Ohio ranks 50th in African American infant mortality. One risk factor for infant want Tallardy is low birth weight. African-American woman or more than twice as likely to deliver a low birth weight baby compared to a Caucasian woman. However, into thousand 13 and 2014, African-American woman in rolled in the pathways program in Lucas county had a low birth rate of 9.5%, much lower than the overall rate for African Americans in Lucas county (13.2% in 2013) and statewide (13.4% in 2013). This presentation will focus on the Pathways Model and educate the audience on how to both implement and advocate for the Pathways Model to be used in their community.
Read MoreThis workshop will focus on the relationship between substance use disorders, specifically opiate addiction, and sex trafficking. A program has been developed for specifically addressing these issues together. We explore topics of empowerment, violence, grooming, and the "pimp is the dope boy." Our treatment program is utilized by CHANGE court, the prostitution court of Hamilton county. Need more, plus objectives.
Read MoreIn the late 19th century, abolitionist E. D. Moore undertook the ambitious project of tearing apart King Leopold II's slave industry in the Congo Free State. In what should have been a hopelessly lopsided battle, Moore pitted himself against a monarch's powerful propaganda machinery, and a highly profitable rubber producing industry. To level the playing field, he employed a new technology, the magic lantern, or what we would call a slide projector, to visually display the atrocities of slavery to large audiences, and turning the tide of public opinion against a powerful monopoly.
In the United States, more than 800,000 children are reported missing every year, nearly half end up living on the streets, most of those will be solicited for sex within their first 72 hours of living on the street. The presenter proposes the implementation of 21st century “magic lantern” that will identify and locate children being sold for sex online and bring them to safety. FAGIN (Facial Analysis to Gain Information Now) uses existing facial analysis technology to recursively extract and compare images from online sex ads to images of missing children producing a report for each match. With current Federal law, the FAGIN report provides probable cause and admissible evidence sufficient to trigger intervention and investigation by law enforcement. The FAGIN report also negates the need for the cooperation of, or further traumatization of, the minor victim in order to convict traffickers.
Counter-justice is a term used in this training to describe strategic victim and witness manipulation by traffickers that is intended to inhibit the justice system’s response to domestic child sex trafficking (DCST) cases. The training involves an active discussion into how the victim-perpetrator dynamic affects the functionality of the justice system. The trainer will focus on how traffickers manipulate victim behavior to inhibit case investigation, prosecution, juvenile disposition and therapeutic intervention. The trainer will also explore how the justice system identifies and processes child sex trafficking cases, and how these processes are neutralized by trafficker tactics. The victim-perpetrator dynamic, common vulnerability factors and psychosocial indoctrination of victims will be discussed. Participants will also explore the dynamics of intimate partner violence (IPV) when used for recruitment.
Objectives:
1) Victim’s perception of government intervention is altered using economic dependence, physical isolation, and manipulation of fears.
2) Victim behavior in the context of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. The trainer will emphasize challenges to juvenile judges in child welfare when integrating court services.
3) Discuss intervention techniques which may be effective against trafficker counter-justice strategies. With an emphasis on judicial responses and discuss specialized court dockets, trauma-informed courtrooms, and the use of “vertical” case handling.
(Funded by the Office for Victims of Crime)
Read MoreEstimates suggest that 25% of minors being sold into the commercial sex trade around the world each year are in India. Source? The U.S. State department calls India a “source, destination and transit” country for a majority of the trafficking in Asia. Therefore, India is in the center of the fight to end international sex trafficking.
This session will focus on the issue of sex trafficking in India while also providing a solution, evidenced by the work being implemented in the field by Freedom Firm. Have you worked in India?
Why are so many minors being trafficked in India? What are the primary causes of trafficking in India? What is the most effective solution for eradicating sex trafficking in our lifetime? Is there hope for the survivors? An exploration of Freedom Firm’s work on the ground in India will arm you with smart statistics and a better understanding of what effective anti-trafficking efforts look like overseas. Attendees will leave this session knowing what a holistic approach to this injustice looks like and why so many believe it is the best way to eradicate sex slavery in our lifetime.
