The New Activist

Copyright ©2022 Carla Marroquín, M.A. 3rd Edition, editors: Rachel R. Girdler, MSW and Jenna Fey, Volunteer ISBN: 978 0 9859511 3 9

Reproduction of this book is expressly prohibited. Portions of this book may be cited for educational purposes. Suggested academic citation: Marroquín, C. (2022). The New Activist: Protect Me Project’s introduction to preventing commercial sexual exploitation. Springfield, MO. USA.

Please visit our website for all Appendices and additional information on human trafficking prevention. www.protectmeproject.org/appendix

To request our “Basic Training in Human Trafficking Prevention”, please write to b4trafficker.pmp@gmail.com

CONTENTS

I. EXPLOITATION p.6 Definition

Modern History

Protagonists: Trafficker, Officials, Criminal Networks, Society

2. VICTIMS p.23 A Day in the Life

The Numbers

Vulnerabilities

3. IMPACTS p.36 Emotional Physical Psychosocial

A Survivor’s Voice

An Activist’s Voice

4. DEMAND p.44 Pornography

Sexual Violence and Purchase of Sex Acts Addressing Demand

5. PROTECTION p.52 Home Online Community Positive Attitudes, Traditions and Practices Monitoring and Reporting

6. PREVENTION p.63 A Complex Issue

A Pathway to Prevention Capacity Building Mobilization Resources Zero Tolerance Zones

7. SELFCARE p.70 Compassion Fatigue: Causes, Symptoms and Resiliency

Tips for Managing Compassion Fatigue Core Values of Protect Me Project

END NOTES p.79 | RECOMMENDED READING LIST p.93

Venezuela: Protect Me Project volunteers working in public schools to empower elementary school children.

ONE: EXPLOITATION

Human trafficking – documented in 175 nations – reveals the normalization of human cruelty and the cultural processes that have empowered it. [People] are bought, sold and resold as raw material of an industry, as social waste, as trophies and offerings.1

DEFINITION

According to the Palermo Protocol, part of the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (2000), human trafficking is:

The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, resorting to threat, use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability, or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation2

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The Palermo Protocol and the Victim of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (TVPA) passed by U.S. Congress in 20003 stipulate that if a victim is a minor and is being exploited, it is not necessary to prove that he or she was deceived, forced, or that a third person is involved in the handling or control of said person. Because she or he is a minor in exploitation, she or he is a victim of human trafficking The study and investigation of human trafficking is divided into two basic categories: labor trafficking (34%) sex trafficking (59%) with “other” (7%).4 “Other” can include forced marriage, forced participation as armed combatants, women forced to become pregnant in order to sell their offspring, begging or illegal trade in organs which introduces other serious human rights abuses.

However, in practice, the lines are not so clear. Often labor trafficking overlaps with sex trafficking. In many countries the penal code which typifies the crime of human trafficking includes elements which, globally, are not considered part of this crime (for example, illegal adoption in Guatemala). In addition, human trafficking is a situational crime, which means it is very adaptable. Traffickers shift modes and means as circumstances change. Human trafficking is a personal crime. “Despite the explosion of concern some of it fueled by misinformation about complex child sex trafficking schemes and kidnappings, data shows victims usually know and trust their traffickers.” 5

failure. 82% of patients are waiting for a kidney and this demand generates a market for illegal (black market) organs, increasing the risk of human trafficking for the purpose of organ harvesting. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network website a branch of the US Department of Health and Human Service. Available: https://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov (Accessed July 19, 2017).

Before looking specifically at labor and sex trafficking, we should also mention the crime of human smuggling which sometimes becomes confused with human trafficking. Within the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (mentioned above) is the second protocol: The Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air.6 Human Smuggling involves the provision of a service – typically, transportation and / or fraudulent documents—to an individual who voluntarily seeks to gain illegal entry into a foreign country.7 The risk of human smuggling turning in to human trafficking is high, considering the smuggler’s opportunity for increased profit and the vulnerability of the undocumented migrant.

Labor Trafficking

Polaris Project, a non profit in the U.S. tasked with operating the National Trafficking in Persons Hotline (TIP Hotline) reports the top five industries where victims of labor trafficking in the U.S. have been reported are domestic work, agriculture, construction, illicit activities (robbery, drug trade) and traveling sales crews.8 Globally, labor trafficking has also been detected in the fishing industry, mining and quarrying, garment factories, catering and manufacturing, hotels (housekeeping), restaurants, and street vending to mention a few. The 2018 Global

HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN THE U.S.A. BY TYPE

Information from Polaris Project’s Trafficking In Persons T.I.P. Hotline and Text to Report Between 2015-2018. Slavery Index mentions the top five products at risk of modern slavery as (1) laptops, computers and mobile

The following terms describe laws against exploitation in the U.S.:

Forced Labor is psychological coercion used to promote labor or services. Prior to establishing the TVPA, this crime came under the heading of Involuntary servitude, pursuant to the 13th amendment: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”10

Debt bondage (bonded labor, peonage) is probably the least known form of labor trafficking today, and yet it is the most widely used method of enslaving people.11 Victims of debt bondage are forced to “work off” a supposed debt, yet no legal document exists to define the amount owed or the terms of payment.

When looking at these numbers, the reports of victims of sex trafficking are almost three times as many as those of labor trafficking victims in the U.S. Many anti-trafficking workers are asking if there are so many fewer individuals being exploited for their labor in the U.S., or are victims of labor trafficking simply not being identified?

Regarding the low number of labor trafficking cases reported, in an April 26, 2022 podcast Professor Julie Dahlstrom comments on the recent evidence pointing to a lack of information among law enforcement agencies as a factor. “Some law enforcement agents didn’t even know there was a labor trafficking statute, or if they did, had difficulty discerning between what is labor trafficking and what is white [collar] wage theft, or wage exploitation.”12 She mentions labor trafficking is often seen as a civil issue, not a criminal issue, so law enforcement has trouble identifying labor trafficking as something within their purview.

TOP FIVE PRODUCTS AT RISK GLOBALLY

A further challenge is collecting evidence for a labor trafficking case. Digital evidence, or other corroboratory evidence, may not exist. A final challenge she notes is the unwillingness of a survivor to step forward and report. “This might be caused by fear of reprisal from the perpetrator, or simply a desire to move on with their life and receive wages.”13

Annie Smith, associate professor of law and director of the public service and pro bono program at the University of Arkansas School of Law, encourages prosecutors to pursue justice for labor trafficking victims: “Approached properly, prosecution presents an opportunity to disrupt labor trafficking, to publicly hold traffickers accountable, to secure restitution for survivors and to gain deeper insight into this form of abuse.”14

Smith cautions, however, that prosecution of labor trafficking alone is insufficient to confront it. To truly address labor trafficking, she points to the need for “systemic change that fundamentally alters the vulnerability of populations to exploitation and eradicates the extreme power imbalances between workers and those who employ them.”15 Governments should hold all entities, including businesses, accountable for human trafficking. In some countries, the law provides for corporate accountability in both the civil and criminal justice systems. U.S. law provides such liability for any legal person, including a business that benefits financially from its involvement in a human trafficking scheme, provided that the business knew or should have known of the scheme.16

Protect Me Project insists each community must be responsible for educating and mobilizing concerned individuals in the development of opportunities for less resourced sectors, as well as reporting exploitative practices. By knowing some signs, we can contribute to the solution. The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office on Trafficking in Persons offers these guidelines for identifying victims of labor trafficking:

• Victims are often kept isolated to prevent them from getting help. Their activities are restricted and are typically watched, escorted, or guarded by associates of traffickers. Traffickers may “coach” them to answer questions with a cover story about being a student or tourist.

• Victims may be blackmailed by traffickers using the victims’ status as an undocumented alien or their participation in an “illegal” industry. By threatening to report them to law enforcement or immigration officials, traffickers keep victims compliant.

• People who are trafficked often come from unstable and economically devastated places as traffickers frequently identify vulnerable populations characterized by oppression, high rates of illiteracy, little social mobility, and few economic opportunities.

• Women and children are overwhelmingly trafficked in labor arenas because of their relative lack of power, social marginalization, and their overall status as compared to men.17

Sex Trafficking

Sex trafficking involves recruiting, transporting, harboring, providing, or obtaining persons through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploiting that person sexually in various ways: for the production of pornography, lap dance, or live sex shows, phone calls, massage parlors, escort services, truck stops, residential brothels and sugar daddy arrangements. Protect Me Project is dedicated to preventing commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) and considers prostitution and other activities involving CSE as inherently harmful and dehumanizing.18

Survivor Rachel Moran describes her experience this way: “Prostitution, to me, is like slavery with a mask on, just as it is like rape with a mask on, and we were no more recompensed for the abuse of our bodies by our punters’ cash than slaves were recompensed by the food and lodgings provided by their slave masters.”19 Please visit our webpage protectmeproject.org/appendix to open “Appendix A” and consider why our vocabulary is so important as we address this issue.

There is a sector of our global society who advocates for legalizing prostitution, supposing this would empower persons in commercial sexual exploitation. Siddarth Kara, an adjunct professor at Harvard who investigated commercial sexual exploitation in four continents from an economic perspective, addresses the concept of legalizing prostitution by saying, “Only governments, organized crime, and pimps benefit from legalization; women and children suffer state sanctioned rape and slavery.”20 Dorchen Leidholdt, Co Executive Director of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, writes:

Prostitution and sex trafficking are the same human rights catastrophe… Both are part of a system of gender based domination that makes violence against women and girls profitable to a mind boggling extreme. Both prey on women and girls made vulnerable by poverty, discrimination, and violence and leave them traumatized, sick, and impoverished. The concerted effort by some NGOs and governments to disconnect trafficking from prostitution to treat them as distinct and unrelated phenomena is nothing

less than a deliberate political strategy aimed at legitimizing the sex industry and protecting its growth and profitability.21

Because Protect Me Project exists to prevent commercial sexual exploitation, our capacity building and mobilization both focus on push and pull factors contributing to that industry. We must also be aware of and work to mitigate and report the injustice of labor trafficking in our communities.

MODERN HISTORY

Human trafficking is a very old phenomenon that has recently found greater exposure. Phrased differently, we are facing an old problem with a new name, exponentially growing for reasons which will become clear as we study the issue.

During the colonial era, women and girls, particularly of African and indigenous populations, were uprooted from their places of origin and traded for their labor, servitude and/or as sexual objects. Trafficking was perceived as a social problem at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th through what was called white slavery. This concept was used to refer to the mobility and trade of white women, (European, Asian and American), to serve in prostitution or as concubines generally in Arab, African or Asian countries. At that time, the first hypotheses arose that these movements were the product of kidnappings, deceit, and coercion of innocent and vulnerable women with the aim of sexually exploiting them.

At the beginning of the 1980s, after several years of silence, the discourse on the trafficking of women for the purpose of sexual exploitation regained strength among different national and international sectors. This can be attributed, among other reasons, to the increase in transnational female migration that had been taking place since the end of the 1970s, or at least become more evident.22 The incidence of trafficking in almost all regions of the world and in many different forms was also increasing. In this way, the old definition of white slavery fell into disuse because it no longer corresponded to the realities of displacement and trade in persons, nor to the nature and dimensions of the abuses inherent to this scourge. Notice here a comparison by year of human trafficking statistics globally:

These statistics [next page] are estimates derived from data provided by foreign governments and other sources and reviewed by the Department of State. Aggregate data fluctuates from one year to the next due to the hidden nature of trafficking crimes, dynamic global events, shifts in government efforts, and a lack of uniformity in national reporting structures. The numbers in parentheses are those of labor trafficking prosecutions, convictions, and victims identified.23

YEAR PROSECUTIONS CONVICTIONS VICTIMS IDENTIFIED

NEW OR AMENDED LEGISLATION

2014 10,051 (418) 4,443 (216) 44,462 (11,438) 20

2015 19,127 (857) 6,615 (456) 77,823 (14,262) 30

2016 14,939 (1,038) 9,072 (717) 68,453 (17,465) 25

2017 17,471 (869) 7,135 (332) 96,960 (23,906) 5

2018 11,096 (457) 7,481 (259) 85,613 (11,009) 5

2019 11,841 (1,024) 9,548 (498) 118,932 (13,875) 7

2020 9,876 (1,115) 5,271 (337) 109,216 (14,448) 16

Victor Malarek points to four “waves” of trade in women: 1) mostly from Thailand and the Philippines in the 1970s. 2) Early 1980s, Nigerian and Ghanaian women. 3) Next, Latin Americans mostly from Colombia, Brazil and the Dominican Republic. 4) The fourth wave is made up of victims flowing from “the newly independent states” of the former Soviet Union. Today they make up more than 25% of the slaves in the world.24

With the increasing concerns about the growth of transnational criminal organizations developing among these “newly independent states”, intelligence reports pointed to sex trafficking and forms of forced labor as some of these organizations’ largest sources of profit. The first efforts to address trafficking in persons focused heavily on combating the sex trafficking of women and girls: “As the understanding of human trafficking expanded, the U.S. government, in collaboration with NGOs, identified the need for specific legislation to address how traffickers operate and to provide the legal tools necessary to combat trafficking in persons in all its forms.”25

It was at this time that, in the same year, the United States and the United Nations put forward legislation to prevent, suppress, protect from, and prosecute the crime of human trafficking.

More recently, as the economic condition continues to spiral into critical deterioration in Venezuela, more than 5.6 million Venezuelans have fled to neighboring countries. Venezuelan women and girls previously were particularly vulnerable to sex trafficking in Colombia, Ecuador and Trinidad and Tobago. In 2020, 23 percent of victims identified in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo were Venezuelan.26 In the Northern Triangle of Central America, more than two million people are estimated to have left El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras since 2014, many fleeing poverty, violence, and other hardships27 and falling prey to traffickers en route.

PROTAGONISTS

For commercial sexual exploitation to be the business that produces billions of dollars a year ($150 billion annually according to Bradley Myles of Polaris Project), there must be certain players: a trafficker, a victim, and a consumer. Along the way, the victim will pass by witnesses (society), officials (immigration officers, police) and businesspeople (transportation and hotel or tourism industry, etc.). All are protagonists in this malevolent tragedy.

Trafficker

Who are the pimps or traffickers? In her book Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: Beyond Victims and Villains, (Lutnik, 2016) the author warns us that the villain vs. victim model doesn’t contribute to strengthening the most vulnerable among us and mitigating exploitation. To the contrary, the dominant narrative about pimp controlled youth results in outrage and indignation directed at these individuals instead of a questioning of the structural factors that are the antecedents to such involvement.28 Julia O’Connell Davidson proposes that entry into pimping is often predicated on precisely the same poverty, abuse, neglect, depravity, and despondency that form the basis of entry into prostitution.29

As agents of change, the volunteers of Protect Me Project seek to partner with local stake holders in building strong families in our communities. This includes the young male trapped in a cycle of abuse, violence, poverty, and unrealistic social expectations.

After analyzing human trafficking cases, common traffickers noted are:

• Pimps

• Husband/boyfriend/family member/friend

• Gangs and criminal networks, both local and international

• Small or large business owners, business or factory supervisors

• Owners and supervisors of massage parlors and brothels, strip clubs, nightclubs and karaoke parlors

52% of those who recruit victims are men, while 42% are women and 6% are male/female teams. In 46% of the cases the recruiter was a person known to the victim. Most of the people involved in the human trafficking chain are natives of the victim's country of origin.30

GROOMING

As can be seen, human trafficking is a very complex crime that generally takes place in an identifiable sequential pattern. Traffickers are experts at finding those moments when people are vulnerable, at working the angles, at manipulating reality and leveraging fears. The process is called grooming.31

Young people who have run away from home, who are vulnerable and lack experience on the street, are especially targeted. Loyola University investigated labor and sex trafficking among homeless youth through Covenant House ministries and found nearly 1 in 5 were victims of some form of human trafficking.32 Traffickers may scour specific locations such as bus stations, shelters, or local malls looking for someone without a safe place to stay or who they may be able to charm with their flattery and attention.33

Making the Connection:

The trafficker may recruit the victim indirectly through advertisements in the print media, online contacts, referrals from relatives or acquaintances, alleged employment opportunities, recruitment agencies, the offering of academic courses, through travel agencies, and through sentimental manipulation during courtship or even marriage. In all these cases, recruitment depends partially or totally on the use of deception, although there are also situations in which a victim is kidnapped or forced through rape and submission.

According to the U.S. T.I.P. Hotline, in 2020, 42% of trafficking victims were brought into trafficking by a member of their own families and 39% were recruited via an intimate partner or a marriage proposition.34 Some families “lend” their daughter into domestic servitude; sometimes in exchange for money, sometimes simply as an alternative to the extreme material poverty of their household and the lack of local education or job options.

Establish Trust:

In her book Survivors of Slavery: Modern Day Slave Narratives, (Murphy, 2014) Laura Murphy recounts the story of Shamere McKenzie, a native of Jamaica trafficked in the United States.

I will never forget the day I met my trafficker. It was a cold but sunny afternoon in January 2005. As I crossed over Ninety Sixth Street in Manhattan, New York, this car was approaching me. I stopped to look if it was my friend, who had a similar car, but this man came out of the car and introduced himself. Although he was not the typical guy I would talk to, he was extremely polite. That initial conversation made me completely forget how chubby he was. Nonetheless, we exchanged numbers. Within ten minutes, he was already calling my phone, but I was at work and had no time to speak.

Over the next several weeks, we had great conversations as we got to know each other (or should I say he got to know me). We had conversations about politics, single parents, the high number of men incarcerated, and how the government is building fewer schools and more jails. This was the kind of conversation I enjoyed. I became attracted to this man, as he had stimulated my mind. I easily looked past the fact that I was not physically attracted to him, especially when he told me he graduated from Morehouse College. He never told me his profession, as he said he wanted me to be with him for who he is, not what he does. In my mind, this was a well-educated, intelligent man, so he must have a great job. I began thinking that he must be used to females getting involved with him because of his profession and not for who he was as a person. Therefore, I never tried to find out what he really did for a living.

