In its annual TIP Reports, the US Department of State evaluates nations for their anti-human trafficking efforts. Based on those scores, it holds traffickers and facilitating governments in disdain, from a moral high ground. Presumably, that ground was won by the abolition of American slavery. However, while American slavery ended over a century ago, in recent times the US has consistently voted down Senate Bill H.R. 40, which calls for the mere investigation of reparations for the descendants of African slaves. Similarly, the US has not moved on the UN’s 2016 request that it pay reparations for slavery based on the UN’s 2006 guidelines. Avoidance to pay the estimated 24 trillion-dollar African slavery reparations debt may erode global perceptions of America’s anti-trafficking moral high ground. For instance, a potential trafficker may reason that, since the US has maintained global respectability and its trafficking-related profits, so can he. And, as the government of a poorer nation may reason the same way, each may ignore otherwise effective anti-trafficking social marketing appeals. The presenters’ view is that if the US wishes to encourage anti-trafficking attitudes, then it should pass Senate Bill H.R. 40.

Presentation Objectives:

·       Describe the main components of H.R. 40

·       Describe four human trafficking reparations episodes across ethnic groups

·       Discuss the pros and cons of passing H.R. 40

·       Discuss the driving factors of “moral high ground” when making moral appeals

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Engaging homeless youth and young adults that have been sex trafficked has challenges, barriers, and bravado! This presentation will share the experiences of a program director and therapist on developing strategies to engage homeless, trafficked youth. Victims of trafficking learn to live by rules of their trafficker, displaying distance and lack of trust with service providers. Homeless youth and young adults are often system involved, lack support systems, and have an increased vulnerability. These experiences alone create obstacles for providers to build rapport with homeless youth coupled with the victim’s trauma, impacted at times by the present trafficker, which create challenges for consistent services. Attendees will learn engagement strategies for both identifying victims and offering housing and comprehensive services, including therapy. Strategies will include leveraging basic needs while building an individual’s autonomy, modifying traditional homeless outreach programs, and increasing minor victim identification. Presenters will share the shifts in programming to meet individualized needs, while utilizing community based services such as housing and legal interventions. Lastly, employee burn out impacts the consistency of care and rapport with clients. Employee turn around and gaps in engagement can impact a victim’s decision to stay engaged with an agency. The presenters will share how to celebrate in a client’s steps towards stability, build a support network of professionals, and establish self-care within a team.
Presentation Objectives:

·       Identify the barriers around engaging homeless, trafficked youth

·       Discuss tools to increase the participation of victims

·       Present ways to tailor programming to improve outcomes and self-care for service providers

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SWOP Michigan would like to present an Indy Sex Worker Film Fest day to showcase a very diverse look at their experiences via a variety of documentaries. Additionally, each of these films has a female director and focuses on sex worker perspective. Their idea is to show each film with time allowed for Q&A following. The Scarlet Road follows the extraordinary work of Australian sex worker, Rachel Wotton, who is impassioned about freedom of sexual expression and the rights of sex workers. She specializes in a long over-looked clientele: people with disability, who are deserving of equal sexual rights and expression. People with a disability have an intrinsic right to sexual expression. This right enables people to develop relationships, have sex, explore and express their sexuality, and achieve intimacy without personal or systemic barriers.

Director: Catherine Scott; Release Date: 11 October 2012 (USA); Runtime: 1 hr 46 min (106 min)

Presentation Objective:

·       Review sex worker experiences via a documentary

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Contemporary research on sex work and sex trafficking has highlighted the overrepresentation of persons of color (POC) involved in trading sex, addressing the interplay of poverty, institutional violence, historical trauma, and limited choices as undergirding the racial disparities for provider/victims. However, little research explores this marketplace with an intersectional analysis. This presentation explores qualitative data from interviews (N=157) with social service providers and criminal justice personnel who work closely with these populations in Minnesota (2015-2016). This research comparatively analyzes sex buyer demographics and provider/victim demographics alongside sex buyer preferences/treatment. Interviewees described experiences of POC provider/victims, which were influenced by structural racism and inequality as “push” factors, and sex buyer preferences and treatment of them due to their race/ethnicity. These experiences included racial fetishization, derogatory racial slurs, physical and sexual assaults, and less money to the dollar for sex acts compared to white provider/victims. This research supports a growing understanding of sex trafficking and commercial sex as racial justice and equity issues, as well as adds to practice-based knowledge of complex traumas that persons of color who trade sex may experience.

