“Our Fashion Year” is a presentation of an investigative comics journalism project that connects the garment trade to the sex trade worldwide, through international anti-trafficking NGOs. Originally published on Truthout, investigative journalist Anne Elizabeth Moore presents a lively look at a deeply complicated issue, presenting a viewpoint on the world of anti-trafficking NGOs that brings human and labor rights issues into sharp focus. Conference attendees will closely examine the fashion industry at large and its connections to the sex industry in a series of colorful comics created by some of the top-working comics creators in the US. They will be presented with hard evidence indicating that the results the anti-trafficking world claims as success are problematic and self-serving, and participants will be positioned to wonder what purposes the identification of trafficking as a global issue serves, who is funding its eradication, and what is being achieved. One of the leading critics of global anti-trafficking rhetoric, Anne Elizabeth Moore in this project works with Delia Jean, Melissa Mendes, Leela Corman, Ellen Lindner, and Julia Gfrörer to draw a very clear picture of how anti-trafficking organizations often end up perpetrating the exact practices they claim to be against.
Read MoreSevere, chronic, and extensive sexual abuse sometimes leads to symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder. Over the past three decades, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy was developed to treat the most difficult and deeply entrenched cycle of sexual abuse. In this workshop, participants will learn the history and rationale for the development of DBT as a distinct treatment model. In addition, participants will further learn the five main skill sets of DBT; how each of the five skill sets relates to specific clinical symptoms; and how to apply the five skill sets to clinical populations.
Outcomes:
1) Participants will learn the history and rationale for the development of DBT as a distinct treatment model.
2) Participants will learn the five main skill sets of the DBT model.
3) Participates will learn how each of the five skill sets relates to specific clinical symptoms.
4) Participants will learn specific examples of how to apply the five skill sets to clinical populations.
The Green Dot Strategy is a comprehensive approach to violence prevention that is capsulized on the power of peer and cultural influences across all levels and ages of the Socio-Ecological model. Informed by the social change theory, the model targets all community members, as potential bystanders, and seeks to engage them, through awareness, education, and skills-practice, in proactive behaviors that establish intolerance of violence as the norm, as well as reactive interventions in high risk situations- resulting in the ultimate reduction of violence.
A Green Dot etc. training is distinct from a typical conference experience. In addition to learning the core curriculum, the Green Dot etc. training engages participants in skill-building and analysis focused on fostering authentic relationships, personal connection and mastery of skills and knowledge necessary for effective persuasive communication.
A foundational tenet of the Green Dot etc. violence prevention strategy is the belief that we cannot expect others to engage in a process we are not willing to engage in ourselves.
Objectives:
1) Gain an understanding of the Green Dot etc.
2) Engage in an in-depth examination of their personal and professional connection to the issue of violence prevention.
3) Understand personal, cultural, and societal obstacles to action.
4) Equip bystanders with the knowledge and empowerment to become an educated active bystander.
Now more than ever, human sex trafficking is being facilitated online. In fact, “technology has become the single greatest facilitator of the commercial sex trade” (Shared Hope International, 2012, p. 5). To have any kind of impact for individual survivor/victims and social justice issues surrounding human trafficking, anti-trafficking efforts must re-conceptualize the image of women and girls walking the streets at night looking for customers, to what is flashing across computer screens. Sites such as Craigslist, Backpage, a plethora of “hook-up” sites, and yes even Facebook and Twitter, are used to recruit and sell sex trafficking victims. It is not the case that all online sex work is a situation of trafficking; however, research reveals it is overwhelmingly situations of trafficking (Hughes, 2002; Latonero, 2011; Thorn, 2014). This is especially true of minor sex trafficking, not only because of youth social media use which puts them at risk of being trafficked, but also because the location of the underage victim can be kept secret more easily by advertising online. A recent study conducted by Thorn (2014) demonstrates this with the discovery that up to 70% of child trafficking survivor/victims are sold online. The use of the Internet provides traffickers with even more anonymity (of themselves and their victims), as well as the ability to sell and re-sell the same individual more frequently than through any other location (e.g. on the street). Consequently, it becomes more challenging to identity and prosecute the traffickers, as well as to find the victims and assist in their progress to survivor.
This presentation will bring to light a critical awareness element of online sex trafficking. This will be accomplished by reviewing examples directly from active websites, a list of websites and sales tactics frequently used by traffickers, and essential research surrounding this method of selling survivor/victims. Prevention recommendations will also be provided, with special emphasis given to youth risk factors associated with online trafficking recruitment. Finally, practical suggestions for social justice on this issue will be addressed.
