Posts tagged 24:10:15
A Data-Driven Method for Allocating Global Resources Among the 3P’s of Human Trafficking

Human trafficking intervention relies on the 3p’s paradigm. However, insufficient guidelines are offered regarding resource allocation for each “p.” The Murray et al. (2015) “Victim Intervention Marketing” framework can offer guidelines. In the framework, victims enter and remain in human trafficking situations voluntarily (i.e., the absence of interpersonal coercion), semi-voluntarily (i.e., pressure by a loved one), or involuntarily (i.e., children and coerced adults). Murray et al. (Archives of Criminology, 2021) expanded the framework to include the 3P’s. Each p is emphasized for a specific victim entry/continuance mode. For instance, prevention and prosecution should be de-emphasized for voluntary entrants, who are typically impoverished. In the short run, preventing them from working, and/or prosecuting their traffickers is likely to render them worse off. Thus, an emphasis on protection (e.g., food donations) should be emphasized. Prevention and prosecution are approached with similar logic. The result is a 3x3 matrix, where each cell has an optimal mix of p’s. When victim percentages are determined for each cell, minor computations indicate the percentage of resources that should be allocated for each p (ceteris paribus). Specifically, for each p, the row and column percentages (of victims) are summed and divided by two. Based on a sample of 55,000 global human trafficking victims from the CTDC, Vernon Murray and Sherry Dingman determined that global trafficking interventions should allocate 60% of its resources to prosecution, 30% to protection, and 10% to prevention. Global strategists should incorporate the above percentages into strategic plans. Co-author on this research project was Sherry Dingman.

Presentation Objectives:

· Present the "Victim Intervention Marketing" and the "Extended Victim Intervention Marketing" framework

· Present the current global percentages in each cell of the extended framework

· Show the mathematical equation for allocating global resources to each of the 3p's

· Show the percentages of the worlds human trafficking resources that should be allocated to each p.

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The Pimp and His Game

Domestic Sex Trafficking (Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children) has been and continues to be a huge problem for our youth. When the general public hears “sex trafficking”, they think about the adult woman brought over from another country forced into prostitution (Bales & Soodalter, 2009). The average person does not know that our children here in the United States are being forced into prostitution every day. This presentation will introduce the audience to the culture of domestic sex trafficking, also known as “The Game.” Those involved in this subculture have rules to live by; rules that must be followed to avoid severe consequences. They use their own unique language and live by a certain code. Any trafficker can manipulate a minor into this seedy world of trafficking. However, one youth may be more susceptible than another. Victimology will explain to the audience how, through no fault of her own, a youth gets manipulated into “The Life.” It will also discuss how a trafficker manipulates a youth into entering the world of trafficking. A little girl does not often think of becoming a prostitute, but after being manipulated, it is all they believe they were meant to be. This discussion is based on the speaker’s knowledge and experience working with youth. In working with a youth to get her out of “The Life,” the best path is the multi-disciplinary approach. A wraparound team to include social services, mental health, advocates, and law enforcement must work together with the youth to be successful.

Presentation Objectives:

· Discuss the culture of “The Game”

· Describe how a trafficker manipulates a youth into sex trafficking

· Describe how a youth gets manipulated into trafficking

· Discuss the realities for a youth in “The Game”

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Online Solicitation of Youth and When it Becomes Commercial Exploitation

Special Agent Nicholas Riba and Regional Navigator Kate LePage will discuss online solicitation of youth and when it becomes a criminal case. The presenters will showcase aspects in online cases of exploitation and how they differ from in-person sex trafficking and exploitation transactions. The presenters will use case scenarios, federal and Minnesota statutes, as well first-hand experience facilitating chat stings and seeing cases through to prosecution in order to equip attendees with knowledge as it relates to the criminal components needed in online solicitation to move forward in the court system. The presentation will also provide attendees with avenues for the monitoring of online activity, a minor’s rights to privacy, criminal aspects of the issue, and how to collaborate effectively with community and system-based partners. Lastly, the presenters will discuss consistent social media platforms and various up-and-coming platforms that have gained traction in Minnesota since FOSTA (Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act) was passed in 2018. Participants will leave with a general understanding of what makes a case of online solicitation criminal, and the following steps that can be taken by law enforcement, social services, advocacy, and parents or caregivers. This session will accomplish these objectives through lecture, sharing personal experiences, and case scenarios.

Presentation Objectives:

· Describe the criminal aspects of “sexting” and when a criminal case is possible

· Explain how to screen and follow up with cases involving online transactions for photos or videos

· Provide resources to support social workers, foster families, and guardians in the monitoring of online safety for youth

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Caste-based Sex Trafficking in Central Rural India: Understanding the Vulnerability of Girl Children

The Bedia is a historically marginalized De-notified Tribe in India that is engaged in “traditional” intergenerational community-based commercial sex. The community faces discrimination due to their engagement in commercial sex. While Agrawal (2008) questions the “traditionality” of this practice, under-age Bedia girls continue to engage in commercial sex to support their families. While scholars (Dalla, et al. 2020) have laid the foundation for analyzing structural factors that perpetuate caste-based commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) among the Bedia, it is imperative to understand the particular familial and financial conditions that make a Bedia child vulnerable. A case narrative-based enquiry, substantiated by quantitative data collected from 544 Bedia households across 13 villages in 5 districts of Madhya Pradesh in January 2021, was conducted to answer two questions: 1) What familial conditions (and connections) exacerbate vulnerability for Bedia girls? and 2) How can one utilize household economic analysis to predict vulnerability for Bedia children? Findings illuminate a complex web of relationship between gender norms, financial dependency, family income and family size, age of a girl, etc. Factors such as a family’s social circle, a girl’s peer network, and unforeseeable events (such as the pandemic, or death in the family) further act as push and pull factors. The presentation concludes with how Samvedna, a Bhopal-based organization that works with the Bedia community to combat caste-based CSE, is designing and implementing interventions using this analysis framework, and the challenges the organization faces in doing so.

