While often not the setting that comes to mind when thinking of human trafficking, we know that individuals who are incarcerated can be and at times are recruited both internally and externally for purposes of human trafficking, especially for sex trafficking (Binzer, 2016; McNamara, 2017; Rizzo et al., 2022). Potential victims can be recruited by individuals who are inside the facilities- including other inmates and staff- as well as by those on the outside the facility, including pimps, traffickers, family, and friends. This presentation will provide information about this phenomenon beginning with a brief overview of what human trafficking is, followed by a discussion of trafficking recruitment that occurs inside jails and prisons, data estimating its occurrence in American correctional facilities, how to recognize potential victims and perpetrators, and possible signs of its occurrence. Information will be presented regarding the importance of providing human trafficking training to correctional staff and administration to increase their awareness of this phenomenon, as well as appropriate actions and consequences both internally and externally when its occurrence is recognized and how to minimize (ideally prevent) individuals from being recruited and solicited while incarcerated (National Institute of Corrections; Ringler, 2019). The presenter will also draw on her own experiences of recognizing and reporting instances of human trafficking recruitment while working inside correctional settings.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Discuss what "correctional" human trafficking is and its occurrence in American correctional facilities

·  Describe what makes an inmate a "good" victim

·  Provide examples of how perpetrators operate inside and outside the facility

·  Discuss how to educate staff and administration to recognize and combat its occurrence in correctional settings

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There are many best practices and models for offering support and services for victims and survivors of sex trafficking; Peel developed a collaborative integrated service hub, nCourage, to coordinate its large community. Peel is the second-largest (1.5 million), municipality in the Greater Toronto Area. It’s located in Canada’s largest economic area, close to the United States, Canada’s largest airport, and has 5 major highways. Peel continues to be a hot spot for sexual exploitation, and is facing various economic crises, which has increased risks and vulnerabilities in its community (Region of Peel; Ontario’s Housing and Homelessness Crisis). Between 2015-2019, leaders advocated for a response to Commercial Sexual Exploitation (CSE) in the community; as a result, nCourage was developed and opened in 2020. nCourage increases access to dedicated services and supports for victims/survivors and individuals at-risk of CSE. The objectives of nCourage are: 1) To increase access to dedicated holistic supports, such as health, legal, educational, and other services; 2) Increase engagement among service providers to leverage existing services by offering them onsite at nCourage; and 3) Increase collaboration, coordination, and evidence-based practice across the system responding to human sex trafficking. nCourage has now been open 3 years and has increased access to supports for victims and survivors of sex trafficking. nCourage has gained valuable insight through feedback from victims and survivors regarding the integrated model and looks to share its model and learnings to services interested.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Discuss the service model development and program service delivery

·  Discuss outcomes and feedback of the program from victims and survivors who have received services

·  Explain how the evaluation of the program has supported best practices and next steps

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While research has documented the needs of human trafficking victims, the importance of such needs during the COVID-19 pandemic remains understudied. This study sought to determine the most critical and urgent service needs of social service providers who serve human trafficking victims. Drawing from survey responses collected from 100 service providers from all 15 counties in Arizona, the presenters examined the saliency of needs regarding training, screenings, protocols, services provided, the agency needs to serve human trafficking victims during a pandemic, and the barriers/fears expressed by human trafficking victims to obtain social services. Respondents indicated that the most necessary needs included more training, funding, and receiving referrals. Respondents reported that the most reported barriers/fears expressed by sex trafficking clients were feelings of shame and not self-identifying as a victim, and labor trafficking victims’ lack knowledge about resources and little to no social support. This study highlights the importance of a sustained need for awareness building, developing strong partnerships between agencies that serve human trafficking victims, and the needed ability of social service agencies to modify their service delivery systems during a pandemic.

