Moving Forward: Ways to Stay Engaged in Human Trafficking Awareness All Year Long

Written by: Lindsey Collier, Human Trafficking Specialist, National Safe Place Network

As National Human Trafficking Awareness Month draws to a close, I want to take a moment to thank each and every one of you who have engaged in the important work of awareness. Whether you have shared your knowledge and expertise or taken time to learn something new this month, thank you. After a month of efforts focused on awareness, you may be looking forward to some respite from the problem of human trafficking. Alternatively, you may be eager to learn more and to take action. Wherever you are, I encourage you to stay engaged in some capacity. Your community, region, state, and nation need you.

Here are some simple ways you can stay engaged all year long:

1. Share what you know. Start a conversation. You won’t have all of the answers…that’s okay!
2. Contact your local, state, and federal representatives. Share your concern about human trafficking. Ask them what they are doing to combat human trafficking in your community, state, and nation, and world. Request their continued support to fight human trafficking and meet the comprehensive needs of survivors. To find out who your representatives are, click here.
3. Save the National Human Trafficking Hotline Number in your phone: 1-888-373-7888. This hotline can be used to report a tip or to request services.
4. Volunteer with organizations combatting human trafficking. To locate organizations in your community, check out the National Human Trafficking Referral Directory.
5. Do you travel? If so, download the TraffickCam App on your smartphone. You can upload pictures of your hotel room to a database used by investigators to determine where traffickers are committing their crimes.
6. Be an informed and ethical consumer. Check out Made in a Free World for a growing list of companies that are committed to freedom and ethical business practices.
7. Donate to National Safe Place Network or other organizations committed to meeting the needs of survivors while creating a world in which human trafficking cannot exist. Click here to donate to NSPN! We cannot do what we do without your support.

“Nothing happens just because we are aware of modern-day slavery, but nothing will ever happen until we are.” – Gary Haugen

Agencies in Action Against Human Trafficking: Park Place Outreach

During National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, we’re highlighting agencies and programs doing exceptional work to combat human trafficking and serve victims-survivors. Today’s blog features information about Park Place Outreach located in Savannah, Georgia, an NSPN member and licensed Safe Place agency. This post was written by agency staff:

Park Place Outreach, in Savannah, Georgia operates a Street Outreach Program (SOP) that is actively involved in addressing human trafficking in the community. A large part of our outreach program is centered on providing services to trafficking victims, including assistance in residential placement with other collaborating agencies and training for schools and businesses on identification of and response to trafficking victims.

We also focus on educating our community about human trafficking. We participate in venues that are specifically focused on raising awareness. The SOP coordinator serves on the Savannah Interagency Diversity Council (SIDC) Board, which plays a huge role in resolving human trafficking on both the local and national level. We also take part in the annual Savannah Traffic Jam, a conference facilitated by the SIDC.  This year’s Traffic Jam will take place on the campus of Savannah State University on Saturday, January 28th, 2017.

The SOP program goes out into the community two to three days a week and distributes information to suspected trafficking victims. Our approach is to provide information on how to get out of the life if they want.

Park Place Outreach recognizes that an understanding of culture is critical to assist trafficking victims. We have received extensive training from other agencies such as National Safe Place Network and the Family and Youth Services Bureau.

We collaborate with surrounding agencies to assist us in bringing victims off of the streets and out of harm’s way.

Our SOP emphasizes the importance of identification of trafficking and seeks to raise awareness among various community organizations. We work closely with agencies such as Safe Shelter and Salvation Army, who have collectively agreed to assist and provide services to survivors.

To learn more about Park Place Outreach, please visit: http://parkplaceyes.org/

Policy Advocacy and Human Trafficking

Written by: Eric Masten, Director of Public Policy, National Network for Youth

Recently, former-President Obama proclaimed January to be National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Unfortunately, human trafficking still occurs throughout our country, and youth and young adults experiencing homelessness are particularly susceptible to becoming victims of trafficking. Throughout the country, the National Network for Youth’s members, funded through the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA) provide support and assistance to runaway or homeless youth who are particularly at risk of being victims of either sex or labor trafficking.

