Covenant House Vancouver has dedicated the past 3 years to learning about best practices for anti-human trafficking and exploring how those practices can be brought home to our youth. This process came from understanding that almost all youth- serving organizations will engage with those at risk, experiencing, and who have survived human trafficking. We have learnt that any youth-serving organization can pivot practice to offer evidence-based supports for anti-human trafficking with 5 key pillars of work. The purpose of the workshop is to educate and galvanize the youth sector including organizations that specifically work with those at risk, victims, and survivors of trafficking along with organizations working with the general youth population. This workshop is informed by an extensive research project that included a literature review, staff focus groups, consultation throughout North America, practice tours, and a thematic analysis. The 5 pillars of increasing organizational capacity to address human trafficking are explored: Staff Awareness, Anti-Human Trafficking Service Model, Resources, Networks, and Youth Awareness and Empowerment. The workshop is designed to engage participants in understanding how anti-human trafficking work can be part of all youth work and how all youth work is either a preventative tool and/or intervention for human trafficking. This workshop is designed to highlight the opportunity of therapeutic alliances developed within youth serving organizations to addressing human trafficking.

 

Presentation Objectives:

•  Engage youth-serving organizations in anti-trafficking work whether they be specialists or not

•  Outline evidence-based best practices for anti-trafficking in generalist youth services

•  Outline the needs of youth that generalist services can meet for the prevention and intervention of trafficking and exploitation

Read More

In this workshop, presenter Brenna Wallace shares her personal journey as a survivor of human trafficking, shedding light on the often-overlooked victims of this heinous crime. Using her own case as an example, Wallace illustrates the signs and indicators of human trafficking, offering insights into how these victims are often hidden in plain sight. Through her harrowing story, Wallace will highlight the importance of recognizing the signs of human trafficking and provide recommendations on how individuals can help these victims escape their abusers and move towards healing. She will also discuss the need for stronger legislation and support systems to protect and empower survivors of human trafficking. Additionally, Wallace delves into the insidious tactics of coercion used by traffickers to control their victims, showing how even the strongest individuals can become trapped in a cycle of abuse. This presentation serves as a powerful call to action, urging attendees to stand up against human trafficking and support those who have been silenced and forgotten.

 

Presentation Objectives:

•  Raise awareness about the prevalence of human trafficking and the hidden nature of its victims, using the personal story of Brenna Wallace as a lens to understand the complexities of this crime

•  Educate attendees on how to identify signs of human trafficking and provide actionable recommendations on how they can support and assist victims in seeking help and breaking free from their captors

•  Advocate for stronger legislative measures to combat human trafficking and provide better support for survivors emphasizing the need for a comprehensive and coordinated response to this global epidemic

•  Illustrate the different forms of coercion used by traffickers to control their victims, shining a light on the psychological and physical manipulation tactics employed

Read More

Beyond offering human trafficking prevention education to youth, rigorous evaluation of programming that considers the voices of recipients is much needed to advance safety of teens across the U.S. 168 high school aged youth at a school in a Midwest School District were offered 4.5 hours (six 45-minute sessions) of programming focused on preventing human trafficking. Students’ feedback on the program was solicited following each session, and 462 written forms were thematically analyzed to determine 1) overall reception to the program, 2) grouping categories most reflected upon, 3) self-reported/perceived impact of participating, and 4) negative emotions (materials making one feel upset/unsafe) elicited. Data from pre/post surveys, and program fidelity forms were integrated to generate a rich overview of programming context, participants, and effect. The findings of the program evaluation suggest most students had positive reception, gained positive effects from participating, and with few instances of students reporting feeling upset or unsafe. Feedback primarily reflected upon program educators, program structure/layout, and materials/activities. Themes of programming impact most centered on gained skills and knowledge. Based upon student reflections, researchers curated recommendations related to generating positive human trafficking prevention programming reception and impact with 9th-12th grade students. Collectively, youth responses indicated the need for programming to be interactive, include information related to current events/focus on local sources, and be delivered by educators willing to integrate compassion, authenticity, and at times humor about a difficult topic often shrouded in a culture of silence.