At this point in my life, I was working trying to save $3,000 I needed to go back to school at the end of January. When he learned about this, he immediately offered the money for me to go back to school. He said all I had to do was dance…35

During this “grooming” phase, the trafficker often manipulates the victim with feigned love and affection. They may have several conversations and form a bond over common interests and will pretend to care about what the would-be victim has experienced. This is crucial if he or she is to achieve lasting mental dominance over the victim. He or she will employ tactics such as human warmth, gifts, compliments, and sexual and physical intimacy. He or she will promise the victim a better life, easy money, and luxurious material goods. Drugs may be introduced, and the victim becomes addicted in a short time. When she or he begins to feel loved and safe, the next phase will begin.

Relationship Turns Sexual, Coercion and Isolation:

Traffickers need to put themselves at the center of victims’ lives to create a near total dependency. To do so, they distance their victims from anyone who might weaken their influence or contradict the messaging they’re providing. They might make off handed comments about how they don’t like the potential victim’s friends or make it so they become increasingly reliant on them by driving them to school or work and being there to pick them up. By isolating their victims, traffickers make it more difficult for them to reach out to others for help later on down the line.36

Pimps are continually “trolling” the internet, present on sites frequented by children and young people, posing as a boy or a girl in search of friendship.

The relationship develops without threat until the victim moves to meet the pimp in person or sends compromising photographs or shares her or his innermost dreams. The practice of “sexting” (sending nude or semi nude photos) exposes the sender to “sextortion” (blackmail or extortion based on the shame the person wants to avoid if the photo is published). It is then that the predator can intrude on the victim's life and begin to separate him or her from his or her support network.

The trafficker now breaks the victim in every possible way. In 2011 a DVD series called “Cross Country Pimping” was published in which pimps gave instructions on how to tame and control their women:

Weakness is the prime characteristic you look for if you want to control someone. If you don't find a weakness, you have to create one. You have to totally destroy someone's ego before that person will depend on you for their salvation.37

This phase often includes gang rape, verbal and sexual abuse, beatings, food deprivation, the offering of kindness and affection and the deprivation of both; isolation, and any tactic that serves to create dependency and break the spirit of the victim. The trafficker will move the victim to separate her or him from their family and friends, and to disorient her or him.

Abuse and Exploitation:

The way traffickers begin the process of exploiting their victims isn’t always transparent. They may start slowly, by pushing their victim to do things they might be uncomfortable with, like asking them to have sex with a friend once or arranging a date for them as a way to make some quick money. Over time, the victim may be conditioned to believe that what they’re being asked to do is “normal.” They may even feel like they owe their trafficker for all they have done for them or believe their trafficker when they say that the situation is just temporary or a way for them to reach their common goals, such as getting out of the sex trade and starting a family – or keeping the current, abusive family together.38

Once recruited the victim will have to be transferred to the place of exploitation. This can be to another point within the same country or to another country, or within the same city. The itinerary, and even the exploitation, can pass through a transit country or be direct between the country of origin and the country of destination. According to the Global Report on Trafficking in Persons (U.N. 2020) the majority of victims are exploited within their own sub-region.

Borders can be crossed openly or clandestinely, legally or illegally. Frequently, so-called "identity theft" is used, that is, the generation of identity documents that do not belong to the victim, not only passports but also birth

certificates, identity cards, driver's licenses, school reports, among others which makes it extremely difficult for the victim to prove their identity and seek justice.

Control:

Debt bondage: Once documents are confiscated the victim is often charged the cost of moving to another city or country. In this way a debt is created and the consequent relationship of dependency since the victims will never be able to earn enough to pay their captor. This is called "peonage" or "debt bondage." Being subjected to abuse, beatings, rape, blackmail and threats, the life of the victim becomes a painful and prolonged exploitation.

Mechanisms used by traffickers to control their victims: Many of the victims of human trafficking are exploited in open places and have contact with society: brothels, massage parlors, saunas, bars, restaurants, farms, factories, maquiladoras. How is it possible they don't run away or ask for help? Let's look at some keys:

• The use of violence or the threat of physical, psychological and/or sexual violence. Many times, children and young women are beaten or raped by their exploiters to keep them subdued. In the case of physical violence, the person is injured in places not visible to the public, such as the belly or thighs.

• The threat of being sent to prison or deported for being foreigners in an irregular situation, sometimes even highlighting the real or supposed relationships of traffickers with the authorities.

• Pressure or blackmail for debts or alleged debts contracted to create fear, dependency and psychological barriers between the victim and people who live outside the environment of abuse.

• Social and linguistic isolation occurs when dealing with foreigners who are unfamiliar with the country or the locality where they are (sometimes they do not even know where they are) and even worse if they do not speak the same language. In these cases, their identification documents (passports, etc.) are confiscated.

• The provision of alcohol or drugs is an increasingly used method.

• Threatening to kill a relative or even a pet.

• Threatening to release photos or videos as a form of blackmail (sextortion).

Officials

This group includes patrols in border areas, police, immigration officers, lawyers, members of the public ministry and judges. Some ignore the laws of their own country, while many take advantage of their leadership positions to squeeze money from traffickers. Still yet, some are direct consumers of enslaved people.

Kara interviewed the superintendent of the police unit responsible for investigating cases of commercial sexual exploitation in Thailand. When asked about the consumption of prostituted women by his officers, the officer cited

low pay (which promotes bribery and "kickback" pay), the human right (to exploit another person?), and the alleged “good” that the prostituted woman receives when she has a job.39 The superintendent reveals the cultural prejudices and ignorance that prevail in many areas of our world.

Speaking with a former federal agent from a Latin American country, he told us the corruption in his government was systemic, beginning with his president's office and permeating all government offices down to the local level.

Note the level of corruption indicated by Transparency International in the following diagram:

We recognize the economy is a major influencing factor when we talk about corruption. In her book Las Hijas de Juárez the author Teresa Rodríguez talks about the police force of that Mexican border city:

Their salaries were among the lowest of all city employees, attracting less-desirable candidates. They were only required to have finished elementary school. . . Those who had honorable hearts were often forced to retire from their posts or left the job in frustration.40

In every place where there is commercial sexual exploitation, the presence of corrupt officials is observed, some countries at a lower level but always present. If the victim cannot count on the help of those charged with protecting her, who can she trust?

Organized Criminal Networks

It has been said that “women are the new drug”. There are indications in the criminal world of the preference to trade in people over the trade in illegal drugs since it implies less risk with higher income. Kara offers figures outlining the profit margin a sex slave generates compared to the world's most lucrative legitimate companies.

Who are the ones running the commercial sexual exploitation industry?

Although cases of relatives offering a son or daughter for sexual sale for their own gain are common, most of the $150 billion in annual revenue generated by the human trafficking industry remains in the hands of organized criminal networks, also called “mafia”. Mafias are instruments of violence that are used to protect the interests of an industry, or business, or even political systems. In the case of commercial sexual exploitation, it has been proven that international mafias such as the "Yakuza" (Japan), the "Triads" (China), the Italian mafia, the cartels of Colombia and Mexico, the Nigerian, Albanian and Russian mafia; the Maras and Salvatruchas of Central America, just to name a few, control the slave “trade” routes. (See graph above by insightcrime.org)

Society

We want to make note here the similarity between the methods used by traffickers and those used by 8 year old bullies. Both seek to intimidate, exploit, and control their victims. In both cases there are perpetrators, victims, and bystanders. If we can “get there before the trafficker” and offer alternatives to these behaviors, might we be able to offer a future with options for this generation? Perhaps beginning with bystanders, AKA society.

Protect Me Project is calling for new activists: people who are informed about the problem and who raise their voices against this atrocity. Not just human trafficking, but each of the push and pull factors which are at the root

of the problem. Our children and sisters depend on us to engage the issues. We are the streets these victims are sold on. We are the neighborhoods where these slaves are held captive. We are the families of those who spend their money for sex acts. We are the parents raising bullies.

The Declaration of the Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power of the United Nations (1985)41 says in clause 16 that persons who are likely to be in contact with victims (such as police, justice officials and community health and social services staff) should be trained to identify them and be sensitive to their needs.

What role could you play in that training?

Notice the signs that society can observe when the individual is being enslaved. (See page 43) The presence of just one sign may not be alarming, but the presence of more than one should prompt a call to the Polaris Project’s T.I.P. Hotline number (888 3737 888) to report. Women and children who are victims of commercial sexual exploitation depend on a society that exercises zero tolerance. Will you be part of the new activists?

We have what we tolerate. Our volunteers have all heard facilitators say this, and it is true. As parents, we get the behavior from our toddlers that we tolerate. As spouses, we have the type of relationship we tolerate. As long as we are comfortable with things as they are, we will never be agents for change.

Photograph of spikes in a cross at the border between El Paso, TX and Cd. Juárez, CHIH – one spike for each woman whose life has been snuffed out. Some estimate more than 5,000 women have disappeared from this border city since the 1990s.

CHAPTER TWO: VICTIMS

“There is no us and them. There is simply a lot of this and that inside us all.” Kathy Brooks43

“Referring to these young people as “victims” ignores the resilience that many of them show, as well as the fact that they are doing the best they can given their options and limited support.”44

Who among us wants to be viewed as a "victim"? It feels weak and powerless. So, let’s define our use of the word “victim” here: a person who has suffered direct physical, emotional, or pecuniary harm as a result of the commission of a crime.45 By using the term “victim” we place the onus of guilt directly on the perpetrator of the crime and not on the person exploited. We use the word “victim” to refer to a person being exploited. Once that individual exercises agency, the appropriate term is survivor.

It is true that not all persons in prostitution are trafficking victims. Yet, we would argue, they are victims of commercial sexual exploitation. What is the difference? The person in prostitution as an adult receives money or goods in exchange for sex acts and might choose to deny engaging in sex acts with a given consumer. The trafficking victim has lost all agency, cannot accept or deny a consumer, and does not earn a wage for his or her participation in sex acts. Both suffer the exploitation of their sexuality.

The route to prostitution is more complicated than the villain/victim narrative. Sometimes it appears to be by choice, even if that choice is based on hopelessness. In other words, material poverty places the victim in prostitution because they do not perceive options. In some cases, it is a decision based on feelings of low self esteem created and fueled by abusive experiences. In the next chapter we speak in detail of the progression from sexual abuse as a minor toward commercial sexual exploitation. One survivor describes her entrance to “the life”:

It started, not with the first time I traded sex for money, but with the dysfunction of my family. The next steps on that path were the educational disadvantages and homelessness that I experienced as a teenager. It is a familiar story among prostituted people. The most common that I have met.46

“If you were born to my parents and put in the exact same situation, you would be writing this letter right now.” (Survivor)42

The legal reality of the trafficked person is that she or he was (or is) the victim of an abuse of power. She or he was not (and is not) responsible for crimes committed during captivity. (See Appendix B at protectmeproject.org/appendix)

It is crucial, however, to be clear: Yes, she or he is responsible for her or his life. A trauma informed lens upholds each person as an active agent of their own recovery process.47 Any service or program that ignores this fact misses an important piece in rebuilding her or his holistic health. Any intervention on their behalf must be informed by the trauma experienced and must empower her or him to make their own decisions and include multi sectoral support as they move toward full self actualization.

Understanding the above, we use the word “victim” as a legal or criminal term. According to the Palermo Protocol, a minor in prostitution is effectively a victim of human sex trafficking, even if she or he does not self identify as such. There is no need to prove that he or she was deceived or forced, or that a third person is involved: being a minor, he or she is a victim of trafficking.

A DAY IN THE LIFE

In daily life, victims of sex trafficking endure unspeakable acts of physical brutality, violence, and degradation, including being raped by so called clients and pimps. One survivor from Connecticut shares her experience, “The beatings were one thing, but being called a bitch every second and being told that you will never be anything but a prostitute was not something I could deal with anymore. So I told him to kill me.”48

Some are subjected to forced abortions.49 Dependencies on alcohol and other drugs may be acquired since these anesthetize and help mitigate physical and psychological pain.

Victims live in fear for their lives and for the lives of their family and friends. One trafficker explains, “Not everyone likes the job. There are cases where girls have to get forced, through rape, beatings, or torture. Once she starts to fear for her life, she gives up the resistance and starts to work.”50

Individuals caught in commercial sexual exploitation suffer psychological reactions as a result of both physical and emotional trauma. In addition, they contract sexually transmitted diseases that, all too often, involve a breakdown in health that can have lifelong implications.

Often, victims do not get medical attention in time. When they are taken to the doctor it is usually when it is already too late for a cure, and this hastens their death. “Alarmingly, studies have shown that only 47% of female prostitute[d persons] are aware of their HIV status, less than 50% of these women had a health screening in the previous year, and on average had 17 sex partners per week.51 If they survive the physical, psychological, and spiritual impact of these experiences, the impact on the victim is devastating and long lasting.

From the beginning the victim may believe she or he will be a domestic worker, a farm worker, or sometimes a nightclub dancer or involved in prostitution. It may only be upon reaching her or his destination that she or he becomes aware that they, too, are a victim of exploitation.

HOW MANY?

Reliable statistics for human trafficking are hard to come by. Human trafficking is a clandestine crime, and few victims and survivors raise their voices for fear of reprisals, punishment, or ignorance of what is really happening to them or what their rights are.

The 2018 Global Slavery Index reports a 2016 statistic that 40.3 million slaves remain in our world. This research was conducted in 25 countries, covering 44% of the global population.52 The International Labor Organization (ILO) offers the figure of 24.9 million who exist under the yoke of forced labor.53 They claim it is a conservative estimate.

According to the latest Global Slavery Index, women and girls represent about 70% of slaves and adults are more affected than children (74%). Of the 24.9 million slaves, the ILO estimates 4.8 million are sex slaves, 16 million are exploited in the private sector and 4 million are in forced labor imposed by the state.54 However, in a speech in

April 2012, the executive director of UN Women, Michelle Bachelet, announced that, “80% of trafficked people are used and abused as sexual slaves.”55

The disparity between these statistics is a good example of how difficult it is to guesstimate the number of people who are victims of modern slavery. The variation is due to many factors, among them the lack of uniformity in terms and definitions, the variety in methodology when investigating, the focus of each investigation and the invisibility of the population in question.

Many organizations working with victims claim that women and children who are victims of forced labor are also victims of sexual abuse and often commercial sexual exploitation. This nuance is not reflected in published statistics.

Official statistics estimate that between 14,500 to 17,500 people enter the United States each year as victims of trafficking.56 The 2021 T.I.P. Report U.S. Country Narrative indicates the top three countries of origin for victims identified by federally funded providers in the United States are the U.S., Mexico and Honduras57 When we talk specifically about commercial sexual exploitation, the figures offered by the C.I.A. from 1999 to the present are between 45,000 and 50,000 women, boys and girls are exploited annually in the sex trade in the United States.31

In 2005 the International Labor Organization (ILO) published its estimate of the annual income generated by the illegal industry of forced labor and human trafficking: $32.5 billion dollars. Today, on the ILO website, they cite an income of $150 billion a year. Before you deduce that there has been a 500% increase in the rate of slavery over the last two decades, we must insist that statistics on the crime of human trafficking come from a variety of sources: many NGOs, government departments independent from each other, and each in different geographical regions and cultures. This makes harmony in terms and calculations difficult.

In an interview with the Mexican journalist Lydia Cacho, she comments:

It is hard to know if commercial sexual exploitation and child pornography are more prevalent now or if we are simply better informed. This scourge exists because we have agreed not to see it, especially in Mexico where being a witness means risking your life, or the life of your family.32

Instead of focusing on statistics, one advocate recommends focusing on individual personal survival stories, or new government initiatives, or fledgling academic research efforts until better statistics are available.

RISK FACTORS

The average age of induction to the world of commercial sexual exploitation is difficult to know. Many cite the age between 12 14 years, referring to research done in 2001 that today is considered unreliable. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) most victims of human trafficking are between 18 and 24 years old,58 but this does not indicate how old they were when they entered the world of exploitation.

In the United States, Polaris Project reports that, of the 123 survivors they helped in a given time frame, 44% said they were under the age of 17 when they entered prostitution. The average was 19 years, although they emphasize that the vast majority of people who call the emergency line are adults.59 Loyola University interviewed 641 homeless youth in ten cities in the United States. They found that one in five was trafficked, and the median age of entry into prostitution reported was 16 years.60 Research suggests that the average of a sex slave in the United States is around 20 while the average age outside of the United States is approximately 12 years old.61

Conclusion? Although there is much research, we do not have reliable statistics to say for sure the average age at which exploitation begins for most enslaved people.

What we do know is that age is a primary risk factor (read “vulnerability”) and that adolescents are more susceptible to advances and tactics of coercion, deception, and intentional manipulation. The emotional and economic dependence of a minor, along with his or her limited ability to analyze decisions and calculate their consequences, makes him or her especially vulnerable to the predator. For all these reasons traffickers spend time in or near places where young people gather: social media sites, shopping malls, schools, parks, bus stops, shelters, and so called "farms."

Another risk factor noted among exploited individuals is identifying as LGBTQ+. According to Gallup, 5.6% of adult population in the U.S. identifies as gay62, but a disproportionate percentage of persons from this population are commercially sexually exploited.63 Most of the young people who self identify as other than their biological sex and receive help cite the rejection of their sexual choice by their families as the reason for finding themselves on the streets, and therefore exploited.64 According to studies by the Mayo Clinic, members of the LGBTQ community

suffer more from anxiety disorders, lower levels of mental health, and chronic emotional conditions which are all contributing factors to their vulnerability.65

For some, prostitution offers a space to experiment with their sexuality. Others are looking for an adventure, something exciting, or the economic resources to obtain the goods coveted by their contemporaries: nails, shoes, cars, clothes, technology. In other cases, material poverty convinces the person that prostitution is his or her only option. Mental health is another factor that appears in so many cases of trafficking worldwide. There are many cases in which a mentally disabled person is exploited, but many other cases in which the adults in charge of them suffer from mental health problems, which makes the son or daughter feel responsible to support the family, or run away from home to escape abuse and find a place to belong.

A final notable factor that draws vulnerable people into the sex market is love. One survivor offers, “Most girls are not motivated by lust or greed or gluttony or anger or envy or pride or sloth; they are attracted by love.”66

Traffickers prey on people with little or no social safety net. They look for people who are vulnerable due to their illegal immigration status, poor command of the language of the country where they are located, and who may be in vulnerable conditions due to economic problems, political instability, or natural disasters.