Many factors contribute to the overall number of homeless youth each year, but common reasons are family dysfunction, exiting the child welfare or juvenile justice systems, and sexual abuse. Youth who have been victims of abuse are more likely to exchange sex for basic necessities that they lack. A 2016 study from the Administration on Children and Families’ Family and Youth Services Bureau noted that nearly one-quarter of participants (24.1%) exchanged sex for money, 27.5% exchanged sex for shelter, and other participants exchanged sex for other basic needs such as food or protection.

Homeless youth are also vulnerable to labor trafficking because the traffickers promise them what they do not have – food, housing and employment. In a survey conducted with the Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking, of the homeless youth providers that screened for child labor trafficking, each program had identified at least one labor trafficked youth.

Fortunately, RHYA funded programs have experience providing youth at risk of being trafficked with a safe place to stay and offer services to survivors of trafficking to help them heal from the trauma they have faced. Street Outreach Programs help 25,000 youth find shelter each year. In particular, Street Outreach Programs work closely with other organizations that work to protect and treat young people who have been or are at risk of sexual abuse or exploitation. Basic Center Programs and Transitional Living Programs prevent vulnerable youth from becoming victims of human trafficking by providing them with a safe place to stay, crisis interventions services and meeting their basic needs.

RHYA, legislation that is vital in helping to prevent and support youth and young adults who are vulnerable to trafficking because they are experiencing homelessness, is now due to be reauthorized. More than 50 national organizations have come together as part of the National Coalition for Homeless Youth to support reauthorizing RHYA by passing the Runaway and Homeless Youth and Trafficking Prevention Act. With a strong history of bipartisan support, this legislation will ensure that providers throughout the country continue to provide its crucial programs that support youth who are, or are at risk of, experiencing homelessness and potentially being trafficked.

Visit the National Network for Youth’s webpage to learn more about the intersection between human trafficking and runaway and homeless youth.

Cultural Competence and Meeting the Needs of Human Trafficking Survivors

Written by: Lindsey Collier, Human Trafficking Specialist, National Safe Place Network & RHYTTAC

January is National Human Trafficking Awareness Month. Our goal is to raise awareness with the ultimate goal of preventing trafficking, meeting the needs of survivors, and creating a world in which trafficking and exploitation cannot thrive. Earlier this month, we emphasized the importance of talking about trafficking in an accurate and honest manner, rather than feeding the sensationalism that often surrounds the national and even global discourse. Last week, we continued our quest for awareness by highlighting the many myths that exist in our understanding of trafficking and offered a more realistic picture of what trafficking really looks like.

Today’s topic is cultural competence. When you hear the word “competent,” what thoughts come to mind? Knowledge? Ability? Mastery? Understanding? Given the variety of cultures and subcultures represented in America today, how can we possibly provide services in a culturally competent manner to any and all youth or young adults who request our help? Is it even possible? What does it mean to be competent in someone else’s culture? Is there an element of cultural competence that suggests membership in a culture is a mandatory pre-requisite for competence? What are the implications of cultural incompetence? How much damage are we doing by practicing in such a way that does not expressly honor and include culture?

We know that trafficking isn’t limited to young, white females who are snatched off of the street. We know that trafficking can affect anyone, and research suggests some populations are disproportionately vulnerable. We ourselves may identify with a minority or marginalized culture, or we may belong to one or more of the dominant cultural identities, such as male, white, or cisgender.

Additionally, belonging to a specific culture does not mean that every member of that culture shares an identical experience. There are a multitude of individual experiences within a specific culture and we must be careful not to draw assumptions of a survivor’s individual experience based on cultural identity.

I believe that cultural competence is a nice goal, but nearly impossible. After all, I find myself bumbling around from time to time within my own world. How can I possibly gain enough knowledge and experience to be competent in any number of other cultures to which clients belong?