 

Presentation Objectives:

•  Explore findings of thematic analysis of the feedback generated from high school aged youth participants of a human trafficking prevention education program

•  Discuss successes and areas of improvement needed for positive reception to curriculum

•  Highlight lessons learned and future directions for generating community based participatory research in the field of human trafficking

Read More

Transportation plays a key role in combating human trafficking. This session presents the findings from the National Outreach Survey for Transportation (NOST) focused on forced labor, addressing the significant data gap regarding the intersection of human trafficking and transportation. NOST, the first-ever U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Combating Human Trafficking in Transportation Impact Award-winning proposal, is a comprehensive survey primarily for multiple modes of transportation. The survey aimed to identify what is and is not working on the frontlines of counter-human trafficking efforts and document unresolved challenges and recommendations from a total of 3,896 respondents from 1) transportation personnel, 2) victim service providers, and 3) trafficking survivors. The NOST also sought to supply data that may contribute to recommendations to improve counter-trafficking efforts. Among 173 respondents working in various state DOT construction units, only 26% feel slightly or very confident (19% and 7%, respectively) about identifying labor trafficking in their work environment. Participating transportation workers confirm specific training topics that may help to identify forced labor proximate to the work environment or within the community, transportation-related venues, and events. Respondents from multiple transport modes also provide valuable suggestions on how personnel and industry leaders can help combat human trafficking in supply chains. For the primarily U.S.-based transportation respondents, the most suggested strategy for encouraging companies to use products free from forced labor in their supply chains was high penalties (1,229 respondents), followed by loss of tax benefits (850 respondents) (total n = 1,766). Organizations can utilize these results for their anti-trafficking plans in consultation with the local community and broader anti-trafficking stakeholders in the transportation industry.

 

Presentation Objectives:

•  Present frontline input on human trafficking, including the survivor and service provider perspectives, on the intersection of human trafficking and transportation, including the supply chains associated with the sector

•  Provide specific recommendations for the transportation industry

Read More

This presentation addresses the phenomenon of spiritual trafficking within religious institutions through identifying, analyzing, and defining the trend. The research will be in light of first-hand lived experiences as the researcher recounts their own experience of being groomed, trafficked, and subsequently re-exploited by religious communities. The research conducted is a Directed Content Analysis by the presenter of existing research, trends, and standards of the concepts of spiritual abuse, human trafficking, and the intersection of these concepts. The initial research question was, “Is spiritual trafficking a definable term” and the research provides an overview of the current research while identifying gaps in this data. The findings of the research assert there is indeed a category of spiritual trafficking that has been observed and more research should be dedicated to further expand it. This presentation serves as a poignant backdrop for the exploration of spiritual trafficking, a term coined to encompass the manipulation and coercion of individuals within religious contexts. Spiritual trafficking can overlap with sex or labor trafficking; yet can be categorized as its own experience, much like spiritual abuse (which can overlap with sexual or domestic violence but ultimately can be categorized separately with its own harmful abuses that are spiritual in nature). Drawing parallels with the better-known concept of spiritual abuse, the presenter elucidates how spiritual trafficking aligns with the definitions and tactics of traditional trafficking, involving elements of force, fraud, coercion, manipulation, and control.

 

Presentation Objectives:

•  Create a working definition of “spiritual trafficking” through research and first-hand experience and differentiate it from “spiritual abuse”

•  Identify the dynamics, tactics, and ways that spiritual trafficking translates into four distinct variants: grooming, passive exploitation, active exploitation, and re-exploitation

•  Utilize first-hand experience to give tangible examples for the audience to identify these theories in practice

•  Create a call-to-action for faith-based communities and beyond to address this concern

Read More

While sex trafficking and porn have both been defined as forms of sexual violence, rooted in a system of gender inequality, what is often overlooked is the way these two industries are culturally and economically linked. The first part of this presentation will explore how porn acts as both a method of recruitment into trafficking, and a major driver of demand. Drawing from empirical research and testimonies from porn performers, trafficked women, and sex buyers, we argue that as long as we have a multi-billion-dollar porn industry, we will always have sex trafficking. By unpacking this symbiotic relationship between porn and trafficking, we can develop a more nuanced theory and practice to abolish all forms of sexual violence. The second part of this presentation will highlight the most popular social media platforms accessed by young people today, exposing how social media has been hijacked by the porn industry. We will provide examples of how social media platforms are fueling sexual exploitation and prostitution, from the exchange of sexual currency in Live Streams, to the grooming and recruitment of young people into prostitution and sex trafficking. The harmful and dangerous effects of the collusion of these industries will be discussed. Finally, we will conclude with how Culture Reframed, through a public health approach, assists parents and professionals who work with young people in navigating the treacherous terrain of social media, pornography, prostitution, and trafficking.