This session will detail the significant accomplishments of Ms. Cynthia Turner and Ms. Barbara Amaya of SeraphimGLOBAL who have successfully integrated survivors of human trafficking into their professional workplace. There are many challenges, benefits, and best practices to working alongside survivors in this work and this session will highlight these perspectives from both Executive Management and a survivor herself.
Read MoreFrom funded grants and evidenced based practice, our collaborators were able to empower 6 sex trafficking victims to move beyond becoming survivors, to becoming thrivers, working full time in the helping professions. This panel will discuss the Community Health Worker project in Lucas County from conception to implementation. We will provide definitions of victim, survivor, and thriver, and why it’s necessary to finish the support needed by creating economic empowerment for those that have been victims of sex trafficking. Members of the panel will discuss each component of the project toward creating successful thrivers.
Read MoreAs an African American woman, raised in a low income and crime ridden environment, LaShanna Alfred has endured many hardships. LaShanna was an only child raised by her grandmother and surrounded by unscrupulous men. At the age of 2 her mother was murdered. Four years later, her father’s life was also taken by murder. She grew up in a family that would cover for her and excuse whatever behavior she offered to the world. She witnessed family members exploiting women through prostitution and abuse with little compassion, except for monetary gain. This led to an unhealthy self-image and a distorted view of women’s value in the world. Without positive role models in my formative years, LaShanna became a student of my environment, learning the lessons of survival. Finally incarcerated for trafficking drugs in a 3rd world country, pregnant and hopeless, she adopted new lessons to change her life. Now 13 years later, LaShanna has a master’s degree, published two books, is a Clinical Director of a program, teaches at a university, and facilitates women’s empowerment groups. She has learned the art of self-empowerment to break free from the cycle of internalized oppression. This talk will focus on those life lessons that are universal for any woman wanting to break free from her oppression and understand her value, fulfill their God given destiny, and self-actualize. All will learn to live by choice, and not circumstance.
Read MoreAs programs serving survivors grow and develop, evaluation of services can provide insight into what is working, where program improvements can be made, and provide evidence of return on investment for funders. This presentation will discuss the evaluation of services provided to survivors of human trafficking using two evaluation project case studies. In the demonstration cases, non-residential case management was provided to survivors of human trafficking in two different communities over two years. The presentation will share evaluation methodology, evaluation challenges, findings and lessons learned. While the work being reported on is specific to human trafficking, the session content and objectives may also be applicable to organizations providing case management services to a range of clients.
Objectives:
1) Provide an example methodology for evaluation of client services.
2) Highlight special considerations in conducting evaluation with this population.
3) Share findings from the evaluation projects.
4) Provide recommendations for conducting evaluation of human trafficking case management services.
Mass incarceration makes millions for those who own and operate private prisons. These entrepreneurs lobby to enforce laws and impose stricter laws to put and keep people in prison. Many of these prisons have removed rehabilitation services, such as GED, training programs, or Alcoholics Anonymous support groups, opting instead to overfill their prison in favor of profit. This documentary and discussion about a private owned prison for profit in Ohio will educate the audience on the impact of privately owned prisons for profit.
Read MoreIn this true story of SECRET LIFE, SECRET DEATH, a young mother makes some heartbreaking choices that land her and her little son in the Mob in the Roaring 20's. In rapid-fire succession, Minnie went from a thrilling romance to being an abandoned mother to being trafficked to Chicago. Once in the Chicago underworld of criminals and human parasites, Minnie and her young son live high off the hog one day and scrape the bottom of the barrel the next.
Minnie and her son's unglamorized, tragic, true crime story is played out amongst infamous gangsters like Al Capone and John Dillinger. Filmmaker and Author Genevieve Davis narrates the film and the book, leading the audience through an incredible search to discover the true, tragic story of her Grandmother's life. Her commentary is frank, wry and revealing.
As Minnie's real life Granddaughter, Author and Filmmaker Genevieve Davis witnessed firsthand the effects of human trafficking in her own family, without actually understanding what it was or where it came from. As a child, Davis was kept in the dark as to the secret life of her Grandmother. Her father revealed that he was taken by his mother to Chicago Gangster Big Jim Colosimo's funeral when he was 5 years old compelled her to search for the truth about their life in Chicago.