Here we want to highlight a few specific risk factors.

Sexual Abuse of Minors (SAM)

“Child sexual abuse is, by far, what I have heard the most mentioned in discussions regarding the commercial sexual exploitation of minors as the factor that predisposes [the victim] to being commercially exploited.”67

A 1983 study found that 60% of 200 individuals involved in the sex trade (adults and minors) were sexually exploited as minors.68 A 2012 study found that 40.8% of 115 individuals who identified themselves as “sex market participants before the age of 18” also self reported as victims of child sexual abuse.69 Patricia Murphy, in her book Making the Connections (1993) cites two studies where they calculate that between 65-85% of the prostituted women in their research were victims of "child rape". In fact, the author states that some clinicians

consider this number to be close to 100%.70 “Many of the organizations that provide services to victims of commercial sexual exploitation of minors have confirmed these higher statistics to me.” says Holly Austin Smith, survivor, author, and activist.71

Rachel Moran writes, “I discovered that childhood sexual abuse was common among the girls I knew in my life and, in many cases, was the primary factor that caused them to run away from home.”72

Prolonged and repeated trauma usually precedes entry into prostitution. From 55% to 90% of prostitutes report a childhood sexual abuse history. Silbert and Pines noted that 80% of their interviewees said that childhood sexual abuse had an influence on their entry into prostitution. A conservative estimate of the average age of recruitment into prostitution in the U.S.A. is 13 14 years.73

The World Health Organization (WHO), basing its report on several global investigations, calculates that approximately 20% of girls and between 5 to 10% of boys suffer child sexual abuse.74 Based on retro research (in which adults report abuse that occurred in their childhood) 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 13 boys in the U.S. will be abused before reaching pubertal age according to the CDC.75 D2L.org states that 1 in 10 children is abused before their 18th birthday.76

The body of evidence points to sexual abuse of minors as a common factor driving minors onto the street. Being homeless, whatever the push or pull factor, is what pressures him or her to sell sex acts to survive. Other risk factors add to that scenario.

Alexandra Lutnik warns us in her book entitled Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: Beyond Victims and Villains not to limit the topic of the presence of minors in the sex trade to the discussion of sexual abuse of minors. The misconception that child sexual abuse is the primary factor leading to commercial sexual exploitation may keep us from focusing on the need for quality economic opportunities. “We must talk about poverty, which is inseparable from racism, gender inequality, socio economic class, and lack of community.”77

Misogyny

More than poverty, military conflict, and other social disasters that drove rural women into the clutches of sex traffickers, this was the primary factor wherever I investigated the phenomenon of sex trafficking: millions of women lived in a world that overwhelmingly loathed them.78

Misogyny is a social concept that describes an attitude of hatred or contempt towards the female sex. “Every day, on average, at least 12 Latin American and Caribbean women die for the sole fact of being a woman.”79 According

to F.B.I. data, female intimate gendered killings in the United States happen at a rate of almost 3 every day.80 The lack of legal and social equality for women and girls is a breeding ground for commercial sexual exploitation. Where women and girls are reduced to mere objects and viewed as economic assets or liabilities, a climate is created in which they can be bought and sold.

The abusers, but also many judges, police officers, prosecutors, and public ministries, are traditional men and women who have been educated with stereotyped sexual roles, and fervently reproduce them. . . The word of a man has much more symbolic value and social weight than the word of a woman and a girl. Women who have power in the judicial environment often reproduce sexist values to be accepted in a world that for centuries was male territory.81

We can't think of eliminating sexual abuse of minors without understanding adult sexual violence as well, because they are correlated. To the degree there continues to be an imbalance of power between men and women, there will continue to be exploitation of the latter.

Race

The Polaris Project 2018 Statistics from the National Human Trafficking Hotline ethnicity of victims of human trafficking. (See graph above.) Based on these statistics, almost double the number of Hispanics report being exploited in the U.S. compared to Asians, and over twice the number of African American or Caucasian.

The fact remains, child sex trafficking survivors are disproportionately girls of color. The following statistics focus on Black victims in the U.S. In King County, Washington, 52% of all child sex trafficking victims are Black and 84% of youth victims are female, though Black girls only comprise 1.1% of the general population.83 In Multnomah County Oregon, 95% of youth victims are female, and 27% of child sex trafficking victims are Black, though Black people comprise less than 6% of the population.84 In Cook County, Illinois 66% of sex trafficking victims between 2012 2016 were Black women.85 In Nebraska, 50% of individuals sold online for sex are Black, though Black people comprise only 5% of the general population.86

We must consider a larger picture as we evaluate the push and pull factors fueling slavery in our communities. Why are persons of color disproportionately marginalized? Are we looking for this vulnerability in our communities? Are we strategizing and collaborating to mitigate the circumstances creating these vulnerabilities and perpetuating unjust systems? Are we investing in development of assets among these populations?

Lack of Schooling

In some cultures, girls are denied the opportunity to go to school and instead are forced to stay home to do household chores. They remain untrained and uneducated. Girls are frequently abused within their families, making commercial sexual exploitation networks appear as a false escape route from exploitation and domestic violence. For many people, migrating or looking for work outside their communities is not only an economic decision, it could be a search for personal freedom, better living conditions or a means to support their families.

Children and adolescents who are not in school can easily fall prey to traffickers. Of the world’s 787 million children of primary school age, 8% do not go to school. That’s 58.4 million children, the majority being girls.87 Significant progress has been made toward achieving universal primary education. Globally, the adjusted net attendance rate reached 87 per cent in 2019, and about four out of five children attending primary education completed it. Additionally, over the past two decades, the number of out of school children was reduced by over 40 per cent.88 Yet, according to UNICEF, still today there are 115 million young people (15 24 years old) who are illiterate.89

The lack of schooling produces several effects: children will have fewer employment options, fewer social tools, and less contact with a potential support network in their community. Not being in class means a lot of unsupervised time, which exposes them to gangs, drugs, illegal businesses, and predators. If "work" is what prevents them from attending classes, it brings with it a whole series of concerns about their physical (food, rest, abuse), psychological, social, and spiritual health.

Regarding the prevention of trafficking, most prevention messages are aimed at children and adolescents who can read, with the illiterate being at a clear disadvantage. This is something Protect Me Project teams must take into consideration, even as we mobilize for the “100 Schools Project”: how do we reach the children who do not attend school?

There are various models in Latin America of NGOs, church ministries and individual advocates who have risen up to create a safe and supportive environment. “Girls of Promise” in Costa Rica90 offers a place where teenage girls can go after school. In a marginalized neighborhood, the girls grab a bite to eat, hang out with their friends, get

help with their homework and learn new skills. “M.D.A.” in the Dominican Republic91 sponsors events for young women that highlight the dignity of women and explore options for their future. “Zo¡e”92, also present in a marginalized area where sex tourism is rampant, is a drop in center providing physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual support. Friends in Chile operate a feeding center for food impoverished families with ongoing educational opportunities for single moms.93

Homelessness

Children and adolescents without adults to care for them are vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation. Parents provide an essential safety net for their offspring. Cases in which minors are forced to leave their homes – due to extreme material poverty, fleeing abuse, being rejected, and expelled or decide to go in search of love or fortune or exciting experiences, are at high risk of being exploited.

Those living in institutions are targeted by traffickers and, if raised in an institution, often lack community ties and opportunities, and may also be at greater risk. Assessments carried out by the International Labor Organization (ILO) have found that orphaned children and adolescents are much more likely to work in domestic service, commercial sex, commercial agriculture or as street vendors.94

Children separated from their parents due to material poverty, armed conflict, violence, or migration may live with more distant relatives or with a transitional family. Without guidance, without a sense of belonging or opportunities, they will be in a position of greater risk of being victims of exploitation.

To develop and implement effective policies and programs, we must be willing to acknowledge the diversity of young people who deal in sexual acts. We will need to explore the ways in which our constructions of childhood and victimization can contribute to the marginalization of young people and assess what we as a community can do to offer them alternatives, so these young people do not see selling sexual acts as their only option.

Lack of Birth Registration

Children and adolescents who are not registered in official records are more likely to be victims of trafficking. It is estimated that 41% of the children born in the year 2000 were not legally registered at birth. Today it is said that globally 1 in 4 children does not exist legally.95

Lack of birth registration can also reinforce existing gender gaps in areas like education. Worldwide, 132 million girls are out of school, and these girls are more likely than out of school boys to never enroll in school. Not having a birth certificate makes it even more difficult for them to do so. And girls without

birth certificates who are unable to legally prove their age are also even more susceptible to child marriage, after which they are much less likely to complete their education.96 When children lack a legal identity, it is easier for traffickers to hide them. It is also more difficult to track them and monitor their disappearance. Additionally, without a birth certificate it is difficult to confirm the age of the child and hold traffickers accountable for their actions. Lack of identification may mean that those who were trafficked between countries cannot be traced and therefore cannot be easily returned to their communities. The falsification of adoption documents, identity cards, or birth certificates are ways used by the trafficker to hide the identity and/or age of the victim.

Natural Disasters and Armed Conflict

During conflicts, children and adolescents may be abducted by armed groups and forced to participate in hostilities. They may be victims of sexual abuse or rape. Kilborn and McDermid tell us, “Rape and forced incest used as weapons of war break down the morale and fabric of a society. These tactics used regularly and mercilessly in recent wars, such as in Cambodia, Liberia, and Bosnia, certainly capture the meaning of exploitation.”97 Conflicts contribute to unprotected borders, increasing the ability of traffickers to move people. Finally, the flow of international workers that occurs during a crisis can increase commercial sexual exploitation.98

In fact, when United Nations troops enter a region, the trafficking rates tend to rise. United Nations troops have been implicated in sex slavery and human trafficking cases in Mozambique, Bosnia, Kosovo, Cambodia, Congo, Haiti, and elsewhere. Despite the fact that in 2002 the U.S. military enacted a stringent no tolerance policy forbidding military personnel and contractors from engaging in sex trafficking in war zones and providing for criminal prosecutions of those who purchase sex, by 2010 there had been absolutely no prosecutions.99

Political and economic upheavals contribute to increased vulnerabilities among populations who are already vulnerable. Siddarth Kara, a Harvard University Fellow, points to the fall of the former Soviet Union as a catalyst for sex trafficking: “Capitalism and democracy are almost always more desirable than oppressive, state controlled regimes, but during this fragile transition period, many post communist countries became sources of trafficked sex slaves.”100

Disasters that disrupt livelihoods or result in the death of one or both parents make children and adolescents vulnerable to exploitation.

These crises create chaos and the collapse of official structures to uphold justice, which decreases the chances that traffickers will face legal consequences for their actions.

Migration

Map3|

The map (above) from the World Migration Report 2022, shows concentrations of migrants. The United States of America is displayed here as the largest destination country for migrants, constituting 15.3% of the population.101

When an individual chooses to relocate, the simple fact of leaving behind relational networks and what is familiar creates certain vulnerabilities. When the destination is another country, that migrant might face language barriers, isolation and lack the connections needed to obtain employment. These issues are magnified if the migrant is undocumented.

In an April 26, 2022 interview with Professor Julie Dahlstrom, the Director of Immigrants’ Rights and Human Trafficking Program at Boston University School of Law, Dahlstrom explained, “Some people think of non citizens

being brought to the U.S. and then trafficked, but while that does occur what we see in many of our cases is non citizens who are in the U.S. and undocumented, then they are recruited by perpetrators.”102 Traffickers take advantage of the undocumented status to threaten the migrant with deportation, imprisonment, physical harm or harm to their family back home.

Even migrants holding visas can be vulnerable to exploitation.

Polaris Project reports six U.S. temporary (non immigrant) visas commonly associated with labor exploitation and trafficking as reported to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) and the Befree Textline they operate. These include the A 3, B 1, G 5, H 2A, H 2B and J I visa.103 The Council on Foreign Relations notes 550,000 visas were issued under the U.S. Temporary Foreign Worker programs in 2021, down from 846,000 in 2019.104

Traffickers take advantage of the dreams and hopes many migrants carry with them, believing in their country of destination they will earn wages and be able to send remittances back to their families. High income countries are almost always the main source of remittances. “For decades, the United States has consistently been the top remittance sending country, with a total outflow of $68 billion in 2020, followed by the United Arab Emirates ($43.2 billion), Saudi Arabia ($34.6 billion), Switzerland ($27.96 billion), and Germany ($22 billion).105

Many domestic workers in the U.S. “often hold special visas tying their immigration status to a single employer.”106 If a situation is abusive and the worker feels compelled to leave, they become undocumented. Dahlstrom adds, “People are brought in and told ‘You can’t work for anyone else’, then there are deportation threats.” She speaks of cases her program in Boston has assisted involving such industries as agriculture, domestic work, carnivals, sports such as soccer, restaurants, and construction.

Classroom, Ecuador. Protect Me Project volunteer teaching the PornoFREE flip book.

CHAPTER THREE: IMPACTS

“I may try to represent to you Slavery as it is; another may follow me and try to represent the condition of the Slave; we may all represent it as we think it is; and yet we shall all fail to represent the real condition of the Slave.”108

This explanation was given to the Female Anti Slavery Society of Salem in 1847 by William Wells Brown, a survivor of slavery in the South. Brown could describe in detail the torture of Lewis, a young man who had been strung up to the beams of a warehouse so that his toes only barely touched the floor, after which he had been beaten with a whip. Brown also related an event he saw on a boat when a young mother had her baby stolen from her arms and given away because the baby cried too much. He recounted the rapes of another beautiful young woman he knew and the unfortunate life she led as the mother of the children born of her violation.109 William Wells Brown recognized that although some excruciating details of a slave’s existence may be related to others, still other deeper, hidden aspects of that life are too shocking, too shameful and denigrating to speak.

Respecting this truth, let’s consider some impacts the unspeakable atrocities of modern day slavery may have on victims.

THE EMOTIONAL IMPACT

The overriding feeling when reflecting on the experience of prostitution is simply this: loss. Loss of innocence, loss of time, of opportunity, credibility, respectability, and the spiritually ruinous loss of connectedness to the self.110

Children who have been victims of commercial sexual exploitation show feelings of shame, guilt and low self esteem, and are often stigmatized. “A Canadian study of 229 juvenile male and female prostitutes indicated that 80 percent of the juvenile prostitutes suffered serious depression, 71 percent had a sense of devastated self esteem, and the subjects were three times more likely to have suicidal tendencies than the control group.”111

Often victims feel betrayed, especially if the person who abused them was a person they had trusted; and it is, in the majority of cases. In his book The Wounded Heart, Dan Allender describes the shame of betrayal. “The person who is betrayed often laments: How could I have been so stupid? How could I have trusted someone who was so deceitful? The shame of being taken advantage of increases the fury of self incrimination.”112 Victims of sexual violence often turn to drug and alcohol abuse to numb their emotional pain, and others commit suicide.

The victim of commercial sexual exploitation may not self identify as such. On the contrary, he or she may consider their trajectory to have been of their own choice since it may be true that she or he took the initiative to flee their home of origin and head for the street. In some cases, this claim is her or his only remaining vestige of control over their own life.

Let’s read in their own words what survivors teach us about their experience:

“I see prostitution now as an enemy that snuck up on me because I didn’t know enough to anticipate it.” Rachel Moran, survivor of sex trafficking, in her book Paid For.

“It's a cycle: I was looking for a boyfriend who would affirm my self esteem; I sexualized myself to attract boys; it felt good to attract the attention of older guys; I felt bad after agreeing to sexual demands and then being ignored.” Holly Austin Smith, survivor of sex trafficking and author of Walking Prey. Painting by survivor “Sonja Dove”

“When you grow up three blocks from the [prostitution] district, attend an overcrowded and under resourced school, and see violence on a daily basis in your community, it's hard to believe you have other options.” Rachel Lloyd, trafficking survivor, in her book Girls Like Us.

“I was only twelve years old . . . at the time he was like, what, 29, 30; I didn’t really care, I felt like it was cool for me to be twelve years old and for a older dude to be interested in me. . . I was like I’m sexy, like I had it going on . . . He was like I love you, you my baby; and we gonna be together. . . . I thought that was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

From Showtime Documentary Very Young Girls.

“And then there are the mothers who have settled, have stayed with the man, because he’s a man, and you don’t know when one might come along again, so you stay and you ignore it, whatever it is . . . until one day your daughter tells you that he did something, and you just know she’s lying, how could he, why would he, she’s just a child, you’re a woman, he doesn’t need to, that’s disgusting, of course she’s lying, she’s been acting a little fast, a little grown anyway, so you slap her in the face for telling such heinous lies, and when she doesn’t say anything again you know she’s learned her lesson about that kind of bullshit. After all, you didn’t say anything when it was happening to you all those years ago.” Rachel Lloyd, survivor of sex trafficking and author of Girls Like Us.

Added to these details given by survivors of sex trafficking are feelings of shame, heightened by the lies the controllers have told the victim, convincing a victim he or she does not deserve help and they have

Painting by Sonja Dove, Survivor| Gift

brought these consequences upon themselves. For the same reason, the intervention of people from outside the circle of abuse may be perceived by the victim as another form of violence.

It is not uncommon for victims who have suffered commercial sexual exploitation to suffer from dissociation disconnecting from past events – and multiple personalities – the healing reaction of the human mind when the trauma experienced exceeds the soul's ability to cope. 113

Often, a victim will suffer from what is called Stockholm Syndrome, developing feelings of affection, loyalty, and dependency towards the abuser. Psychologist Dee Graham points out the key consideration is the victim’s perception. Survivor Rachel Lloyd explains,

It doesn’t matter if those on the outside believe that the victim had an opportunity to escape, that the threat wasn’t really as great as the victim thought it was, or that the kindness shown was trivial and ludicrous in the face of the violence involved. All that matters is that the victim believes these things to be true. Bonding to their captor/abuser is simply a survival mechanism born out of great psychological fear and oppression. 114

One example of a method of trauma bonding is with holding of food for a long period of time until a quota of money is given to the trafficker. Many hours later when the victim returns with the quota, feelings of starvation, anxiety, and emotional upheaval have set in. “As food is presented, the victim experiences a positive mental and physical response—euphoria and gratitude—directed toward the provider of the food. While the trafficker is responsible for withholding food, the more immediate feeling of the trafficker as hero for solving the problem overshadows earlier negative feelings.”115

Combining all the elements mentioned above we see that those who suffer within sexual slavery rarely self identify as victims until much later, looking back. This lack of identifying as a victim complicates the efforts of law enforcement or other entities who might attempt to intervene on their behalf and facilitate an exit from “the life”. Victims can resist aid, not recognizing they are working against themselves.