Just the other day, I had an experience with a respected colleague in which I unintentionally expressed some thoughts in such a way that screamed not competent. I didn’t intend any harm or judgment, but out of a conscious attempt to be culturally competent, I was unable to articulate clearly and the result was a jumble of words and thoughts that were anything but. What if that had been a client? What irreparable harm might have been done? If you are honest with yourself, I imagine you have had a similar experience at some point in your life.

So, what do we do? If cultural competence is important, necessary even, and also nearly impossible to achieve, how do we approach our practice? Do we just concede defeat and do the best we can otherwise? Do we keep fighting the good fight, so to speak, and seek out professional development and training opportunities in cultural competence and try to learn everything we can?

As one of my mentors wisely taught me, the answer is Both, And. We cannot comprehensively meet the needs of trafficking survivors without including and honoring their various cultural identities and the implications that culture will have on their trafficking experience and their ability to heal. No amount of therapy, support, or referrals can be beneficial if culture is not accounted for. Alternatively, it simply is not possible for any one service provider to achieve even a basic level of competence in the infinite cultural identities that could be encountered in practice with survivors. If we attempt to do this, survivors will see through it and realize that our perceived competence is really just a collection of facts that may or may not reflect an understanding of their experience.

Rather than concede defeat, however, I believe we should do everything we can to honor and include culture in our services while also acknowledging that we will never be experts in cultural identities that are not our own. Being real about our lack of competence lends credibility to our practice and allows space for survivors to teach us. No matter how much training and expertise you have, you will say or do something at some point in your work with survivors that shines a spotlight on your lack of cultural understanding. When this happens, own it. Self-reflect. Acknowledge your misstep and use it as an opportunity to learn. Perhaps cultural competence is not really competence at all, but instead an honest confession of incompetence coupled with genuine empathy.

For more information on cultural competence, please see the following resources:

General

DiversityRx – This is a resource on Cultural Competency Training focusing on healthcare but with broader applications.

National Center for Cultural Competence (NCCC) – The NCCC is part of the Center for Child and Human Development at Georgetown University and offers a variety of resources.

Child Welfare Information Gateway – A variety of resources on cultural competence in working with children and youth is provided here.

RHY Grantees

RHYTTAC Webinars – Click here to access the following webinars via RHYTTAC’s eLearning site.

HTR³ Understanding Cultural Competence

Disproportionality and Cultural Proficiency

Raising the Bar: Building and Strengthening Linkages and Supports for Native Youth in RHY Programs

The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Boys, Adolescent Males, and Trans Youth

Cultural Competency in Services to RHY

Serving African American Youth

Serving Asian/Pacific Islander Youth

Serving GLBT Youth

Serving Latino Youth

Serving Native American and Alaska Native Youth

Agencies in Action Trafficking: Fresno EOC Sanctuary and Youth Services

During National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, we’re highlighting agencies and programs doing exceptional work to combat human trafficking and serve victims-survivors. Today’s blog features information about Fresno EOC Sanctuary and Youth Services located in Fresno, California, an NSPN member and licensed Safe Place agency. This post was written by agency staff:

Under the California Office of Emergency Services Human Trafficking Victims Assistance Program, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Rescue and Restore Victims of Human Trafficking Regional Program, Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission (EOC) Sanctuary And Youth Services Central Valley Against Human Trafficking Program (CVAHT) serves as the planner, fiscal agent, monitor, and technical assistance provider for six strategically chosen sub-awardees and leads the Central Valley Freedom Coalition (CVFC), the local Rescue and Restore Victims of Human Trafficking Coalition. The project provides comprehensive trauma-informed client services, advocacy, outreach, training, and public awareness to a six-county region including: Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced and Tulare. CVAHT is also the local service provider of the Trafficking Victims Assistance Program in partnership with U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), offering non-citizen victims access to benefits and case management.

The overarching goals of the CVAHT program are to:

1. Identify victims of human trafficking as defined by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, and provide comprehensive services to victims and survivors;
2. Build capacity by providing training and technical assistance on human trafficking in diverse professional sectors;
3. Provide leadership for, work collaboratively within and actively strengthen the regional anti-trafficking coalition, Central Valley Freedom Coalition, a Rescue and Restore Coalition; and
4. Increase public awareness, particularly among victims of trafficking, of the dangers of trafficking, how to identify victims and the protections and services that are available for victims of trafficking.