Presentation Objectives:

·       Gain insight about sex trafficking as an intersectional issue (race/gender/class)

·       Learn implications and strategies for macro social work practice

·       Gain takeaways for clinical social work practice

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A call to awareness regarding sex trafficking has increased research, bolstered social justice efforts, improved education, and influenced federal laws that protect victims and prosecute traffickers. Federal laws on sex trafficking are now being used through undercover sting operations via the Internet to arrest and prosecute buyers who attempt to engage in commercial sex with minors. A narrative analysis was completed to create an in-depth case study outlining the correspondences between a buyer and an undercover agent advertising trafficked children for sex. Participants are afforded a rare opportunity to examine actual emails related to the purchase of a child for sexual exploitation. The emails were used against the buyer as evidence within the court of law. The author asserts that the following case study will contribute to the body of literature on the victim selection processes and cognitive distortions employed by buyers of children for sex.

Presentation Objectives:

·       Describe the current tactics being used to prosecute buyers of sex trafficking

·       Present a case study of a buyer looking to purchase underage sex online

·       Allow participants to explore details of this case

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Many of the discussions, prevention and intervention programming, and front-line assessments are designed to target either the victim (survivor) of sex trafficking or the buyer by addressing demand through legal interventions or educational programming. While anyone, regardless of gender, can be a trafficker, this workshop is specifically focused on male perpetrators. This workshop provides a holistic view of the circumstances or vulnerabilities that may lead a young man to engage in criminal behaviors inclusive of trafficking, including but not limited to, the mass marketing of hyper-masculinity, socioeconomic inequalities, and institutionalized oppression. By discussing the trafficker as someone needing prevention services we position ourselves on the national level to make systemic changes for young men to enhance their well-being and to potentially save our girls.

Presentation Objectives:

·       Address the circumstances that may lead young men to engage in human trafficking

·       Allow participants to critically reflect further on how they assess trafficking cases and provide a new means of services to explore

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The State of Minnesota joins with other communities in asking: “How can systems be changed to better protect child trafficking victims, prosecute traffickers, and prevent trafficking?” The session will begin by explaining the history of Minnesota’s safe harbor model in the context of other state and federal responses to the trafficking of children. Then, the discussion will utilize interactive methods to discuss complex issues: interagency systems change, access to services, policy and service changes necessary to integrate labor trafficking into existing safe harbor models, development of survivor advisory boards, creation of multi-disciplinary teams and agency protocols, and the specific role of the child welfare system in the safe harbor response under the Minnesota No Wrong Door model. Participants with diverse backgrounds, including multi-disciplinary systems professionals, survivors of sex and labor trafficking, and researchers, will also benefit from the open-ended style of this workshop.
Presentation Objectives:

·       Explain the Minnesota safe harbor response model, including ongoing efforts funded by a federal OVC grant to expand safe harbor to all trafficking victims under age 24

·       Discuss the role of the child welfare system under recent federal laws and state amendments requiring identification and response to trafficking

·       Discuss Minnesota’s public health approach and the regional navigators model for improving access to services for victims of both sex and labor trafficking

·       Engage participants in a multi-disciplinary discussion on systems change designed to better protect victims, prosecute perpetrators, and prevent all forms of human trafficking

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Ann Marie Babb is a Satanic Ritual Abuse and Human Trafficking survivor who was diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) in her early 30's, and has spent the last 25 years navigating the mental health maze looking for help. She will talk about her experience and the fact that integration was not an option for her. She challenges the mental health community to think outside the box and that integration is not the only answer or cure for DID. She will use her past experience as an educational experience about DID and be transparent about coping and surviving with DID.

Presentation Objectives:

·       Share her personal experience with trauma and recovery

·       Explain her challenges in living with DID

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This workshop presents a comprehensive overview of the needs and characteristics of adult women seeking treatment and services over the course of a decade at Street’s Hope, a residential facility for women leaving the sex industry and escaping sex trafficking. Street’s Hope provides transitional housing and is part of a larger grassroots movement nationwide to provide necessary services to women in need. Street’s Hope is one of approximately two dozen facilities nationwide that provide these specific services, and is known as a leader in the Rocky Mountain region. This workshop addresses how Street’s Hope’s unique clinical-based, survivor-informed treatment and services model has been developed and implemented over the last several years, and how this can be a model for other organizations as more specialized facilities develop nationwide.
Presentation Objectives:

• Present participants with an evidence-based and survivor-informed perspective on the scope of human trafficking and the women Street’s Hope serves
• Describe the needs women face when leaving the sex industry or escaping sex trafficking, and how Street’s Hope comprehensively addresses these needs
• Describe what additional services need to be in place in order to assist survivors with long-term success

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Over the last several years, law enforcement has seen a massive increase in the number of sex trafficking cases involving minors in the US. There has been limited research on a national picture of sex trafficking of minors. The ASU Office of Sex Trafficking Intervention Research examined sex trafficking cases of minors throughout the United States from 2010 to 2015. The research identified 1,416 persons arrested for sex trafficking of a minor in 46 states. Details about the cases will be explored and characteristics and sex trafficking patterns of traffickers will be presented through an interactive dashboard that explored maps and graphs of the study findings.