THE PHYSICAL IMPACT

The presence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) can increase the risk of being infected with HIV. STD is any disease that is spread when a virus or bacteria is passed from one person to another during sexual activity. There are several types of STDs, but the most common ones are HPV, gonorrhea, syphilis, herpes, chlamydia, trichomoniasis.116 The absence of medical attention to mitigate symptoms and complications from these diseases further weakens the individual’s hope of health.

Victims of commercial sexual exploitation are susceptible to contracting sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. The dangerous “virgin cleansing myth” promotes the notion that having sex with a virgin can cure HIV/AIDS. This has led to an even higher demand for young girls. Many women and girls report consumers pay more for sex without a condom, and people in exploitation are rarely in a position to insist on their use.

Within the physical impact we must mention the risk of unwanted pregnancy, forced abortion and its serious physical and psychological consequences. It is common for the victim of commercial sexual exploitation to suffer from violent attacks: beatings, kicks, being dragged by the hair, burned, cut, and even shot. A nine country study interviewed 854 in commercial sexual exploitation. The findings reveal the level of physical violence endured:

Seventy percent of women in prostitution in San Francisco, California were raped. A study in Portland, Oregon found that prostituted women were raped on average once a week. Eighty five percent of women in Minneapolis, Minnesota had been raped in prostitution. Ninety-four percent of those in street prostitution experienced sexual assault and 75% were raped by one or more johns. In the Netherlands (where prostitution is legal) 60% of prostituted women suffered physical assaults; 70% experienced verbal threats of assault, 40% experienced sexual violence and 40% were forced into prostitution and/or sexual abuse by acquaintances. 117

Survivor Rachel Moran notes the stereotype of the heroin addict who enters street prostitution to feed her habit, admitting this does happen, but explains it is much more common to acquire these addictions, “…usually to alcohol, valium and other prescription sedatives, and to cocaine. These substances are used to numb the simple awfulness of having sexual intercourse with reams of sexually repulsive strangers.” 118

The Salvation Army estimates that once subjected to commercial sexual exploitation, a young woman will survive an average of seven years. These photographs (right) of the same young woman, taken over a four year period at the time of her arrest for prostitution, demonstrate the process of dehumanization that occurs within the confines of abuse. The imminent health risk among prostituted women is premature death. A recent US study of nearly 2,000 prostituted [women] observed

over a thirty year period, the leading causes of death were femicide, suicide, drug and alcohol related complications, HIV infection, and accidents in that order.119 The mortality rate among active prostituted [women] was 200 times higher than that of other women with similar demographic profiles.120

THE PSYCHOSOCIAL IMPACT

Commercial sexual exploitation of children is a severe form of human trafficking. Child victims of trafficking suffer adverse effects on their social and educational development. Many never knew a loving nuclear family life and are forced to work at an early age. Without access to support from school or family and being isolated from normal social activities, they are unable to reach their potential. Also, living under constant surveillance and restriction, they have little contact with the outside world and are often unable to seek help. When they are victims of physical and/or emotional violence and abuse, the effects can be long lasting and life threatening.

The Department of Justice in the United States published a timeline in 2010 tracing the progression from sexual abuse as a minor to commercial sexual exploitation. (See below)

When adult sexuality invades childhood, the child is incapable of processing their feelings in relation to what has happened. In most cases the abuser is someone the child knows and trusts. At that point the child begins to associate love with sex and abuse. This becomes the filter through which they perceive their world and themselves

Protect Me Project teaches parents to empower their 2 to 8 year olds by establishing safe boundaries: 1) We have private parts and public parts. 2) No one has a right to touch, tickle, kiss, see or take pictures of our private parts – or ask us to do the same with theirs. 3) Secrets, no. 4) If anyone does something we’re uncomfortable with, we can say “NO” and run to tell a trusted adult.

But what if a child doesn’t know these boundaries? Boundaries are passed over without even knowing it.

Guilt and shame grow in the silence of abuse. The child begins to see him or herself as only having value when performing sexually. They may use their sexuality to please, impress or gain acceptance. On the other hand, they may despise their sexuality since they perceive it to be to blame for the advances of their abuser. The same could be said for their physical body. In either case, they believe themselves to have little value. Some expression of that among children might sound like, “I’m not worth defending.” “I’m just trash.” “No one cares what’s happening to me.” “I’m invisible.”

Minor victims of sexual abuse whose personality is that of a risk taker, and perhaps hopeful, may decide at this point to run away from the abusive environment at home. If they chose that path, they would soon find themselves hungry, with nowhere to sleep and no source of income. Surrounded by street savvy adults, the imbalance of power becomes evident. Encouraged by a hyper sexualized pop culture and confronted with a sex market, they will find someone who can “solve all their problems”. This “savior” appears as a friend but is really a trafficker.

The impact suffered by survivors of commercial sexual exploitation requires the help of professionals in order to believe a change is possible and achieve their preferred life. Because the wounds are so deep and devastating, it is our duty to do everything we can to intervene on time, to get there before that initial abuse occurs. For those who have already experienced abuse, there is help available to unpack their experience and see they have agency and the right to a future with options. (See protectmeproject.org/appendix for Appendix C: The A.C.E. Quiz and Study)

A SURVIVOR’S VOICE

In an effort to meet what most in anti-trafficking circles would agree are “best practice” standards, we would like to offer the following guidelines as we work alongside those who have lived through the experience of human trafficking. As we seek the input of survivors, keep these concepts in mind. (Drawn from the 2022 T.I.P. Report)

Ethical Storytelling

§

Do not engage survivors solely to tell the story of their trafficking experience.

§ Never share a survivors’ story without their permission.

§ Employ a robust, informed consent process when featuring a survivor’s story. This means being transparent with how and in what setting a survivor’s story might be used and confirming with the survivor whether they continue to consent to that use. If circumstances surrounding use of the survivor’s story change, give the survivor the opportunity to approve how their story will subsequently be used and allow them to withdraw their consent at any point. Survivors should have control over their stories.

§

If featuring a survivor’s story in fundraising materials, ensure that your organization has obtained consent from the survivor to use their story for this purpose.

§ Ensure language used in all communication material (internal and public) is both trauma informed and survivor informed, as well as culturally sensitive, inclusive, and empowering. Work with survivors on communication materials, especially with those whose stories you are sharing, to avoid sensationalism and re traumatization, including in photography and graphics.

Including Survivors in Decision Making and Addressing Barriers to Survivor Inclusion and Leadership

§ Give survivors the opportunity to continuously identify areas for professional development.

§ Ask individuals how they want to be introduced; do not automatically introduce someone as a survivor of trafficking. This empowers those who have experienced exploitation to identify in a manner they choose. Understand that this may change over their lifetime. Treat them as more than the traumas they experienced and foster their strengths. Many survivor leaders want to be valued as professionals separate from their lived experience.

§ Always compensate survivors for their time, expertise, and contributions in a timely manner, whether they are participating in a focus group or providing consultant services.

§ Continuously and appropriately access survivor expertise at all appropriate stages throughout program development, implementation, and evaluation.

AN ACTIVIST’S VOICE

Reporting in the U.S.A

The Polaris Project, a non which mans the trafficking in persons hotline, can be reached by

• Calling 888-3737

• texting 233733

CHAPTER FOUR: DEMAND

Prostitutes are…so despised… I feel that this has to do with a misconception that prostitution is a feminine arena… But the truth is, no matter what area of prostitution I worked in, there were always far more clients than prostitutes.121

We have come to the heart of the sex industry: Demand. In the world of economics, the market consists of supply and demand. If there is no demand, there need be no supply. Protect Me Project proposes demand is the weakest link in the chain of modern day slavery. Why?

Because demand is at our doorstep. Consumers of sex acts live in our neighborhood, work with us, attend our schools, buy at our stores, ride in our Uber and go to church with us. If demand is that close, and opportunities abound for us to speak up and tip the scales of public opinion regarding objectifying human beings and commodifying the sexual relationship, then we must.

If demand is close to where we live, this implies a lower risk than intervention measures, and is proven effective (think anti smoking campaign). In this way, addressing demand is addressing the weakest link in the industry: the link which is most vulnerable to our strategies of capacity building and mobilization and most accessible to us.

Let’s look at some links in the chain of demand

PORNOGRAPHY

Below we’ve included an article acknowledging the public health crisis caused by the consumption of pornography published by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation.

The Internet and other technological advances have made pornography more accessible than ever before. This means that for many people, pornography is only seconds away anytime, anywhere. This, combined with Internet pornography’s affordability and anonymity has unleashed online sexual consumerism, supplied endless sexual novelty, and created an ethos of instant sexual gratification. As a result, pornography use, even among children, is more prevalent and normalized than at any time in human history.

Importantly, “Mainstream online pornography is a key social institution” for developing norms of sexual conduct. Recent research has shown that 1 in 8 (12%) of the video titles on largest mainstream

pornography sites in the U.K. (Pornhub, XVideos, and Xhamster) described activities that constitute sexual violence. Much of the material described likely depicted evidence of real sexual assaults and non consensual distribution of sexually explicit material. Thus, children who end up on these sites are being socialized to sexually violent pornography from the very outset of their exposure to pornography.

Many users of pornography struggle with a compulsive need to consume pornography so powerful that it disrupts and destroys their professional and family lives.

Additionally, research shows that pornography performers suffer serious psychological and physical harms as a result of their involvement in pornography. Many have backgrounds of sexual abuse or get into the industry out of financial desperation. Exiting the pornography industry can be especially difficult as the stigma of having been involved in the industry can haunt women the rest of their lives.

In sum, pornography is a deeply damaging social influence that corrodes relationships, erodes the sensibilities and sexual freedom of consumers, and dehumanizes those used to create it.122

Gail Dines, a forerunner in pornography research and advocate for a world without porn, refers to our pornified culture by saying, “What changed porn was the internet. It became affordable, accessible, and anonymous; the “three As” that generate demand.”123

Exodus Cry, an outreach ministry to sexually exploited persons in San Francisco and the creators of the documentary “Nefarious: Merchant of Souls”, explains the progression they’ve observed from porn consumption to the purchase of sex acts:

A sex buyer might 1) look at free pornography downloads; 2) then be offered hardcore pornography for purchase; and then 3) see a pop up advertisement for prostitution in his zip code.

Moreover, when the high from the dopamine (chemical in the brain controlling the reward and pleasure centers) a man gets from renting hardcore pornography no longer satisfies him, voyeurism can turn physical, this time with a human being used as a masturbation receptacle. The demand for online pornography thus paves the way for online prostitution demand.124

The legal battles surrounding pornography pivot on arguments pertaining to free speech vs. obscenity. We argue, if prostitution is illegal (as it is in the United States with few notable exceptions) then pornography should be as well since it is simply filmed prostitution. Protect Me Project advocates that, despite its legal status, the content of today’s pornographic material along with its availability is a public health risk and feeds the illegal industry of commercial sexual exploitation. We work to inform volunteers about the effects of pornography on actors, family members of consumers, the consumers themselves and society where the consumers work and live. Our volunteers mobilize to speak in schools and other public venues about the science of addiction to porn, the ethical issues surrounding the creation and consumption of porn, as well as ways to empower our children to say “NO” to porn.

SEXUAL VIOLENCE AND THE PURCHASE OF SEX ACTS

Misconceptions regarding common stereotypes of rape encourage aggression and violence against women. Lists of myths surrounding sexual violence can be found on many victim services websites. Below we’ve included a few:

MYTH: The woman says “no” when she means “yes” – FACT: Assuming a female is powerless to consent to forced sex is to remove agency from her, essentially dehumanizing her. If someone says “No”, moving forward with sexual aggression is criminal.

MYTH: Most women actually relax and enjoy it FACT: pornography has shaped the way both men and women view sexual violence. The actresses and actors in pornographic films are drugged prior to filming in order to anesthetize or accentuate feeling68 removing reality from the equation.

MYTH: Good girls don't get raped FACT: The victim's reputation, her characteristics, her clothing or her behavior are irrelevant to a case of sexual violence. It is the perpetrator’s behavior and choices which cause sexual violence.

MYTH: If she didn’t scream, fight back or run away, it’s not rape FACT: It’s really common for people who experience rape, sexual assault, sexual abuse or other types of sexual violence to find they can’t move or speak. This is one of our bodies’ automatic responses to fear.

MYTH: Women who drink or take drugs deserve it if they get raped – FACT: Every human being has a right to sexual serenity. No one deserves to be sexually assaulted. Raping or sexually assaulting someone is always a crime and 100% of the blame, shame, and responsibility for that crime lies with the perpetrator.

MYTH: Boys behave like boys – FACT: this is based on another myth, namely that sexual activity is a biological need. It is not. Not for men or for women. The myth that men’s sexual urges must be satisfied perpetuates a consumer mentality and a sense of entitlement among men, and resignation among women.

MYTH: If she didn’t say “No” it’s not rape – FACT: Not saying “no” isn’t consent. If someone seems unsure, stays quiet, moves away or doesn’t respond, they are not agreeing to sexual activity.

MYTH: It’s not rape if it’s your wife or girlfriend – FACT: Rape is always rape. If someone wants to take part in any kind of sexual activity with another person, then they must get their consent. Every. Single. Time.

These myths are dangerous because they can cause serious harm. They can cause victims and survivors to feel shame or to blame themselves for what happened, making it difficult for them to talk about it or get help. These myths can also affect how victims and survivors are treated by services and organizations that should be there to help them and even by their own family and friends.125

There is a clear relationship between rape and the tendency of some men to possess, dominate and abuse women and children. One in 6 women and one in 33 men will be the victim of rape at least once in their life. 99 percent of rapes are perpetrated by men.126 Your voice is powerful. Be informed and speak up.

WHO PAYS FOR SEX ACTS?

According to a study conducted in England among men who paid for sexual acts, the average age of the consumer was 35 years old, male, with a full time job and without any criminal record. Nearly half of the group were married and owned their own homes. The same study reports that 62% of consumers of prostituted women admitted they consume pornography.127

After interviewing 1,200 men with similar backgrounds, Professor Neil Malmuth of the University of California reports the relationship between men who purchase sexual acts and men who are at risk of committing violent sexual acts:

Both groups tend to have a preference for impersonal sex, a fear of rejection by women, a history of having committed sexually aggressive acts, and hostile male self identification (narcissistic personality, hostility toward women, or desire to have power over women). Those who buy sex, on average, have less empathy for women in prostitution and see them as inherently different from other women.128

In interviews with 103 men who describe their use of trafficked and non trafficked women in prostitution, Farley, Bindel and Golding report:

Against much empirical evidence a number of buyers insist that prostitutes truly enjoy the sex of prostitution. This highlights a major contradiction. While the buyer is often aware that it is his money and his purchase of her for sex that gives him the control while removing her autonomy and her dignity, he still seeks to convince himself that she both likes him and is sexually aroused by him.129

Unfortunately, even among those who do not purchase sex acts, there is a wide acceptance of the male role in prostitution as an inescapable “fact of life”, something that seems beyond human capacity to change. This attitude will change only when society insists on revisiting its concepts regarding the value of women and men, the value of the unique and special relationship that can exist between them, and then decides to establish zero tolerance zones regarding sexual violence in all its forms.

Demand is enhanced at three levels:

Primary Demand Secondary Demand

• Anyone who pays for sexual acts.

• Those people who take advantage of their situation (military, carriers, business travelers or conferences...)

• Pederasts (people who are sexually interested in minors)

• Sex tourists

• Pimps

• Owners of brothels

• Brothel madams

• Corrupt public officials

• Criminals and criminal organizations

Cultural Demand

• The promotion of sexual exploitation in movies, songs, music videos

• The cultural promotion of sexual promiscuity

• Religious practices and values or lack thereof; family obligation, the dowry system, the stigma of rape, the absence of a moral conscience.

• The lack of laws

• Laws that facilitate human trafficking (“entertainment” visas)

• The use of digital technology and telephones to exploit third parties

ADDRESSING DEMAND

As we build toward zero tolerance zones, let’s look at some samples of ways demand can be addressed:

Public education and awareness programs. In some communities, such efforts involve posting signs or billboards informing johns about police activity or penalties for buying sex. For example, Rochester, New York put up billboards reading, “Dear John, you're not welcome in our community.” In Cleveland, there was a neighborhood-initiated campaign targeting johns in which residents took turns carrying signs in troubled neighborhoods stating, “Dear John, your plate number is being recorded. Yours truly, the neighbors.” This kind of approach is designed to deter buyers, and secondarily, to send a general message to the public about police action to address the problem, rather than to educate about demand to any real depth.130

More long-term approaches are being used. An example would be a curriculum developed to teach employees of a company about how buying sex drives prostitution and sex trafficking, and the negative consequences. Other ways of raising awareness and providing education include:

• Posters & Billboards

• Targeted social media campaigns

• Brief presentations at community meetings

• Interviews appearing in print and electronic media

• Education programs, involving a curriculum and a sustained presentation

Another organization, EPIK, uses custom and “off the shelf” technology solutions to train men in combatting trafficking at the root. Volunteers place fake online ads and receive the texts and calls from the flood of johns immediately responding to the ads. For more information, visit their website http://www.epikproject.org

One group Protect Me Project worked with during Super Bowls prepared a website with a front page advertising “Super Bowl Babes”. Volunteers visited sports bars and clubs in the host city, (with permission from the management) handing out coasters advertising the website. When potential Johns clicked on one of the girls featured there, their next screen shared her true story as a victim of commercial sexual exploitation. (True stories of women in prostitution, some deceased.) A pop-up menu offered a phone number to call for counseling.