The Coalition’s Steering Committee meets quarterly for training and updating purposes on the topic of human trafficking, as well as creating a safety and supportive services network for identified victims of human trafficking. Sub-committees meet monthly in order to increase collaboration on the topics of: Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Minors, Labor Trafficking, Law-Enforcement, Public Awareness, and Victim Services. General Coalition meetings are held bi-annually and are open to the public. In addition, CVAHT, Central Valley Freedom Coalition, and their project manager supports the activities of local and federal law enforcement agencies, district attorneys’ offices, and the U.S. attorney’s office via pro-active information sharing and training on human trafficking. Central Valley Freedom Coalition is comprised of local and federal law enforcement agencies, legal service organizations, faith-based organizations, service providers, and advocacy groups. Fresno EOC Sanctuary and Youth Services, Fresno Police Department, Fresno County Sheriff’s Department, Fresno County District Attorney’s office, FBI, ICE, EEOC, U.S. Attorney’s office, Crime Victim Assistance Center, Central CA Legal Services, Marjaree Mason Center, Centro la Familia Advocacy Services Inc.; California Rural Legal Assistance, Family Services Supporting Tulare County, Fresno Council on Child Abuse Prevention, Kern Coalition Against Trafficking, and Central Valley Justice Coalition are among member organizations. CVAHT is in a position to clearly identify the extent of human trafficking related issues in California’s Central Valley, establish and utilize protocols, certify and provide services to survivors of trafficking in persons. This program fills an existing gap in services while offering a proactive measure toward decreasing future numbers of human trafficking incidents in the community.

Potential victims of trafficking are initially screened by advocates, and/or case managers. Potential victims may enter into contact with CVAHT project staff through a variety of ways. Emergency responders may be dispatched to locations which are deemed safe, for an initial assessment. Potential victims may also be referred through existing community agencies, law enforcement, concerned citizens and significant others or present as a self-referral. CVAHT utilizes a trauma informed approach in conducting both screening and assessment to determine primarily that the definition of trafficking is met as defined by the TVPA and secondly the availability and provision for individualized and comprehensive services to assist all victims of human trafficking in establishing safety, self-sufficiency, and in achieving their short-term and long-term goals.

A unique feature of Fresno EOC, as a community action agency, is that its board and staff must reflect the ethnicity and characteristics of the clientele served. The diversity of program staff lends itself to attract a variety of ethnic, cultural, and racial minorities. Several of the program staff members are bilingual in Spanish, one staff member speaks both Ukrainian and Russian, allowing the program to serve persons with limited ability to speak English. In addition, the majority of informational materials are available in multiple languages, and public service announcements are also broadcast among Spanish-speaking radio stations. The Project utilizes both Language Line and the National Human Trafficking Hotline for initial contact when other languages present, and has additional funding available for translation. Sanctuary and Youth Services maintains a culturally diverse team of staff who are cross-trained and accessible to assist as needed to ensure there are no communication or cultural barriers that impede the delivery of services. In light of sensitivity to the complex identities of male, female and transgender clients, CVAHT ensures that paperwork, intake procedures, and personal interactions are respectful of references, including preferred names and pronouns. Furthermore, CVAHT maintains awareness and heightens service skills by participating in relevant training for sensitivity to cultural, gender victim-oriented trauma issues.

CVAHT utilizes a collaborative and regional approach in order to meet the varying and individualized needs of survivors. Through funded partnerships, advocates have been trained and hired by participating agencies located within the geographic six-county region served. This has proved to increase access to services, especially for rural communities where services are sparse. Additionally, due to the frequency movement of victims by their traffickers within the region, it has provided a way to increase successful investigations and participation of victim service agencies with law enforcement. During the case management phase, this approach has proved helpful to support Survivors because it has increased collaboration, leveraging resources, available options to victims and the ability to fill in gaps of services.