Presentation Objectives:

• Present the study findings
• Identify the characteristics and patterns of minor sex traffickers

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Six cases were identified from the general population of an inpatient psychiatric hospital unit, including one male and five females. Two had been labor trafficked and four were suspected or confirmed to have been sex trafficked. The cases demonstrated a tremendous diversity of demographic and psychiatric risk factors. Risk factors included substance use, homelessness, psychosis, and immigration status. These cases indicate the importance of routinely screening for trafficking victims in medical settings, specifically inpatient multidisciplinary medical settings, such as inpatient psychiatry services. Identification of cases is a requisite step in providing informed and evidence-based treatments and enabling the secondary prevention of re-exploitation. Inpatient mental health teams are encouraged to be attentive to the complex relationship between psychiatric symptoms and human trafficking. Additional research is warranted given the limited current empirical research on this topic area. While there currently are many readily available screening questions and tools, there are no validated screening tools for trafficking victims in the medical setting. This acts as another major obstacle to overcome in moving from clinical suspicion to a more effective, generalized screening process in medical services. Human trafficking is a serious and prevalent human rights violation that closely intersects with mental health. Limited empirical attention has been paid to the presentations and identification of trafficking victims in psychiatric settings.

Presentation Objectives:

• Describe the sometimes-insidious nature of many presentations of trafficking victims to mental healthcare providers

• Present psychiatric illness as an independent risk factor for becoming a victim of trafficking

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Gain understanding of how the empowerment approach can be used to empower and equip individuals with reaching their goal and working through past trauma.

Presentation Objectives:

·       Explain the process of change

·       Describe the art of building therapeutic rapport for positive change

·       Teach participants to understand how one’s bias can affect positive change

·       Discuss and teach participants skills to go from motivation to inspiration in order to produce lasting change

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The right to adequate health and the wellbeing of humans is undoubtedly a universally recognized right in the human rights discourse. For centuries, international human rights instruments, including landmark declarations such as the UDHR, treaties, and standards, have since embraced “health” as a human right. However, there are significant variations in how health policies and laws are being implemented by member States. These cause a variance in the type of services and care provided by different states. Furthermore, sexual and reproductive health rights are becoming recognized as part of the right to health in several countries, including South Africa as stated in section 27 of the 1996 constitution. When addressing the horrors of human trafficking, focus is often on prosecution of perpetrators, which States view as one of the pillars of tackling the trafficking problem. Although this effort is commendable, it creates a narrow perspective, which may result in a non-existent discussion on some significant human rights violations that may also arise as a result of human trafficking. Central to this is the right to health which includes the sexual and reproductive health rights of the victim or survivor, particularly where the trafficking activity is for sexual exploitation. State and international responses to the trafficking of persons must take into consideration the health of women, especially their sexual and reproductive health needs at all stages of trafficking.

Presentation Objectives:

·       Discuss what is included in human rights and how this relates to the rights of trafficking victims and survivors

·       Explain how human trafficking, particularly sex trafficking, is a public health hazard

·       Discuss the health implications of sex-trafficking for women

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Learn from four dynamic individuals who share their personal stories of mental health recovery. Panelists highlight the healing power of art, and present a two-fold perspective: 1) how art making helps deal with significant life challenges, such as poverty, grief, depression and trauma; and 2) how art making propels life transformation. The panelists will show a sampling of personal artwork to visually demonstrate and to strengthen understanding of key points. Connections between core recovery skills, instillation of hope, safety, self-efficacy, resilience, and art making will be discussed. The potential for art to impact community awareness of mental health needs and inspire social action will also be discussed. The audience is invited to raise questions and engage in dialogue with the panelists.
Presentation Objectives:

·       Present diverse perspectives on the role of art in recovery

·       Illuminate connections between art making and core recovery skills

·       Create dialogue about opportunities and pathways for artful healing on personal and community platforms

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This presentation provides advocates with a firm understanding of how to prevent the trafficking of minors. Until now, there has not been a comprehensive, evidence-informed model for preventing the trafficking of youth. Youth disproportionately at risk of becoming trafficked require targeted awareness and prevention efforts. A thorough literature review was conducted by the research team to identify at-risk to high-risk youth. Presenters will provide a multi-tiered system of awareness and prevention activities targeting high-risk youth and the adults that interact with them. The tiers are outlined in a manner that allows an individual or collaborative anti-trafficking team to build a successful prevention strategy that includes the use of one or more of the identified tiers. Each tier becomes more complex, moving from effective coalition building (Tier 1), to general community-wide awareness of human trafficking (Tier 2), to targeted awareness (Tier 3), and to a comprehensive curriculum for high-risk youth (Tier 4). Each tier is equipped with a checklist to assess prevention activities and evaluation tools to assess the outcome of prevention activities. This project was supported by a grant from the Ohio Department of Higher Education for the Ohio Children’s Trust Fund.
Presentation Objectives:

·         Explain which youth are most at-risk

·         Discuss ways to engage in human trafficking prevention

·         Describe strategies to assess prevention activities and evaluate outcomes

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The healthcare system is frequently accessed by victims of human trafficking. One study shows that 88% of survivors of sex trafficking accessed healthcare services while being trafficked. Healthcare professionals have a critical opportunity to identify potential victims while they are being trafficked and offer services and support. This presentation will include current research as well as case studies, identification of red flags, and suggested healthcare interventions. A focus on victim-centered care is emphasized.

