Evaluation of Client Services for Human Trafficking Survivors- Lessons Learned

As 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.

Read More
Prisons for Profit

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 More
Secret Life, Secret Death: Film and Discussion

In 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.

Read More
Using What You’ve Got: Leveraging Information for Better Client Services

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 More
Qualitative Analysis of Commercial Sex and Sex Trafficking in Akron-Canton, Ohio

It 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 More
2015Firas NasrElana Koh10:4:00
Boarder Monitoring

30 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.

Read More
C.G. Women’s Empowerment (CGWE)

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 More
More Than a Statistic

The 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 More
Considering Social Justice and Formal Rights to Sexual Pleasure: The Case for Sexual Surrogacy, BDSM and Body Image

Everyday 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 More
The Monster Hiding in our Backyard: Recognizing the Need for Social Justice Reform in a Criminal Justice System

We 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.

Read More
DO Something!

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.

Read More
Thriving, Not Just Surviving: Helping Victims Find Their Amazing

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!

Read More
Effects of a Comprehensive Approach to Intervention; Using the Intention to Exit prostitution (IEP) Measure

This workshop will discuss an intervention program designed to help adults exit a lifestyle of commercial sex or sexual exploitation. Programming for Phenomenal Woman, a court-funded prostitution diversion in Los Angeles County, will be highlighted. Attendees will learn how all of the elements in the intervention program work together. The 10-week Ending The Game coercion resiliency curriculum helps unravel the mind control. Mental health services, drug and alcohol treatment and holistic help heal the body and mind. Individuals are assessed for safety, immediate needs, and shelter. Career development and GED testing helps participants obtain employment. Relationships with survivor-mentors provide the necessary support and encouragement to succeed. Courts serve as a source of external motivation and promote recovery in the program. Graduates of Phenomenal Woman are empowered to elect after-care services including leadership opportunities, trainings and employment.
The preliminary results of a research project examining the program’s effects on improving outcome measures such as recidivism will be presented. Self-reported changes on the IEP including education attainment, housing stability, employment and not engaging in prostitution activities were achieved through collaboration and coordinated services at a drop-in center. An in-depth discussion regarding application of Cimino’s (2013) Intentions to Exit Prostitution Model and Measure to assess readiness and tailor intervention services will follow a review successes in the exit literature. This study addresses the needs of this population and why a comprehensive approach is necessary and most-effective.

 

Objectives: 

1) Gain an understanding of why a comprehensive approach is necessary,

2) Learn the 10 essential elements of such a program and

3) Gain knowledge of the IEP (Intentions to Exit Prostitution) instrument to target interventions and evaluate program effectiveness.

Reference: Cimino, A. N. (2013) Developing and testing a theory of intentions to exit street-level prostitution: A mixed-methods study. Dissertation is available from ProQuest database.

Read More
Inequality and Injustice: The Roots of Human Trafficking

Inequity and a lack of human rights is at the root of human trafficking. Human trafficking education, awareness, and micro level interventions will not contribute much to ending trafficking, without attention paid to those institutional forces that drive inequality to create a thriving market for labor, sex, and drug trafficking. Using Latin America as a case in point, the audience will learn about the causes for the prevalence in trafficking, which include: (a) U.S. broken foreign policy with Mexico and Latin America, including trade agreements and immigration laws that criminalize the poor and supports endemic corruption and drug cartels; (b) U.S. global corporate supply chains and investor greed; and (c) our broken U.S. Congress and their inability to guarantee mechanisms for citizens and immigrants to exercise their human rights, civil rights and labor rights. This is a call to attack institutional inequality by creating a counter institutional moment among the victims and the poor. Examples of how to fight back and restore human rights and human dignity will be provided.  

Read More
Human Trafficking 101

This session is most appropriate for those new to the field of human trafficking and provides a basic overview and refresher of human trafficking. From an American perspective, presenters will focus on both domestic and foreign trafficking as well as labor and sex trafficking occurring in the United States. Estimates on the number of victims, their experiences, the indicators for victim identification, the business of trafficking, where and how to report suspected trafficking, and the importance of accountability of customers and traffickers will be discussed.

Read More
Understanding the Therapeutic Roles of Animals in Trauma Recovery

Social, emotional, physical, and psychological human benefits of human-animal interaction are well-documented. Within this presentation, these human-animal interaction benefits are reviewed and the roles through which companion animals can help convey these benefits and help facilitate trauma recovery are delineated.

Specifically, the following roles are defined and differentiated between:

  • companion animals
  • emotional support pets
  • service animals 
  • animal-assisted activities
  • animal-assisted therapy

For each role designation, the types of client trauma recovery-related needs that can be met are explicated, as well as pathways through which clients may be able to access such companion animal supports. 

