Title IX legislation dictates how universities in the U.S. investigate and respond to campus sexual violence. Low reporting rates of sexual violence occur within all demographics; however, oppressed identities often reflect the lowest reporting rates. The LGBTQ-identified community actually experience sexual violence at higher rates than heterosexual-identified persons on American college campuses, but have additional barriers when reporting. Twenty-four percent of Transgender, Genderqueer or gender non-conforming, Questioning, or Not listed (TGQN) undergraduates report nonconsensual sexual contact on college campuses. Sixty percent of gays and lesbians report being sexually harassed compared to 45.8% of heterosexuals. Qualitative research methods were used to understand the intersectionality of oppressions related to sexual orientation, gender identity, and public policy, particularly the relationship between Title IX on college campuses and LGBTQ/minority students. The aim is to better understand LGBTQ-identified people who experience(d) a form of sexual violence on a college campus and how their intersectional identities (race, class, gender, ability) impact(ed) their agency when reporting to legal or campus authorities. Whether resources (emotional, mental, physical, legal) were used by students was examined. An ethnographic, feminist methodology was used to inquire how Title IX is understood by minority/LGBTQ-identified students and how Title IX impacted students seeking support in the American academy.

Presentation Objectives:

·         To discuss the impacts of Title IX and policy on minority populations at American universities.

·         To raise awareness of social justice issues affecting LGBTQ students.

To engage with service providers and faculty within the academy to discuss how they can work with students and create progressive policy change on campuses.

Read More

How can people working in the helping profession support trafficked clients that become “stuck” in the counseling process? What are the benefits to using expressive interventions? How does trauma affect the brain? This engaging and interactive presentation sheds light on recent research findings that highlight the neurobiological benefits of using creative interventions. Attendees will learn trauma-sensitive creative approaches that can be easily implemented with survivors of sex trafficking or across a wide variety of settings. Attendees will also be engaged through the use of relevant case studies, open dialogue, and small group work to practice the use of pictorial narratives.

Read More

Responding to human trafficking requires collaborative effort; no single person, agency, or professional sector can be truly effective working alone. Yet the failure to effectively collaborate is the most common stumbling block for anti-trafficking organizations. Why is collaboration so difficult to initiate, achieve, and sustain?

Together we will explore why collaborative efforts most commonly fail, how we can become better collaborators as both individuals and as organizations, and – most importantly – what true collaboration can achieve. Learn how we all play a critical role in the response to human trafficking, while we unlock key steps we can take to create partnerships that will help all of us enhance our individual—and collective—response to modern slavery. 

Read More

There is a need for more long term programs for survivors of human trafficking. The need is great and research shows there are less than 1000 beds across the country for survivors to find long term help. In this session you will learn the basics of starting a home and funding its long term success. Refuge for Women has 3 homes for survivors in Kentucky. They have been operating since 2009 and have been able to work with survivors from 14 different states that have sought services. They have effectively launched a home in Las Vegas and Chicago. In 2017, homes are set to open in Miami, Atlanta, and North Texas.

Read More

This workshop will present research on youth and adults returning to our community and highlighting the barriers one must overcome to maintain their freedom. This presentation will educate the audience on current work going on in the community to promote social change to assist returning citizens (formally incarcerated) overcome collateral sanctions. Typical reentry programs focus on “soft skills” and “mental toughness”. However, without the proper advocacy for returning citizens to regain back their civil rights nothing will change. Community synergy is necessary to reduce recidivism and help returning citizens overcome being a second class citizen. Finally, the presentation will highlight the struggles experienced as a convicted felon and how I overcame many significant barriers.

Read More

This workshop will present findings from a one-day cross-sectional look at escort advertisements from every Backpage.com market in the US. Backpage.com currently is the largest advertiser of commercial sex in the nation. Law enforcement investigations and outreach efforts across the US have revealed numerous cases of human trafficking within the total universe of Backpage ads. A team of 60 volunteer researchers worked for 8 hours coding descriptive data such as number of ads, race, age, location, and so on. These are joined with US Census and other data in a comprehensive dataset of 400 Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSA) covering all 50 states and the District of Columbia. In addition to exploratory, descriptive analysis, quantitative and geographic analyses utilizing SPSS and ARCGIS explore relationships between ad data and potential explanatory variables such as percentage of male/female in population, poverty and income levels, and presence of major sporting/entertainment venues. Initial findings using state-level analysis have provided insights with implications for policymaking and advocacy efforts. E.g., preliminary analyses reveal that the per capita number of ads in a state is positively correlated with the percentage of females in that state’s overall population. In other words, commercial sex advertising appears to be driven by supply, rather than demand.

Presentation Objectives:

·         To present an overall description of the national online commercial sex marketplace

·         To identify factors related to the type and number of ads across the US

To discuss implications for anti-human trafficking and prostitution/sex work advocacy efforts.

Read More

Much research has highlighted the overrepresentation of LGBTQ, especially youth, in sex trading/trafficking. However, very little research explores the interplay of what sex buyers are seeking, victims/sellers’ sexual orientation and gender identities, and trauma. Furthermore, those within the LGBTQ community participate in sex trading along a continuum of experiences, some of which are considered sex trafficking. This presentation will explore qualitative data about the experiences of LGBTQ sex trafficking victims/individuals who trade or sell sex, and how homophobia and transphobia interact to create unnamed traumas for these victim/sellers. Data for this presentation come from a subset of interviews (N=156) conducted with social service providers and law enforcement personnel who work closely with victims of sex trafficking, sex buyers, and traffickers from across Minnesota (2015-2016). Participants described specific traumas related to LGBTQ identities: buyer preferences for transgender individuals as “fetish”; buyer preference for experiences with lesbian/bisexual women; LGBTQ victims/sellers who perform commercial sex acts outside of their own sexual orientation; and buyers who act violently to LGBTQ victim/sellers based on homophobia and transphobia. Understanding these specific unnamed traumas creates a more nuanced understanding of sex trading/trafficking that is more inclusive of LGBTQ experiences. Traditionally, sex trafficking has been viewed from a heteronormative and cis-gendered perspective and this can have unintended consequences for law enforcement investigations and social service provision. This presentation seeks to explore the ways that LGBTQ individuals face challenges specific to their identities within situations of sex trading/trafficking.

Read More