Reverse Stings

The most commonly used tactic to address demand for commercial sex is usually referred to as the “reverse sting.” These police special operations feature one or more women officers serving as a decoy (or decoys), posing as a prostituted person to await being approached by those attempting to purchase sex.131

Shaming

Shaming is a simple tactic for combating demand: The identities of men arrested for soliciting commercial sex are publicized, typically through police press releases that are carried by local media outlets, or on police websites. More than half (59%) of the 826 communities in the U.S. that are known to have conducted reverse stings publicize the identities of arrestees.132

Dear John Letters

A tactic that has been employed in at least 40 U.S. sites is sending letters to the homes of known or suspected buyers of commercial sex. The intention is to make it more difficult for johns to engage in sexual exploitation anonymously, or at least, unbeknownst to spouses or partners.133

John Schools

A useful working definition for john school is: An education or treatment program for men arrested for soliciting illegal commercial sex.

The ultimate program goal is to decrease the demand for prostitution, and hence, reduce the amount of human trafficking and sexual exploitation that occurs. . . . The activities are designed to lead to the aforementioned outcomes of knowledge and attitude change: increased awareness of the legal and health risks of engaging in prostitution, and awareness of the negative impact of the behavior on prostitutes, communities, and others. These outcomes are intended to reduce the likelihood that men will continue to solicit prostitution.134

Arrests

Where prostitution is illegal, should minors be arrested for prostitution? The Center for Mind and Culture (CMAC) has tested Seattle’s anti trafficking procedures and found it is more effective to target, arrest and prosecute buyers than to target, arrest and prosecute victim children. “This result is consistent with the literature which explains that children are especially vulnerable to trafficking in the juvenile delinquency system so putting victims into that system may actually exacerbate the issue. Furthermore, arresting buyers lowers the demand for commercial sex.”

CHAPTER FIVE: PROTECTION

AT HOME

From early childhood parents have opportunity to develop strong emotional attachments with their children by responding to their physical needs, actively listening to their ideas, respecting their requests, playing with them, teaching and disciplining them in positive ways when needed. This healthy attachment will serve to provide lifelong confidence and the security needed to pursue their purpose.

Healthy Sex Education

The family is an ideal place to teach healthy sexuality. This teaching will sometimes be spontaneous, sometimes planned, but always intentional. From the time a child begins to recognize their world, we can begin providing him and her with names. When it comes to private parts, anatomical names are best. Why?

• Predators are cowards. They look for soft targets; children who are isolated, uninformed, timid. When a child says, “No! No one should see my penis!” a would be abuser understands 1) this child knows how to speak up for himself, and 2) this child has open communication with an adult about his sexuality.

• If a nickname for our child’s private parts pops up in their vocabulary, we will recognize it immediately. We can ask calmly, “Honey, where did you learn that word?” It may have been her cousin, it may have been on the playground, but we are better positioned to teach and protect.

• Using the anatomically correct names for our private parts recognizes they are valuable and paves the way for many healthy, straight-forward sex conversations in the family.

• The use of anatomically correct names for our private parts facilitates actionable reporting to authorities.

Because the human brain doesn’t completely mature until well into our twenties135 penal codes typically establish an age limit under which an individual cannot be held fully accountable for criminal activity. There is also a legal age limit for consent to sexual activity, for the same reasons 136 As parents (adults) we are responsible for safeguarding our child’s sexual serenity and providing him and her with tools to protect themselves from harm while in the developmental stages.

A good rule with pre school children is to offer clear and factual information as questions arise. Included in prevention curricula are usually four aspects, the first being body awareness. We have mentioned key components of that awareness for preschoolers above, and the diagram here helps us understand changes in our bodies as we enter puberty. The second is emotional intelligence. Children can and need to learn how to recognize and regulate their own emotions as these are designed to inform us about the world around us. The third aspect of prevention is human rights. Although a perpetrator may try to convince his or her victim they have no right to say “NO” or talk with someone they trust about what has occurred, children do have a right to use their voice. Our individual voice should not be silenced. We have a right to sexual serenity (among other things) and to speak up. The fourth aspect common among those who teach prevention of sexual violence and abuse is that of connection (also referred to as healthy attachment) Children must identify at least one adult they trust, who will listen to them and help them if in danger.

As our children mature, they assimilate more details. For example, pre pubescent children need to learn about the changes their bodies will experience during puberty. Hormones play an important role in healthy development and it is helpful to understand ways of addressing these changes. As pressure exerted by a hypersexualized society continues to grow, it is increasingly important to maintain open conversations with our children, actively listening, providing ethical insights as talking points and guardrails.

Just like fire, our sexuality is a powerful asset. Used within safe parameters and according to design, it sheds light, creates warmth, and generates positive energy. Outside those safeguards it is dangerous and destructive. Lacking sufficient maturity to understand the dangers in using their sexuality as an experiment, or a tool to generate income, our children are exposed to exploitation. As parents it is our responsibility to place healthy safeguards around our children’s sexuality and provide them with the essential information for healthy expression and development.

Life Skills

Adolescents navigate changes in their bodies which effect their relationships and opportunities for growth. They deserve to know how drugs, alcohol and pornography effect their lives. They need to know about sexually transmitted diseases and how they are passed on. They deserve to understand every life matters and what their role is in protecting life. They need relationship tips, skills on resolving conflict, and adult input as they unpack complex problems.

During adolescence more nuanced information can be introduced. Values are being defined, interests developed, relationships grow, change, and fail. As parents, our relationship with our adolescent gradually shifts from policeman to coach and often cheerleader.

As adolescents mature, the focus shifts from a me-centered-life to a more empathic approach. Youth can take on challenges of improving life for those around them, defending those who live with fewer resources and speaking up for those whose voice has been muffled. As the frontal lobe “comes online” adolescents are increasingly able to take on greater responsibilities, defer gratification and make wise decisions.

In our Basic Training Phase 1 we talk about mitigating adverse childhood experiences (ACE) such as abuse, neglect, and family dysfunction. Search Institute137 offers insightful resources for communities who long to create safe environments where children can thrive. Examples include external assets such as:

1. Family boundaries—Family has clear and consistent rules and consequences and monitors the child’s whereabouts.

2. School Boundaries School provides clear rules and consequences.

3. Neighborhood boundaries Neighbors take responsibility for monitoring the child’s behavior.

4. Adult role models—Parent(s) and other adults in the child’s family, as well as nonfamily adults, model positive, responsible behavior.

In Appendix D (protectmeproject.org/appendix) we offer a complete layout of Search Institute’s Community Asset Development Tools grouped by developmental ages.

In a world where the dictionary definition of words can be irrelevant, one life skill that is important to teach is clarity. Protect Me Project is clear in our values. We both celebrate diversity, by accepting differences, while emphasizing inclusion among our volunteers, our participants and in our personal lives.

Diversity points to differences between us as family members, playmates, classmates, or a community as a whole. These differences might be in skills, hair color, height, physical strength, language we speak, food we like to eat or religion we practice. Because we are different doesn’t mean one is more important or of greater value, just different.

Celebrating diversity includes recognizing and respecting the differences, including the difference between male and female. Inclusion points to welcoming these differences and not excluding someone from our social circle or hearts because they are different. To demand that everyone be the same is to diminish the power of diversity and, of necessity, defeat inclusion.

As we encourage children to grow and develop through each phase of their lives, we will want to be especially careful to include healthy spiritual training. Interdisciplinary professionals, including social workers, psychologists, ministers, and activists among others, view the individual as a whole being. For this reason each must be treated and trained through a holistic lens.

The holistic approach used by Protect Me Project includes providing education, formation and prevention materials to all people, regardless of religious or cultural background. We aim to keep our kids biologically safe, emotionally, and psychologically nurtured, socially integrated into healthy communities and spiritually nourished. For true prevention of C.S.E.M. we must speak to both the physical reality of their lives while not denying children the spiritual food needed to maintain healthy souls. We will address this further in our final chapter.

ONLINE

In 2021, the Internet Watch Foundation reported 182,000 instances of self generated [sexual abuse] material. Of these confirmed cases 27,000 were seven to 10 year olds, which is more than treble the number for 2020…the biggest age group for self generated sexual abuse material remained 11 to 13 year olds, with 148,000 reports made to the organization last year.138

The internet is a great place to learn, connect with friends and family and enjoy entertainment. It also has the potential to traumatize and enslave. Too many stories have been recorded where minors fell prey to online predators. On May 25, 2022 the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Minnesota reported a St. Paul man was charged for an online sextortion scheme targeting more than 500 minor victims:

Vang created fake female personae to prey on vulnerable minor girls he met online in order to entice and coerce them to create sexually explicit images and videos to send

to him. Vang also threatened to disseminate sexually explicit images of the minor victims to their family members, friends, and classmates, unless they created and sent him additional images and videos of themselves nude or engaging in sexually explicit conduct. For example, in June 2016, Vang contacted a 15 year old girl and threatened to distribute sexually explicit pictures of her to her classmates and parents to “ruin her life” unless she complied with Vang’s demands to send additional sexually explicit images and videos.139

To create a safe space online, we need to find and implement practical safety steps. This will require planning and lots of communication between adults and adolescents with access to internet enabled devices.

Basic rules might include:

All screens visible all the time. This includes adults as well as children. Think of it as “full disclosure”. All websites visited, all texts, all social media and e mail are public property amongst the family.

Healthy restrictions on screen time. The American Academy of Pediatrics discourages media use, except for video chatting, by children younger than 18 months. If you introduce digital media to children ages 18 to 24 months, make sure it's high quality and avoid solo media use. For children ages 2 to 5, limit screen time to one hour a day of high-quality programming.140

Know the apps and sites. Do some research. Netsmartz.org and CommonSense.org are recommended resources for online safety.

Talk with children about privacy settings, sharing information and photos, accepting friends, or chatting with non friends, meeting in person someone you’ve only met online. Use Protect Me Project’s YouTube channel to share videos with children and discuss the implications.

Parental controls can block certain websites, establish time restraints, track history, or set alarms but they won’t take the place of connectedness.

Know the signs of grooming. According to Polaris Project, between 2019 and 2020 online grooming for the purpose of recruitment for human trafficking increased 120% on Facebook and 95% on Instagram141 . Grooming, as noted in chapter one, has a definite sequential pattern we can recognize and report.

THE GROOMING PROCESS

1. Online grooming will begin when a predator gathers information about a potential victim and uses it to make a connection. A request will be sent to be accepted into the victim’s circle. Once that door is open, the predator will take the necessary time to know the victim well.

2. During the next phase trust is established. The victim feels understood, admired, appreciated, valued. The predator becomes their best friend.

3. In this phase the relationship turns sexual. The predator will possibly send the victim nudes to encourage a reciprocal gesture. Some law enforcement agencies tell us this phase can be reached within a matter of hours. Once the victim agrees to send sexual abuse images, the predator now has ammunition to blackmail the victim.

4. The relationship is no longer amicable, but now coercive and aggressive. Often the predator uses the shared photographs to coerce the victim into sharing more and more compromising images. These can be sold, uploaded to pornography platforms where images of sexual abuse of minors are traded.

If you’ve never been targeted by a trafficker – or in an abusive or manipulative relationship of any kind –you may well think that nothing, ever, would convince you to have sex for money. The reality is, many of us would be surprised by what we could be manipulated into doing, with the right combination of external factors in play.142

IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD

We’ve addressed some specific ways we can create safe spaces in our homes and online. Creating safe spaces for children and adolescents must include a community where they are free to talk about what concerns and affects them. A protective environment requires the commitment of all members of society, including minors.

Positive Attitudes, Traditions, and Practices

Among societies where attitudes and traditions lead to abuse, including female genital mutilation (FGM), forced marriage of minors, sexual abuse of children and adolescents, harsh corporal punishment, or differences in status and perceived value of children, the social environment does not have the capacity to protect them.

In societies where any type of violence against children and adolescents is strictly prohibited, and where their rights are widely respected, protection will be more likely. Protect Me Project understands the vulnerability of people who engage in LGBTQ behavior and, like other risks, we seek to prevent them. Likewise, we firmly denounce derogatory and denigrating language and behaviors which do anything other than honor and respect our community members whether they be male or female, of any ethnicity or religious persuasion or disability. See Appendix E (protectmeproject.org/appendix) for the U.N.’s 1959 Declaration of Children’s Rights.

THERE ARE CASES WHERE DISCRIMINATION IS EVIDENT:

From or before birth.

Discrimination is evident in countries where there is selective abortion based on sex. This extends to postnatal discrimination when girls receive less care than boys.

Within the family space.

When a son or daughter is confused about his or her sexual identity, they are sometimes rejected by their family. Girls are sometimes taught they are inferior, or their role is stereotyped, effectively limiting their options. Discrimination against women and girls includes:

• providing less food and less economic resources compared to their male relatives.

• denying them an adequate level of education, employment, recreation, and other opportunities.

• disproportionately burdening them with household chores including caring for other children.

• ignoring the equal right to property.

• denying women and girls the right to express their opinions or allow them to be part of the decision making process.

• if the father makes sexist jokes in front of his daughter, he sends her a message that men have privileges over women.

• If the mother tells the adolescent that he can go out with all the girls he wants while the daughter should be more selective, she sends him a message that men have privileges, that they are always in authority, and that they should not take care of themselves, a message that abusers use systematically.

At school.

When girls are exposed to teachers, curricula, books, and teaching methods that reinforce a negative bias, this limits her options for development in her community. There are cases when adequate facilities are lacking, or simply do not exist, for personal hygiene care. This, too, marginalizes girls and can be a reason for not attending class.

In our communities.

Discrimination occurs If violence against girls and women is tolerated or goes unpunished. If gender confused people are marginalized. In homes, communities, nationally and internationally, if women and girls are not taken into account in decision making that can define their living conditions, discrimination will exist.

Protect Me Project makes intentional efforts to educate and perform acts of service fostering:

1. Healthy education in sexuality from home

2. An atmosphere of protection and safety

3. A priority on education and reaching our full potential

4. Authentic and transparent communication among adults and children

5. A community which values play, art, a strong work ethic and free expression of faith

6. Access to information for all

MONITORING AND REPORTING

A protective environment requires a comprehensive monitoring system that documents the incidence and type of abuse, reports it to the authorities, and allows strategic informed responses to be developed. (See Appendix F at protectmeproject.org/appendix) Such systems are most effective when they are participatory and locally based.

A good example of this are two organizations in Cancun, Quintana Roo Mexico. Of 380 cases of women who requested refuge for partner violence from the Mexican organizations Alternativas Pacificas, A.C., and CIAM Cancún, A.C., 98 percent of them had experienced some act of child or youth sexual abuse. Almost all of them normalized the abuse in such a way that in the cases in which their daughters and sons were abused by their partner or by a close relative, they recognized they did not have the tools to deal with the reported abuse; to believe their son or daughter and defend them.143 Because of their local data gathering and analysis, they are better able to serve their community in ways specific to local needs.

As an activist of Protect Me Project you have the possibility of changing this scenario for this generation. The fact that abuse is common among the people we know, and that it may have been part of our own history, does not mean that it must be part of our future. If we equip our child with an adequate vocabulary and establish what his

rights are as a human being, our subsequent responsibility is to believe him and immediately act to protect him from the dangerous environment if he reports abusive behavior.

First Responders:

Often it is difficult for a child to speak up about abuse. Perpetrators may make threats about what will happen if someone discovers the abuse. They may tell a child they will be taken from the home, or their parent will be very angry with them, or the perpetrator will harm a sibling, a pet, or a parent if they tell.

If a child chose you as their trusted adult, recognize this as sacred and treat the moment with respect. The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (R.A.I.N.N.) offers this advice for first responders144:

1. Pick your time and place carefully. Choose a space where the child is comfortable or ask them where they’d like to talk. Avoid talking in front of someone who may be causing the harm.

2. Be aware of your tone. If you start the conversation in a serious tone, you may scare the child, and they may be more likely to give you the answers they think you want to hear rather than the truth. Try to make the conversation more casual. A non threatening tone will help put the child at ease and ultimately provide you with more accurate information

3. Talk to the child directly. Ask questions that use the child’s own vocabulary, but that are a little vague. For example, “Has someone been touching you?” In this context “touching” can mean different things, but it is likely a word the child is familiar with. The child can respond with questions or comments to help you better gauge the situation like, “No one touches me except my mom at bath time,” or “You mean like the way my cousin touches me sometimes?” Understand that sexual abuse can feel good to the child, so asking if someone is “hurting” them may not bring out the information that you are looking for.

4. Listen and follow up. Allow the child to talk freely. Wait for them to pause, and then follow up on points that made you feel concerned.

5. Avoid judgment and blame. Avoid placing blame by using “I” questions and statements. Rather than beginning your conversation by saying, “You said something that made me worry…” consider starting your conversation with the word “I.” For example: “I am concerned because I heard you say that you are not allowed to sleep in your bed by yourself.”

6. Reassure the child. Make sure the child knows they are not in trouble. Let them know you are simply asking questions because you are concerned about them.

7. Be patient. Remember that this conversation may be very frightening for the child. Don’t force them to tell what they are not ready to talk about.

Before you report

Tell the child you’re going to talk to someone who can help. Be clear that you are not asking their permission. The child may not want you to report and may be frightened, especially if the perpetrator has threatened them or their loved ones. Remember that by reporting, you are involving authorities who will be able to keep the child safe.

Ensure that the child is in a safe place. If you have concerns over the child’s safety, be sure to discuss them explicitly with authorities when you make the report. If you fear the perpetrator will cause further harm to the child upon learning about the investigation, clearly communicate this to authorities. If you are not concerned that the parents are causing harm, you can consult with them prior to making a report to authorities.

If you are a parent and are concerned that your partner or someone in your family may be hurting your child, this may be a very difficult time. It’s important to be there for your child, and it’s also important to take care of yourself. Learn more about being a parent to a child who has experienced sexual abuse and how to practice self care.

Prepare your thoughts. You will likely be asked identifying information about the child, the nature of the abuse, and your relationship with the child. While anonymous tips are always an option, identified reporting increases the likelihood of prosecuting the perpetrator.

Where to report

If you know or suspect that a child has been sexually assaulted or abused, you can report these crimes to the proper authorities. In the United States this might be Child Protective Services. Reporting agencies vary from state to state. To see where to report in your state, visit RAINN’s State Law Database online.

