Interdisciplinary Collaboration to Engage and Treat Child Victims of Sex Trafficking

After summarizing the dynamics that influence commercially sexually exploited patient-victims, the presenters will take the audience through a case study of a child who experienced sexual exploitation. This includes an overview of medical needs that providers may observe in a child who may be experiencing sexual exploitation, strategies for engaging and building rapport with the child, what acute and follow up care should look like, how an evaluation at a children’s advocacy center could occur, and how clinic procedures can be adapted to better foster engagement and rapport building. The audience will also learn about complex trauma and evidence-based interventions for treating the therapeutic needs of children who have experienced sexual exploitation. Moreover, Ms. Helms will provide an overview of Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and adaptations that can be made to this intervention that both meet the needs of the patient. The audience will also learn about the Stages of Change, and specific ways that this theory has been adapted and applied to the commercially sexually exploited child (CSEC) population and how the care team sought to embody this theory to better foster collaboration and continuity of care. The overall goal of this presentation is to enhance understanding of the role of children’s advocacy centers in providing care for CSEC youth. Attendees will gain a better understanding of the medical/mental health needs of this population, be able to identify practical steps to advocating for appropriate care, and gain knowledge of evidence-based interventions.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Identify common mental and medical health needs of the CSEC population

·  Discuss appropriate interventions to meet mental and medical health needs of CSEC population

·  Describe what an assessment at child advocacy center (CAC) should look like

·  Discuss how to apply aspects of Stages of Change Model to clients/patients

·  Explain the importance of working as a multidisciplinary team (MDT) in cases of CSEC

Read More
Familial Exploitation & Religion: How Child Traffickers Find Refuge within a Faith-Based Setting

Exploitation of young children typically involves family members or other trusted adults selling the child for money, drugs, or something else of value. Manufacturing of child sexual abuse material also falls under this category. Survivor narratives often point to faith-based institutions as safe-havens for the sexual exploitation of children by the familial trafficker, with trafficking often taking place within the church itself. This begs the question: Is the church a missed opportunity for identification and intervention of trafficked children throughout the community? Do these institutions unwittingly enable the commercial sexual exploitation of children with gendered values, beliefs, and norms (Commonwealth of Australia, 2017)? This presentation will discuss why religion is used as a tool to facilitate familial trafficking, how the trafficker presents within a faith-based setting, and how the church can best respond to allegations of sexual exploitation, as revealed by family trafficking survivors themselves (Hassan, 2018).

Presentation Objectives:

·  Discuss familial exploitation, including key indicators of exploitative family dynamics

·  Describe the presentation of the familial trafficker within a faith-based setting and how the trafficker uses religion to facilitate exploitation of young children

·  Identify missed opportunities for intervention and explore best responses by religious communities

Read More
Human Trafficking in Kyrgyzstan: Using Mixed-Methods to Understand a Ubiquitous Issue Cloistered in Secrecy

Kyrgyzstan is a source, transit, and destination country for severe forms of human trafficking (HT) (Ryazantsev et al., 2015; Akee et al., 2010). Migration (Critelli et al., 2020), poverty, unemployment, ethnic tensions, mass migration, and an unstable political situation have created extreme vulnerability—and thus, favorable conditions for HT. Further, extensive corruption exacerbates the spread of HT in Kyrgyzstan with law enforcement believed to be complicit in the trafficking industry (Madi, 2010). Much of what is known about HT in Kyrgyzstan comes from media reports (Begalieva, 2020; Akylbekova, 2017; Akylbekova, 2014; UN Women, 2019). This study aimed to examine processes of recruitment, conditions of exploitation, and facilitators leading to exit among those exploited in the commercial sex and labor markets in a member country of the former Soviet Union--an area of the globe where empirical data have, to date, not been collected. This investigation collected survey data (N=487) and currently collecting qualitative data (conducted 11 interviews with target N= 30) from survivors of labor and sex trafficking through semi-structured interviews. The survey captured the Kyrgyz population awareness and knowledge of HT and their exposure to HT online or in person. Interview data from survivors will yield information on recruitment strategies, domestic and international trafficking routes, and service needs to mitigate revictimization. The findings of the research will have a noteworthy impact on scholarly work in identifying trafficking mechanisms of recruitment as well as facilitate the development of preventive interventions among vulnerable populations of Kyrgyzstan.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Provide an overview of the initial goals and methods of the research

·  Describe how and why the study aims and methods changed through time

·  Describe initial results of survey data collected from Kyrgyzstan and interview data from victim/survivors

Read More
Resiliency Lived: Experts’ Assets and Resources in the Anti-Trafficking Movement