To learn more about Fresno EOC’s CVAHT, please visit: http://www.fresnoeoc.org/cvaht/

Myths and Misconceptions: Human Trafficking Doesn’t Happen in My Community – Part I

Written by: Valerie Douglas, Director of Counseling & RHY Services, The Center for Youth Services, Inc.

I’m a big Liam Neeson fan. I mean seriously, I love him in everything from Star Wars to Love Actually to Rob Roy – even as the voice of Aslan the Lion in The Chronicles of Narnia! However, if I dare to so much as mention his name to a colleague of mine, she rolls her eyes and sighs heavily. I think she’s being incredibly unfair, because her disdain is all based on one movie – Taken.

You see, my colleague, Nicole Thomson, is a trauma therapist who has been working with survivors of human trafficking for over 15 years. When she first started her work in the Bronx, New York State was still arresting 11 year olds as “child prostitutes.” Thankfully, we have come a long way from those dark, misinformed days, but we still come up against many myths and misconceptions about human trafficking – like those seen in Taken.

Nicole’s frustration is that the Taken films perpetuate some lingering myths: that trafficking victims* are well-off, young, white, suburban women abducted off the street by strangers and held captive on secret yachts. Now, this isn’t to say that stranger abduction doesn’t occur, or that young, white, suburban women aren’t trafficked, or even that there are no secret yachts! What irritates her is that there is such little representation of actual trafficking in the media and the depictions of it that do come through only show a tiny sliver of who is being trafficked and who is a “real victim.” Nicole and I provide training on trauma and trafficking to a broad range of people, including law enforcement, child welfare workers, teachers, community advocates, and youth-service providers. Believe me when I say that we have heard many misconceptions. We have found that the myths about trafficking fall mainly into two ends of the “victim/not a victim” spectrum.

On one end is the portrait of a “true victim,” like Liam Neeson’s daughter in Taken- a young woman kidnapped while out of the country on vacation.  Yes, stranger abduction is something that happens, but the data and research on the commercial sexual exploitation of minors describes a very different picture for the vast majority of victims. What we know is that most young people who are targeted knew their trafficker prior to the onset of exploitation. They may have met them online or out in the community.   In some cases, they find them in their own homes. Yes, a child can be trafficked by a parent or guardian – say for drugs or to pay the rent.  It is also not unlikely that they love their trafficker, or consider them a source of support and affection. Much like child molestation, children are more likely to know their perpetrator vs. being picked up by a stranger on the street.

Unfortunately, the “stranger” myth is given more life by well-meaning advocates trying to raise awareness with calls to action to address human trafficking, often using imagery and stories that more closely resemble Taken then reality. Child Welfare’s own data tells us that youth involved with foster care, child protective services, the juvenile justice system, or with a history of running away are the most vulnerable to being targeted by traffickers. Most minor victims of commercial sexual exploitation/trafficking are disconnected from supportive families and are what some call “systems kids.” Traffickers know that it is easier to groom and exploit a youth who already mistrusts the adults and agencies that say they will help them.

This swings us to the other end of the misconception spectrum. This end does not see the trafficked youth as a victim, but as a criminal or a manipulator, or, sadly, a youth beyond hope of “saving.” Despite progress in educating the public about human trafficking, there are some deep-rooted beliefs that trading sex for money, drugs, or a place to stay is a choice that can always be avoided; that somehow, the youth is to blame. It doesn’t help that many youth are not grateful when “rescued” and are not interested in yet another service provider controlling their lives. The reality of these young peoples’ lives, and reactions adults receive when trying to help, means many providers/systems/adults get frustrated and give up trying to engage.

It is also not uncommon to hear folks argue that since the youth committed unlawful acts, or were paid for their services, that they are not a victim. If the youth wasn’t locked up on that secret yacht, but out in the community, perhaps even going to school, the suspicion of their victim status becomes even greater.  It can take time and patience to educate people about trauma bonds and the abusive relationship a youth may have with their trafficker.  This relationship often resembles what we see in domestic violence. During trainings, Nicole and I will ask people to reflect on what they know about how difficult (and dangerous!) it is for a domestic violence victim to leave their abuser/partner. We ask them to keep that in mind when working with a youth who is being controlled by, or, in a relationship with, a trafficker. Much like domestic violence, it can be hard for those of us on the outside looking in to understand what the ties are that keep the victim from “escaping”, and to offer unconditional support through trauma-informed services.