Davis extensively researched the true story of SECRET LIFE, SECRET DEATH over a period of 10 years. She pieced together the real story of what happened to her Grandmother, relentlessly searching in archives, libraries, family letters and photo albums, and undertaking road trips to conduct eye witness interviews. Davis found, at the heart of the tragic story, the source of her family's pain.
OBJECTIVES:
1) To explore the traumatic effects of trafficking on the mental health of the victim.
2) To explore the mental health of the child whose mother is trafficked. And to explore how those effects manifest as the child grows to adulthood and how the quality of life as an adult is affected.
3) To explore the role of alcoholism and addiction in trafficking, and how that legacy is passed on to children.
Keeping track of information is important to all service organizations. However, many organizations providing client services may not realize how much insight can be gained through analysis of operational data. Operations data such as survivor demographics, referral sources, and case note content can be mined to provide insight into the client population, how services are being provided, and identifying other service needs. In turn, this information can provide an organization’s management staff with the information necessary to make sound decisions about allocation of the organization’s resources. This presentation will walk through why data is important and make recommendations about regular data collection. Examples and demonstration will be provided from the work of Myia Welsh Consulting with survivor support organizations. The primary objective of the session is to emphasize the notion that better data leads to better management, which leads to better services for survivors. Each participant will come away with a clear understanding of how to increase their data collection, and how to use that information to improve services.
Read MoreIt was established that there was a lack of publically available data on the commercial sex industry in the Akron/Canton Ohio area. To address this issue, a research team was organized and recorded three months of data from a leading website known to hosting commercial sex advertisements. The purpose of this particular research was to not only to establish a better understanding of where it happens in the Akron/Canton area, but also, where education and outreach efforts by local coalitions should be focused on.
Read More30 Nepali girls were trafficked into India with the intent of being forced into the sex trafficking industry. Tomorrow 30 more will be trafficked. They will be locked up, beaten and raped until they give in and accept the hell that will thereafter be their life. Meanwhile, as these girls continue to suffer, more will be added to their number.
SAVE THE LIFE operates more than 3 Border Monitoring stations at crucial points along the Nepal- India border. These stations are overseen by Subcommittees, and employ border guards to watch for signs of Trafficking, and try to intercept girls as they are being trafficked into India and other Country.
C.G. Women’s Empowerment (“CGWE”) is a Christian, non-profit organization. CGWE believes that empowering women to be key agents of change is an essential element to achieving the end of hunger and poverty. CGWE chose “Dabaree” as a model program to follow with some minor changes where appropriate. Dabaree is a traditional Oromo economic system of relation and/or cooperation. The genesis of Dabaree women economic support project is a traditional support system involving transfer of heifers from cattle rich individuals to those without cattle endowment.
During 2013-2014, CGWE provided a cow each to 51 families in Kombo community, donated clothing, shoes, school supplies, Bible and Bible dictionaries, solar phone chargers, and 100 portable solar lights for use in non-electrified rural areas for school children to study, do their homework, and read in the evenings.
CGWE beneficiaries are meeting every month, discussing finance; learning best ways to handle their cows; and conducting bible study in conjunction with the proclaimed CGWE. More than 255 people have benefited within short period of time; and they have seen a BIG change in the family lives already.
CGWE will participate in education designed to highlight rural community’s harmful traditional practices and other forms of violence perpetrated against women and girls like female genital mutilation and forced marriage. The presenter also hopes to initiate a program to train and motivate youth in rural economy by providing High Yielding Variety seeds and instructions on planting local vegetables in neighborhood gardens using a 4-H type model.
Read MoreThe workshop will provide an overview of reentry. Reentry reintegration of ex-offenders into mainstream society from a period of incarceration is a process not an event. The longer one has been incarcerated and the more severe the offense, the more challenging reentry can be. This presentation will deal with the major barriers and challenges faced by the reentry population, and the many roles social workers can play to increase the likelihood of successful reentry. While the needs of the reentry population are not unique (employment, housing, transportation, behavioral and physical health) and shared by many others, a criminal record often creates an additional barrier to obtaining these needs. Emphasis will be given to the role of social workers on both the micro level (providing direct services to individuals) and macro level (community advocacy). The presenter will tell their personal experience on being a convicted felon in Ohio and how they have become a social worker. In order to help this particular population there needs to be an emphasis on reducing the stigma associated with being convicted felons. The presenter will share his research that was conducted in Toledo, Ohio including effective rehabilitation and reentry efforts. It is a study with 67 participants and how they view their treatment and ambitions. Peer support can be affective for convicted felons and the role of mentors need to be addressed for convicted felons. This workshop will help demonstrate the change of people and motivate for success.
