Global Perspectives Human Trafficking: “Poverty monopolizes your time”

This past week, I had the opportunity to attend the Evidence2Action (E2A) event hosted by Winrock International and the International Justice Mission at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC. 

The event was dedicated to ending human trafficking and focused on sharing global perspectives from diverse stakeholders, including survivor-led organizations, academics, NGOs, businesses, and government representatives. This particular one-day session featured nearly 40 international experts and stakeholders who shared best practices and who have been working to develop tailored strategies for combating trafficking in their respective contexts. Most importantly, numerous survivors shared their stories and perspectives on how to disrupt the cycles of poverty at the root of so much of the human trafficking around the world. 

Human Trafficking Survivor Advocates

Much of the focus of the event focused on the need to take a trauma-informed approach to working with survivors and how survivor advocates can bring their unique skills and knowledge to work at the forefront of helping counter trafficking in persons. The paradigm shift from a traditional position of treating survivors as passive subjects in counter-trafficking initiatives to champions and leaders in the justice movement can be transformative. Speakers included representatives from the Global Survivor Network, Survivor Alliance, the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking and Footprint to Freedom, and the African Survivor Coalition. 

Quote of the Conference:

“Every child with access to a mobile device is vulnerable to child sexual exploitation and abuse” 

- Tricia Fietz, International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children

Systems and Processes to Scale Evidence-based Interventions

Representatives from The Rights Lab at the University of Nottingham and the International Justice Mission, Winrock International, and the U.S. Department of State, helped share approaches to establishing an effective evidence base for scalable anti-trafficking interventions. They shared perspectives on how frontline practitioners can leverage evidence to intervene and scale solutions to meet urgent trafficking challenges – such as those brought about by war or global climate emergencies. 

Climate Change and Counter-Trafficking

Experts from universities, NGOs, and government-provided context on the direct linkages between geographies with a high incidence of forced labor and climate change. Extreme climate incidents are seemingly larger in intensity and frequency, and these types of events have affected the rise in poverty and migration, which open opportunities for those affected to become victims of trafficking and modern-day slavery. 

The Rise of Cyber Scamming and Technology-Facilitated Crime

This evolving crime type is transnational and has become prolific along with the rise of social media platform growth. Professionals from government, NGOs and journalists shared their experiences and knowledge of the rise of, Child Sexual Exploitation, Online Sexual Exploitation of Children (OSEC), and cyber scamming around the globe. 

The event included two simultaneous tracks with the second being dedicated to survivor reintegration and trauma therapy, strengthening laws to support people-centered justice for prevention, protection, and prosecution, discussions on how survivor advocates can built power, and coverage on how inherent biases impact service delivery. 

Key Questions: Global Perspectives on Human Trafficking 

• How can societies protect their most vulnerable citizens from the effects of poverty and rapid change? 
• What can we do within our current systems to disrupt the cycles of poverty? 
• Knowing that survivor education and reintegration benefits society, how can we increase access to education and trauma-informed employment?
• What role can universities play in helping survivors of human trafficking? 
• How can we better listen to the lived experiences of survivors? 
• How can investigators and first responders be better trained so they don’t have to rely solely on victim testimony to prosecute criminals?  
• How can we predict and prepare for climate emergencies and the resulting forced labor and human trafficking crisis they spawn, especially since migration makes this harder?
• How can we disrupt, degrade, and dismantle forced labor compounds that use victims to victimize others through the use of technology?