How to Stop Pulling People Out of The River: An Upstream, Intersectional Approach to Ending Sex Trafficking
Marissa Kokkoros & Tashin Rodoshi | September 20 | 11:15 am-12:15 pm
Topic: Programming | Knowledge Level: Intermediate
Aura Freedom will share their upstream, intersectional feminist approach to preventing human trafficking by addressing root causes, upholding human rights, and advancing equity. This approach is the framework of Aura Freedom's ground-breaking online Human Trafficking Info Hub (www.aurafreedom.org/ht-info-hub) and is being shared with various school boards, victim services agencies, child welfare agencies, women's shelters, rape crisis centers, and other frontline organizations in Ontario. This upstream approach is also the heart and soul of all of Aura Freedom's work addressing violence against women and sex trafficking in Canada and beyond. With over a decade of grassroots human trafficking prevention and survivor support, as well as continuous consultations with their community and colleagues, Aura Freedom is one of the most active counter-trafficking organizations in Toronto, Canada and has worked with many other grassroots feminist organizations and Indigenous groups to address the systemic issues that create environments where human trafficking thrives. Learn about Aura Freedom’s award-winning and often-replicated method of preventing human trafficking and how you can incorporate it into your work. Gain knowledge about the root causes of human trafficking, targeted communities, and just how long of a road it is until we see the true eradication of human trafficking. “If you think you can ‘fix’ human trafficking in a few years, think again.” - Marissa Kokkoros
Presentation Objectives:
· Present strategies for successful human trafficking prevention rooted in human rights, intersectional feminism, equity, and empowerment (working ‘Upstream’)
· Demonstrate the power of human trafficking prevention that is survivor-centered, trauma-informed, intersectional, and fueled by compassion
· Provide insight on how to meet survivors where they are, recognizing their diverse backgrounds, stories, and choices and how to refute the patriarchal ‘victim narrative’, including information on how to provide support to survivors of human trafficking (working ‘Downstream’)