensatory strategies utilized in brain injury rehabilitation. Furthermore, this presentation aims to advocate for the expansion of brain injury screening and treatment among survivors of human trafficking.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Discuss the symptoms of brain injury related to or resulting from trauma.

·  Examine the impact of brain injury on daily functioning and quality of life.

·  Specify screening tools/compensatory strategies to integrate into practice.

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Cho et al.’s 3P’s, and the TIP report, indicate national efforts at opposing human trafficking. However, they do not indicate the severity of the problem. Two ways to measure trafficking severity are: 1) number of victims, and 2) the degree of victim suffering. This presentation focuses on the latter. Based on Weitzer’s (2014) note that trafficking situations “range from highly coercive…to…mutually beneficial,” and Murray, Dingman, Porter and Otte’s (2015) categorization of trafficking experiences as “voluntary,” “semi-voluntary,” and “involuntary,” the research team computed a “Trafficking Misery Score” (“TMS”) per nation (Source: 2015-2017 Univ. of Nebraska Trafficking Conference). TMS is based on the Murray et al. (2015) weighted 3 x 3 matrix. Next, the research team computed a “Trafficking Intervention Score” (“TIS”) per nation, based on the 3P’s scores. Finally, they combined the two measures to create a “Trafficking Misery Index” (“TMI”) by nation. It quantifies suffering (TMS), and compares it with intervention (TIS), where: TMI = TMS – TIS. Cho et al. assume all 3P’s are equally important. However, the researchers reconceptualized prevention as the most important “p,” and weighted it with a “3.” Protection is weighted with a “2,” assuming it is better to treat a victim than to prosecute a trafficker (and assuming prosecution is not preventive). Prosecution is weighted with a “1” on this ordinal scale. The weighted 3P’s scores reduced intervention scores. Ninety percent of nations (N = 188) saw reductions, while 10% saw increases (compared with using unweighted 3P’s; Source: UNODC). Weighting the 3P’s yields a more robust index.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Define “Trafficking Misery Index” (TMI) and its component parts.

·  Explain how to compute TMI and its component parts by using UNODC data.

·  Explain why a weighted 3P’s score should be used in TMI computation.

·  Explain why TMI is a better indicator than TIP and 3P’s scores.

·  Display TMI scores for a dozen nations, including the U.S.

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The Viminal Space, a term coined by Alex Tigchelaar for an art installation at the world-renowned Nuit Blanche art festival, explores the coerced social and legal construct of sex workers as victims or criminals, which often produces the same result: sex workers are victims if they do not agree to be criminalized, and criminals if they do not agree to be victimized. Services and support for people trying to survive in the sex trade - whether by choice, coercion or in the massive grey area between the two, often fall short of expectations, both for the victim as well as for the service provider. Access, stigma, gender identity, criminal record, substance abuse, trauma, age, race, and class are all factors that social service providers struggle with. The presenters have decades of lived experience with both receiving and providing services for survivors as well as sex workers. They will detail the necessary steps required to build trusting relationships with adults involved in the sex industry at the community level that will enable them to successfully transition out under their own steam and on their own terms for lasting success. Participants will explore new models of outreach and case management based on harm reduction approaches that will change the landscape of their work with trafficking victims and survivors.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Describe the difference between sex work and sex trafficking from a harm reduction perspective.

·  Discuss how street/survival based economies impact exploitation.

·  Convey how access, stigma, gender identity, criminal record, substance abuse, trauma, age, race and class intersect with exploitation.

·  Show how to navigate the worlds of clients/survivors who may have been incarcerated.

·  Explore what to do with victims or survivors who may have criminal charges pending.

·  Examine how to build relationships with people who engage in sex work as a means of survival at a community level.

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The Youth Experiences Survey (YES) has been given each year for the past four years to a complex and difficult population to assess. Homeless runaway young adults (ages 18 to 25) are difficult to find and can be difficult to engage, and there is limited knowledge about their needs and experiences. This study utilized a cross-sectional research design and included a convenience sample of 187 homeless young adults aged 18 to 25 years old that completed a self-administered survey. Of the overall sample of 187 homeless young adult respondents, 58 (31%) reported experiencing sex trafficking exploitation, and 60 (32.1%) reported experiencing labor trafficking exploitation. At least one form of human trafficking (either sex or labor) was reported by 80 (42.8%) respondents and 38 (20.3%) respondents reported experiencing both sex and labor trafficking exploitation. Information from the YES study provides the Arizona community with rich data about the scope and complexity of their needs and challenges including the sex trafficking experiences of these young people.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Describe homeless youth experiences, particularly engagement in the commercial sex market.

·  Convey the scope and complexity of sex trafficking in the State of Arizona.

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It can be far too easy to see the commercial sexual exploitation of girls as an inevitable egregious form of child abuse, sewn deep into the fabric of our society. It is not. While there are multiple areas to address to ensure a safer, healthier upbringing for all girls, targeted strategies can be implemented to decrease the likelihood that commercial sexual exploitation, and the trauma and degradation associated with it, will be part of a young girl’s trajectory.  Over the past fifteen years, My Life My Choice (MLMC) has developed a survivor-led prevention model that includes the development of specialized policies and procedures as well as the integration of the MLMC Prevention Curriculum. Taking our Prevention Curriculum one step further, participants will have the opportunity to learn about this enhanced model and consider applying it to programs within their jurisdiction.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Identify the public health implications of the commercial sexual exploitation of children.

·  Explain the importance of creating specialized policies and procedures for exploited and high-risk youth, especially in congregate care settings.

·  Describe the MLMC Prevention Curriculum and identify appropriate participants for Prevention Groups.

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This basic overview of human trafficking is most appropriate for those new to the field. Presenters will focus on both domestic and foreign trafficking as well as labor and sex trafficking. Topics will include the definition of human trafficking, how traffickers recruit, indicators for victim identification, and where and how to report suspected trafficking.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Define human trafficking.

·  Explain the basics around how traffickers recruit.

·  Describe indicators for victim identification.

·  Outline where and how to report suspected trafficking.

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In 2017, the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office and Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MNCASA) released the Safe Harbor Protocol Guidelines (available at www.mncasa.org). The guidelines were developed over the course of three years with input from some 200 professionals who encounter sex trafficked and sexually exploited youth. The five principle values of the Guidelines are: victim-centered, trauma-informed, youth-centered, culturally-responsive, and strengths-based. The Guidelines were funded with an appropriation from the Minnesota State Legislature. Once the Guidelines were completed, the next logical step for the state was to implement the protocols through a multidisciplinary team process. MNCASA, a national technical assistance provider for the Office on Violence Against Women/Department of Justice, secured funding from the Minnesota Department of Health to lead an implementation process. Five pilot sites in urban, suburban and rural Minnesota were selected in recent months to coordinate their efforts through the assistance of MNCASA. The presentation will describe the process of creating the guidelines and explain the goals of a multidisciplinary approach for protocol development and implementation. The presentation will also recount the experiences of the pilot sites, addressing successes and challenges. All of this information will be presented within the context of how Minnesota built its Safe Harbor for sexually exploited youth response by establishing a system of regional navigators and services statewide and working to center survivor experience in its efforts.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Describe the process of creating statewide guidelines for multidisciplinary response.

·  Explain the development and implementation of protocols to assist sex trafficked/sexually exploited youth.

·  Demonstrate the success and challenges associated with creating a statewide response.

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