Call or text the Childhelp National Abuse Hotline at 800.422.4453 to be connected with a trained volunteer. Childhelp Hotline crisis counselors can’t make the report for you, but they can walk you through the process and let you know what to expect.

After you report

You may not hear or see signs of an investigation right away. Depending on an agency’s policies and your relationship to the child, you may be able to call back to follow up after a few days.

If you are able to, continue to play the supportive role you always have in that child’s life. If making the report means that you can’t have this relationship anymore, know that by reporting you are helping that child stay safe.

Sexual abuse, including sex trafficking, has occurred within the school community, so teachers, administrators, and students must be prepared to recognize signs of violence, coercion, and assault in order to report them.

Society needs to be aware of the signs of trafficking how to spot when a person is being exploited and report it to the authorities. By learning how traffickers operate, who the consumers are, and what the signs of trafficking are in a victim, we are better equipped to create a protective environment for our families.

Prevention message shared at School for the Deaf, León, GTO México.

CHAPTER SIX: PREVENTION

ADDRESSING A COMPLEX ISSUE

By now you have realized the problem of modern slavery is complex; it involves families, international mafias, world economies, the systemic corruption of governments and institutions, an imbalance of power, material poverty, ignorance, and apathy. The lives of our children are interwoven with opportunities and risks; with dysfunctional, broken, and opportunistic people. Some of these people are family and friends.

In view of the complexities and possibilities, Protect Me Project has had to determine where, precisely, to invest its time and resources. When we began in 2010 sex trafficking was the most commonly reported form of slavery in the Western Hemisphere. It still is (see chapter one). We believe we can best contribute to mitigating the scourge by preventing the factors which fuel commercial sexual exploitation.

OUR HISTORY

Our concern about modern day slavery began in 2008 when we were part of a large group of church women who raised funds to support the, what we then called, rescue work of friends in Europe. The next year we raised funds for friends working to rescue girls in the United States. Since that time counter trafficking activists have come to call this intervention, feeling this term better describes the journey a survivor is on, the agency he or she exercises, and the roll an NGO or ministry might play.

Over that two year period, we researched, attended conferences, read books and promoted the intervention efforts of these friends. We learned of the significant security risks for victims as well as entities who intervene on their behalf. The economic cost for integral care of a survivor was sobering. While very few victims of sex trafficking found freedom, those who did often contended with life long consequences of their abuse. We also observed that not everyone had the skills, resources, or access to aid victims in their exit, or survivors in their recovery.

“I am only one, but still, I am one. I cannot do everything, but still, I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.” E.E. Hale

This isn’t true of prevention. There are tiny measures we can all take to have a HUGE impact on the common denominators surrounding commercial sexual exploitation. We are told that 95% of sexual abuse of minors is preventable through education.145 If this is true, then we must prevent.

When we began our prevention work in 2010 our working hypothesis was, we could build capacity regarding human trafficking, then those who were informed could design a prevention strategy based on their local strengths and needs. We found, after two years of not much activity, small groups locally lacked a catalyst for mobilization. Later we developed the Mobilization Guide in an effort to take our volunteers from awareness to activism.

The Mobilization Guide aids local volunteers in applying what was learned during Phase 1 Basic Training to what they are learning about their community. Inquiries are made into local strengths and resources with a view to establishing a diverse network of agencies, services, advisors, supporters and friends with whom our local team can collaborate and provide prevention tools.

It wasn’t until 2014 when an elementary school Principal in Mexico decided every student in his sphere of influence needed to be equipped to protect him and herself, that we began to see small groups mobilize. Later that year in two cities in Argentina, then in the Dominican Republic, volunteers were establishing a pathway to prevention among families in local communities.

We have discovered we don’t need a movement of thousands. We only need one individual who is passionate and informed. We call that person our “champion”.

It’s amazing to see the variety of resources these champions bring to the table. A missionary couple in Southern Brazil are mobilizing an entire region and reaching across borders, despite the fact that he has been bed ridden for the past twelve years following an automobile accident. Mobilization group leaders in Venezuela have maintained a remarkable level of prevention events throughout the pandemic, in spite of critical shortages in their nation. A high school drama teacher and survivor of labor trafficking and sexual abuse as a minor is a facilitator for Protect Me Project and recruiting volunteers to mobilize locally.

Because of these champions, today small teams are at work in thirteen countries of Latin America and the Caribbean and initiating work in the United States. As the organization grows, we are building structure to sustain it.

A PATHWAY TO PREVENTION

Small teams of local volunteers focus on preventing sexual abuse of minors, prostitution, the consumption of pornography and commercial sex acts, as well as adolescent risky behaviors both in person and online. Primary objectives are promoting human dignity and authentic freedom by educating in healthy sexuality, positive parenting, and informed anti-slavery activism.

We understand these aren’t the only push and pull factors. We address others as local issues present themselves and local resources can be applied. Nevertheless, these are agreed on launching points.

Thanks to many trained and committed facilitators, Protect Me Project focusses on building capacity regarding the fundamentals of human trafficking, trauma, and community service, with a focus on prevention. Best practice encourages we take a trauma informed approach to prevention. As defined by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) being trauma informed means we:

• Realize the widespread impact of trauma and understand potential paths for recovery;

• Recognize the signs and symptoms of trauma in clients, families, staff, and others involved with the system and respond by fully integrating knowledge about trauma into policies, procedures, and practices; and

• Seek to actively resist re traumatization.146

Let’s look at the five phases of prevention work in Protect Me Project, divided between capacity building and mobilization.

Capacity Building

PHASE ONE

In our Phase One Basic Training, six topics are presented in ten hours of class sessions.

1. Human Trafficking: The Crime. In this two hour session participants look at the definition of human trafficking, the methods traffickers often use for recruiting, the push and pull factors, signs of vulnerability and signs of trafficking,

2. Sexual Violence: Impacts and Best Practice. In this two hour session the sexual abuse of minors is defined, myths of sexual violence are addressed, perpetrators are described, and the short-, mid- and

long term effects of sexual abuse of minors is studied. The second half of this session looks at home based prevention measures as well as tips for trusted adults in cases where an abuse is reported.

3. Parents for Prevention: This one hour session is the presentation Protect Me Project volunteers will take into public schools for teachers, administrators, and parents of elementary school children.

4. Didactics for Prevention Among Two to Eight Year Olds: This one hour session presents tips for volunteers working among elementary age students and younger. Age appropriate tools are offered for engaging children and empowering them to protect themselves.

5. The Adolescent Brain: Development & Risks: This two hour session looks at aspects of brain development during adolescence which make this period one of heightened growth in knowledge, relationships, skills, and experiences. Also, a period of greater risk. The topics of bullying, cyber bullying, sexting, and online tendencies leading to commercial sexual exploitation.

6. Trauma Informed Activism: This one hour class looks at adverse childhood experiences (ACE), a definition of trauma as it relates to sexual violence, and the continuum between sexual abuse of minors and commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking.

7. Summary session of one hour, providing a notion of what next best steps might be.

To successfully complete Phase One training participants must be present for 80% of the sessions, respond to each post session quiz, submit evidence of having completed one practical action step and complete the course evaluation. The goal of Phase One is awareness.

PHASE TWO

This capacity building phase is largely self directed and features a round table discussion rather than lecture format. Participants will meet five times for two hour sessions. Weekly assignments include reading a portion of this book and responding to the corresponding segment of the Mobilization Guide. Participants arrive at the weekly sessions prepared to discuss their discoveries and responses.

Phase Three volunteers SLP, México

The Mobilization Guide will require each individual, or group, to research and find who is doing what in the counter-trafficking local arena. What are the names, phone number, email address, physical address and contact person for entities offering victim services, counseling, legal aid, or agencies where crimes can be reported and safety ensured. Who else is combatting trafficking and how can we collaborate? Are there survivors in my community who could offer insights and advice? We call this exercise establishing a network of support.

The requirements for successfully completing Phase Two are 100% attendance, submitting all responses to the Mobilization Guide, submit evidence of having presented the “Parents for Prevention” talk, and submitting a rough draft of their group’s Action Plan for the next three months.

When a small, local group comes through these two capacity building phases together, it provides for optimal mobilization impetus. Although each participant must fulfill the requirements, in Phase 2 teams are provided opportunities to work together as they build a consensus on strategy for their local activism.

PHASE THREE VOLUNTEER

Those who choose to become volunteers with Protect Me Project are invited to apply via the “SIGN ME UP!” form.

Once their application has been reviewed, they will be admitted as volunteers with full access to the prevention tools used by the organization. This includes prepared talks on a wide array of topics related to preventing commercial sexual exploitation. This access remains open as long as the volunteer maintains an active status with the organization. Active status is maintained by submitting three Mobilization Reports within a six month period.

This phase is one of continual education in human trafficking prevention. Volunteers are informed about upcoming conferences and seminars. Deep Dive courses are available on the topics of Healthy Sexuality, Positive Parenting, Media Literacy and Human Trafficking.

NOTE: Any trained Protect Me Project volunteer who desires to mobilize in prevention among minors must submit evidence of an official criminal record check to the Protect Me Project central office prior to mobilizing.

PHASE FOUR - MOBILIZATION

Perhaps the distinguishing characteristic of Protect Me Project is this mobilization piece. We believe awareness is an important part of prevention but falls short. Many times, people are so moved when they learn of the injustice and cruelty of human trafficking, they will approach our volunteers to express their anguish.

We like to say, “Your heart isn’t moved until your feet do.” In other words, don’t just emote, do something.

In many cases, informed individuals don’t know exactly what to do. We see the need for a catalyst to mobilization. Protect Me Project encourages the formation of “Mobilization Teams”: groups of 4 to 10 individuals who have taken Phase One and Phase Two Training and are ready to serve their local community.

As a platform from which to launch, each Mobilization Team is challenged with our “100 Schools Project”. The number of schools isn’t really the issue, but rather that each team connect with every school within reach.

Mobilization Goals

1. Create awareness among adults regarding the factors that feed the industry of commercial sexual exploitation and offer practical tools for sex ed from home and personal security.

2. Empower pre and elementary school children to protect themselves from sexual abuse and online dangers which may affect them.

3. Provide adolescents with tools to successfully navigate their personal and virtual relationships, challenging them to personal activism as well as steps to prevent the onset of premature sexual activity which can sideline their life plan.

4. After a five year period this cycle can begin at the same institution, effectively reaching each generation with prevention tools.

Mobilization Sequence

First: Present the talk “Parents for Prevention” to the parents of students who will participate in our 100 Schools Project. There is a parent’s talk for those with elementary school children and another for those with secondary school children. These talks are also helpful for administrators, teachers and anyone who works with this age of children.

Second: Present prevention materials to children according to their age of development whether that be 2 to 5 years, 6 to 8 years or 9 to 11 years of age. This can be done as one event, in five sessions or up to ten sessions, depending on the materials used.

Third: Present prevention materials to adolescents.

Mobilization Method

The Phase Three volunteer who desires to represent Protect Me Project and mobilize for prevention should communicate with his or her nearest Mobilization Coordinator. The coordinator will help with the steps to follow in connecting with educational institutions. These steps may be:

1. Present a proposal to the educational institution, taking into consideration if it is a public or private school.

2. If it is public, you should realize:

a. The institution is not autonomous and further boards or agencies may need to be consulted.

b. Be ready to meet any requirements the institution may have regarding forms, personnel, curricula, etc…

3. Once authorization from the institution is obtained, establish a timeline for the various talks Protect Me Project can offer to the school, following the above mentioned mobilization sequence. It is important to

submit in writing the titles of the talks your team can offer, and not promise talks your team is not able to present.

4. Explain to the beneficiaries that our service is free of charge. If an entity chooses to make a donation to your team, you are authorized to withhold expenses of the event and send the remaining amount, along with receipt, to your Mobilization Coordinator who will forward that to the Protect Me Project office.

5. It is best to establish a written agreement with the institution which includes the number of talks to be given, the dates and times of each talk, the materials to be distributed with those talks and what the institution will need to provide the Protect Me Project team.

Resources Available for Mobilization

1. The most important is YOU. Nothing can stand against an individual completely committed to their purpose. Of course, you cannot do this alone. You can count on the help of the Protect Me Project representatives who want to help you build a team and impact your community.

2. Protect Me Project’s digital materials.

a. PowerPoint presentations to guide the discussion with parents and their family.

b. Series of talks for adults, for those institutions which invite you to return.

c. PowerPoint presentations to work with children and adolescents according to their age and development, as well as the topic requested.

d. Series of talks for adolescents for those institution which invite you to return

e. All the printed materials which will be covered in the next section

f. Protect Me Project YouTube channel

g. Facebook Pages for each country

h. Instagram @b4traffic

3. Protect Me Project’s printed materials.

a. The New Activist – the book you’re reading now serves as the textbook for our initial study of human trafficking. It is available online at our website: protectmeproject.org/documents

b. Together for Prevention (T4P) our graphic novel.

i. Volunteers in Phase Three are eligible to receive enough graphic novels T4P to distribute at no cost.

ii. If a church would like our graphic novel for the children in their congregation, they may purchase them at cost for free distribution.

c. Porno FREE palm sized flip-book addressing the effects of porn, facilitating discussion between a trained facilitator and the students.

d. My Personal Safety Workbook (MPSW) for 9 to 11 year olds, provides opportunities for a student to identify their emotions, a safe adult, and recognize situations which may be risky and how to respond.

e. Flyer 4 Step Protection Plan (4 Step) shows clearly the four steps a child can take to prevent being sexually abused.

f. Tri fold brochures on Human Trafficking, Healthy Sexuality, Sexual Abuse of Minors and Pornography.

These printed materials are available to Phase Three volunteers when they submit a request for printed materials with sufficient lead time: two months is optimal. The request is submitted via a digital form available from Protect Me Project and needs to be submitted to your nearest Mobilization Coordinator.

PHASE FIVE: ZERO TOLERANCE ZONES

The expression of your activism is only limited to your creativity. When we talk about Phase Five we are referring to a wide array of counter trafficking activities to raise awareness, inform our communities and consolidate support for the work of prevention. These activities might include:

• Expo Erotica: a sex education fair (ask us about it!)

• Freedom Gallery: an art or photography exhibit with an authentic freedom theme

• Public murals: art or graffiti on walls of buildings, sound barriers, fences or other structures (with permission)

• Public debate: organized discussions around topics related to human trafficking, its push and pull factors.

• Street theatre: dramatizations based on themes of injustice, corruption, imbalance of power

• Poetry: recitation or competition.

• Red Sand Project: during July we take to the streets, pouring red sand in the cracks of sidewalks and handing out awareness materials, visiting with pedestrians about how victims can fall through the cracks of our society.

• White Ribbon Campaign: during October we protest the public health hazard of pornography consumption by sharing via social media and visiting local schools with our Porno FREE discussion

• Protest or support legislation affecting the end of slavery, online predation

• Concert: invite the whole town, charge, use the income for a designated counter trafficking cause

CHAPTER SEVEN: SELFCARE

THE BURDEN

Protect Me Project is concerned about our volunteers who invest long hours and personal resources to serve as part of our communities. Often, because of the topics we cover, survivors of unspeakable crimes feel safe telling us their stories.

As adult survivors, some have spent years, maybe decades, carrying guilt and shame which never belonged to them. They have believed lies about themselves and their world. These lies became the filters through which they perceived their opportunities and limitations. When someone who might understand their suffering implies it is safe to unburden themselves, they often do. As recipients of their stories we hold them in trust.

In other instances, families who have just discovered abuse, or are presently walking through the process of reporting abuse and dealing with the fallout, count on our volunteers and their networks to guide and support them.

Multiply that by 5,152 – the number of mobilization reports submitted by volunteers in 2021 – and you have a ton of sorrow, anguish, and desperation. These are burdens we, as servants in our communities, may carry alone and in silence, sometimes unaware of their effect on us

COMPASSION FATIGUE

“We have not been directly exposed to the trauma scene, but we hear the story told with such intensity, or we hear similar stories so often, or we have the gift and curse of extreme empathy, and we suffer. We feel the feelings of our clients. We experience their fears. We dream their dreams. Eventually, we lose a certain spark of optimism, humor and hope. We tire. We aren’t sick, but we aren’t ourselves.147

Compassion fatigue, also called vicarious traumatization, is not an illness but rather a group of symptoms. Kerry A. Schwanz, PhD, of Coastal Carolina University affirms compassion fatigue can make it difficult to feel empathy. “I sometimes refer to this component as ‘empathy overload.’”148 It differs from burn out but can co exist.

Burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and often physical exhaustion brought on by prolonged or repeated stress. Though it’s most often caused by problems at work, it can also appear in other areas of life, such as

parenting, caretaking, or romantic relationships.149 According to the American Institute of Stress, Compassion Fatigue has a faster recovery and can be less severe, if recognized and managed early.150

Empathic people are the most vulnerable to compassion fatigue and Protect Me Project volunteers are characterized by their empathy. Our volunteers are especially at risk when we expend our emotional, physical and spiritual energy in serving our community while ignoring our personal well being. The condition is sometimes considered “the price for caring”, but with an integral approach to self-care and a collaborative approach to community service, we believe it can be avoided.

Causes

We often hear from volunteers that they were attracted to our work because they, themselves, suffered from sexual trauma in childhood and want to ensure other children don’t face the same suffering. Realizing this, we are intentional in offering a basic understanding of how to deal with vicarious trauma, or better yet, preventing its onset.

One factor which can make a person vulnerable to compassion fatigue is unresolved trauma. Protect Me Project volunteers are often first responders when it comes to uncovering sexual abuse of minors, sexual trauma in adolescence due to pornography exposure, unwanted sexual contact, pressure to be sexually active prematurely and other related abuses. If we ourselves have been victims of similar injustices but have not sought help in facing our own trauma, we can find ourselves overwhelmed when others’ needs are placed at our feet.

Another contributor to compassion fatigue is an incapacity to control stress factors. As volunteers our lives aren’t put on hold just because we partner with Protect Me Project. We still have jobs (hopefully), families, relationships to maintain, our community of faith to participate in, and many other commitments. We strive to continuously be learning and acquiring skills to serve. Volunteers in Phase 3 are invited to be constantly learning about issues surrounding commercial sexual exploitation and acquire new tools for preventing the scourge. Yet, as we learn more about the vulnerabilities of our community and the bad actors who wait to prey on us, this can sometimes seem like an unstoppable avalanche about to bury us.

