In this presentation, participants will better understand three experiences which are often conflated – trading sex, sexual violence, and trafficking into the sex trade. This workshop seeks to break down these three distinct experiences and discuss the places where they may occur in tandem in order to better understand the nuances of each. The foundation will begin with what we mean when we talk about the sex trade, offering a neutral foundation which spans the constellation of choice, circumstance and coercion. Building on this understanding, the presenters will look at sexual violence that may be uniquely experienced by people who trade sex at the hands of a range of actors and experiences of exploitation and trafficking. The workshop will be both conceptual, as well as draw on community experience and knowledge, and incorporate tangible examples for how this comes up in community spaces, as well as service provision. This workshop will be presented by two experts in the field with experience in community organizing, service provision and advocacy for people who trade sex, including victims of trafficking, victims of violence, and victims of the criminal legal system.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Discuss the unique ways that people who trade sex encounter sexual violence, and how it can be distinct from the experience of trading sex or of trafficking

·  Articulate the difference between sexual violence experienced by sex workers and trafficking into the sex trade, both conceptually and as a lived experience

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Minnesota has been steadily improving its response to human trafficking at the state level through increased criminal penalties for traffickers, a safe harbor law for minor victims of sex trafficking, funded services for trafficking victims, and protocol guidelines for responding to both sex and labor trafficking. Though counties and municipalities have improved their responses to human trafficking, the changes have been uneven. Minneapolis has begun investing in a comprehensive response to human trafficking across all city departments, an effort that coincides with new and proposed city ordinances on minimum wage, sick and safe leave, and wage theft. This focus on workplace justice provides an opening to incorporate best practices in addressing sex and labor trafficking throughout the city government. The process is two-fold. First, those departments already engaged in the statewide response to sex trafficking, such as the Minneapolis Police Department, will be encouraged to incorporate labor trafficking into their work. Second, those departments that do not yet have policies in place to address human trafficking will be trained on how to adopt new internal procedures to prevent and respond to both sex and labor trafficking. Worker-led organizations, trade unions, and survivor advisors will play a key role in the development and implementation of the response. This presentation will detail the history, process, and challenges and successes of Minneapolis’ implementation of anti-human trafficking policies. Minneapolis’ efforts can serve as a model for how other municipalities can expand anti-trafficking efforts beyond the traditional focus on sex trafficking and law enforcement agencies.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Describe the history and progress of Minnesota's response to human trafficking

·  Explore the best practices for municipal governments responding to human trafficking

·  Analyze the challenges and successes of implementation in Minneapolis

·  Apply lessons learned from Minneapolis to participants' own experiences and communities

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This workshop demonstrates how Ohio is utilizing a cross-agency team of human trafficking experts (Ohio Network of Child Advocacy Centers, Public Children Services Association of Ohio, Department of Public Safety, and Department of Youth Services) to develop enhanced, trauma-informed strategies. Through this advanced practical training, participants will learn about identification, referral continuum, shelter, stabilization/ transition, MDT resiliency, safe harbor implementation, specialty docket development, and prosecutor/magistrate training.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Demonstrate how Ohio is utilizing a cross-agency team of human trafficking experts (ONCAC, PCSAO, DPS, and DYS) to develop enhanced, trauma-informed strategies

·  Discuss identification, referral continuum, shelter, stabilization/transition, MDT resiliency, safe harbor implementation, specialty docket development, and prosecutor/magistrate training

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This presentation includes detailed information about how the sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) is able to help a victim of trafficking. The presenter will describe how the patient benefits from an exam completed by a trained SANE nurse and medical treatment options for patients. The presentation will conclude with a few case studies of patients that were seen and treated by SANE trained nurses. Suggestions will be provided for caring for this difficult patient population.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Provide a detailed overview of how SANE’s help victims of trafficking

