Through the lens of complex trauma and posttraumatic growth, this workshop will share findings from a qualitative study focused on the impact and experiences of sex trafficking survivors. Participants completed open-ended interviews, took photos, and participated in online focus groups to explore identity, sexuality, relationships, and factors of community reintegration. Data analysis included multi-level conceptual and thematic coding. Participants identified with all aspects of complex trauma and posttraumatic growth. Participants particularly highlighted relationship as both the primary need and greatest source of healing and growth, emphasizing the value of peer-based support and survivor leadership. The findings affirm the need for ecological and relational perspectives in care of survivors, and approaches using a trauma-informed, victim-centered lens. Findings affirm the value of understanding the nuances of complex trauma as well as celebrating the capacity for posttraumatic growth.  Furthermore, while relationships are most significantly impacted from the trafficking experience, they are also considered the greatest instrument of healing, offering long-term commitment and belief in the individual. This has great implications for our work as service providers. We must consider the barriers of traditional social services that are time-limited, often with rigid boundaries in the access and interaction with service providers. We must think creatively and explore nontraditional service models that provide trafficking survivors with a relational context that includes survivors, professionals, and community members who are committed to a long-term, empowering, trauma-informed approach. This workshop will not only provide survivors’ perspective of the integral role of relationship, but opportunity to explore ways to meet this immediate and long-term need.

 

Presentation Objectives:

•  Explore the role of relationship before, during, and after sexual exploitation

•  Discuss the impact of complex trauma on relationships

•  Identify ways survivors of trafficking exhibit posttraumatic growth through relationship

•  Explore the implications in service provision based on relationship being named the greatest need and greatest source of healing for sex trafficking survivors

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The conversation around sex trafficking and modern slavery has never been more urgent. With legislative changes underway in both the U.S. and the U.K., the discussion comes at a crucial moment. Illinois is on the cusp of making history in the U.S. It could be the first state to decriminalize sex work and so strengthen protections against trafficking for sexual exploitation. Meanwhile, in the U.K., lawmakers are debating legislation that makes it an offence to pay for, or attempt to pay for, sex either for themselves or on behalf of others. It also includes measures to criminalize anyone who benefits or provides support related to the purchase of sex. This presentation aims to answer the most pressing questions in the conversation around how to address trafficking for sexual exploitation and how to improve protection for sex workers including: 1) Is increasing the policing of the sex industry an effective way to find and protect trafficking survivors? 2) How does the further criminalization of sex work affect trafficking victims and survivors? 3) How does this issue affect society at large? and 4) Why now? With lawmakers actively shaping the future of sex work policies in both the U.S. and U.K. to better protect people from exploitation, this presentation will provide crucial insights into the real impact of these and existing laws and what is the most effective path forward.

Presentation Objectives:

•  Present information supporting the idea that the decriminalization of sex work is the most impactful step law makers can take to stop sex trafficking globally

•  Discuss the reasons it is important to distinguish between sex work and sex trafficking/exploitation in discourse around finding solutions

•  Explain the differences between the concepts of decriminalization of sex work and the “Nordic Model” including the challenges around each

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The Çîyako Adventure Therapy Programme serves the Syrian Refugee Children in the Kurdish Region of Iraq. These refugees are a forgotten community that were driven from their homeland by ISIS and face enormous hurdles in their quest to find hope in their context. The main research question of this project was, “Do outdoor activities, and especially rock climbing, help these young refugees improve their mental health and well-being?” The literature looks at the region's history, displacement from homelands, the history of adventure therapy, and its impact in the different parts of the world. A series of interviews and surveys were conducted with some of the young people who participated in the Çîyako program. The research showed that the program helps young people face fear and gives them a practical pathway to managing it. Many of the young people made the leap of imagination to see how it could help them manage and overcome fear in other areas of their lives. It also showed the importance of leaving the refugee camp, which helped buoy their spirits. This was closely associated with the beautiful mountain environment the young people enjoyed. Investment in friendship groups was also highlighted as a significant benefit of the program, along with feelings of pride in their achievements as they returned to worried parents. This research shows that the Çîyako program is effective, though it needs to be scaled up to reach its full potential. It also provides a model that could be replicated in other areas with many displaced people.

 

Presentation Objectives:

•  Provide an overview of the Çîyako Adventure Therapy Programme

•  Provide an overview of the research study, including main questions, methodology, and findings

•  Describe the implications and recommendations based on the research

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Data is essential to understanding human trafficking patterns, and federal prosecutions data fills a critical gap in the existing ecosystem, shedding light on trends in minor sex trafficking. This presentation will: (i) highlight the importance of federal prosecutions data, (ii) describe the data and analysis developed by Allies Against Slavery in partnership (iii) illustrate key insights, and (iv) demonstrate compelling use cases. First, the presenters will discuss how federal prosecutions data enhances our understanding of minor sex trafficking. By analyzing prosecution trends alongside other data, we gain broader insights into prevention, protection, policy, and prosecution. Second, they will describe a dataset of over 2,500 federally prosecuted human trafficking cases spanning two decades. This includes information on case details, trafficking locations, and victim and defendant characteristics. They will briefly cover the methodology used to ensure data integrity. Third, key trends in minor sex trafficking, including federal prosecutions by state and year, trafficking locations, and demographic data on victims and defendants will be discussed. Data visualizations will illustrate these insights. Finally, the presenters will highlight how this data can be used to examine racial disparities in sentencing, coercive trafficking methods, and the prosecution of victims. Finally, advocacy applications and how this data can be paired with other sources to create a more nuanced narrative on minor sex trafficking in the U.S. will be provided.

