Stories matter. Voices matter. Experiences matter. Autonomy matters. In a time where our stories and our voices can be so quickly shared, widely accessed, and just as easily distorted, the I Want You to See Me Project (“See Me”), is a platform for individuals who have been oppressed, marginalized, or exploited and gives them the reigns on how they want to be seen, heard, understood, and supported. “See Me” is a creative, collaborative piece with the intention of shining a light on the stories and experiences that are often ignored, forgotten – or altered – and amplifies the voices of those who have been silenced by society or among their community. Audience members will hear from past “See Me” storytellers, and will explore the intersection of theatre and therapy, the concept of storytelling through a digital era, and will obtain a deeper level of understanding and connection across communities and populations. Audience members will walk away with tools that they can use to create spaces to amplify the voices of others, instead of telling the stories of others.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Educate attendees on the concepts of Narrative Therapy, therapeutic storytelling, and the intersection of theatre and healing

·  Describe how to support clients in finding autonomy, authenticity, and purpose through the act of telling their story

·  Explore ways in which increased digital connection has impacted storytelling in the global community

·  Explain the concepts, principles, and tools used to create “See Me”

·  Provide attendees a framework on how to replicate ethical storytelling in their own work

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Awah Francisca Mbuli is a survivor of sex and labor trafficking and was almost a victim of organ trafficking. She is the founder and executive director of Survivors’ Network (SN), a Cameroonian based, female-led NGO leading in the fights against all forms of human trafficking in Cameroon and Sub-Saharan African countries. Her innovative programs focus on rescuing victims, assuring their safe return home, reuniting them with their families, providing psychosocial services, and economically empowering women who are survivors of human trafficking and various forms of violence as well as internally displaced women and children. SN providers diverse services ranging from urgent economic empowerment to vocational skills training, also doubling as a safe/shelter home. She will share her story as a survivor of trafficking and how other survivors can overcome their stigma and find their path as survivor leaders. Survivor leaders’ empowerment and capacity building is of great importance to build their leadership, including how we can motivate more survivors to take an active role in this fight. Awah Francisca will highlight challenges survivors face that are unique to Cameroon and Africa and will speak on the impact her leadership has had in her community and the anti-trafficking movement. She will conclude her presentation by discussing the importance on the various needs survivors have to be ready and prepared for the task of being survivor leaders.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Share her story as a survivor, leader, and founder of Survivors’ Network in Cameroon

·  Discuss how other survivors can overcome their stigma to be survivor leaders in their community

·  Discuss the importance of survivor leadership and what other survivors need to do to be prepared to be survivor leaders

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Across the U.S., the prevalence of illicit massage businesses (IMBs) are increasing. Online data shows a 38% increase in suspected IMBs nationally since 2019, presented at the National Convening on Illicit Massage. These storefront establishments are known fronts for commercial sexual exploitation and human trafficking (Muller-Tabanera & Huang, 2021). Historically, the primary counter method used by law enforcement is the long-term criminal investigation (Polaris, 2018). However, law enforcement today does not have the resources to sufficiently address this issue using this method alone. Additionally, these investigations often result in the arrests of those that are potential victims (Illicit Massage Business Findings Report, Restore NYC, 2019). New strategies are needed. This session will (1) define the business model of human trafficking IMBs, (2) explain different strategies that have successfully combated IMBs, (3) expound on why these strategies have proven more effective than historical prostitution stings, including strategies that engage landlords, reform local ordinances, and incorporate under-utilized civil approaches, (4) walk through the steps of how to implement these strategies in a given jurisdiction, and (5) reference case studies.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Define IMBs, describe common red flags of IMBs, and list the numerous crimes that occur in these establishments, including but not limited to sex trafficking, labor trafficking, and prostitution

Discuss how different strategies to combat illicit massage businesses in a given jurisdiction can be more effective and successful alternatives to resource-intense long-term criminal investigations

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In 2020, Ohio’s Department of Public Safety, Office of Criminal Justice Services was awarded a competitive grant by the Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime (OVC). The OVC Improving Outcomes Grant seeks to integrate human trafficking policy and programming at the state or Tribal level through the establishment of coordinated, multidisciplinary, and statewide approaches to serving trafficked youth. In addition to employing a grant coordinator at the Office of Criminal Justice Services and developing training platforms with subject matter experts, the grant funds are used to employ a Safe Harbor Coordinator at two juvenile courts. Delaware County and Hamilton County, recipients of the state-wide grant award, have implemented Safe Harbor procedures and organized multiagency approaches to serve trafficked youth. Presenters will provide an overview of state-wide efforts to increase understanding of human trafficking and implement Safe Harbor law in the juvenile justice system. The presentation will examine the challenges associated with establishing Safe Harbor Diversion programming such as, reimagining diversion criteria for the target population, employing best practice standards, training staff, and ensuring youths’ needs are met. Presenters will also discuss strategies for organizing a multi-agency response team from getting stakeholder buy-in to determining procedures and policies. Participants will gain a better understanding of the power of engaging community partners and to identify strategies for organizing a coordinated effort to recognize and respond to child trafficking. This session will provide attendees with insight on how to apply Safe Harbor procedures and adapt diversion programs to better serve trafficked youth.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Provide an overview of the OVC Improving Outcomes Grant