Objectives:

  1. Attendees will be able to identify at least three potential benefits of the human-animal bond for individuals who interact with companion animals. 
  2. Attendees will be able to define and differentiate between the following designations: "companion animal" ; "service dog" ; "emotional support pet" ; "animal assisted activities" ; and "animal assisted therapy"
  3. Attendees will be able to identify and differentiate which kinds of client needs could be met by each of the different companion animal role designations. 
Read More
2015Firas NasrJanet Hoy10:9:00
Extensive Review of International Treatment and Evidence in Sexual Trafficking and Abuse Recovery

This review of international studies and literature highlights current levels of evidence for treatment approaches directed at recovery of sexual trafficking and sexual abuse survivors. Current data addresses symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, mental health symptoms, and HIV risk. Treatment approaches include trauma-focused therapy, present-focused therapy, support groups, mindfulness activities, skills training, physical exercise activities, alternative techniques, and functional skills.
This presentation outlines suggestions for further investigation, including expanded symptoms of sexual abuse/trafficking, specific functional skills, activities of daily living (ADL), previously studied approaches, and novel techniques. Specific research guidelines offer direction into further research of assessment, diagnosis, and treatments of survivors of sexual trafficking and trauma.

Read More
Identification and Benefits: Explanations of How the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Can Help Foreign-Born Trafficking Victims

In July 2014, the State of Ohio’s Office of Criminal Justice Services received a grant from the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to increase the identification of foreign-born trafficking victims in Ohio. The program that Ohio established is executed through state and local partners and has led to successful identification of previously hidden populations of trafficking victims. Beyond awareness, though, this panel of presenters has have been working with HHS to provide services for trafficking victims, and have learned to navigate the seemingly complex channels to accessing these services. The presentation will give both an overview of the role of HHS in anti-trafficking work among foreign born populations and will also provide concrete examples of initiatives to improve identification and services for foreign trafficking victims in Ohio.

 

Objectives:

1)       To explain the role of the US Department of Health and Human Services in both identifying and serving foreign-born victims of human trafficking.

2)       To illustrate Ohio’s initiative to identify foreign-born trafficking victims through the grant from the US Department of Health and Human Services, including the approach, partners, and entities trained through the grant.

3)       To explain the specific efforts and priorities in identifying foreign born trafficking victims in northwest Ohio through the Lucas County Human Trafficking Coalition and its local outreach partners.

To demonstrate outcomes to date and the importance of raising awareness and collaboration with existing federal programs to increase the protections for potential trafficking victims.

Read More
The Correlation Between Stockholm Syndrome and the “Bottom Girl” Training/Workshop “The Bottom Girl; Is She the Perpetuator or the Victim?”

This workshop will explore the correlation between Stockholm syndrome and victims of sex trafficking. Specifically, the correlation between Stockholm syndrome and the “bottom girl”. What could this mean for how we legally and ethically treat “bottom girls”? 
Stockholm syndrome is a phenomenon in psychology that describes the unnatural behavior of a victim towards his/her captor or aggressor. The Stockholm syndrome usually develops out of “traumatic bonding”, which forms from the “strong emotional ties that develop between two persons where one person intermittently harasses, beats, threatens, abuses, or intimidates the other” (Dutton, 1981).
Individuals, usually known as “girls”, trapped in trafficking rings controlled by pimps, often referred to as “stables”, are controlled, in large part, by fear and the direct aggressive behavior of the pimp. Over time, these “girls” generally become physically and mentally attached towards their pimp. The desire to please their captor and earn his favor is often a strong motivation for a girl to work harder, comply more, and even help coerce and incite other girls to work for the pimp.
The existence of the “bottom girl” position actually helps to prove the main points of Stockholm Syndrome. The forced bond influences the girl so strongly that she makes the conscious choice to attempt to obtain this position in an effort to develop a closer bond with her captor.

Objectives:

1)       Raise basic awareness about the correlation between Stockholm syndrome and victims caught in sex trafficking and exploitation, particularly “bottom girls”.

2)       Discuss the relationship between the pimp/trafficker and the “girls” in his “stable” as well as the hierarchy among these girls.

3)       Attendees will learn about research findings regarding the coercion and power dynamics between a pimp and/or trafficker over his victims.

Case studies will be presented, allowing for participants to further examine the correlation between victims of trafficking and Stockholm syndrome.
Interactive discussion will be encouraged.

Read More
Targeting Poverty: Risk of Trafficking Among Women and Children in India

In a developing country like India, poverty becomes one of the main causes for being trafficked. Especially, for women and children who end up in prostitution and/or organ trading in other countries.  Poverty creates a big scope of vulnerability among them for being trafficked. Allurement of overseas jobs, attempt to avoid sexual and physical abuse at home, poverty and forced labor are the key reasons of for human trafficking. Source? Wherever there is poverty, there is likely supply to meet the growing demand for sexual entertainment. India is a country, where the trafficking of women and children occurs frequently and acts as a source, destination and transit point. At least 225,000 women and children are trafficked from the region every year. It also causes the brunt of countless negative physical and mental health outcomes.

Objectives:

1)       Explore the relationship between poverty and trafficking in women and children. Including, the various forms of violence they have to face after being trafficked.

2)       Analyze the major routes, destinations and forms of trafficking in women and children in India? As it has been observed poor helpless families and tribal societies have become the main target group of traffickers.

Understand human trafficking violates the freedom of a person and it is against human rights. It has many forms and the modus operandi vary from countries and destinations.

Read More