Presentation Objectives:

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

·  Describe the implications and recommendations based on the research

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Sex trafficking is a global pandemic that impacts 24.9 million people, including adolescents (Wiener et al., 2021). Few studies have observed cognitive, social, and emotional functioning in adolescents with histories of prostitution (Cecchet & Thoburn, 2014). Archival data from neuropsychological assessment batteries was used to answer the research question: Do participants with higher socioemotional resilience (i.e., higher self-concept and lower anxiety, depression, anger, and disruptive behavior) show stronger semantic clustering? Participants were 24 adolescent females referred to Fuller Psychological Family Services through a sex trafficking rescue agency to participate in neuropsychological testing and learn about their academic abilities. This study measured socioemotional resilience or the absence of negative social and emotional outcomes after exposure to distressing experiences using the Beck Youth Inventories – Second Edition (BYI-II) T scores. Semantic clustering, a verbal memory and learning strategy, was measured using the California Verbal Learning Test semantic clustering index z scores. The Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI) was used as a covariate. Results indicated participants’ average self-ratings of self-concept, anxiety, and depression were within normal limits. This indicated specific areas of socioemotional resilience. However, neither VCI nor the five socioemotional areas of resilience were associated with semantic clustering, even when controlling for VCI. The current study is one of the first to offer practitioners demographic and diagnostic information on resilience in adolescents who have been sex trafficked (Burnes et al., 2012; Marriot et al., 2014). However, studies using resilience measures and larger samples may provide practitioners more data on cognitive, social, and emotional functioning.

 

Presentation Objectives:

·  Define the socioemotional domains of resilience and semantic clustering

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

·  Describe the implications and recommendations of the research

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This presentation begins with the story of Amy Joy’s early childhood sexual abuse, the vulnerability it created, and the associated diagnosis of dissociative identity disorder. The initial events are those pertaining to her experience with a pedophile as a father, her experience in foster care, and the vulnerability it created to further victimization. The important incidents that occurred next are the realization that she had buried her memories in a way that created separate parts within. The impact of trauma on the developing person resulted in extreme survival responses. Amy has dedicated her life to helping others like her, developing programs that incorporate expressive therapies, and educating professionals on how to identify and respond to suspected cases of child abuse or trafficking. Amy will present practical ways to incorporate creative expression and language as a form of healing. Attendees will walk away with a clear vision of how childhood experiences can lead to extreme vulnerabilities throughout a lifetime, the impact of trauma on the developing person, and what therapeutic techniques have been proven helpful for those experiencing the aftermath of abuse and trafficking.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Explain the process of trauma response and how it can lead to severe dissociative disorders

·  Provide hope for those who have been diagnosed with a trauma-related disorder

·  Present examples of therapeutic expression

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The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) recognizes that the veteran community is being impacted by human trafficking. The complex relationship between addiction and both labor and sex trafficking is a serious public health concern. The role of substance use in human trafficking is powerful and pervasive. Individuals with substance use issues are especially vulnerable to trauma and victimization by human traffickers. The potential that a professional’s values, beliefs, or stereotypes could affect how a victim of human trafficking is perceived. The possibility of missing vital red flags is critical as it could result in misinterpreting behavior and providing insufficient or inappropriate services. Professionals and advocates working with individuals experiencing human trafficking need to challenge their own biases and address ethical barriers to provide trauma-informed care. The presentation will explore ethical decision-making related to providing services to trafficked individuals. It will discuss how bias can affect the identification and services needed and offer examples of recovery-oriented practices. It will discuss coercive tactics that are used by traffickers to manipulate, threaten or force victims into using substances or being drugged. The program will discuss trauma-informed evidence-based treatments for those abusing substances while being trafficked. VA subject matter experts on veteran intimate partner violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and trauma-informed care will share the treatment models created for best practices through veteran case studies. Participants will be provided with resources and services offered at the VA.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Explain how substance use impacts the risks and outcomes of those experiencing human trafficking

·  Identify strategies for ethical decision-making, including privacy and confidentiality, when providing services to individuals impacted by human trafficking