Read More This presentation will explore a local survivors story of becoming an incredible thriver..? Michelle Moore's story started out like many others: the daughter of a prominent Toledo attorney and a stay at home mother, raised with strong Catholic values. But that all changed when her boyfriend got tangled in alcohol and drugs. Soon, she was trafficked to pay off his drug debt. So began twenty years of nightmares for Michelle.
After a near-death experience, Michelle regained control of her life. Eight years later, her life has completely turned around from that moment on the streets of North Toledo. She has been clean and sober since, working to keep others from the life. Sharing the same past as the clients she serves allows Michelle to use her experience, strength, and hope of recovery, to save them from the decades of hell that she survived. Michelle continues to push for survivor leadership, helping to prepare these women to move beyond victimization to thriving. With her intimate understanding of survivor's challenges, she is able to build a supportive environment with trauma informed groups, art therapy, and self-esteem building exercises, so that they may live freely by choice, and not be compelled by their prior circumstance.
Michelle is now a full time Recovery Specialist at RISE and holds a Chemical Dependency Counselor Certificate, as well as a Bachelor's in Counseling. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Advocating Opportunity. Michelle has won the prestigious Liberator Award from Ohio Governor Kasich for her dedication to human trafficking. Michelle is also in the process of expunging of her record under the Safe Harbor Law.
Gaining Independence for Females in Transition (GIFT) project was developed by a multi-jurisdictional team from corrections, research, and community agencies in response to community concerns about prostitution in Minneapolis. GIFT is probation. Here the presenters describe the model and present data from their recently concluded study that shows that GIFT is successful in reducing recidivism by working with women to improve their life circumstances while on probation. GIFT was designed using research on prostitution, gender responsive corrections and practices in community court. The core components of GIFT involve a specific model of authority to shape the role of each system partner, intentional service delivery through support, non-judgment and respect, and the use of an actuarial assessment tool to target individual case-planning and intervention in partnership with each woman. Based on four years of evaluation data using a quasi-experimental design, the presenters found that GIFT reduces recidivism for prostitution-related offenses and that it leads to life improvements for women who complete their probation. While this model is embedded in probation practice, they believe many of the core components are transferable to other types of programming for women in prostitution.
Objectives:
1) Understand the core components of a new, successful model for reducing prostitution recidivism by working with women to improve their life circumstances;
2) Explore ways this model may be applicable to other types of prostitution-related programming;
3) Learn about a quasi-experimental research design to evaluate effectiveness of this program
From the team behind THE INVISIBLE WAR, comes a startling documentary of rape crimes on U.S. campuses, institutional cover-ups and the brutal social toll on victims and their families. Weaving together footage and first-person testimonies, the film follows survivors as they pursue their education while fighting for justice.
A brief talk-back will be held immediately following the film. Information will be provided on how to report an incident at UT and where victims and survivors can find support.
After creating the first human trafficking risk assessment and prevalence estimation model for minors in the United States, Dr. Durgana applies the same theoretical and statistical modeling insights to the issue of human trafficking in Caribbean sexual tourism in this lecture. She deconstructs vulnerability to human trafficking by appealing to the UN human security theoretical framework. She also provides context on how to best inform potential interventions for human trafficking prevention in the Caribbean and the United States from the perspectives of both regions. Survivor Advocates, Academics, Community Members, and others will find this lecture to be a unique perspective into the state of human trafficking in nearby Caribbean and abroad, with an engaging open discussion on the many potential ways to combat this issue moving forward.
Read MoreSex Work, Human Trafficking, and Social Justice is a panel of three sex workers - One who is trans, one African American, one who was raped, beaten and abducted, one who was assaulted by several clients, who talk about their own experiences and how anti-trafficking trends affected them. Topics discussed are transmisogyny (structural violence against trans women) misogyny and anti-trans violence, survival sex and exploitation, gaps in services and the need for trauma-informed care, and health and harm reduction in our communities. The panel will explain and examine the difference between sex work and sex trafficking, from sex workers’ perspectives. Kristen DiAngelo, Pearl Callahan, and Delphine Brody have over 80 years’ combined experience in the sex industry and sex trades.
Objectives:
1) Understand the impacts of structural violence on trans sex workers and trans people who trade sex.
2) Discuss anti-trafficking techniques and their adverse consequences (end-demand, street stings, massage parlor code enforcement, etc).
3) Understand and discuss the ideas surrounding survival sex/sex trades.
4) Grasp the idea of complex trauma in sex work and sex trades, and how it occurs.
