Exploring Community-Based Advocacy Work Against Human Trafficking in the U.S.

Abstract

Research on community organizations suggests there are a variety of factors related to the success of an organization’s mission. This study identifies general facilitators and challenges advocates working against human trafficking experience and the strategies utilized to overcome these barriers. Fifteen individuals who are advocates in the Chicagoland area participated in the study. Qualitative methods using the social ecological theoretical framework show personal, organizational, and system-wide factors impacting advocates. Individual support systems and advocates’ collaborations with other organizations are encouraging factors in their work. Furthermore, advocates feel motivated by trafficked persons’ stories and by the capacity to raise awareness through social media. Challenges advocates face include a lack of time and money, a lack of communication among organizations, and negative cultural attitudes related to trafficking. Results focus on the specific experiences of anti-trafficking advocates and convey strategies to provide quality services to survivors and effectively raise awareness in the general public. Human trafficking is a multifaceted problem involving interpersonal violence where one individual asserts power and control over another. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (2000) defines human trafficking as the exploitation of a person for labor purposes (e.g., debt bondage, involuntary domestic servitude, or labor trafficking) or a commercial sex act (i.e., sex trafficking) through the use of force, fraud, or coercion, or when any person under the age of 18 engages in a commercial sex act (U.S. Department of State, 2010). The body of research about human trafficking primarily focused on sex trafficking and the experiences of survivors. While this research is valuable, research is limited in understanding the personal, organizational, and system-wide factors that influence how advocates and organizations work to end human trafficking. Past research suggests that combatting trafficking necessitates a victim-centered response at multiple levels that includes the perspectives of survivors, trained advocates, and collaborations among a variety of social service providers (American Psychological Association, Division 35, 2010). Little is known about the general facilitators, challenges, and strategies advocates encounter as they work against human trafficking. To address this gap in the literature, researchers interviewed 15 individuals from five organizations in the Chicagoland area working against trafficking. The study was driven by the questions: “What factors impact advocates’ work against human trafficking?” and “What strategies do advocates use to overcome challenges or capitalize on strengths?” Such knowledge may benefit organizations and communities through a greater understanding of how multiple factors may assist or hinder advocates in addressing human trafficking. While prevalence rates may oversimplify and underestimate the numbers of this complex crime (Bales, 2012), they provide a contextual baseline for understanding the global depth of trafficking as a global social problem. It is estimated that in the U.S. 17,500 people are Global Journal of Community Psychology Practice Volume 6, Issue 2 October 2015 Global Journal of Community Psychology Practice, http://www.gjcpp.org Page 3 trafficked and 199,000 minors are sexually exploited each year (Estes & Weiner, 2001). Prevalence rates are higher for female survivors, thus human trafficking has been categorized as a form of violence against women (American Psychological Association, Division 35, 2010). Women may be more vulnerable for commercial sexual exploitation because of the impact of poverty, limited access to education, fewer employment opportunities, or an exposure to domestic violence (Ferraro & Moe, 2006). Research suggests women are significantly more likely than men to live in poverty (Chant, 2008; Pearce, 1978), be discriminated against in the division of labor (both in the home and in the workforce; Rogers, 2005), and lack access to educational or financial resources (Christopher, England, Smeeding, & Ross, 2002). There are many factors that place individuals at a greater risk to be trafficked. Many young girls from disadvantaged populations may have family duties and responsibilities that force them to drop out of school, which ultimately leaves them at greater risk for commercial sexual exploitation (Reid & Piquero, 2013). Indeed, research suggests that factors such as family structure (e.g., traditional gender roles that devalue women or discourage education) also place individuals at greater risk to be trafficked. For both male and female youth, lower educational attainment and exposure to substance abuse in later adolescence and early adulthood are associated with a greater risk of commercial sexual exploitation (Reid & Piquero, 2013). Best-practices suggest survivors need an empowering traumainformed model of service provision addressing these risk-factors across multiple systems (e.g., medical, judicial, counseling, and social services; Briere & Jordan, 2004). More research is needed to understand the barriers trafficked persons face in accessing services, which may be provided by advocates, but it is also critical to understand the challenges faced by advocates themselves and their organizations while providing services or raising awareness of trafficking. Advocacy is one role that nonprofits may fill to bring together individuals who share a common concern for social justice in order to encourage social change and increase the accessibility of resources (Salamon, Hems, & Chinnock, 2000). In particular for survivors of violence, especially violence against women, advocates and those organizations trained to provide trauma-informed services are especiallycrucial because they may be better equipped to provide culturally-sensitive services and be empowering to survivors to reach personal goals (American Psychological Association, Division 35, 2010; Briere & Jordan, 2004; Sullivan & Bybee, 1999). Research on violence against women has shown that when battered women are aided by community-based advocacy interventions, survivors gain greater access to community resources, more consistent social support, and over time, experience less violence than women who do not receive advocacy services (Sullivan & Bybee, 1999). Advocates aid survivors in navigating the multiple, complex systems that survivors encounter in the process of seeking help or pursuing justice (i.e., legal, criminal, health; American Psychological Association, Division 35, 2010; Johnson, McGrath, & Miller, 2014). Thus, advocates may be particularly important in assisting survivors of trafficking through gaining access to resources, navigating multiple complex social provision systems, and by raising awareness about the issue to service providers and the general public. Within advocacy work, there are a variety of factors that foster or inhibit the role of advocates and organizations as they assist survivors in navigating these multiple Global Journal of Community Psychology Practice Volume 6, Issue 2 October 2015 Global Journal of Community Psychology Practice, http://www.gjcpp.org Page 4 systems (American Psychological Association, Division 35, 2010). Advocates experience both facilitators and obstacles to their work against social injustices and a greater understanding of these factors may increase the effectiveness of advocates and their work. The present study seeks to describe the factors impacting the work of human trafficking advocates in order to better understand what helps and challenges them from an ecological perspective (i.e., individual, organizational, and system-wide levels). Despite the importance of advocacy work, little is known about what helps or hinders an advocate’s ability to access resources for survivors. Research with healthcare advocates for sexual assault survivors note that advocacy organizations face funding shortages and difficulty collaborating or communicating with other service providers inside or outside of their organization (Johnson, et al., 2014; Payne, 2007). Transportation and geographic characteristics of a region may hinder an advocate in accessing services for a survivor; however, some geographic characteristics may also help advocates, such as living in a smaller community, which can create a stronger network among service providers and may make services more accessible and attainable (Johnson, et al., 2014). Provided that little is known about what aids or impedes the effectiveness of advocates in organizations working against human trafficking, a deeper understanding of these factors may help organizations to better train and equip their advocates to assist survivors and raise awareness within their community context. Present Study The present study utilizes a social ecological perspective (i.e., individual, organizational, and system-wide levels) to describe what helps and hinders advocates in their work to end human trafficking within the context of Chicago, IL. While the research on human trafficking in Chicago is limited, the Chicagoland area is a hub for human trafficking, likely because of its proximity to multiple airports and high violence and gang activity (often involved in sex trafficking; Goh, 2014). Raphael and Shapiro (2004) suggest that many girls and women who engage in sex work in Chicago are or have been trafficked and were first purchased for sex when they were under the age of 18 or were sold by a family member. Research to understand the effectiveness of advocates working to end human trafficking is limited, specifically with respect to the personal, organizational, and system-wide factors that influence their advocacy work. Thus, the present study is motivated by the following research questions: “What factors impact advocates’ work against human trafficking?” and “What strategies do advo