Presentation Objectives:

·       Review current research around victims of human trafficking in healthcare settings

·       Identify human trafficking red flags

·       Examine suggested healthcare interventions

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When it comes to the criminal and civil justice process, victims of crime do not often know how to navigate the system. Because appointed counsel is usually only provided for defendants, victims are also left without any legal guidance or information about their rights as a victim of crime. Victim advocates from rape crisis and domestic violence resource centers are often left to “bridge the gap” of legal services for victims. However, because victim advocates are not licensed attorneys, there is very little they can do to provide guidance and advice to victims under the law. Fortunately, there are licensed private attorneys in some communities that are willing to partner with sexual and domestic violence advocates to provide more comprehensive legal services to victims of crime. This presentation aims to provide an example of how a partnership between legal advocates and attorneys can help to bridge this gap in victim services.

Presentation Objectives:

·       Provide information on how professional partnerships between legal advocates and attorneys can be a possible solution to the lack of legal resources available to crime victims

·       Encourage advocates and attorneys in the audience to develop partnerships within their communities that can benefit the clients they serve

·       Start a dialogue about civil legal remedies within the criminal justice process

·       Stress the importance of an advocate’s role in the Civil Protection Order process

·       Share examples of cases in which a partnership between an advocate and attorney was successful

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IThe Human Trafficking Law Clinic provides legal services to juvenile and adult sex-trafficking survivors. This involves assisting with criminal, divorce, housing, employment, and other issues. The Renee Jones Empowerment Center (RJEC) provides support groups, individual counseling, art therapy, trauma-informed yoga, and more to sex-trafficking survivors. The Law Clinic and the RJEC formed a partnership to better serve their clients that was premised on their Directors' shared belief: survivors thrive when they have access to continued care, support, and resources. Providing survivors with services for a few months, as some models do, has not proven effective. Both the Law Clinic and the RJEC form long-term and sustained relationships with their clients that last for an indeterminate period of time.
The Law Clinic and the RJEC have partnered in many projects to help survivors and to educate the public on issues related to human trafficking. The Law Clinic developed a Survivor-Educator Certification program, which trained survivors in a trauma-informed setting on how to share their story with others and Renee Jones served as a facilitator in these classes. Ms. Jones and Professor Guirguis created a prison outreach program at Marysville prison and at the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Detention Center. RJEC and the Law Clinic have also partnered on many other outreach and educational programs. Overall, the partnership of the Law Clinic and the Renee Jones Empowerment Center has allowed both entities to better serve the needs of sex-trafficking survivors and better educate the community about the realities of this horrible crime.

Presentation Objectives:

• Educate the audience about legal and support services for juvenile and adult sex trafficking survivors
• Discuss services assisting with criminal, divorce, housing, employment and other issues

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The significance of the Sahara Desert to global security is beyond the representation of the entire region as an empty terrain. Through that same landscape, myriads of nuisance have evolved, from the latent stage to the point where the global curiosity and concerns became heightened. The Trans-Sahara Migration is not just a threat to the survival and balance of Africa, it is one single and biggest challenge threatening the survival of the greatest and the most successful supranational coalition in the world, the European Union, and by connection, every developed nation. Understanding the activities of the regions around the Sahara Desert and the opportunistic illicit transactions that exist in the area is key to finding a universal management plan to the quagmire of issues emanating from the region. The expedition of migrants, potential victims of human trafficking, and refugees aiming to cross the Mediterranean must take them through the North African region. Between the many points of entry and the point of the final voyage in the North Africa, migrants go through trades and activities that keep emerging with history and time. Although Libya remains a traditional route amongst migrants and refugees, the challenges through the Sahara Desert and Libya is as dangerous as the voyage of the Mediterranean. Theoretical analyses have been conducted on the changes in the activities of the organized syndicate groups using these routes over the years, the cultural mindsets of the receiving hosts, and the profiteering that accrues along this axis. Such analyses open up more opportunity for greater scholarship that can fill the existing gaps in security and migration studies.

Presentation Objectives:

·       Explain Trans-Saharan European migration

·       Discuss the dangers to potential victims of human trafficking and refugees who make this migration

·       Address some of the gaps in security

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