·  Discuss strategies for establishing a multidisciplinary approach to responding to human trafficking

·  Offer recommendations for developing Safe Harbor Diversion programming

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Many survivors of human trafficking face real challenges in dealing with child welfare and family court after exiting their trafficking situation due to the stigma and misunderstanding of their trafficking experiences that survivors face in these systems. In Polaris’s First National Survivor Study, sex and labor trafficking survivors participated in focus groups, interviews, and a final survey with 457 participants. Survivors made it clear that their children and maintaining custody of them were chief among their concerns and many detailed disputes they had faced in keeping their children with them. In particular, custody disputes with child welfare and with their exploiters are exhausting and traumatizing. Traffickers have used the court system and custody disputes to discredit survivors of trafficking and as a result, the justice system is being exploited to further victimize survivors. This study is one of the first to highlight the need that survivors have reported themselves on issues with custody. These results are alarming in the number of survivors losing custody and specifically those losing custody to their exploiter. Further discussion is needed on the best ways to address this issue including changes to how family law considers and treats trafficking survivors and issues related to trafficking that might affect custody including criminal records, substance abuse issues, and others. This also highlights the need for pro bono legal assistance to trafficking survivors facing family law cases especially those regarding custody disputes.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Describe the scope of custody issues that survivors face

·  Discuss the needs of survivors as related to children after leaving exploitation experience

·  Discuss ways to address this issue including changes to family courts and providing more legal assistance to survivors

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This presentation is a consolidation of migrant worker experiences and lessons learned three years after the onset of COVID-19, drawing upon interviews conducted in May through September 2022 and return interviews in 2023 with 21 migrant workers from the Philippines and 17 stakeholders involved in migrant worker affairs in the Southeast Asia region. Funded by a Fulbright scholarship grant, the purpose of this study is to understand unique considerations around migrant workers’ experiences and occupational safety and health specifically during COVID-19 worldwide lockdowns. Using both direct and indirect recruitment methods, research participants were interviewed in-person, over the phone, or through online video-conferencing platforms. Through in-depth interviews, this research and presentation puts workers voices in the center of both the COVID-19 experience and in policy recommendations. The presentation will report on their responses regarding COVID-19 lockdown coping mechanisms, concerns regarding work conditions, treatment and access to healthcare, financial aid, or other types of support. The presentation will conclude with respondents’ proposed measures to help redefine what constitutes migrant worker occupational safety and health in the context of public health crises, and in general, for the future of migrant work. At the Q&A session, the presenter will open the floor for attendees to share their own ideas and thoughts about the future of work and occupational safety and health in a post- pandemic world.

Presentation Objectives:

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

·  Describe the implications and recommendations based on the research

·  Describe risk factors and preventative measures to address or avoid labor exploitation and trafficking in the context of public health emergencies (specifically COVID-19) and migrant labor

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This research uses economic theory to develop a framework for evaluating the full social burden that human trafficking imposes on societies. It opens with some basic economic concepts and clarifies human trafficking in the context of labor markets. Our methodology applies concepts of welfare economics and decision making under uncertainty to the specific problem of human trafficking in order to develop a quantitative social accounting framework that is informed by qualitative empirical description of human trafficking found in the literature. While some forms of human trafficking lie outside the framework, it is nonetheless useful for analyzing most instances. The project seeks to answer two basic research questions. First, what are the components of social cost that collectively comprise the aggregate burden that human trafficking imposes? Second, what empirical challenges must be faced to estimate actual measures of these components? This exercise in social accounting is extended to consider a corollary question. Since the demand for trafficked labor is ultimately based on production of socially useful goods and services, how can one evaluate these goods and services in relation to the social costs identified, while maintaining a clear and justified ethical perspective? There are three results from the research effort. Foremost, it provides a coherent framework for analyzing the social cost of human trafficking grounded in economic theory. Second, it reviews the problems and potential for applying the conceptual framework to calculate concrete estimates of cost components. Third, it develops an approach to think about the net gains from coerced labor. Accounting for net gains explains both the profit incentive to engage in human trafficking as well as its negative social impact, which justifies government intervention against it.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Clarify the concept of human trafficking in the context of labor markets and introduce an economic framework to evaluate costs

·  Elucidate four broad categories of social cost that result from human trafficking and social responses to it

·  Identify challenges of gathering and evaluating data toward that objective

·  Explain how consideration of useful goods and services produced by coerced labor can help us to understand the phenomenon of human trafficking and to evaluate associated measures of economic welfare in light of the social costs identified