 

Presentation Objectives:

•  Explain how the pornography and sex trafficking industries are culturally and economically linked

•  Explain how pornography acts as both a method of recruitment into trafficking and a major driver of demand

•  Explain how social media platforms fuel sexual exploitation and prostitution and the harms this causes

•  Discuss strategies for safe, gentle conversations to engage young people in talking about hypersexualized social media, sexual exploitation, and violence

Read More

Child labor and forced labor are subject to widespread international sanctions, leading perpetrators to hide the sources of these goods. As a result, some honest and ethical companies may unknowingly purchase goods produced by exploited labor. The U.S. Bureau of International Labor Affairs has published a list of goods by country produced by child labor for forced labor. In this Matched Case Control Study, individual countries with the most goods from trafficked labor are each matched to the most similar country where goods from child and forced labor are relatively rare. Economic, government, social, education, and other data are mined to find consistent differences between high- and low-prevalence countries. The objective of the study is to identify risk factors for child and forced labor to support further investigation and identification of perpetrators and as an aid to companies seeking to avoid inadvertent purchase of goods produced in this way. In this analysis, leading risk factors are found to center around economic disadvantages for the families of the victims, including unemployment and economic opportunity, unavailability of credit, government corruption, poor education, and social and political upheaval. Supported by this analysis, conference attendees will be able to identify countries and goods where child and forced labor is hidden in supply chains and help avoid them, target their own efforts towards these areas, and promote use of the list as a tool for addressing exploited labor in supply chains.

 

Presentation Objectives:

•  Describe the list of goods by country produced by child labor for forced labor created by the U.S. Labor Department's Bureau of International Labor Affairs and how it can be used to better understand child and forced labor

•  Provide details of how a Matched Case Control study is conducted and applications in human trafficking research

•  Identify and explain prominent risk factors for child labor and forced labor

Read More

This presentation offers insight into the ways community systems can overlook signs of human trafficking, resulting in the proliferation of vulnerabilities and victimization. This session will be led by an expert in the field who will draw from their unique lived experiences to provide an understanding of this complex issue, following a 29-year journey marked by trafficking and missed signs. By delving into the intricate dynamics and lasting impacts of systemic oversight, participants will gain an understanding of the distinct challenges presented to survivors with experiences of being “missed” by service providers across spectrums. This comprehensive presentation has been crafted for victim service providers and law enforcement, caregivers of youth in the foster care system, adoptive parents, advocates, and other professionals. The presenter will discuss their survivor story, including how a series of systems did not identify or intervene in the trafficking situation. The session will end the presenter walking attendees through the process of strengthening systems to better identify human trafficking in their communities. For example, how to be invested in our communities, hold space for people within the systems we serve, and how to be aware of common signs within our field.

 

Presentation Objectives:

•  Consider how to integrate the survivor case study into their best practices

•  Assist attendees to ask the right questions and build rapport through trauma informed application

•  Reinforce an appreciation for thorough human trafficking 101 trainings and assign where those trainings may be lacking in their communities

Read More

Without the ability to report crimes without being arrested for prostitution, sex workers and sex trafficking survivors are easy victims. Burns’ 2015 thesis action research on the lived experiences and policy recommendations of people in Alaska's sex trade uncovered the experiences of Alaskan sex workers and sex trafficking survivors in trying to report serious crimes to the police and led to Alaska passing the U.S.'s first immunity in reporting laws for sex workers. After the law was passed, Alaskan sex workers and sex trafficking survivors reported crimes like child pornography, sexual abuse of a minor, and information about an unsolved murder. One sex trafficking case Burns helped report illustrated the need for sex work clients to also be afforded immunity in reporting. Most recently in Alaska, a brave sex worker stole a phone containing videos of a horrific murder and reported the serial killer Brian Steven Smith to police. Rhode Island currently has two immunity bills (one of which Burns helped draft), which illustrate the importance of local context and critical thinking in crafting effective immunity laws. In Rhode Island and nationally, an ongoing qualitative survey of sex workers and sex trafficking survivors allows criminalized victims and witnesses a safe way to share their stories with lawmakers. Currently, seven states have immunity from prostitution laws for people reporting crimes, and there is quite a bit of variety in the laws. This presentation will explain the elements of effective immunity laws and the public education that has to happen after immunity laws are passed.

 

Presentation Objectives:

•  Describe the importance of action research in achieving relevant policy change for sex workers and sex trafficking survivors

•  Convey the important elements of an effective immunity bill and the importance of bills being rooted in an understanding of local contexts

•  Use examples and storytelling to help attendees understand the importance of immunity bills in fighting sex trafficking and other heinous crimes against sex workers and sex trafficking survivors

Read More