Ultimately, the biggest myth of all is that this is something new in our society. As long as there have been vulnerable young people, there have been predatory adults exploiting them. That doesn’t mean that there is nothing to be done. It means that we need to respond to youth in crisis in ways that meet their needs, and we need to examine how our “helping” systems can do better to reduce vulnerabilities and strengthen young peoples’ connections to healthy, supportive family and community.

After all, we can’t all have Liam Neeson for a dad.

(*Please note that my use of the label “victim” is purely for the context of this discussion. Many young people who have experienced trafficking prefer “survivor” and some prefer no label at all.)

Agencies in Action Against Human Trafficking: Bill Wilson Center

During National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, we’re highlighting agencies and programs doing exceptional work to combat human trafficking and serve victims-survivors. Today’s blog features information about Bill Wilson Center in Santa Clara, California, an NSPN member and licensed Safe Place agency. This post was written by agency staff:

Bill Wilson Center (BWC) is active on many levels to address human trafficking, especially with CSEC and TAY youth. As a direct service provider, we are the designated youth shelter (12-17 yrs.) for police to drop off youth they picked up who are victims of trafficking. Our county has been very active in developing and implementing policy that no youth under the age of 18 yrs. is cited for sex trafficking, but is considered a victim and will not be sent to juvenile hall by default. Once identified, survivors are immediately offered the services of a sexual assault advocate, with whom BWC collaborates to conduct needs assessments, safety plans and permanent placements for youth. BWC is active on local CSEC and Safety Net committees and in developing protocols within our county to respond to victims of human trafficking. BWC has both a Drop In Center and LGBTQ Drop In Center that provide services to street youth including trafficking survivors and offers housing programs and employment, career, and education opportunities through case management, outreach, training programs and linkages to community partners. BWC staff advocate at political forums and present at local conferences for education to the public on human trafficking. Our approach is client centered and trauma informed.

Assessment and intake tools used across the agency include soft questions to identify trafficking survivors. Once identified, services offered include a sexual assault advocate, substance abuse treatment, mental health and health care, safety plans, housing, and other supports. We are currently waiting for a training date from West Coast Children’s Clinic to use their CSE-IT assessment and screening tool which will become a part of agency protocol.

BWC ensures that culturally competent practice is utilized across programs and across the different populations we serve. We have policies and procedures in place including an LGBTQ program that offers a safe, kind and accepting environment to create rapport and develop relationships with survivors as support is offered. Our staff is diversified to reflect the demographics of our county and the clients we serve. As a nationally accredited agency through Council on Accreditation, we have written policies and procedures outlining our culturally competent practices. Our staff receive on-going training in working with survivors.

We have developed a vision for a program with a unique approach to meet the needs of survivors that has yet to be funded. In collaboration with another agency whose staff is certified as sexual assault advocates, we propose the development of a receiving center located in a beautiful Victorian home specific for CSEC-identified youth. The house is warm and inviting and provides an atmosphere that is both private and conducive to one to one counseling, assessment and advocacy. The protocol we envision is one in which police drop a youth off at this home, where they are met by a trained, culturally competent staff who immediately connect the youth with a sexual assault advocate. There are three phases of treatment: 1) Crisis Intervention; 2) Stabilization; and 3) Long Term Support and Follow up. This project is a collaboration between law enforcement, BWC and another local agency. Our hope is that this vision is replicable on a larger scale.  Although it has not yet been funded, the philosophy and protocols are being implemented through the BWC emergency shelter for homeless and runaway youth.

To learn more about BWC, please visit: http://www.billwilsoncenter.org/.