Lived experience experts are advocates and leaders who combat exploitation, support peers, and drive the anti-trafficking movement. There is limited published research that explicitly focus on survivor experts’ lived experience in their roles (Lockyer, 2020; Helpingstine et al., 2021). The investigator aimed to explore survivor experts’ experiences in their advocacy and leadership roles and to examine the assets and resources they utilize to successfully fulfill their purpose. Empowerment and resiliency theory served as the guiding frameworks for this qualitative dissertation study. A strengths-based, trauma-informed semi-structured interview guide vetted by a survivor advocate was used to conduct in-depth interviews with 15 lived experience experts. Six themes emerged from the study: 1) Dynamic Multi-faceted Advocates, Experts, and Leaders; 2) Driven to Make Meaningful Impact; 3) Scaling Mountains of Adversity, Barriers, and Challenges; 4) Harnessing One’s Expert “Superpowers” and “Superhero” Assets; 5) Skillful Utilization of Resources and Supports; and 6) Expansion of Thriverhood. The results of this study expand on burnout and attrition risk factors that experts overcome to stay engaged in anti-exploitation/anti-trafficking efforts. The results highlight promotive and protective factors of resiliency and resourcefulness that experts use to thrive in their roles. Practical system and organizational level recommendations to support and promote thriverhood for all lived experience experts in the anti-trafficking/anti-exploitation movement will be discussed. Also, key areas for continued research will be identified.

Presentation Objectives:

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

·  Describe the implications and recommendations based on the research to support and promote thriverhood for all lived experience experts in the anti-trafficking/anti-exploitation movement

Read More
Familial Disability Exploitation: Bringing it to Light

Disability familial exploitation is happening every day, everywhere; this needs to be brought to light. Brenna has a unique understanding of disability exploitation by outside agents or family members, witnessing how people treat differently-abled people like they are less than human. Brenna will use 15 stories from her own experiences of both intentional and unintentional cases of exploitation. Since people with disabilities often communicate differently, people treat them like they do not have voices, choices, or dreams, making decisions for them, instead of respecting their choices. People with disabilities often have it reinforced if they say no, they will be labeled as combative, defiant, resistant, or confrontational. If they do not like something, they will be confined and drugged until they submit. Learned helplessness is a damning legacy that is forced on people every day. This needs to change; it's time that these abusers are recognized as perpetrators of a hate crime. Recognizing these victims is crucial to their safety, as is dealing with them using a trauma-informed client-centered approach. Every human being is entitled to the same respect, dignity, and sovereignty as everyone else. People just want to be loved and accepted for who they are. That does not happen all the time, and organizations, governments, and individuals need to make real changes. During this session, familial trafficking survivor, Brenna Wallace, will discuss her experience during and after her exploitation.

Presentation Objectives:

·       Raise awareness of familial disability exploitation and trafficking

·       Provide a call to action for people working with individuals with disabilities

·       Share her lived experience as a familial trafficking survivor with a disability

Read More
I Want You to See Me: Healing Through Storytelling

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

Read More
Survivor Story: Inclusion and Engagement in the Anti-Human Trafficking Fight

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

Read More
Creating Inoperable Environments for Illicit Massage Businesses

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

Read More
Establishing Safe Harbor Diversion Programs and Multidisciplinary Response Teams for Trafficked Youth

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

Read More
Human Trafficking Survivors’ Experiences and Trauma with Keeping Custody of their Children

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

Read More
COVID-19 and Migrant Worker Welfare: Perspectives and Policy Proposals from Southeast Asia

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

Read More
Analyzing the Social Cost of Human Trafficking: An Economic Framework

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

Read More
“He Lived in a Tent, and I was Homeless…So I Became his Girlfriend”: Coping Strategies Among Survivors of Childhood Sex Trafficking

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

Read More
Repairing & Protecting the Survivor: Ally Relationship within the Anti-Trafficking Field

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

Read More
Partnership Works: A Regional Response to Sex Trafficking

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

Read More
Assessment of Human Trafficking Knowledge in Licensed Urgent Care Workers

Toledo, Ohio has been identified as an area of attention regarding human trafficking (OTPSC, 2010). Trafficked persons can experience injury, illness, and can need treatment. Urgent care and emergency centers are episodic care centers and preferred by traffickers to provide treatment to those trafficked (Chambers, 2019). Providing effective care requires knowledge and tools regarding human trafficking to provide optimal care to victims (Chisolm-Straker et al., 2016). This research seeks to determine if healthcare workers in urgent care centers received education regarding human trafficking and if these healthcare workers have knowledge of indicators of human trafficking, procedures to rescue, and support resources. IRB approval was received from The University of Toledo and ProMedica Health System. "Human Trafficking Awareness Survey 1" (HTAS1), a 14-item instrument developed for this work was validated for content and constructs by subject matter experts and was provided to participants after an informed consent process. Participants included healthcare professionals from seven urgent care centers in the Toledo, Ohio region. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 28 for frequencies to answer the research questions. Findings are similar to a previous study of emergency center workers which confirms that knowledge gaps persist in understanding of human trafficking. Inherent limitation of generalization exists due to specification of healthcare sites and limited number of participants but supports ongoing education in this area. This study demonstrated the need for urgent care healthcare practice to include professional education/training on knowledge regarding human trafficking to facilitate implementation of effective strategies to assist persons being trafficked and to address this persistent public health issue.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Describe a method to assess knowledge of urgent care healthcare worker about indicators, processes/procedures to rescue, and access to resources to support victims of human trafficking

·  Answer the two research questions: 1) Do healthcare workers in urgent care center receive education regarding human trafficking? and 2) Do healthcare workers in urgent care centers have knowledge of indicators of human trafficking, procedures to rescue and support resources?

