To date, no research study has explored the relationship between human sex trafficking and national baseball sporting events. This engaging and didactic presentation will present valuable research findings related to the frequency and descriptive statistics associated with 4553 commercial sex advertisements listed during the 2015 All-Star Baseball Game. Of note, transgender commercial sex advertisements (N = 634) were the second highest type of listing. This presentation will provide valuable information regarding the intersectionality between race, gender, and perceived demand for commercial sex. Presenters will utilize an open format that promotes questions and deep discussion. Areas for future research and counseling implications will be addressed.

 

Presentation Objectives:

·         To develop a deeper understanding of the unique vulnerabilities associated with transgender women

·         To discuss the research findings associated with commercial sex advertisements posted during the 2015 All-Star Game

To understand the prevalence and risk factors contributing to the sexual exploitation of transgender persons

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The United States has more people incarcerated than any other nation, with the fact of mass incarceration and its sequelae exponentially worse in communities of color. The challenges and barriers to successful community reentry are formidable for individuals returning back to the community from prison following incarceration, with higher rates of serious mental illness and substance use disorders among the criminal justice population contributing to higher rates of recidivism. The proposed presentation will present an overview and the outcomes from the UT Mindfulness Meditation program, a collaborative service-learning project between the University of Toledo, Department of Psychology and the Volunteers of America (VOA) Community Reentry Program located in Toledo. Participants in the program are individuals serving the last 3-6 months of their prison sentence at the VOA half-way facility. Participants complete an 8-week Mindfulness Meditation program facilitated by University faculty and graduate students, as well as community members.

 

The curriculum is framed within the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program by Kabat-Zinn (2003) and provides participants with psychoeducation about mindfulness meditation and self-regulation skills, along with an opportunity to practice a variety of mindfulness-based exercises, including mindful breathing, body scan, mindful movement, and mindful art activities. Pre and post outcome data are being collected to evaluate the effectiveness of the program in promoting better emotional regulation, mindfulness, and mental health functioning. Quantitative and qualitative results will be presented from two groups that have been completed to date, one with women and one with men, along with challenges and successes of the project.

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Each year in Nepal an estimated 10,000-15,000 young girls are trafficked into slavery, most to India and the Middle East. They come from underprivileged families with little opportunity for the future. Many are deceived by traffickers who prey on the poor. These traffickers are networked both locally and globally with those who profit from modern day slavery. SAVE THE LIFE NEPAL promotes unity among those who want to end trafficking from Nepal.

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Today’s culture is teaching girls that, from toddler age on up, they have but one purpose: using their sex for someone else’s pleasure. Before they even know what sexuality is, girls are being shown to perform sexuality through the activities they engage in and the merchandise which they play with and wear. Furthermore, such merchandise activities are marketed to children throughout their development glorifying “pimp culture,” which in turn glamorizes and contributes to human trafficking. The presenters will explore toddler beauty pageants, under-10 pole and topless dancers, sexualized toys for minors, Hello Kitty joining forces with Playboy, and many other pop culture examples of the obsession with sexualizing young girls and contributing to the vulnerability of children which contributes greatly to forced sexual slavery.

Presentation Objectives:

·         Identify pop culture’s manner of sexualizing children from infancy to adolescence

·         Identify and discuss the ramifications of pop culture’s obsession with child sexualization for the individual, women & girls, and society as a whole

·         Identify the connection between sexual exploitation and human trafficking

Identify and implement ways to critically analyze and combat pop culture sexual exploitation of children

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At the root of any social justice cause, there must be a strong sense of identity of one’s self and the cause for which one is promoting. Most people lack a clear understanding of their own identity. When someone lacks identity, they scramble to find pieces of themselves in material things, other people and even social causes, and often harbor limiting beliefs, self-doubt, and a lack of self-esteem, which can result in subtle but insidious depression.

 

Until one finds their own identity and commits to training themselves in it, they are not in the best position to help themselves or others. They can bring challenges to the social cause they are promoting, and even cause harm to themselves. It is imperative for those who are promoting social justice against human trafficking to understand their own identity.

 

Diana understands the search for personal identity because she, too, scrambled to find her own identity, and wrote about it in her autobiographical book, “Inspiration in My Shoes.” After years of attaining higher education, working high-level corporate jobs, leading a non-profit organization, and joining social justice causes, she found that this identity struggle is all too common among the highly educated. The more confident she became in her own identity, the more effective she became at leading social change.

 

She helps people ground themselves in their own identity to equip social justice leaders in human trafficking prevention efforts, which can also alleviate the factors that make people vulnerable to trafficking.

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