·  Describe how patients can benefit from a skilled SANE nurse

·  Present case studies

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Commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) is prevalent in every region in the world. ILO (2005) estimates that 1.39 million people are victims of sexual exploitation, including approximately 0.79 million children. ILO considers CSEC a major violation of the human rights of children and a crime on the part of those who use children in the sex trade (IPEC, 2007). Scholars tend to view CSEC in the Global South through a Western theoretical lens, thus failing to contextualize the phenomenon based on distinctive environmental factors in each region. This presentation aims to compare key characteristics of CSEC in the U.S. and in countries in West Africa. A review of selected studies on CSEC conducted in the two regions between 2008 and 2016 shows that there are as many similarities as distinctive aspects regarding the characteristics of victims, service provision, policies, and research. In both regions, most CSEC victims are citizens of the countries where they live; boys and transgender youth tend to have more agency than girls over their sexual transactions. Distinctive aspects of CSEC include: the proportion of boy victims of CSEC close to that of girls in the U.S.; limited presence of pimps in CSEC and limited evidence of mental health issues among victims in West Africa. The presentation challenges key knowledge in the mainstream literature on CSEC. It also points to the importance of giving consideration to social and cultural factors in services and research on CSEC. Implications for practice, policy, and research are discussed.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Describe similarities and differences in the characteristics of CSEC in West Africa and the United States

·  Describe and contrast services needed and accessed by CSEC victims in West Africa and the United States

·  Discuss the policy responses to CSEC in the two regions

·  Contrast the issues in research about CSEC in the two regions and draw lessons for international research practice.

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This engaging journey will provide a greater understanding of how the foster care system, the human brain, and human trafficking are all connected. Amy’s personal testimony will leave you inspired and hopeful for a future without human trafficking. When a child experiences trauma, the developing brain has the capacity to shut down certain areas, to self-protect. As Amy explains the data and her own experience with abuse, severe disassociation, substance abuse, and cognitive issues, deeper systemic issues will unfold. While no child, or adult, is completely immune from the evils of human trafficking, those who have already experienced severe trauma are more likely to fall victim. Children in foster care, runaways, throwaways, and homeless are at a much greater risk of being trafficked than the typical child in America. Preventing human trafficking has proven to be a difficult endeavor, but do not lose hope. Through holistic approaches in mental health, early education, law enforcement, and foster care, intervention and restoration is possible.

Presentation Objectives:

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

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

·  Describe how early intervention, support systems, and holistic therapy options can prevent sex trafficking

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Human trafficking through Central America with victims heading to the United States is an emerging international crisis. Objectives of this presentation are to share the presenter’s in-country research on human trafficking in Central America which involved studying how victims are trafficked through Central America to the United States. He traveled to the Central American country of Belize in February of 2019 and spoke with those on the front lines in Central America involved in detecting human trafficking victims before they reach the United States. The presenter will share his research on human trafficking through Central America that was obtained through speaking with immigration officers, defense force members, Belize Coast Guard members, and the Human Trafficking advocate with the Belize Judicial Branch on the current issues that exist in Belize and the greater Central American region in terms of human trafficking. In addition, published data and research by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime will also be presented. The objectives in this presentation are to share insight that he gained from Central America in terms of indicators that officers in this region are currently seeing from their interdiction of human trafficking, which include victim branding/tattooing, gang associations with human trafficking in Central America, victims in the sex trade awaiting unfulfilled promises of being smuggled north, and case studies of actual victims who have been abused by human traffickers. Objectives include providing the audience with a deeper understanding of how human trafficking appears through the eyes of victims and international law enforcement.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Provide the audience with a deeper understanding of human trafficking trends in Central America

·  Describe the human trafficking encounters law enforcement in Belize has experienced

·  Share research from speaking with Belize immigration officers, Belize Defense Force members, Belize Coast Guard members, and the Human Trafficking advocate with the Belize Judicial Branch