·  Describe the VA treatment models created for best practices in providing trauma-informed care

·  Discuss specific needs of veterans who are trafficked

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While it is not compulsory to involve transportation for human trafficking, the transportation industry plays a critical role in combating human trafficking as traffickers often rely on the transportation system to recruit, move, or transfer victims of human trafficking for either sex or forced labor. Recognizing the importance of transportation, multiple anti-trafficking stakeholders in California have started initiatives to address the problem. Supported by the United States Department of Transportation, this project investigates the role of transportation in combatting human trafficking in California by conducting a survey followed up with semi-structured in-depth interviews with key stakeholders. The project aims to understand the role of transportation in combating human trafficking in different stages of human trafficking and assess the knowledge about current policies, trainings, public awareness initiatives, and partnerships about transportation and supply chain management among anti-trafficking practitioners. This presentation will share the learnings from experts through the survey conducted via Qualtrics (72 participants) and semi-structured interviews conducted via Zoom (25 participants) and share examples and novel insights from the field based on various cases. 74% of the participants state that transportation is used in trafficking operations to transport and control the victims. While the type of vehicle changes based on the type of trafficking, industry, geography, and distance, private cars and ridesharing are the most commonly used vehicles for human trafficking. 64% of the participants state that they do not collect data pertaining to transportation in human trafficking. The presenters will highlight gaps and opportunities for utilizing transportation, best practices, data collection, information-sharing, and collaboration.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Discuss the role of transportation in different stages of human trafficking

·  Introduce examples from cases

·  Describe best practices for utilizing transportation in anti-trafficking efforts

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In a two-year review of all suspected human trafficking incidents across the United States, 94% of suspected sex trafficking victims were female, with Black females accounting for 40% of those who experienced victimization (Rights4Girls, 2018). Through the use of personal testimony and group dialogue, the presenter will lead the audience in exploring the experiences of trafficking and sexual exploitation for Black girls and explore the racial roots that contribute to the dehumanization and sexualization of Black girls. Participants will recognize how systematic oppression increases vulnerability to the push/pull factors of human trafficking and evaluate the use of trauma and survivor informed approaches in order to avoid re-traumatization, address systemic barriers, and create pathways for prevention and healing.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Discuss ways racism and systemic oppression disproportionality impact risk

·  Describe the supply and demand of human trafficking and sexual objectification of Black girls

·  Explain the importance of person centered, trauma informed, and culturally responsive services

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Studies indicate that victims of human trafficking may be encountered in a wide range of healthcare settings (Chisolm-Straker et al., 2016; Ravi et al., 2017). This not only emphasizes the role of health care providers in providing medical services to trafficking victims but situations where a health care provider necessitating identification and referral to proper services. The challenges of rural health care are not new; however, an understanding of human trafficking in the rural and frontier contexts is still emerging. The qualitative findings reported here are part of a larger mixed-methods study that examined the following research questions: (1) What knowledge do health care professionals have about the issue of human trafficking in a frontier state? and (2) What needs do health care professionals have in terms of identification of victims of trafficking and responding to human trafficking in a frontier state? Two open-ended questions about the ability to effectively identify human trafficking in the state and to manage unique challenges were included. 235 respondents provided responses to both open-ended questions. Responses fell along six primary themes: education and training needs; identification and response tools; community- and system-level support; cultural elements of the state; challenges of rural geography/frontier settings; and coordination with Tribal nations that share a reservation in the state. The findings reflect new knowledge of the state context to inform future efforts to strengthen practice, policy, training, and research capacity. Recommendations for education and training, service coordination, and research will be provided.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Describe health care provider perceptions of the issue of human trafficking in the frontier context

·  Identify cultural, social, professional, and other barriers to health care providers’ ability to respond to human trafficking

·  Provide recommendations for impacting those barriers and improving research, policy, training, and service capacity for human trafficking victims and survivors

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