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Instances of childhood sex trafficking (CST) have been identified in all 50 states, and 98% of victims are reported to be women and girls (Department of Justice/Office of Justice Programs Report, 2011). This research project aimed to explore common coping responses to CST among two groups of survivors (n = 32) in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. A photovoice approach, with grounded theory analysis techniques, was used to conduct two cohorts of data collection involving critical conversations with 32 survivors of CST. Data were analyzed by using Constructivist Grounded Theory (CGT) techniques including symbolic interactionism and pragmatism. Initial focused axial and thematic coding was conducted. The data set was moved to Dedoose for the thematic coding stage to enhance the researchers’ ability to integrate the analysis with multiple data sources (photos and narratives). The following coping responses were identified and grouped into six overarching themes: distancing, hypervigilance, isolation, self-blame, self-directed harm, and survival strategies. The findings underscore the significance of structural and contextual barriers to health and recovery for CST survivors and revealed important implications for human rights, social work, and anti-trafficking professionals. Survivors interpreted the results in partnership with the research team and their recommendations will be discussed. Recommendations include: 1) enhancing trauma-informed training for responders and practitioners regarding coping responses of survivors of CST to inform potential enhancements to their assessment and treatment practices, 2) implementing trauma-informed language, values, and practices into organizational culture, and 3) developing novel approaches that honor the expertise and experiences of survivors into screening and assessment processes.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Discuss the importance of the survival sex hierarchy to frame policies and practices

·  Enhance training for responders and practitioners regarding coping strategies of survivors of childhood sex trafficking (to inform assessment and treatment)

·  Describe how to embed trauma-responsive values, language, and practices when working with survivors of childhood sex trafficking

·  Discuss the need for new approaches that honor the expertise and experiences of survivors

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Survivor voice is a vital part of the anti-trafficking movement and should be integrated into every aspect of the work. However, many organizations that regularly support survivors in a client capacity do not know how to work with survivors in an expert role. Simultaneously, survivors are not prepared to advocate for themselves with organizations they used to receive services from as they transition from receiving those services to becoming consultants and survivor leaders. Attendees will benefit from the survivor-ally relationship modeled throughout the presentation as Lived Experience Expert (LEE), Alia, and ally, Kathleen, present on the concept of the survivor-ally relationship needing to be a dual relationship, one that is not only professional, but also supportive. Organizations must continue to encourage and champion survivors as they take on being experts in the professional sphere. Doing this will ensure LEEs still want to be contributors in this field years from now. The presenters will share on repairing and protecting survivor-ally relationships and appropriately elevating survivor voice and self-advocacy. Attendees will receive a deeper understanding of creating trauma-informed survivor-ally professional spaces and be equipped with examples of contracts, compensation tables, and best practices. It is vital for survivors and allies to work effectively so that survivor voices continue to be heard and valued. This should not come at the expense of LEEs. Survivors who desire to use their voices and stories to help those who come after them deserve to be equipped and supported into the next phase of life after personal healing.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Teach survivors how to protect and safeguard boundaries as they transition from receiving services to embracing being an LEE and Survivor Leader

·  Educate service providers on supporting survivors as they transition into empowered LEEs through advocating for their mental health, boundaries, and voice

·  Equip allies to invest in their organization through having access to ethical and equitable LEE engagement policies

·  Train attendees to receive and understand the purpose and outline of example documents and the intention of the documents to support the LEE and Ally relationships in the anti-trafficking field

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It has been said repeatedly that the prevention and intervention work of anti-human trafficking cannot be done by one individual or organization. Thus, the Region of Peel has developed progressive strategies, protocols, and partnerships to promote more holistic responses to the matter. Sex trafficking is a prominent concern in the Region and child welfare sector. In fact, 62% of Canadian human trafficking cases originate in the Greater Toronto Area (which includes Peel Region), and the average age of victims is between 12 to 24 (Region of Peel, 2018). Given its prevalence and the need for specialized responses, the Peel Human Trafficking Service Providers Committee was created in 2015 comprising of over 40 members from the Region spanning a variety of relevant sectors: education, employment, legal, health, and social services. The goal of the committee is to reduce victimization and to offer coordinated and collaborative services that will empower and support victims/survivors. Through this, the Peel Anti-Human Sex Trafficking Strategy was created to support three pillars identified as “prevention”, “intervention”, and “exits/housing”. This strategy has since become endorsed and funded. This presentation will discuss the Region of Peel’s implemented strategy and multi-sectoral collaborations that have allowed for a more specialized, safe, and holistic response with victims/survivors, families, and communities in the Region. The presenters from the Region of Peel, Peel Children’s Aid Society, and Peel Regional Police will delve into the spaces and ways in which the Region has come together to uphold Peel’s Anti-Human Sex Trafficking Strategy.

Presentation Objectives:

·       Discuss Peel Region’s 3 pillar strategy to address human trafficking

·       Discuss strategies used for a community response

·       Explain multi-sectoral and operational best practices to maintain synergy

·       Discuss how resiliency is built, promoted, and maintained in the safety and well-being of individuals, families, and communities involved in or at risk of being involved in human trafficking

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