·  Discuss indicators of human trafficking, such as branding/tattooing

·  Discuss the gang association in Central America with human trafficking

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Human trafficking victims often suffer many physical and psychological health consequences. It’s often challenging to identify victims of human trafficking because they often do not self-identify, are isolated, have increased self-hatred, and fear retaliation. While being exploited, 9/10 victims come in contact with health care providers but sadly are under recognized. Health care professional are in a unique position to help identify and treat these victims. Thanks to the momentum of education and awareness on this topic over the last five years, we are coming to know that human trafficking exists in the United States. This presentation will give a general overview of the health implications and give health care practitioners effective strategies to help work with these difficult mindsets and the health complexities and consequences that intersect while being trafficked.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Present current literature as it applies to the intersection of health care and sex trafficking

·  Discuss the health implications of sex trafficking victims

·  Discuss the mindset of human trafficking victims and why they stay

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This session will present an overview of Project NO REST, a five-year effort funded by the Children’s Bureau and VOCA, and its approach to strengthening and supporting North Carolina’s infrastructure for addressing the trafficking of vulnerable youth in the state, especially those with a child welfare connection. It will cover the project’s development of a comprehensive plan to address both sex and labor trafficking. The presenter will describe the recruitment and experiences of five pilot sites, containing 17 counties, as well as information on the 477 individuals they served in the first two years. He also will describe the outreach campaign to connect survivors to services.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Provide information on Project NO REST and its plan to address trafficking in North Carolina

·  Articulate the project’s collaborative network approach to address trafficking

·  Describe the operation of five pilot sites and present information on the individuals they served

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Human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world today generating $9.5 billion yearly in the United States, with 98% of sex trafficking victims being women and girls. This photovoice project aims to 1) to increase awareness of the issue of human trafficking; and 2) to improve the ability of systems to appropriately and effectively respond to human trafficking in a trauma-informed manner, in order to reduce stigma and promote resilience. Project STAAR (Survivors of Trafficking creating Art, Agency, and Resilience) is a survivor-informed photovoice project that utilized grounded theory analysis techniques to facilitate critical conversations with two cohorts of survivors of childhood sex trafficking. A photovoice approach, with grounded theory analysis techniques was used to conduct two cohorts of data collection involving critical conversations with survivors of childhood sex trafficking. The resulting compilation of photos and narratives shared by the artists (the survivors) will be shown as a 20-minute silent short film. The film is powerful and conveys the many ‘photovoices’ of survivors of child sex trafficking. Following the film, the Project STAAR team will present lessons learned and findings (photography and narratives) from the project. Recommendations for improving advocacy, outreach and services will also be discussed. Dr. Lesley Harris, Assistant Professor at the University of Louisville, Dr. Maurice Gattis, Associate Professor at the University of Louisville, and Angela Renfro, Executive Director of the Kristy Love Foundation are contributors of this presentation.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Increase awareness of the issue of child sex trafficking in the United States

·  Enhance knowledge and understanding regarding the dynamics of child sex trafficking and its impact on children

·  Reduce stigma and promote resilience among child trafficking survivors

·  Improve the ability of systems to appropriately and effectively respond to child sex trafficking in a trauma-informed manner

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The presentation reports findings from an innovative study with young people who were trafficked as children into and within England. Creative methods of music and dance were utilized to access, engage young people and build trust. In-depth qualitative interviews and focus groups were held with 20 young people aged 15-21. This qualitative research examined lived experiences of trafficking and how children experience services within the child trafficking framework in England. Although a victim-centered approach is espoused in child trafficking policy, this research reveals how the binary opposite is experienced by children and young people in front-line services. Young people experienced immigration-driven and prosecution-focused practice and were treated as complicit in their situations. They reported how they were not listened to, not believed and further blamed by practitioners for their situations. Young people were criminalized, either as illegal immigrants or prosecuted for trafficking related crimes, creating further harm. The findings strongly support depoliticizing child trafficking policy away from a criminal justice approach towards policy and practice that centers on children and young people’s welfare needs and protection. An urgent cultural shift is required in practitioners believing young people when disclosing abuse. This relates to wider concerns of disbelief in children’s accounts of abuse in organized child sexual abuse scandals across England. The key message for social work education and practice is that Children Services need to realign their practice with migrant children as anti-discriminatory and reaffirm social work’s role in upholding children’s rights to equal access to protection.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Share research findings from listening to children how they experience services

