Why allocate resources to fight inequalities and injustice overseas, they ask, when it’s right here at home? One common and well meaning, but deeply problematic, answer to this question is that when we allow issues abroad to escalate and multiply, we’re allowing them to spread to our own country’s borders.
Read MoreAs we close out National Foster Care Month, we remain committed to supporting foster youth and former foster youth. Whether you are a foster parent or want to be a foster parent, there are resources available to help you find your way and care for children well.
Read MoreWhen the needs of individuals are not being met, people are forced to make decisions to be able to meet those needs. Oftentimes, the way people become involved in human trafficking is through a trafficker who is willing to meet their needs while exploiting their vulnerability. This can become the case with foster youth who may experience higher rates of houselessness, education barriers, exposure to domestic violence, mental health and development disorders, barriers to healthcare access, neglect, and juvenile justice involvement compared to their peers outside of foster care.
Read MoreWe as advocates understand the power our voices can hold for change when they are heard. The way we react to policies, culture and even media determines the communities we support and advocate for. The term “intersectionality” was first used by Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989, a civil rights activist and legal scholar, who described it as “a lens through which you can see where power comes and collides, where it interlocks and intersects.”
Read MoreIt’s no secret that COVID-19 has impacted our world tremendously. This year has brought change for everyone, and there is an increased need for advocacy in the fight to end human trafficking. During this global crisis, many of you have come together through the Dressember COVID-19 Campaign to support survivors.
Read MoreIf you’ve been in the anti-trafficking space for a while, you have likely heard human trafficking referred to as “modern-day slavery”. Until recently, we at Dressember have used this phrase in our messaging. This term was first coined by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in 2008. The organization announced at the UN Conference on Trafficking that “two hundred years after the end of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, we have the obligation to fight a crime that has no place in the twenty-first century. Let’s call it what it is: modern slavery.”
Read MoreAuthentic advocacy has been and will always be of the utmost importance in anti-trafficking efforts. Unfortunately, the vital work that needs to be done is often clouded by people putting themselves before those they are advocating for. White saviorism, performative allyship and centering yourself are all ways in which advocacy becomes ingenuine. White saviorism can be defined as the centering of non-BIPOC, particularly white people.
Read MoreIn recent years, the American public has become increasingly aware of the sordid reality that is human trafficking. Due to the work of many commited organizations, advocates, lawyers and policymakers, awareness of the human trafficking industry is increasing. However, significant discrepancies exist in resources and access to legal services, leading many victims of human trafficking to be underrepresented and deprived of the constitutional right to due process.
Read MoreHuman trafficking can happen in any demographic, but some communities have a higher risk than others. In Latin American countries, there are massive amounts of people who are desperate to escape the gang-related violence and government corruption of their home countries — only to trade one type of violence for another. Because of the heavy gang violence and corruption in many Latin American countries, recruiters entice vulnerable young women into trafficking situations in the U.S. with promises of safety, security, and a better life.
Read MoreWe know that anybody can become a victim of human trafficking, but research shows us that African-Americans and other people of color show a higher vulnerability.
Why?
According to a UCLA Law Review article, “The Racial Roots of Human Trafficking,” by Cheryl Nelson Butler, “Race intersects with other forms of subordination including gender, class, and age to push people of color disproportionately into prostitution and keep them trapped in the commercial sex industry. Its intersectional oppression is fueled by the persistence of myths about minority teen sexuality, which in turn encourages risky sexual behavior. Moreover, today’s anti-trafficking movement has failed to understand and address the racial contours of domestic sex trafficking in the United States and even perpetuates the racial myths that undermine the proper identification of minority youth as sex trafficking victims.”
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