The lack of satisfaction in our enterprise can also contribute to compassion fatigue. We believed we could change the world. We knew we would be respected, and others would jump at the chance to support what we’re doing.

We’ve approached institutions we know need our help, only to be shut out. Those who promised to fund the cause are nowhere to be found. Team members who started with us have abandoned ship.

If unresolved trauma, overwhelming stress factors or disappointments aren’t recognized in time, addressed, and respected, they can bring on compassion fatigue. Let’s look at some signs to watch for.

Symptoms

Nervous system arousal (Sleep disturbance)

– Emotional intensity increases

Cognitive ability decreases

– Behavior and judgment impaired

Isolation and loss of morale

Depression and PTSD (potentiate)

Loss of self worth and emotional modulation

– Identity, worldview, and spirituality impacted Beliefs and psychological needs safety, trust, esteem, intimacy, and control come in question

Loss of hope and meaning=existential despair Anger toward perpetrators or causal events

Compassion fatigue develops over time – taking weeks, sometimes years to surface. Basically, it’s a low level, chronic clouding of caring and concern for others in your life… Over time, your ability to feel and care for others becomes eroded through overuse of your skills of compassion. You also might experience an emotional blunting whereby you react to situations differently than one would normally expect.

If you have noticed symptoms in yourself or a friend, you’ll want to do a little more research on compassion fatigue and talk with a trained counselor you trust. Here are some practical tips that can help build resiliency.

RESILIENCY

Resiliency was once viewed as a fixed personality trait used to manage and adapt to stress and trauma; a characteristic that an individual was either born with or without. “Although this may be partly true in that resiliency has some innate biological influences, we now know that it also develops and is strengthened over time in the context of positive individual, environmental, and social supports.”

Drs. Nathan and Beth Davis, in their book Rebound from Burnout: Resilience Skills for Ministers, define resilience as the capacity of an individual to cope positively with stress and negative events such as crises. They explain resilience includes the ability to rebound to a “new normal” that represents a healthy condition after a negative event, and adaptability that uses a stressor to build additional hardiness against burnout.153 This gives us cause to believe the adverse experiences of our past can position us to be even stronger personally, and use this strength to be a force for protection and prevention in our communities.

A few years ago we provided Phase 1 training to a missionary couple in a remote jungle area. The husband scored 9 on his A.C.E. quiz. (Those of you who have been through our Phase 1 Basic Training will remember this exercise.)

I wondered how he could be serving in an isolated area of the world, with limited electricity, total isolation during the rainy season, directing a public school with no resources from the government and providing leadership for his own children considering the extreme setbacks he experienced during childhood in his family of origin.

He explained how a youth pastor had helped him unpack what happened to him, and other older men had been counselors and cheer leaders for him. How he had shared all this with his wife (who, incidentally, scored a 3) whose response was to love him well. How his faith in Christ had absorbed his hurt and given him a heart to serve others. Of course, his wounds weren’t healed as quickly as you read the last paragraph, but his story is one of complete restoration. Those scars are now evidence of suffering turned toward service.

Protect Me Project has a lot to learn about trauma informed activism, and we each learn as we see resiliency expressed in our colleagues who battle to end exploitation. We welcome that growth and look forward to a more resilient team.

TIPS FOR MANAGING COMPASSION FATIGUE154

Do –

Find someone to talk to. Understand that the pain you feel is normal.

-Exercise and eat properly.

Get enough sleep. Take some time off. Develop interests outside of community service. -Identify what’s important to you.

Don’t –

Blame others.

-Look for a new job, buy a new car, get a divorce or have an affair.

Fall into the habit of complaining with your colleagues. Work harder and longer. Self medicate.

Neglect your own needs and interests.

As a proactive measure in preventing compassion fatigue and boosting our all-over health, we’ve looked at the “feel good hormones” and their impact on our lives. Hormones act as messengers for our bodies, regulating

everything from our physical functioning to our emotional well being. They’re highly influenced by our thoughts, activities and even the foods we eat.155 Take a minute and look up dopamine, serotonin, endorphins, and oxytocin. Here are some healthy ways to boost them:

1. Physical exercise: any form of physical exercise that increases your heartbeat releases endorphins.

2. Dark chocolate: consuming dark chocolate (in moderation) provides a neuromodulator called phenethylamine which increases a chemical in the brain called serotonin.

3. Touch: from a hug, holding hands or a back rub, to engaging in sexual intercourse human touch releases endorphins and stimulates the production of oxytocin.

4. Meditation: relaxing and disciplining the mind to focus allows endorphins to be released, as well as dopamine, serotonin, and melatonin.

5. Laughter: laughing reduces stress, improves our immune system, and releases endorphins,

6. “Shinrin Yoku”, the Japanese phrase for a “forest bath”: the practice of enjoying nature, green areas with their smells, textures, colors, and sounds increases our serotonin levels.

7. Gratitude: practicing gratitude activates our reward system in the brain, releasing those chemicals which allow us a sense of wellbeing.

8. Music: listening, playing an instrument, singing all produce oxytocin.

Maybe there’s one thing on the “Do” list above that grabs your attention? Do it. If you recognize yourself inclining toward something on that “Don’t” list pick a close friend and tell them what you’re struggling with. Or, maybe you need to apologize to someone who has been affected by your attitude or behavior? Right now is a good time to make a plan for mending that relationship.

We invite you to take just one of these “feel good hormone” inducing measures and apply it faithfully to your schedule once daily for two weeks and see if your sense of wellbeing hasn’t improved. Add another and maybe alternate. Find your own healthy rhythm and take good care of yourself.

In our non profit work, we encourage our volunteers to be intentional in the pursuit of wholeness. For team relationships, we offer three simple action steps:

Value what you see in others. You may find this astonishing, but among service providers, ministries, agencies, departments and well, any group of human beings, we can develop sinical and competitive attitudes. If another

excels in their field, rather than celebrating, we become jealous or determined to do better. This can even occur within our team.

Our advice is to value what others do well and celebrate it.

If this happens to be someone on our own team, point out their accomplishment or job well done and celebrate it as a team. If we are in leadership, make note of their abilities and find opportunities for them to use those abilities in service to our cause. After all, that’s why they joined our Protect Me Project team to begin with! In doing so, we are increasing their job satisfaction, reducing our own workload, and better serving our community.

If this happens to be something in another organization or agency or ministry, find out if there is a way to support what they’re doing or partner with them. If they’re doing it well, maybe the service they are rendering need not be duplicated by our team? This spirit of generosity will go further in creating a sense of wellbeing for you and for your team than any competitive pursuit ever could. In addition, this is how we forge collaborative alliances and strengthen our counter trafficking work.

I am ridiculously insecure some days and when I see others come out with products that I wish we had made I feel like such a loser boss! I have figured out what helps get my head straight: I choose to cheerlead and promote. I choose to send an email and say, Girl you are killing it with that new collection. Because the truth is there is room for all of us in the market. And comparing myself to others poisons my flow. Cheering others on and truly celebrating their good work fills me with the good stuff!156

Do what you do best. There are so many “jobs” to be done on a Protect Me Project Mobilization Team. The obvious ones are public speaking, connecting or networking, data processing and record keeping, sound and video equipment set up and operation, event coordination, promotion, fund raising, research, administration of the team calendar and logistics. There are other creative expressions listed elsewhere in this book. Find what you do best and offer that in service. Don’t regret your inability to do what someone else does well. Don’t attempt to do everything yourself. Just do what you do best.

Kathy Brooks, founder of 2nd Story Goods a company fostering entrepreneurial enterprises in Haiti, writes,

Allow others to contribute what they do best. If our intention is to render service with excellence, the only way to achieve this is allowing each of our team members to do what they do best. We understand there are jobs which need to be done and perhaps no one on the team is particularly good at, but someone needs to do them. Spread those tasks around. But when it comes to operating within our wheelhouse, release team members to shine!

The longer you work together as a team the more you will learn to rely on one another’s strengths and cover for one another’s weaknesses. Your team will be more productive as you carry one another’s load and share each other’s joy.

If you are a team leader, try asking each volunteer on your team (individually and in private conversation), “What is your absolute favorite piece of the Protect Me Project Mobilization Team’s work?” They may not have given this much thought, but it’s definitely something the team should tap into. It will also serve to get our volunteers thinking toward enjoying their activism and contributing their very best.

It’s o.k. to take a break. Life is lived in rhythms. When a season is especially demanding, or signs indicate you need time to rest, or refocus, or get more training you have permission to place your volunteer hours on hold. Let your coordinator or team lead know you’re “on vacation”, then do what’s necessary to be able to come back stronger.

OUR CORE VALUES

Generosity. Valuing what we see in others is a way to express one of our core values: We attempt to approach our work, and the counter trafficking work of others, with open hands. Please take what you may be able to learn from us and apply it where it fits in your work. When using our tools requires some training, we offer training for using them well. This becomes part of our collaborative agreements. Within that framework our heart is to be generous and not proprietary.

Humility. In the last two intentional steps toward health as an organization, (2) Do what you do best and (3) Allow others to contribute what they do best, we see our second core value: humility. We recognize we don’t have all the answers. We know others are constantly creating valuable tools we could all use. We know we should stick with doing what we do best and do that with the highest degree of quality possible.

We also know we’re not the only ones doing prevention. We value collaborative relationships and are especially grateful to participate in community wide efforts, as well as international forums like the FORO HISPANO CONTRA LA TRATA DE PERSONAS.

We know that prevention isn’t the only job needing done in the counter trafficking arena. We see human trafficking as a complex and global issue, making a frontal attack possible from 360°. Each from our own strengths; whether that is legislation, law enforcement, victim services, health care, social work, education, community development, commerce, the arts and media or any shade of each one. We’re just one small part of that.

As we review this chapter of self care, we recognize our activism requires us to carry a community burden. If we can embrace both humility and generosity, we believe we lighten the load. When stressors do come (because they do) we can recognize the signs in our own bodies, spirits and minds and share that experience with someone we trust. We can seek out opportunities to generate those “feel good” hormones. In so doing we can avoid the crash and burn of burnout, as well as the deadening effect of compassion fatigue.

There’s an old African proverb that says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” The prevention of commercial sexual exploitation is a challenge that requires long term commitments. We cannot do this alone. We need to partner with those who share our goals and allow the synergy of combined passion and experience to carry us forward to “get there before the trafficker”.

Protect Me Project shares practical tools with families in Oaxaca, OAX México.

END NOTES

1 Cacho, Lydia. Esclavos del poder: Un viaje al corazón de la trata sexual de mujeres y niñas en este mundo. [Slaves of Power: A Journey to the Heart of Sex Trafficking of Women and Girls in the World.] (2010) Random House, Mondadori, S.A. of C.V. Mexico, D.F., p.15.

2 The Palermo Protocol was passed on April 15, 2000 in Palermo, Italy by the United Nations. It is part of a larger convention to counter transnational organized crime. It exists to prevent, suppress, and punish human trafficking. You can read the entire document here: http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/ProfessionalInterest/ProtocolTraffickingInPersons

3Trafficking Victim Protection Act, approved in the year 2000 in the United States of America and resumed in 2003, 2006 and 2008 and amended in 2013.

4 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2018. p.29 https://www.unodc.org/documents/data and analysis/glotip/2018/GLOTiP_2018_BOOK_web_small.pdf (Accessed May 19, 2022)

5 Polaris Project 2020 data. Accessed June 12, 2022. Available here: https://polarisproject.org/2020 us national human trafficking hotline statistics/

6 Read the entire convention here: https://www.unodc.org/documents/treaties/UNTOC/Publications/TOC%20Convention/TOCebook e.pdf

7 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) The Cornerstone Report. Volume XII No.1 Summer 2017. Accessed June 12, 2022. Available here: https://www.ice.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Report/2017/CSReport 13 1.pdf

8 National Human Trafficking Hotline website: https://humantraffickinghotline.org/states (Accessed May 19, 2022).

9 Walk Free Foundation. The Global Slavery Index 2018.

10 United States Constitution, 13th Amendment. Accessed June 20, 2022. Available here: https://www.archives.gov/historical docs/13th amendment

11 U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office on Trafficking in Persons Fact Sheet. Accessed June 10, 2022. Available here: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/archive/otip/fact sheet/fact sheet labor trafficking english

12 Trafficking Matters: A Douglass Fellowship Podcast. The Intersection of Immigration and Labor Trafficking with Professior Julie Dahlstrom. April 26, 2022. The Human Trafficking Institute. Season 2 Episode 3

13 Ibid.

14

University of Arkansas News. Law Professor Examines Lower Prosecution Rates of Labor Trafficking. April 09, 2021. Accessed June 10, 2022. https://news.uark.edu/articles/56570/law professor examines lower prosecution rates of labor trafficking)

15 Ibid.

16 U.S. State Department 2022 Trafficking in Persons (T.I.P.) Report, p. 44.

17 U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office on Trafficking in Persons Fact Sheet. Accessed June 10, 2022. Available here: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/archive/otip/fact-sheet/fact-sheet-labor-trafficking-english

18 So defined by the anti trafficking arm of the Salvation Army. Protect Me Project has embraced this definition in its prevention work.

19 Rachel Moran. Paid For: My Journey Through Prostitution. (2013) p. 275.

20 Kara, Siddarth. Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery. (2009) p. 100.

21 Dorchen A. Leidholdt, “Prostitution and Trafficking in Women: An Intimate Relationship” (2003). Accessed June 10, 2022. Available: http://www.prostitutionresearch.com/Leidholdt%20Prostitution%20and%20Trafficking%20in%20Women.pdf

22 Zlotnik, Hania. Migration Policy Institute: The Global Dimensions of Female Migration. Accessed June 12, 2022. Available here: https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/global dimensions female migration

23 Ibid.

24 Malarek, Victor. The Natashas: The Horrific Inside Story of Slavery, Rape and Murder in the Global Sex Trade New York: Arcade Publishing 2003, pp .13,14.

25 Trafficking in Persons Report: 20th Edition.

26 Trafficking in Persons Report: 20th Edition, US Department of State, June 2020. Accessed June 10, 2022. Available here: www.state.gov/wp content/uplaods/2020/06/2020 TIP Report Complete 062420 FINAL.pdf https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-trafficking-in-persons-report/

27 Amelia Cheatham and Diana Roy. Council on Foreign Relations. Central America’s Turbulent Northern Triangle. June 22, 2022. Accessed June 22, 2022. Available here: https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/central americas turbulent northern triangle

28 Lutnick, Alexandra. Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: Beyond Victims and Villains (p. 27). Columbia University Press. Kindle Edition.

29 Davidson, Julie O'Connell. Prostitution, Power and Freedom (1998) p. 60.

30 Global Trafficking in Persons Report, 2020. United Nations.

31 Love and Trafficking: How Traffickers Groom and Control Their Victims. Polaris Project Blog, February 11, 2021. Accessed on May 25, 2022. https://polarisproject.org/blog/2021/02/love and trafficking how traffickers groom control their victims/

32 Murphy, Laura T. Labor and Sex Trafficking Among Homeless Youth: A Ten City Study. Loyola University, New Orleans. (2016). Accessed May 25, 2022 Available here: https://nspn.memberclicks.net/assets/docs/NSPN/labor%20and%20sex%20trafficking%20among%20homeless%2 0youth.pdf

33 Op. Cit. Love and Trafficking.

34 Analysis of 2020 National Human Trafficking Hotline Data. Polaris Project. Accessed May 25, 2022. https://polarisproject.org/2020 us national human trafficking hotline statistics/

35 Murphy, Laura T. Op. cit. pp. 47, 48.

36 Op. cit. Love and Trafficking.

37 The series began in 2006 and the fourth edition came out in 2011. Amazon.com advertises: “From the folks who brought you Cross Country Pimping in 2006 are back with part two of their pimping odyssey. Raw and uncut. Never has the pimp game been documented with so much truth and honesty.”

38 Kara, Siddarth. Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery. (2009) p.7.

39 Kara, p. 167, 168.

40 Rodriguez, Teresa. The Daughters of Juárez. (2007) p.99.

41 United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner. Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power. Adopted 29 November, 1985. Accessed June 12, 2022. Available here: https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments mechanisms/instruments/declaration basic principles justice victims crime and abuse#:~:text=Access%20to%20justice%20and%20fair%20treatment&text=Victims%20should%20be%20treated% 20with,harm%20that%20they%20have%20suffered.

42 Murphy, Laura T. Survivors of Slavery: Modern Day Slave Narratives. (2014) p. xiv.

43 Brooks, Kathy. Painfully Honest: The Tale of a Recovering Helper. (2021) p.

44 Lutnick, Alexandra. Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: Beyond Victims and Villains (p. 27). Columbia University Press. Kindle Edition.

45 U.S. State Department 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report, p. 14.

46 Moran, Rachel. Paid For: My Journey Through Prostitution. Gill Books (2013) p.9

47 U.S. State Department 2022 Trafficking in Persons (T.I.P.) Report, p. 28.

48 Murphy, Laura T. Survivors of Slavery. p. 51.

49

In recent research, The Health Consequences of Sex Trafficking and Their Implications for Identifying Victims in Healthcare Facilities, by Laura J. Lederer and Christopher A. Wetzel, they examined the stories of sixty six victims of sex trafficking. They found that fifty five percent of these women had had at least one abortion during their exploitation period, and more than thirty percent had had multiple abortions. Accessed July 19, 2017. Available here: http://www.annalsofhealthlaw.com/annalsofhealthlaw/vol_23_issue_1?pg=69#pg69

50 Murphy, Laura T. Survivors of Slavery. p. 73.

51

Shively, Michael, PhD, Kristina Kliorys, Kristin Wheeler, and Dana Hunt, PhD. A National Overview of Prostitution and Sex Trafficking Demand Reduction Efforts: Final Report. N.p. National Criminal Justice Reference Service. Abt Associates Inc., 30 Apr. 2012. Accessed on June 20, 2022. Available here: https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/238796.pd

52 Find the details of this investigation here: https://www.globalslaveryindex.org/about/

53 International Labor Organization. Forced Labor, Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking. Accessed on May 25, 2022. https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/forced labour/lang en/index.htm

54 Ibid.

55

Bachellet, Michelle. Fighting Human Trafficking: Partnerships and Innovation to End Violence Against Women and Children. (April, 2012) Accessed July 20, 2017. Available here: http://www.unwomen.org/es/news/stories/2012/4/fighting human trafficking partnership and innovation to end violence against women and children

56 Richard, Amy O'Neill. International Trafficking in Women in the United States: A Contemporary Manifestation of Slavery and Organized Crime. (District of Columbia: Center for the Study of Intelligence, 2000) p.3, available: https://www.cia.gov/static/9dc85527075bc84f9e1f2eef0e7a0915/trafficking.pdf (Accessed May 25, 2022).