5) Have a working knowledge of what you can do to interrupt the cycle.
6) Obtain a set of resources who are experts on sex work and sex trades for use in your organization.
7) Evaluate the content of the anti-trafficking information you are being given.
8) Draw informed conclusions that reflect an understanding of multiple (and sometimes conflicting) sources of information.
Many disabled victims of human trafficking are ignored, both by disability organizations and by human trafficking organizations. This presentation will give many examples of disabled victims of human trafficking and will challenge advocates to be more aware of these victims. It will examine a wide range of impairments - people who are blind, amputees, people with physical impairments, cognitive impairments, psychiatric impairments, explaining how all of these groups are exploited in various ways in the sex industry and in forced labor. Finally, the presentation will provide many strategies and suggestions on how to respond more appropriately to disabled victims of trafficking.
Read MoreWhile people in the sex trade are often treated as vectors of disease, people are often put at higher risk because of the way sex work and HIV are treated in the United States. Over the last year, the Sex Workers Project and the Global Health Justice Partnership at Yale University have embarked on a research project to explore the intersections of criminalization of sex work and HIV. This presentation will explore the ways in which HIV, sex work and criminalization overlap to create the conditions which increase transmission, disincentive HIV testing and safer sex tools, and increase criminalization of those in the sex trade. As each of these issues has a unique set of factors, we will look at specific case studies of how these major issues interact in New York, Georgia, Tennessee, and California, and highlight the unique perspectives that each location brings. In each of these locations we will also dig into ways in which communities are coming together and building coalitions to push back and create real change on the ground. Participants will walk away with a better understanding of the issue, as well as opportunities to investigate these issues in their home state.
Read MoreIn this presentation, the audience will be asked to question one of the foundational concepts of anti-trafficking work and ask: Is anti-trafficking a criminal justice issue? This presentation will examine that question, and what it means to use a criminal justice framework to address a social justice problem. First we will explore the various ways in which we institutionalize this work within a criminal justice framework, including through laws and social dialogue. We will look at the problems with contextualizing the issue as one of victim/victimizer, the concept of success as a question of laws and expansion of law enforcement, and the harms of couching anti-trafficking in terms of numbers of arrests and prosecutions. Case studies which juxtapose the use of criminal justice-based mechanisms with other forms of anti-trafficking work will be utilized as we explore the ideas of what anti-trafficking work is, what justice looks like, and alternative frameworks which could lead to more rights-based and survivor-centered outcomes.
Read MoreThis presentation aims to educate professionals working with young people on the issues of sexual assault, dating violence, and reproductive coercion. The target audience for this program are educators and professionals working with an adolescent population, domestic violence workers, and sexual assault advocates. This presentation sheds light on the prevalence of sexual abuse and reproductive coercion within already violent intimate partner relationships. As part of this educational session, information will also be provided regarding victim rights and services available to victims of these crimes.
During the program, observers will learn the legal definitions and basic facts about dating violence, sexual assault, and reproductive coercion. Observers will also be given an in-depth explanation of the Ohio Statutory Rape Law and how this law is relevant to the issues of dating violence and reproductive coercion. Observers will also be advised of the appropriate protocol for dealing with disclosure of these crimes as well as the various options afforded to survivors regarding the legal process, advocacy, and seeking medical treatment.
Participants will be provided with statistical information regarding these three types of violence and how they are related to each other. Statistics included in the presentation are: statistics regarding survivors’ relationships to their offender, the common age ranges of survivors, the amount of male and female survivors, and the prevalence of unreported incidents. In closing, observers will be given contact information for local advocacy services.
Read MoreSex og Samfunn (Medical Center of Adolescent Sexuality) is the biggest clinic for sexual health in Norway and it has approximately 25.000 patients annually. Sex og Samfunn works mainly with testing and treatment for STI`s and contraceptives for adolescents up to 25 years.
Currently they have a project at the clinic that focuses on prevention with people who buy sex. The service offers testing of STI`s and therapeutic treatment for those who want to quit buying sex or just want to talk about their experiences with buying sex. The service is open for all sexes, ages and for partners to people who buy sex.
In addition, the clinic offers an interactive chat on their website where people who buy sex anonymously can write questions and get answers. This service is funded by the Department of Justice in Norway and is an action to prevent prostitution, human trafficking and the spread of STI`s. In Norway, it is legal to sell sex, but illegal to buy sex. The service aims to help the ones who want to quit buying sex to find alternatives to buying.