Is your agency working to combat human trafficking and meet the needs of survivors? Click here to share how your agency is working to end human trafficking: https://nspn.memberclicks.net/index.php?option=com_mc&view=mc&mcid=form_230456

Anti-Trafficking’s Sensational Misinformation

Written by: Laura Murphy, Loyola University New Orleans, Modern Slavery Research Project

Are America’s homeless youth targeted by human traffickers? Yes. But not in the sensational way we always hear about.

What we read about sex slavery today is alarming, sensationalized, and often perverse. Tracking down one of the most frequently reported statistics in today’s anti-slavery movement – that runaways are at high risk of sex trafficking – paints a very clear portrait of the unnecessarily exaggerated appeals that are widely-disseminated and oft-repeated.

So what do we know about the fate of runaways in the US? The Department of Health and Human Services reports that “Children, both boys and girls, are solicited for sex, on average, within 72 hours of being on the street. The National Center for Homeless Education shortens the time window and increases the risk by saying “As many as one third of teen runaway or thrownaway youth will become involved in prostitution within 48 hours of leaving home.” Fox News Milwaukee recently increased the number of victims to say that “90% of runaways become part of the sex trade business — and most are coerced within 72 hours of running away.”

So are runaways solicited for sex or are they recruited by pimps or are they forced into the sex trade? Does this happen to runaway children or all homeless youth? Does it take 48 or 72 hours for them to be trapped?

Later next month, I will share research and other details of my work where I enlisted the students in my freshman seminar on 21^st Century Slavery and Abolition at Loyola University New Orleans to search for the origin of this human trafficking factoid, and they easily discovered how tangled the web of misinformation is.

Laura T. Murphy is an Associate Professor of English at Loyola University New Orleans and Director of the Modern Slavery Research Project. She believes that community-based research is at the heart of social change. She provides research services, training, and education on modern slavery and human trafficking throughout the US as well as internationally. Her books include “Survivors of Slavery: Modern Day Slave Narratives and Metaphor and the Slave Trade in West African Literature.” She is currently working on a new book titled “The New Slave Narrative.”

An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure

Written by: TC Cassidy, Director of Technical Assistance, National Safe Place Network – RHYTTAC

By the time someone has been trafficked the system has already failed at what should be its primary goal: PREVENTION. We need to work to prevent human trafficking from occurring so the need for services doesn’t exceed the availability of services. Prevention efforts are not often sensational; however, focusing on preventing some of the risk factors that lead to an increased vulnerability to human trafficking will prove the adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Prevention ranges from low or moderate cost activities such as awareness campaigns to help inform the community as well as potential victims of the risk of becoming a trafficking victim to more expensive solutions such as strong enforcement of laws through arrests and prosecutions of traffickers.

In due course prevention efforts will decrease the number of people who perpetrate trafficking and the number of people being trafficked. Prevention efforts aim to reduce risk factors while promoting protective factors.

Prevention efforts:

• provide information, resources, and safety planning skills to potential victims;
• attempt to reduce the likelihood that an individual will become a trafficker;
• change societal norms that blame victims;
• empower community members to recognize and respond to instances of trafficking; and,
• advocate for changes to policies and laws to reduce the occurrence of trafficking across vulnerable populations.

Nine Principles of Effective Prevention Programs

In an article titled “What works in prevention: Principles of Effective Prevention Programs,” the authors considered research from four areas (substance abuse, risky sexual behavior, school failure, and juvenile delinquency and violence) to identify characteristics consistently linked with successful prevention programs. The Center on Disease Control’s (CDC) Domestic Violence Prevention Enhancement and Leadership Through Alliances (DELTA) projects, which ended in 2013, used these nine principles as guidelines when developing their prevention programs.