Presentation Objectives:

· Discuss a framework based on familial relationships and economics to assess a Bedia child’s vulnerability to CSE

· Describe the research design and implementation of interventions based on the mentioned framework

· Discuss the challenges faced in implementing these interventions

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Validating a Healthcare Intervention Protocol for Responding to Signs of Abuse, Neglect or Violence

Healthcare is becoming a key partner in the anti-trafficking field, providing needed medical and mental health services for victims. The healthcare setting is also a unique opportunity to identify victims of trafficking and link them with resources to exit their trafficking situation. Several important efforts have been made to create a screening tool whereby healthcare personnel can ask patients questions so that trafficking victims can be identified. CommonSpirit Health has taken an alternative approach, using instead indicators of trafficking that may be observed in the course of treatment and providing a link to resources, without seeking a disclosure. The protocol for this has been described as the PEARR steps: Provide privacy, Education, Ask, Respect, and Respond. This protocol has been piloted at Dignity Health facilities within CommonSpirit Health and has been utilized by several other healthcare systems across the country. In an effort to advance the work in the field, CommonSpirit Health partnered with Arizona State University’s Office of Sex Trafficking Intervention Research (STIR) to study the PEARR protocol. Healthcare personnel at three hospitals in Bakersfield, California were trained on human trafficking and the use of the PEARR steps. Findings from the study will be shared, including the impact of the protocol on the following: 1) quantity and quality of victim identification and response, 2) healthcare personnel’s ability to respond appropriately to victims, and 3) outcomes for victims, including linkage to community resources. Participants will discover how trauma-informed practices can help identify and respond to victims in a healthcare setting.

Presentation Objectives:

· Explain the rationale behind the PEARR approach

· Describe the key steps of the PEARR approach

· Present research findings on validating the protocol

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Trauma-Informed Practice Implementation Recommendations for Providers Supporting Human Trafficking Survivors

Human trafficking involves experiences of trauma in which a survivor’s autonomy is systematically stripped from them through psychological, physical, and emotional abuse, and other tactics of force, fraud, and coercion (Polaris, 2021). Trauma-informed practice (TIP) involves recognition of the impact of trauma on survivors and the centering of their autonomy (SAMHSA, 2014). TIP is crucial to service delivery for human trafficking survivors (e.g., Heffernan & Blythe, 2014). This action-research developmental evaluation set out to answer the following questions: 1) What does it look like to implement trauma-informed practice with human trafficking survivors effectively; and 2) What are the barriers to implementing truly trauma-informed practice with this population? Findings are based on a national survey of 157 providers, 32 provider interviews, and interviews with 10 trafficking survivors. This study found that while most providers report an understanding of TIP, they need more support in implementation, particularly when survivor autonomy and provider perceptions of safety are in conflict. Secondly, effective TIP implementation requires on-the-ground experience. Staff turn-over poses a critical threat to the continuity of effective TIP for survivors. Finally, the disproportionate allocation of resources, expertise, and research to sex trafficking over labor trafficking presents a substantial barrier to the provision of TIP to labor trafficking survivors. This presentation concludes with recommendations for organizational leaders, providers of training and technical assistance, and policy makers. Intervention at each of these key points is necessary to dismantle barriers to providing truly trauma-informed services to trafficking survivors.

Presentation Objectives:

· Situate the current study in the field of relevant literature about the need for trauma-informed practice for human trafficking survivors

· Provide an overview of the study, including research questions, methodology, and findings

· Describe recommendations for organizational leaders, providers of training and technical assistance, and policy makers based on study findings

· Provide space for attendees to consider implications for their own work, research, and practice

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From the Voices of Domestic Sex Trafficking Survivors: Experiences of Complex Trauma and Posttraumatic Growth

Through the lens of complex trauma and posttraumatic growth, this workshop will share recent findings from a qualitative study of 15 domestic sex trafficking survivors that focused on the impact and experiences of domestic sex trafficking survivors (Padgett, 2017). Through rich data from interviews and photovoice captioned images, workshop participants will hear and see direct evidence of the aspects of complex trauma as well as the capacity for posttraumatic growth (Tedeschi and Calhoun 2004; Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2006; Spinazzola et. al., 2001; Choi et. al., 2009). Finally, workshop participants will receive recommendations directly from the voices of survivors on what factors help or hinder community reintegration (Evans, 2022).

Presentation Objectives:

· Discuss complex trauma and how it is observed in victims of domestic sex trafficking

· Discuss posttraumatic growth and how it is observed in victims of domestic sex trafficking

· Provide recommendations for post-trafficking community reintegration that come directly from survivors of sex trafficking

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