The clinic believes in meeting the sex buyers free of judgment. This opens a rare opportunity to talk about difficult subjects and enables the sex buyers to reflect upon their own practice and behavior. The clinic works systematically to obtain knowledge about people who buy sex and try to provide for their physical and mental health, with the aim to reduce the amount of people who buy sex in Norway and reduce the spread of STI`s. To achieve these goals Sex og Samfunn collects data from their patients so that we obtain more knowledge and information about this group. The idea is that this data will give a better foundation for knowing how to provide the best service, to address prevention.
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.
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Read MoreThere are cases where survivors have had children with their traffickers. While these case are low in numbers there is every reason to believe they will increase in the future. This is an issue as traffickers may attempt to use family court as a means of intimidating survivors for a variety of reasons. Traffickers fear her testifying or providing information to law enforcement regarding being trafficked. Traffickers may threaten women with seeking custody and/or parenting time in their state.
In Michigan, Family Court primarily deals with custody and parenting time issues. If the trafficker is the biological father in unmarried cases or if they were married and/or divorced, he has the right to seek contact with their common child.
This workshop will focus on the trafficking context as it relates to Custody and Parenting Time laws of Michigan with the focus on the power, control, manipulation and fear factor. Survivors would naturally be fearful of their trafficker having any form of contact with their child, especially related to the fear of similar acts being forced unto their child and/or the use of the child as a means of continuing to have control over the woman’s life.
Objectives:
1) Attendees will gain understanding of the legal system related to custody and parenting time.
2) Attendees will be able to recognize the role of power and control as it relates to potential court cases.
3) Attendees will be able to formulate concepts of how to address these issues in future court cases.
Attendees will have a greater understanding of examining their state’s custody and parenting time laws related to HT survivors.
Read MoreThe Green Dot Strategy is a comprehensive approach to violence prevention that is capsulized on the power of peer and cultural influences across all levels and ages of the Socio-Ecological model. Informed by the social change theory, the model targets all community members, as potential bystanders, and seeks to engage them, through awareness, education, and skills-practice, in proactive behaviors that establish intolerance of violence as the norm, as well as reactive interventions in high risk situations- resulting in the ultimate reduction of violence.
A Green Dot etc. training is distinct from a typical conference experience. In addition to learning the core curriculum, the Green Dot etc. training engages participants in skill-building and analysis focused on fostering authentic relationships, personal connection and mastery of skills and knowledge necessary for effective persuasive communication.
A foundational tenet of the Green Dot etc. violence prevention strategy is the belief that we cannot expect others to engage in a process we are not willing to engage in ourselves.
Objectives:
1) Gain an understanding of the Green Dot etc.
2) Engage in an in-depth examination of their personal and professional connection to the issue of violence prevention.
3) Understand personal, cultural, and societal obstacles to action.
4) Equip bystanders with the knowledge and empowerment to become an educated active bystander.
Shadow on the Heartland is a 30 minute film on sexual trafficking in Ohio. It features Rep Teresa Fedor, Gov. John Kasich, Dr. Celia Williamson, Judge Paul Herbert, survivors, an ex pimp and two undercover police officers. The film is designed to show to children and teens in schools and youth groups to educate them about this crime and learn how to prevent becoming a victim. The film also can raise the awareness of this crime among the general public. The film can be used as a resource tool for organizations fighting sexual trafficking. Camille & Haley Harris, two young recording artists, from Tulsa narrate the film and present their song "Slavery" which will likely become the banner song of the anti-sexual trafficking movement.
Read MoreLittle is known about the sex trafficking experiences of homeless young adults in the state of Arizona. The chaotic and unpredictable nature of homelessness puts individuals at heightened risk for sexual exploitation due to survival strategies such as sex trading or survival sex. The life experiences of a random sample of homeless young adults in Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona were collected through paper and pencil surveys administered from drop-in centers and street outreach efforts (N=246). Results of the initial study demonstrated that 25.6% of study participants reported a history of sex trafficking. LGBTQ young adults were significantly more likely to report a sex trafficking experience (33, 38.4%) than heterosexual young adults. Sixty-five percent of study participants who had a history of sex trafficking also reported having a sex trafficker at one point, with nine participants reporting having a sex trafficker at the time of the study. The childhood, behavioral and untreated issues that created risk factors for sex trafficking vulnerability were extensive. In the majority of the comparisons between the sex trafficked and non-sex trafficked young adults, significant differences were found with the sex trafficked group having many more negative experiences, behaviors and untreated issues. Techniques used to address these issues and the challenges of providing services to homeless victims of sex trafficking will be discussed.
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