57 2021 Trafficking In Persons Report: United States. Accessed May 25, 2022. https://www.state.gov/reports/2021 trafficking in persons report/united states/

58 International Organization for Migration (IOM), “Counter-trafficking Database, 78 Countries, 1999-2006”.

59

Polaris Project blog of the year 2016. At the same time, the organization clarifies that it is more common for adults to call them looking for help, and that they do not ask the survivors at what age they entered prostitution. Accessed: July 11, 2017. Available: https://polarisproject.org/blog/2016/01/05/average age entry myth

60 Murphy, Laura T. Labor and Sex Trafficking Among Homeless Youth: A Ten City Study Executive Summary. [Sex and Labor Trafficking Among Street Youth: An Executive Summary of the Ten City Study] Loyola University, New Orleans, LA (2016) Accessed July 14, 2017. Available here: http://covenanthousestudy.org/docs/Loyola Research Results. pdf

61 Mary C. Burke. Human Trafficking: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. (2013), pp. 136, 137.

62 Jones, Jeffrey M. LGBT Identification Rises to 5.6% in Latest U.S. Estimate. February 24, 2021. Accessed May 25, 2022. https://news.gallup.com/poll/329708/lgbt identification rises latest estimate.aspx

63 Each year the T.I.P. Report confirms this.

64 National Council on Crime and Delinquency, The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of LGBTQ Community November 26, 2012. Accessed July 14, 2017. Available here: http://www.nccdglobal.org/newsroom/nccdblog/commercial sexual exploitation lgbtq youth

65Mayo Clinic: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy lifestyle/adult health/in depth/health issues for gay men/art 20047107

66 Durso, L.E., & Gates, G.J. (2012). Serving our youth: Findings from a national survey of service providers working with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. [Serving our youth: Findings from a national survey of providers of services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.] Los Angeles: The Williams Institute with True Colors Fund and The Palette Fund.

67 Austin Smith, Holly. Walking Prey. [Walking Dam] Palgrave, Macmillan (NY: NY) 2014. P.24.

68 Silbert, Mimi H., and Ayala M. Pines. “Early Sexual Exploitation as an Influence in Prostitution.” Delancey Street Foundation, San Francisco, CA. Accessed July 21, 2017. Available here: http://www.prostitutionresearch.com/Silbert%20Pines%20Early%20Sexual%20Exploitation%20in%20Prostitution. pdf.

69 Williamson, Celia et al., “Domestic Sex Trafficking in Ohio.” August 8, 2012, p. 4. Available: http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/getattachment/1bc0e815 71b6 43f5 ba45 c667840d4a93/2012 Domestic Sex Trafficking in Ohio Report.aspx (Accessed July 21, 2017).

70 Murphy, Patricia. Making the Connections: Women, Work, and Abuse. Orlando, FL: Paul M. Deutsche Press, 1993), p.18.

71 Austin Smith, p. 24.

72 Moran, Rachel. Paid For: My Journey Through Prostitution. [Paid: My Journey in Prostitution] (W.W. Norton & Co., NY:NY 2013), p. 25.

73 Melissa Farley, Ann Cotton, Jacqueline Lynne, Sybille Zumbeck, et. al. Prostitution in Nine Countries: An Update on Violence and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. (2003) p.4.

74 XIXth ISPCAN International Congress on Child Abuse and Neglect, September 2012. Promoting Research to Prevent Child Maltreatment. P.5. Available here: http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/child/ispscan_report_june2013.pdf (Consulta 21 de julio, 2017).

75 Center for Disease Control (CDC). Fast Facts: Preventing Child Sexual Abuse. Accessed May 26, 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childsexualabuse/fastfact.html

76 Darkness to Light is an organization which exists to prevent the sexual abuse of minors. Their web page contains pertinent information and several personal testimonies from survivors. Accessed May 26, 2022. Available here: https://www.d2l.org/

77 Lutnick, Alexandra p 25, citing survivor Jes Richardson.

78 Kara, Siddarth. Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery. [La trata sexual: adentro del negocio de la esclavitud moderna]. New York: Columbia University Press, 2009. P. 76.

79 Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. At Least 4,091 Women Were Victims of Femicide in 2020 in Latin America and the Caribbean, Despite Greater Visibility and Social Condemnation. Press Release,

November 24, 2021. Accessed May 26, 2022. https://www.cepal.org/en/pressreleases/eclac least 4091 women were victims femicide 2020 latin america and caribbean despite

80 Violence Policy Center. When Men Murder Women. September, 2020. Accessed June 22, 2022. Available here: https://vpc.org/studies/wmmw2020.pdf

81 Cacho, Lydia. Con Mi Hija, No. [Not With My Daughter]. (2009) p. 37.

82 Polaris Project, 2018 Statistics from the National Human Trafficking Hotline. Accessed June 1, 2022. Available here: https://humantraffickinghotline.org/sites/default/files/Polaris_National_Hotline_2018_Statistics_Fact_Sheet.pdf

83 Val Richey, OJJDP Online University, Reducing Demand for the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Minors in Your Community. (May, 2017). C. Puzzanchera, A. Sladky and W. Kang, Easy Access to Juvenile Populations: 1990 2017 (2018) available at https//www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/ezapop/asp/profile_display.asp

84 Christopher Carey & Lena Teplitsky, Portland State University, Memo regarding the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) in the Portland Metro Area (August 3, 2013), p.3.

85 Cook County Sheriff’s Office, Buyers and Sellers: A Window into Sex Trafficking (February 8, 2017), p.6. Distributed during counter trafficking training in Urbana, Illinois.

86 Women’s Fund of Omaha, Nebraska’s Commercial Sex Market (2017), p.8.

87 Roser, Max. Access to Basic Education: Almost 60 Million Children in Primary School Age are Not in School. November 02, 2021. Accessed May 26, 2022. Available here: https://ourworldindata.org/children not in school#:~:text=Of%20the%20world's%20787%20million,data%20for%20the%20year%202019.

88 UNICEF. Primary Education. April, 2021. Accessed May 26, 2022. https://data.unicef.org/topic/education/primary-education/

89 UNICEF. Secondary Education. April, 2021. Accessed May 26, 2022. https://data.unicef.org/topic/education/secondary education/

90 https://www.childhopeonline.org/2018/04/03/chicas chicos/

https://www.mdard.org/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/648677498941015

http://www.centrodeministeriosmai.com/

Whetten, R., Messer, L., Ostermann, J., Whetten, K., Pence, B. W., Buckner, M., Thielman, N., O'Donnell, K., & Positive Outcomes for Orphans (POFO) Research Team (2011). Child work and labour among orphaned and abandoned children in five low and middle income countries. BMC international health and human rights, 11, 1. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472

11 1

UNICEF. Despite significant increase in birth registration, a quarter of the world’s children remain ‘invisible’. Press Release. December 10, 2019. Accessed May 26, 2022. https://www.unicef.org/press releases/despite significant increase birth registration quarter worlds children remain

Selim, Leah. What is birth registration and why does it matter? December 10, 2019. Accessed May 26, 2022. https://www.unicef.org/stories/what-birth-registration-and-why-does-it-matter

Phyllis Kilbourn & Marjorie McDermid, editors. Sexually Exploited Children: working to Protect and Heal. 1998 Monrovia, CA MARC press, p. 7.

Duroch, E. and Noyer, E. Sexual abuse perpetrated by humanitarian workers: From moral relativism to competitive victimhood. March 24, 2021. Accessed May 26, 2022. Available here: https://alternatives humanitaires.org/en/2021/03/24/sexual abuse perpetrated by humanitarian workers from moral relativism to competitive victimhood/

Murphy, Laura T. Op. cit. p.73.

Kara, Siddarth. (2009) p. 24

IOM website accessed July 9, 2022. Available here: https://worldmigrationreport.iom.int/wmr 2022 interactive/

102

Trafficking Matters: A Douglass Fellowship Podcast. The Intersection of Immigration and Labor Trafficking with Professior Julie Dahlstrom. April 26, 2022. The Human Trafficking Institute. Season 2 Episode 3.

103

Polaris Project. Labor Trafficking in the U.S.: A Closer Look at Temporary Work Visas. 2015. Accessed June 11, 2022. Available here: https://polarisproject.org/wp content/uploads/2015/10/Labor Trafficking in the US_A Closer Look at Temporary Work Visas.pdf

104 Claire Felter and Diana Roy. U.S. Temporary Foreign Worker Visa Programs. April 25, 2022. Accessed June 11, 2022. Available here: https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/us temporary foreign worker visa programs#:~:text=The%20number%20of%20visas%20issued,from%20some%20846%2C000%20in%202019.).

105International Office on Migrations World Migration Report 2022. Accessed on June 11, 2022. Available here: https://worldmigrationreport.iom.int/wmr 2022 interactive/

106 Shayne Moore, Sandra Morgan, and Kimberly McOwen Yim. Ending Human Trafficking: A Handbook of Strategies for the Church Today. 2022 Intervarsity Press. Downer Grove, IL p. 17.

107 Trafficking Matters: Op. Cit.

108 Brown, William Wells, and Henry M. Parkhurst. A Lecture Delivered Before the Female Anti Slavery Society of Salem, at Lyceum Hall, Nov. 14, 1847. Boston: Massachusetts Anti Slavery Society, 1847. <http://www.slavery.amdigital.co.uk/Contents/DocumentDetails.aspx?documentid=1289>.

109 Op. Cit.

110 Rachel Moran, p. 180.

111 Kilbourn & McDermid, eds. p. 56.

112 Dan Allender. The Wounded Heart: Hope for Adult Victims of Childhood Sexual Abuse. (2018) p.91.

113

Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (R.A.I.N.N.) website: https://www.rainn.org/effects sexual violence

114 Rachel Lloyd. Girls Like Us. Harper Perennial. New York: New York. (2011) pp. 155, 156.

115 Metzker and Jones, A Shield Against the Monster (2019), p. 30.

116 Diseases and Related Conditions. Website for the Center for Disease Control (U.S.A.) https://www.cdc.gov/std/general/default.htm

117

Farley et al Prostitution in 9 countries p.3

Rachel Moran, p. 5.

Shively, Kliorys, Wheeler and Hunt. Op. cit. pp.12,13.

Ibid.

Rachel Moran, p.192.

National Center on Sexual Exploitation. Public Health Harms of Pornography. Accessed on May 26, 2022. https://endsexualexploitation.org/issues/pornography/

123 Gail Dines, Presentation before a symposium in Washington, D.C.: Today’s Pornography and the Crisis of Violence Against Women and Children. (July 14, 2015).

124 Exodus Cry. Intervention Manual: A Guide for Reaching Those Caught in the Sex Industry. 2017. p. 37.

125 Rape Crisis England & Wales. Myths and Facts. Accessed May 26, 2022. https://rapecrisis.org.uk/get informed/about sexual violence/myths vs realities/

126

Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) website. Accessed May 26, 2022. https://www.rainn.org/statistics/victims sexual violence

127

Coy, Maddy; Horvath, Miranda; Kelly, Liz. ‘It’s just like going to the supermarket’. p. 36. Safe Exit, London Metropolitan University. Accessed May 26, 2022. Available here: https://embracedignity.org/wp content/uploads/pdfs/DemandReportREAD.PDF

128 Malmuth, Neil M. Rape Proclivity Among Males. University of California, Los Angeles. Journal of Social Issues, Volume 37, Number 4, 1981. Accessed May 26, 2022. Available here: https://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/comm/malamuth/pdf/81Jsi37.pdf

129 Farley, Melissa; Bindel, Julie and Jacqueline M. Golding. Men who buy sex: Why they buy and what they know. p. 19. Accessed May 26, 2022. Available here: https://embracedignity.org/wp content/uploads/pdfs/Men_Who_Buy_Sex.pdf

130 Shively, Michael, PhD., Kliorys, Kristina, Wheeler, Kristin and Dana Hunt, Ph.D. A National Overview of Prostitution and Sex Trafficking Demand Reduction Efforts, Final Report. June, 2012. Accessed May 26, 2022. Available here: https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/238796.pdf p.52

131 Dodge, Mary, Starr Gimeno, Donn, Williams, Thomas. Puttin’ on the Sting: Women Police Officers' Perspectives on Reverse Prostitution Assignments. May 1, 2005. Accessed May 26, 2022. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/251288383_Puttin'_on_the_Sting_Women_Police_Officers'_Perspectiv es_on_Reverse_Prostitution_Assignments/citation/download

132 Shively, Kliorys, Wheeler and Hunt. p.71.

133 Op cit, p. 76.

134 Op cit, p. 84

135 Frances Jensen, M.D. Professor University of Pennsylvania. YouTube video accessed July 3, 2022. Available here: https://youtu.be/fz9MjS5j mk

136 World Population Review shows most current data regarding age of consent by country. https://worldpopulationreview.com/country rankings/age of consent by country

137 Search Institute offers helpful resources based on their research for helping children and youth thrive. St. Paul Man Charged for Online Sextortion Scheme Targeting More Than 500 Minor Victims. Accessed on May 26, 2022. Available here: https://www.search institute.org/about us/our story/

138 Milmo, Dan. 2021 was worst year on record for online child sexual abuse, says IWF. The Guardian (13 January, 2022). Accessed May 27, 2022. Available here: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jan/13/2021 was worst year on record for online child sex abuse says iwf

139 United States Department of Justice District of Minnesota. Wednesday May 25, 2022. Accessed May 31, 2022. Available here: https://www.justice.gov/usao mn/pr/st paul man charged online sextortion scheme targeting more 500 minor victims

140 Mayo Clinic Staff. Screen time and children: How to guide your child. Accessed May 26, 2022. Available here: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy lifestyle/childrens health/in depth/screen time/art 20047952

141 Polaris Project 2020 statistics. Accessed Jun3 1, 2022. Available here: https://polarisproject.org/2020-usnational human trafficking hotline statistics/

142 Love and Trafficking: How Traffickers Groom and Control Their Victims. Polaris Project Blog, February 11, 2021. Accessed on May 27, 2022. https://polarisproject.org/blog/2021/02/love-and-trafficking-how-traffickers-groomcontrol their victims/

143 Cacho, Lydia. Con Mi Hija, No. [Not With My Daughter]. (2009) p.

144 Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) website. Accessed jun3 6, 2022. Available here: https://www.rainn.org/articles/if-you-suspect-child-beingharmed#:~:text=Call%20or%20text%20the%20Childhelp,connected%20with%20a%20trained%20volunteer.

145 Child Molestation Prevention and Research Institute. Accessed May 15, 2022. Available here: https://www.childmolestationprevention.org/tell others the facts

146 U.S. Department of State 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report, p. 28.

147 C. Figley, 1995. Accessed on June 17, 2022. Available here: Stress.org. https://www.stress.org/military/forpractitionersleaders/compassion fatigue

148 Clay, Rebecca A. American Psychological Association. Are You Experiencing Compassion Fatigue? June 11, 2020. Accessed June 12, 2022. Available here: https://www.apa.org/topics/covid 19/compassion fatigue

149 Psychology Today. Accessed June 12, 2022. Available here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/burnout).

150 American Institute of Stress. Accessed June 12, 2022. Available here: https://www.stress.org/military/for practitionersleaders/compassion fatigue)

151 F. Oshberg, M.D. When Helping Hurts: Sustaining Trauma Workers. Accessed June 12, 2022. Available here: https://www.giftfromwithin.org/pdf/helping.pdf

152 Elaine Miller Karas. Building Resilience to Trauma: The Trauma and Community Resiliency Models. Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. New York and London. (2015) p. 66.

153 Nathan & Beth Davis. Rebound from Burnout: Resilience Skills for Ministers. International Bible Society. (2010) p. 50.

154 American Psychological Association. Are you experiencing compassion fatigue? Accessed June 14, 2022. Available here: https://www.apa.org/topics/covid 19/compassion fatigue

155 Henry Ford Health. What Are Feel Good Hormones? May 3, 2021. Accessed June 20, 2022. Available here: https://www.henryford.com/blog/2021/05/how to boost feel good hormones naturally

156 Kathy Brooks Painfully Honest: The Tale of a Recovering Helper. (2021) p. 181.

RELEVANT READING LIST

Allender, D. B. (1995). The wounded heart. Navpress.

Austin Smith, H. (2014). Walking prey: how America’s youth are vulnerable to sex slavery. Palgrave Macmillan.

Bales, K., & Soodalter, R. (2010). The slave next door: human trafficking and slavery in America today. Univ. Of California Press.

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Chapman, G. D., & Pellicane, A. (2020). Screen kids: 5 relational skills every child needs in a tech driven world. Northfield Publishing.

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Julia O'connell Davidson. (2006). Prostitution, power and freedom. Polity Press.

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Miller Karas, E. (2015). Building resilience to trauma the trauma and community resiliency models. Taylor & Francis Ltd.

Moore, S., Morgan, S., & Yim, K. (2022). Ending human trafficking: a handbook of strategies for the church today. Ivp Academic.

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Morgan Ferrer, H. with A. Davidson (2021). Mama bear apologetics guide to sexuality: empowering your kids to understand and live out God’s design. Harvest House Publishers.

Murphy, L. T. (2014). Survivors of Slavery: Modern Day Slave Narratives. Columbia University Press.

Myers, B. L. (2014). Walking with the poor: principles and practices of transformational development. Orbis Books.

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For all APPENDICES: protectmeproject.org/appendix

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