·  Provide an English perspective of how child trafficking policy and practice is experienced

·  Discuss implications of findings on practice

·  Explore what we can learn from similarities/differences between the English and American anti-trafficking contexts

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The goal of this presentation is to assist with awareness and understanding of human trafficking when working with Individuals with Developmental Disabilities (DD). The session will cover DD Individuals Risk Factors and why they are so vulnerable. The presenters will share stories about experiences with their population who have been trafficked, how to report, how to recognize the signs, how to support individuals and families if they experienced human trafficking. The session will also cover some labor trafficking stories in order to protect the DD population from employers who have immoral practices. Attendees will take away how their individual vulnerabilities have made them targets in the United States as well as overseas. They will share resources to assist the DD individuals and general population about Human Trafficking.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Discuss the risk factors and vulnerabilities for the DD population

·  Describe how our DD systems need to work together for positive outcomes of the victim

·  Explain the importance why the DD and Learning-Disabled population need to learn prevention

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Labor trafficking across the United States is a serious and pervasive national problem that has remained largely unexamined. Media reports indicate that labor trafficking occurs in both rural and urban areas in the United States, targeting victims who are both U.S. citizens and immigrants of any gender, race, age, and sexual orientation. The ASU Office of Sex Trafficking Intervention Research examined labor trafficking arrest cases throughout the United States from 2011 to 2018. The study identified 180 traffickers arrested for labor trafficking of both migrants and U.S. citizens and 273 victims of labor trafficking during this time period. The research team focused on arrest cases for which there was evidence qualifying the incident as labor trafficking under the U.S. federal, Trafficking Victim Protection Act definition. The team used the three constituent elements of human trafficking (action, means, and purpose) to identify potential labor trafficking arrest reports in the media and governmental agencies. Details about the cases will be explored and characteristics such as transportation, recruitment, and control tactics will be presented. Recommendations for future research and community action will be discussed.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Provide information to develop specific training for law enforcement and prosecutors on characteristics of labor trafficking in the United States

·  Explore the distribution of arrests of labor traffickers of migrant and domestic workers in the United States,

·  Explore patterns of different types of labor traffickers of migrant and domestic workers (females, staffing agency-involved, solo vs. group offenders)

·  Add to the literature regarding the vulnerabilities of migrant and domestic workers exploited by labor trafficking

·  Fill a gap in the knowledge about the scope of arrests of labor traffickers of migrant and domestic workers in the United States

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With limited time, money, and resources, advocates need to know which youth are at the highest risk for sex trafficking and then do their best to prevent it. The presenter will provide the audience with a new and free human trafficking risk assessment tool (HTRISK) developed at the University of Toledo’s Human Trafficking and Social Justice Institute with support from the Ohio Children’s Trust Fund and will provide instructions on how to administer and score it. Findings from use of the tool on over 400 Ohio youth will also be presented. Once understood, the majority of the session will be devoted to discussing effective ways to implement programming and policies aimed at reducing risk, increasing protective factors, and removing the barriers to serving youth at high-risk for sex trafficking.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Provide the HTRISK Assessment Tool and discuss the findings from the study

·  Explain which youth are most at-risk and the importance of focusing on at-risk youth over the general population of youth

·  Describe strategies to reduce risk, increase protection, and remove service barriers for youth at risk

 

