Perpetrators of human trafficking maintain their networks and avoid detection by establishing highly organized and structured criminal enterprises. Thus, in order to successfully fight trafficking systems, communities and professionals need to be equally well-coordinated. Combatting human trafficking requires a well-organized, integrated effort amongst multiple disciplines including, but not limited to child protective services, law enforcement, district attorneys, and medical and mental health professionals. The Denver Anti-Trafficking Alliance (DATA) is one such interdisciplinary group that has formed to address the ever-growing problem of labor and sex-trafficking in Colorado. In this presentation, the presenters will share the mission and strategic goals of Denver’s alliance, specifically focusing on the mental health subcommittee, of which the presenters serve as co-chairs. They will discuss the specific efforts of the mental health sub-committee and how these lend to the greater efforts of the full city-wide alliance. Finally, the presenters will outline the challenges that come with coordinating such an effort and the strategies they have implemented to overcome them.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Explore the importance of establishing community-based interdisciplinary groups to combat human trafficking

·  Provide a model for a community-based interdisciplinary group for addressing prevention, prosecution, and treatment efforts related to human trafficking

·  Identify the challenges inherent to a community-based interdisciplinary group and offer recommendations for mitigating these

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This session presents a community-based participatory research (CBPR) project in consultation with the New Zealand Prostitutes Collective. Legislation directly impacts and harms people’s experience as a result of participating in particular behaviors and activities. Having decriminalized prostitution in 2003 as a result of the Prostitution Reform Act (PRA), New Zealand is an ideal location to explore how legislation impacts violence and trafficking in the sex industry. The presentation begins with overview of the different models used to legislate prostitution around the world and explains the differences between sex work and trafficking. The data shared from this CBPR project is based on three months of field work in New Zealand and interviews with 33 sex workers and 34 individuals who work closely with sex workers (including brothel operators, clients, social service agents, health professionals, and others, many of whom were also sex workers or had been sex workers in the past). Specifically, this presentation provides information from sex workers and individuals who work with sex workers and victims of exploitation to explain: 1) How harms are reduced and/or perpetuated in an environment where prostitution is decriminalized; 2) Examples of how sex workers are able to recognize, prevent, resist, and recover from violence, and the strategies they use to reduce violence and trafficking; 3) How sex workers control their work to greater and lesser degrees; 4) Legislative policy recommendations based on the perspectives of those most directly impacted by these legislative models; and 5) Limitations of the research, as well as areas where additional research is needed.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Explain the differences between sex work and trafficking/exploitation in the sex industry

·  Provide a clear understanding of the different legislative models related to sex work: criminalization, partial criminalization, legalization, and decriminalization and their impact on violence and trafficking in the sex industry

·  Discuss what decriminalization looks like in New Zealand (the only country in the world that has decriminalized prostitution) based on the perspectives of those most directly impacted by these legislative models and how it impacts violence and trafficking in the sex industry

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While all stakeholders usually receive a basic training in the TVPA, few are familiar with or ever receive a similar training in applicable labor laws. Through a combination of presentation and case studies, this session will provide an overview of key elements and remedies of the Fair Labor Standards Act, Migrant and Seasonal Worker Protection Act (MSPA), and the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) in labor trafficking cases.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Explain the main points of the 3 designated statutes

·  Connect the role of the 3 statutes to labor trafficking example cases

·  Show how to spot abnormal and exploitative labor conditions

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According to the Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2018 (Kangaspunta et al., 2018), trafficking of domestic victims worldwide has nearly doubled since 2010 (p. 43). Moreover, the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (2018) affirms that understanding the local context of human trafficking is critical for an appropriate response. Therefore, to advance the information collection of a local context of trafficking, this presentation of a pilot study conducted from April to July of 2019 in the Southern Brazilian state of Paraná, will present an outline of the findings. Through a descriptive phenomenological method using ethnographic tools, the research objective is to explore the lived experiences of survivors of domestic human trafficking in Paraná. The specific aims of the pilot study are: 1) to describe the lived experiences of domestically trafficked men, women and children in Brazil; 2) to identify factors that influence the trafficking, survivorship, and health and wellbeing of trafficking survivors; 3) to discover the meaning of wellbeing, doing well, and/or doing better than expected for survivors; 4) to assess measurement tools, logistics, and cultural and language tools; and 5) to gain access to participants through networking, collaborations and cooperation with professionals in the field. Participants will be provided with an introduction to the state, a slide presentation of the collected data, a preview of possible directions for further research development and a discussion period. Some other expected topics to be discussed will be challenges, obstacles, decision making, and positive experiences.This work is also attributed to the contributions of Rochelle Dalla, PhD and Paul Springer, PhD.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Discuss findings of pilot study

·  Provide an introduction to the state of Parana in Brazil

·  Present a slide show of data collected

·  Discuss challenges, obstacles, decision making, and positive experiences

·  Discuss possible methods for continued research of domestic human trafficking in Brazil

·  Answer questions about the study

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This session is intended for participants to discuss arts-based human sex trafficking awareness resources for classroom teachers that are appropriate for different grade levels. Resources include, among others, materials, guest speakers, and methods. Using the arts to explore issues of social justice is central to this session. Between 2012 and present, groups of teens from Bowling Green High School have engaged in the process of writing and performing a theatrical production, Lily’s Wings, for young audiences that draws attention to the dangers of sex trafficking of minors. This process is serving two purposes. First, crafting, performing, and joining audience talk-backs develops awareness and empowers the students and teachers involved. Second, viewing the performance empowers audiences. These audiences may be comprised not only of students, but parents and educators as well. Besides teaching students about the issue of human sex trafficking, presenting Lily’s Wings in the school setting is a provocative way to engage teachers with the curriculum. This discussion-oriented session will revolve around questions aimed at identifying and evaluating ways to build arts-based instructional methods that benefit educators, students, and by extension, parents.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Discuss which is more impactful to students, a live performance or a filmed version of a play, intended to draw awareness of the dangers of human sex trafficking of minors

·  Explore the potential value and degree of need for either type of presentation to be followed by a talk-back by experts

·  Explain which U.S. states mandate teachers to learn about human sex trafficking and in what ways

·  Describe challenges educators might face showing a filmed version of the play without the presence of an expert and ways to combat those challenges

·  Discuss what a package of the filmed version of the play might contain to assist teachers introducing the topic to students

·  Explain how such a package can be marketed to educators

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This session will draw on the presenter’s experience of working as a first responder alongside other service providers. It examines the concept of “survivor leader” and the empowerment model. The grassroots social justice movement organizing theory is examined to show how resource mobilization has influenced these ideas and some new resulting terminology. The presentation will touch on deconstruction/reconstruction in postmodern philosophy, third wave feminism, and the evolution of fourth wave that have influenced social justice movements. The session is heavily focused on linguistics. The importance of identification and narrative within communities impacted by trafficking will be explored and this concept as an empowerment model. The presentation will conclude with personal techniques involving active listening and mindfulness to handle combative patients without force and stresses the importance of such in pursuit of healing rather than subjecting patients/clients and ourselves to another added trauma.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Describe new terminology and parallels within Social Justice Movements

·  Show how various agencies and organizations at a task force level work together to combat human trafficking

·  Discuss new techniques to deescalate charged situations without force by using “active listening”

·  Explain how to listen to one’s body and intuition to reinforce safety

·  Provide a rare glimpse into the world of a survivor who has come “out” but also functions as a first responder & task force co-chair

·  Discuss stigma and bias that result in barriers to project completion and healing relationships

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