Read More
The Survivor's Journey: A Trauma-Focused Group Experience for Survivors

When victims of child abuse, sexual assault, intimate partner violence, or sex trafficking are identified, we know trauma has occurred and internal recovery work from trauma is needed (CDC, 2022). However, few professionals know how to effectively respond (National Institute of Health). This session will focus on providing information on trauma, triggers, trauma-informed care, and trauma-focused care to help clients heal through The Survivor’s Journey. Participants will learn the twelve internal and external journeys clients should travel through that moves them from victim, to survivor, to thriver.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Provide participants with information on trauma and the effects of trauma

·  Discuss the importance of trauma-informed work

·  Define trauma-focused work and explain the difference between informed and focused work

·  Present the components needed to move victims to survivors and to thrivers

Read More
Tools from a Survivor’s Perspective: Healing from Familial Sex Trafficking

Awareness about sex trafficking is widening, but mostly only via scientific research of trafficking data and statistics. Voices of survivors trafficked by family members, especially Sadistic Ritual Abuse (SRA) survivors, remain silenced. Missing is the survivor’s perspective, as they hold so much wisdom for their healing. As a familial sex trafficking survivor, Anjela was motivated to create her own healing toolbox. In fact, this continues to be a major obstacle as she heals, as fewer therapists have knowledge or understanding of this family-based trauma. The strongest trauma healing practices center the survivor, emphasizing their need for ongoing healing tools. Additionally, it must be prioritized how to offer support as survivors embark on their lifelong trauma healing journey. Those who are supporting familial trafficking survivors, both personally and professionally, and are curious and asking, “What tools can they offer me?” are invited to attend this workshop (but don’t forget to listen). When you start to embrace more intentionally the survivor's perspective, you’ll be amazed and inspired by all those who reach out to help YOU to help THEM heal.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Identify the needs of family sex trafficking survivors

·  Increase awareness of SRA family sex trafficking

·  Assist attendees to create their toolbox to support family sex trafficking survivors

Read More
Human Trafficking and Older Adults

This presentation focuses on the largely unrecognized tragedy of the trafficking of older adults for sex, labor, or benefits. Because the prevalence and impacts of human trafficking on older adults are unresearched and therefore unknown, it is impossible to quantify just how much the systems that should be providing safety and justice for older adult survivors are failing. This session will discuss what is known about the trafficking of older adults, barriers to reporting these crimes, and supporting survivors. The presenters will also offer suggestions for strengthening the social safety net and criminal justice processes, whose role it is to keep older adults safe. Information for this session comes from a variety of different resources including the National Human Trafficking Hotline, National Institute of Justice, Office to Monitor and Combat Human Trafficking, and more.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Provide statistics/data of elder abuse in the U.S.

·  Discuss the risk factors that exist for older adult victims of human trafficking

·  Explain how to strengthen our overall system to protect older adults from human trafficking

Read More
Why People Solicit Sex

This presentation explains data captured from over 10 years of John School programs in central Ohio. The discussion includes a brief overview of human trafficking as an economic transaction, processes survey data from solicitors, and explores effective demand reduction strategies. The main research question was: “Why do people solicit sex?” She Has A Name (SHAN) analyzed over 10 years’ worth of survey data from two “John Schools” or Solicitor Education Programs (SEPs). The surveys included 23 questions and were administered as part of the SEP. Participation was anonymous and voluntary. In total, over 1,000 people participated in Columbus’s SEPs and over 700 completed the survey. In order to determine other beneficial sex trafficking demand reduction strategies outside of SEPs, SHAN reviewed Demand Forum’s list of 15 tactics. Survey responses have informed SHAN’s SEP in developing a more comprehensive and trauma-informed curriculum and methodology. In learning about relationship status and self-declared reasons for purchasing sex, SHAN has expanded education topics to include trauma among buyers and implemented critical thinking activities. If we only care for survivors after the point of exploitation, we will never end human trafficking. Every community that implements any type of human trafficking response should include initiatives to reduce the demand for paid sex. Just as we implement individualized, “whole person”, trauma-informed approaches to victim/survivor care, we should consider the same approach in caring for those who raise the demand for sex trafficking.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Understand why reducing the demand for paid sex is a crucial part of the fight against human trafficking

·  Share basic demographics of solicitors and the reasons why they solicited sex

·  Consider potentially effective demand reduction strategies for their unique context

Read More