Posts tagged 19:11:30
Sex Trafficking and Labor Trafficking: The Law, the Cases, and the Immigration Options

This session will explore sex trafficking and labor trafficking, including terms such as force, fraud, and coercion, as defined by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (the TVPA) and its reauthorizations, as well as cases decided under the TVPA. This session will also discuss immigration options available to undocumented survivors, including non-immigrant visas, derivative visas, permanent residence, and citizenship.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Explain how the law and cases define sex trafficking

·  Explain how the law and cases define labor trafficking

·  Discuss special challenges and unique options for undocumented immigrant survivors of sex trafficking and labor trafficking

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Building Awareness for the Identification of Labor Trafficking for At-Risk Youth

While emerging research and advocacy efforts are bringing more attention to labor trafficking of minors, this form of human trafficking is often under-recognized and under- reported. In this workshop, attendees will learn about the two main types of labor trafficking exploitation, bonded labor and forced labor, as well as learn to recognize the signs and pathways to help prevent labor trafficking among at-risk youth. The presenters will introduce relevant prior research on youth and labor trafficking and also share the experience of a pilot project to identify youth who are labor trafficked currently underway in Minnesota by The Enitan Story (TES). TES is conducting in-depth, community-based outreach to identify labor trafficking victims, assess their needs, provide direct trauma-informed, culturally relevant services in the areas of employment and life skills and coordinate referrals.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Discuss the definition of child labor trafficking and prevalence among at-risk youth

·  Discuss the risk factors and pathways that youth engage in labor trafficking

·  Describe ways to engage in the prevention of labor trafficking for at-risk youth

·  Share the experience of a current pilot project underway in Minnesota to identify and serve youth and young adults who are survivors of labor trafficking

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Safe Harbor for All: A Statewide and Community-Driven Approach to Expand Support for Adult Survivors

Over the past decade, Minnesota’s response to sex trafficking and exploitation has focused primarily on youth up to age 24. In 2017, the Minnesota State Legislature, in response to stakeholder requests for an enhanced vision of the Safe Harbor system, directed the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), in consultation with the Minnesota Department of Human Services and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, to develop a strategic plan that expands the current Safe Harbor system to address the needs of all victim/survivors of sex trafficking and exploitation as well as others who have lived experience, regardless of age. MDH contracted with three partner organizations, The Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center at the University of Minnesota, The Advocates for Human Rights, and Rainbow Research, to design and implement a community engagement process involving stakeholders statewide, including persons most impacted by sexual exploitation and trafficking. In January 2019, MDH submitted a strategic plan to the legislature providing immediate and long-term suggestions for expanding Safe Harbor to all ages. This plan is informed by the recommendations and findings developed through the community engagement process and outlined in the report submitted by the partner organizations, "Safe Harbor for All: Results from a Strategic Planning Process in Minnesota." This presentation will provide an overview of the partners' comprehensive participatory research model supporting the strategic plan. Workshop attendees will learn about how participatory research approaches can inform and enhance the multidisciplinary response to trafficking and exploitation for youth and adults.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Describe the needs of adult victim/survivors and persons with lived experiences in terms of supportive services and system response

·  Discuss how participatory research policies can advance state policy to support adult survivors of trafficking/exploitation and all persons with lived experience

·  Demonstrate how state and private research partnerships can expand the dialogue about the intersections of sex trafficking and exploitation with overt and underlying forces of oppression

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Trauma Informed Care: Understanding Trauma and the Impact of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children

The commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) is a widespread social problem. However, true estimates of the incidence and prevalence of the problem are challenging to determine due to inconsistent definitions and difficulty identifying victims (Salisbury, Dabney, & Russell, 2015). Best estimates to date suggest that approximately 25,000 to 100,000 children are at risk for CSEC each year in the United States (Mitchell, Finkelhor, & Wolak, 2010; Willis & Levy, 2002). As such, continued efforts to better understand, assess, and provide services for victims of CSEC are warranted. Certain risk factors for CSEC have been identified and include physical, psychological, and sexual abuse and neglect; witness to domestic violence; drug/alcohol use; running away from home and homelessness; involvement with child protective services and law enforcement; and development of risky sexual behaviors and sexually transmitted infections (OJJDP, 2002; Varma, 2015). Given the vast array of traumatic events, this population experiences, development of mental health difficulties such as anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder are common (Hossein et al., 2010). Thus, evidence-based assessment and treatment to help adolescents address these difficulties are also needed.  Recent research provides guidance for implementing trauma informed care when working with commercially sexually exploited youth. This presentation will provide information regarding how child maltreatment, homelessness, illegal behavior, and other risk factors can lead to CSEC, as well as information regarding current methods of identifying youth at risk for CSEC and ways to provide support for professionals working with this population.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Discuss current information in the field of childhood traumatic stress as it relates to commercial sexual exploitation of children

·  Describe initiatives to develop a screening process to identify youth at risk of commercial sexual exploitation

·  Explore a state-wide initiative to help serve youth who have experienced CSEC in a trauma informed manner and support providers working with this population

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Freedom for Youth

At Selah Freedom, 100% of the sex trafficking survivors in their safe housing reported experiencing childhood sexual abuse. This early abuse normalizes unhealthy sexual relationships and can increase the susceptibility to being later recruited by a trafficker. Selah Freedom believes getting out ahead of this issue with their prevention training is key. Their Freedom for Youth curriculum addresses sex trafficking with an age-appropriate curriculum for K-5th Grade. This coloring book-based training helps kids explore safe touch, identify safe adults, offer tips of using their voice to speak up for themselves, and online safety.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Discuss sexual abuse as a risk factor of sex trafficking youth

·  Preview a curriculum that offers a solution to prevention training for younger kids

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Protecting Children in the Philippines who are Sexually Exploited: Dissecting the Systematic Challenges from the NGO Context

Child sexual exploitation (CSE) is a widespread and significant social phenomenon that has gained substantial concern from the public and policy sphere, especially for nations in the Global South. A report from UNICEF (2017) stated that the Philippines is “the global epicenter of the live-stream sexual abuse trade”. Online child sexual exploitation (OSEC) is the leading form of cybercrime in the Philippines, making up half of reported cases across the world. Plagued by a multitude of political and socio-economic factors, norms driven by neo-colonial ideologies have had implications for local responses and communities. This presentation is based on initial findings from an in-depth qualitative study exploring the state of CSE from the lens of three grassroots non-government organizations (NGOs) based in the highest reported areas of sex trafficking in the archipelago. Utilizing an ethnographic methodology and traditional grounded theoretical approach, comprehensive case studies were constructed encompassing observations and semi-structured interviews with frontline staff and organizational leaders who are at the forefront of targeted frontline efforts to tackle CSE. The presentation will disseminate the preliminary key findings from the study, aiming to inform conference participants of systemic challenges in efforts to respond to the evolving dynamics of CSE. Likewise, the presenting of push and pull factors specific to the context of the Philippines intends to cultivate wider discussions related to prevention, child safety and global roles in tackling the prevailing issues.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Explain the prevailing situation of child sexual exploitation (CSE) in the Philippines, specifically the push and pull factors

·  Articulate the current systems from the grassroots NGO lens in response to CSE

·  Discuss key findings from a qualitative study and the evolving opportunities and challenges

·  Expand on international perspectives towards tackling CSE and the application to Global South communities using the Filipino context as an example

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