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This presentation will focus on one night that completely changed the trajectory of  Vanessa's life. In February, 28 years ago, Vanessa and her roommate, Kelly, were out together and with a 2 mm shift. Vanessa was not in the spot where Kelly was picked up and subsequently murdered that same night. Vanessa knew she was spared by God on this night and strived to escape the traffickers. After close calls on her own life and failed escape attempts, she was able to escape, return to high school, university, and then Law school, to become a successful lawyer. After years of success, CPTSD forced her to seek treatment and acknowledge her accomplishment. Once Vanessa found her true purpose, she came out of hiding. She realized that she was spared by God for a purpose and she finally began speaking about her story, realizing how inspirational her story is and how she can use her powerful voice to help other survivors. Vanessa's mission is to raise awareness and save lives of other survivors through scholarships.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Share an amazing victim/survivor story and how a 2mm shift changed the course of the survivor's life

·  Raise awareness of foundation for other NGOs or persons in attendance for fundraising and scholarship applications.

·  Provide an inspirational and an emotionally charged story to the audience to induce attendees to continue their purpose with respect to the human trafficking issue

·  To provide an example to any other victims or survivors that are in attendance

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Human trafficking is one of the worst human rights abuses affecting Africa and the world. Also, human trafficking continues to be a big problem in the United States of America, affecting majority of states. Human trafficking is alive and well in the United States, just as it is in Nigeria, Ethiopia and South Africa. Most of the trafficked victims are children, vulnerable women, and girls usually deceived into conditions of suffering. This presentation expounds the need to make human trafficking a national priority and compares the level of commitment by the United States of America, Nigeria, Ethiopia and South Africa to ending human trafficking. It examines the efforts of state and federal government in tackling human trafficking, and provides recommendations. The efforts of the United States of America, Nigeria, Ethiopia and South Africa in tackling human trafficking were documented through discussions and interviews with anti-human trafficking experts, state and federal government agencies, and citizens. The presenters also gathered facts from published researches and articles. The findings from the study showed that not many countries have shown a high level of commitment to combating human trafficking. Most of the countries have not demonstrated sustainable commitment in action and result that shows human trafficking is a national priority. This also indicates the need to call on government of countries to demonstrate sincere political will and commitment in tackling human trafficking. Joseph Chidiebere Osuigwe, BEd is a contributing author to this presentation.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Discuss the rate of human trafficking in United States of America, Nigeria, Ethiopia and South Africa and their efforts in combating it

·  Discuss “making the fight of human trafficking a national priority” and the need for both state and federal government to show strong political will and commitment

·  Describe how countries can make anti-human trafficking a national priority

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While the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) has rarely been within the purview of the corporate compliance world, a recent nationwide waive of corporate anti-human trafficking litigation is changing how corporations address human trafficking risks within their operations and supply chain. In fact, although trafficking victims have generally invoked the TVPA to seek restitution from their traffickers, this landmark federal law also grants a cause of action to bring claims against multinationals, such as hotel chains, financial institutions, social media companies, and retail manufacturers that benefit from labor or sex exploitation. Additionally, the TVPA exposes corporations to potential criminal liability if their business operations, or even investments, benefit from human trafficking. This presentation will address corporate human trafficking liability and describe how domestic and foreign companies may become the target of victim-centered civil litigation as well as regulatory enforcement or criminal prosecution because of their negligent or reckless failures to implement appropriate corporate anti-human trafficking compliance. The presentation will also review recent corporate anti-human trafficking lawsuits that have seen well-known international hotels, large tech companies and luxury car manufacturers at the crosshair of forced labor, sex trafficking and corporate liability.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Describe how companies can be held civilly and criminally liable for benefitting from forced labor and sex trafficking

·  Explain how social workers and advocates can work with trafficking victims and legal professionals to provide redress by holding corporations liable

·  Discuss how law enforcement can combine corporate investigation techniques and human trafficking prosecution experience to investigate and prosecute corporations whose operations or investments benefit from human trafficking

·  Explain how policy advocates can borrow from federal corporate anti-trafficking regime to spearhead similar legislation reform of state anti-trafficking laws

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