 

Presentation Objectives:

•  Provide an overview of the importance of federal prosecutions data in understanding patterns of minor sex trafficking and its role in filling empirical gaps in human trafficking research

•  Describe the federal prosecutions dataset, including the methodology used for data collection and analysis, and its scope across more than two decades

•  Illustrate key trends and insights from federal prosecutions data, such as geographical distribution, prosecution disparities, and demographic patterns among defendants and victims

•  Demonstrate how the data can be used in practice, including its implications for policy, advocacy, and future research on human trafficking

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Child trafficking is an ongoing health crisis that demands a paradigm shift from the current downstream, criminal-justice-based, crisis-intervention approach to an upstream, public-health-based, prevention model. Healthcare providers, particularly nurses who consistently rank as the most trusted professionals, are uniquely positioned to identify and respond to trafficking. However, many lack the education and training needed for effective intervention. Additionally, misinformation perpetuated by well-meaning advocates or sensationalized media often misguides efforts, leading to moral distress when awareness is raised without equipping providers for action. To address these challenges, healthcare environments must engage in proactive planning to identify risks early and implement prevention-focused strategies. Pediatric healthcare professionals play a vital role in identifying signs of trafficking, yet the challenges of modern contexts—such as the rise of social media, the effects of social distancing, and the growing emphasis on social justice—add complexity to this responsibility. This presentation highlights innovative, nurse-led programs designed to combat child trafficking, including the development of screening and response protocols across clinical settings, partnerships with schools to implement federally issued trafficking response toolkits, and advocacy for state legislation mandating continuing trafficking education for healthcare providers. Further initiatives include the creation of a train-the-trainer program to amplify evidence-based education, collaboration with a national nursing organization to produce toolkits on trauma-informed care, and the integration of simulation-based learning in academic nursing programs. These efforts showcase how nurses can drive systemic change, empowering healthcare systems to respond more effectively to child trafficking while fostering prevention through education and advocacy.

 

Presentation Objectives:

•  Identify gaps and opportunities in current approaches to human trafficking response

•  Examine evidence-based, nurse-led initiatives for human trafficking response

•  Develop strategies for effective, trauma-informed human trafficking response in healthcare

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This presentation examines the importance of qualitative data obtained directly from interactions with human trafficking (HT) service providers in Peel, Ontario, Canada in order to better understand human trafficking trends. Front-line service providers directly interact with victims/survivors of HT, and in doing so, they are knowledge-holders of anecdotal evidence that can be utilized to better understand emerging issues and trends in the HT sector beyond what is quantitatively captured and published. Some of these trends identified include complexities associated with victims/survivors over the age of 25, sextortion, forced pregnancy, stigma and shame associated with culturally imposed barriers to disclosure, and suicide. It examines an overreliance on quantitative data when determining service portfolios and programs for vulnerable populations even though there is a consensus that sex-based crimes, intimate partner crimes, and trafficking crimes are severely underreported. The presentation discusses these trends and the power of anecdotal information, interconnectivity of various service providers, and the importance of working together. Service providers who directly support victims/survivors are in a unique position to identify a “trend” and develop appropriate programs to address it. Oftentimes, trends require significant quantitative data to validate its existence, and by the time it becomes a statistic, it has already occurred albeit undetected. An analysis of emerging issues and trends obtained through qualitative data can inform service providers in the HT sector in the development and utilization of proactive programming.

 

Presentation Objectives:

•  Highlight the importance of qualitative evidence obtained by HT service providers to identify and address emerging issues and trends in human trafficking

•  Bring awareness to ongoing undocumented trends in trafficking

•  Explain strategies to address trends that may not be displayed in data

•  Provide potential solutions to protect clients who may be being trafficked

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What if you were a victim of human trafficking but had no voice to tell your story? Marci works with "Strawberry Girls," Moroccan women recruited each year to pick "red gold" in the strawberry fields of Spain. The shocking reality is that many of these vulnerable women are lured into sex trafficking through lies, deception, and empty promises. Once they step foot in a brothel, they are trapped, and it will take a miracle for them to get out. But miracles do happen! One day, a safe house called and asked Marci to translate for a Moroccan woman who had just been rescued. This woman was a Strawberry Girl. In Marci’s continued work with these women, she began to identify a sex trafficking line between Morocco and Spain. Unwilling to stay silent, Marci began writing and telling their stories. Marci's poetic words invite you to step into the shoes of the Strawberry Girls and journey with them on the road from slavery to freedom. Marci demonstrates how leveraging the power of storytelling can build a bridge directly to the heart of the listeners, triggering their emotions, and moving them to action. Marci explains the neuroscience of what is happening inside the storyteller and the listener, as well as the importance of ethical storytelling. Marci will encourage attendees to consider writing and telling their own stories of freedom to inspire people in their own communities and around the world to action.

 

Presentation Objectives:

•  Tell the first-hand story of a “Strawberry Girl”

•  Demonstrate how the telling of stories can raise awareness of human trafficking by building emotional bridges and moving people to action

•  Explain the neuroscience and what is happening in the storyteller and listener, as well as look at the concept of ethical storytelling

•  Invite attendees to consider telling their own stories of freedom to raise awareness and move people to action in their own communities and around the world

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