Objectives:
1) To understand the specific barriers that the reentry population faces;
2) To see the important role that social workers play in successful reentry;
To learn about a study and its findings done in Toledo involving reentry.
Read MoreEveryday practices that deny sexual pleasure and create barriers to wellbeing also help to encourage human rights violations at the level of sexuality. Cultural expectations surrounding sexual pleasure contribute to oppression. These violations have prompted discussion about the creation of formal sexual pleasure rights by feminist, LGBTQ, and disability scholars. A variety of popular and professional discourses about the cultural expectations surrounding sexual pleasure and barriers to access will be analyzed in this presentation. Health care professionals, in large numbers, do not feel prepared to integrate sexual pleasure into general care and consumers of health care report regular insensitivity on the part of professionals when they pursue assistance with sexual concerns. This paper will explore ways professionals can increase knowledge about sexual pleasure as a complex concept, encourage client-centered attitudes, and build communications skills. Time will be spent considering carefully controversial topics within the fight for sexual pleasure rights like: disability and sexual surrogacy, BDSM and intimate partner violence and body image and relationship expectations that come in the way of young women’s pleasure. Participants will reflect on what influences their personal understanding of pleasure and sexuality and how personal understanding can hinder an environment where people feel sexuality is a permissible subject to talk about. Participants will consider the ethical responsibility of all healthcare professionals to incorporate issues of pleasure and sexuality into practice to combat human rights violations at the level of sexuality.
Read MoreWe have a monster hiding in our own backyard. This monster is growing larger, demanding more victims, acquiring vast amounts of wealth, becoming bolder by night, increasingly seen even in broad daylight. This monster, one that we unknowingly feed, through our lack of education, awareness, and/or action is known as Sex Trafficking.
Objectives:
1) Raise basic awareness about human trafficking, particularly domestic sex trafficking.
2) Discuss the current social policy and reform occurring in the United States.
3) Enable participants to have the tools to actively seek change within the social policy and legislation of their own regions and states.
Statistical data, policy reform issues, and various legislative topics will also be discussed. This research has been gathered by both third party organizations, such as the Polaris Project, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and Not on Our Watch America Foundation, as well as Ms. KiloMarie Granda. The material presented will both build upon existing research and incorporate measurable outcomes based upon Quantitative and Qualitative Data.
For more information about our mission to end Domestic Sex Trafficking, please check us out at www.unspokenvoices.net or https://www.facebook.com/unspokenvoicesorganization.
DO Something! is a workshop that will empower and energize participants to take the initial steps to create and grow a functioning and effective anti-human trafficking organization. While many people are startled by the alarming increase in human trafficking, some are overwhelmed by what they perceive as the potential obstacles in creating such a group. DO Something! is designed to help participants unpack their concerns and address critical issues they will face when undertaking the task of starting and maintaining an anti-human trafficking group.
Objectives:
1) How to identify the purpose(s) of starting an anti-human trafficking group.
2) How to identify local resources in their community to tap into as they start such a group.
3) How to identify the key people needed to organize the group.
4) How to identify the nomenclature and logo for their group.
5) How to identify key functions of the group.
6) How to identify and utilize existing resources to enhance the group.
7) How to get and stay going strong.
Work with victims of sex-trafficking can be extremely rewarding but it can also be incredibly disheartening. Many times victims seem unable to move beyond their experiences and it can be challenging for advocates to motivate them to move along the continuum from victim-to survivor-to-Thriver. This session will present ways of working with clients, utilizing therapeutic interventions, to assist them in their journey of discovery and renewal.
Dr. Filmore is not only a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor who specializes in working with trauma victims, he is also a former victim of sex-trafficking who has turned his past into passion and become an incredible Thriver. In this session he will use his professional clinical and research skills to assist participants in working with clients, as well as share some of his personal journey of how he became a Thriver, in a way that is not only heartfelt but humorous. Dr. Filmore believes that everyone is capable of having an amazing life and you will leave this session energized and ready to help your clients find their amazing!