The nine principles identified by Nation, et al. identified in their research indicate effective prevention programs should:

1. Be Comprehensive: Strategies should include multiple components and affect multiple settings to address a wide range of risk and protective factors of the target problem.
2. Incorporate Varied Teaching Methods: Strategies should include multiple teaching methods, including some type of active, skills-based component.
3. Administer Sufficient Dosage: Participants need to be exposed to enough of the activity for it to have an effect.
4. Be Theory Driven: Preventive strategies should have a scientific justification or logical rationale.
5. Foster Positive Relationships: Programs should foster strong, stable, positive relationships between children and adults.
6. Be Appropriately Timed: Program activities should happen at a time (developmentally) that can have maximal impact in a participant’s life.
7. Be Socio-Culturally Relevant: Programs should be tailored to fit within cultural beliefs and practices of specific groups as well as local community norms.
8. Include an Outcome Evaluation: A systematic outcome evaluation is necessary to determine whether a program or strategy worked.
9. Be Delivered by Well-Trained Staff: Programs need to be implemented by staff members who are sensitive, competent, and have received sufficient training, support, and supervision.[1]

National Safe Place Network would add an additional principle to this list as we believe prevention programs/efforts should address the intersectionality of human trafficking. Considering intersectionality of risk and oppression factors, such as age, race, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, etc., will ensure those responsible for delivering/managing the prevention program/effort consider their impact when conducting prevention work with individuals and groups within specific populations.

Please visit http://www.nspnetwork.org/national-slavery-and-human-trafficking-prevention-month to access free resources on preventing human trafficking in your community.

[1] Nation, M., Crusto, C., Wandersman, A., Kumpfer, K. L., Seybolt, D., Morrissey-Kane, E., & Davino, K. (2003). What works in prevention: Principles of Effective Prevention Programs. American Psychologist, 58, 449-456.

National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month

Written by: Susan Harmon, Director of Safe Place National Operations

By now you have probably seen, heard or read a great deal about human trafficking – what it is, who the victims are and where they are.  Here are just a few statistics NSPN would like to share with you:

• In 2014, an estimated 1 out of 6 endangered runaways reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children were likely child sex trafficking victims.  Of those, 68% were in the care of social services or foster care when they ran.
• The Polaris Project reports that there is no official estimate of the total number of human trafficking victims in the U.S.
• Polaris estimates that the total number of victims nationally reaches into the hundreds of thousands when estimates of both adults and minors and sex trafficking and labor trafficking are aggregated.
• According to DoSomething.org:
• The average age a teen enters the sex trade in the U.S. is 12 to 14-year-old. Many victims are runaway girls who were sexually abused as children.
• California harbors 3 of the FBI’s 13 highest child sex trafficking areas on the nation: Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego.
• The National Human Trafficking Hotline receives more calls from Texas than any other state in the US. 15% of those calls are from the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

How does Safe Place fit into this issue and how can it help youth that are being trafficked or at risk for trafficking?  Safe Place is a national youth outreach and runaway prevention program with a presence in over 1,500 communities in 37 states.  National Safe Place Network partners with licensed local agencies to provide quality and consistent Safe Place outreach services making the Safe Place logo a familiar and recognizable symbol for youth in crisis situations needing immediate help and safety.  The national safety net that has grown across the United States since the Safe Place program started in 1983 has helped over 329,000 youth at Safe Place sites or by phone. The Safe Place TXT 4 HELP initiative has had almost 54,000 texting situations, including 2,904 interactive texting incidents.  Almost 13.5 million youth have heard a presentation about Safe Place and local services available for youth and families in crisis!

Safe Place can connect youth in need to immediate help and supportive resources:

• Safe Place is a national program – a young person in an unfamiliar place may recognize the Safe Place logo from “home” and utilize a site to get help.
• TXT 4 HELP can also be a way for youth to access help. Text the word “safe” and a physical address including street address, city and state to 69866 and local resources will be sent. Interactive texting with a professional counselor is also available.
• National anti-trafficking groups can disseminate information about Safe Place and TXT 4 HELP
• Local/national agencies may partner with transit associations that have electronic message boards inside their vehicles and post a Safe Place message.
• Promote Safe Place/TXT 4 HELP:
  • Bus stations, 24 hour eateries like Waffle House, etc.
  • Truck stops and major trucking companies
  • Law enforcement/state patrols covering interstate highways
  • State highway departments/at rest areas
  • Businesses along interstates and known trafficking routes