ORGANIZATIONS FIGHTING SEX TRAFFICKING
The Polaris Project
The Polaris Project is a non-governmental organization
that offers a multidimensional approach to combatting human trafficking. Some of the services they provide are social services,
raising awareness through advocacy, training, and campaigns. There is also a national hotline, proactive
international programs, as well as reaching communities through online
resources and media. The Polaris Project
was started in 2002 by two students and has burgeoned into one of the largest
anti-trafficking coalitions in the world.
About half of their funds are from organizations and the other half come
from corporations, private contributions, and government grants.
The only part of the mission that surprises me is how The
Polaris Project implements so many different ways of aggressively fighting this
issue. It is very impressive and
inspiring, and I do not think that much more could be done to improve their
response. I would be honored to work for
this organization because of the way the address the issue through education
and communication. If were offered to me
I would accept immediately.
The FBI Innocence Lost
Task Force
Seven years ago, the FBI joined with the Department of
Justice Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and the National Center for
Missing and Exploited Children, and created thirty-nine task forces in the U.S.
to address the issue of minor sex trafficking.
The FBI along with the U.S. Attorney’s office, as well as federal and
state law enforcement agencies actively rescue the victims and prosecute the
offenders. “To date, these groups have
worked successfully to rescue more than 1,200 children. Investigations have
successfully led to the conviction of over 600 pimps, madams, and their
associates who exploit children through prostitution. These convictions have
resulted in lengthy sentences, including multiple 25-year-to-life sentences and
the seizure of real property, vehicles, and monetary assets” (FBI.gov, 1).
What surprises me most about the
mission are the results. The number of
children they have rescued and the amount of perpetrators that have been convicted
to the fullest extent of the law is amazing.
I have a great amount of respect for their efficiency and nothing could
be done to improve their response. As
with the Polaris Project, I would love to work for The FBI Innocence Lost Task
Force because of their stellar reputation to get results.
Grace Haven House
“To find and to free” is the mission at Grace Haven
House. A non-profit, non-governmental
organization, they attempt to find victims of sex trafficking under the age of
eighteen, bring them back to Grace Haven House shelter and start them on the
road to rehabilitation by offering counseling services and a safe place to stay. They also educate professionals in the health
industry, educational systems, and social services, as well as the victims of
sex trafficking.
Nothing about the mission surprised me, and I feel that
their response to the issue is crucial in the road to recovery for the victims
by counseling and educating them. I
would work for this organization because I am intending on completing my degree
in psychology to help victims of trauma and abuse, and would love to work for
such an ethical coalition.
The Bureau of Justice
Assistance Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force Initiative
“To combat human trafficking, BJA's efforts
have been two-pronged: 1) to develop training for law enforcement and
communities to identify trafficking in persons and rescue victims by working
with federal law enforcement and victims service providers; and 2) to support
and fund task forces (in coordination with OVC and HHS) based on a sound
strategy of collaboration among state and local enforcement, trafficking victim
services providers, federal law enforcement, and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices”
(usdoj.gov). The Bureau of Justice
Assistance also directly states that the organization views human trafficking
as modern day slavery and offers a detailed, comprehensive explanation of the
methods traffickers use in order to gain their profits. Their strategy guide is offered on their
website as well as a list of other coalitions that may be contacted by victims
of human trafficking, professionals that wish to be of assistance, and anyone
else who wants to know more about the
issue.
Their
work in trafficking is aided by the legal system as well as by other
organizations that work in tandem with the B.J.A. to combat human
trafficking. Their mission is similar to
the F.B.I. Innocence Lost Task Force’s except that a much more psychologically
and socially in-depth explanation is available on the website, as well as more
general information. I would work for
this organization but only as a rehabilitative counselor if the position were
offered.
Not For Sale
Not For Sale is a coalition that “equips and mobilizes
Smart Activists to deploy innovative solutions to re-abolish slavery in their
own backyards and across the globe” (notforsalecampaign.org). President of the organization, David Batstone
realized the enormity of human trafficking when he went to eat at an Indian
restaurant and heard that one of the employees died in her apartment due to a
poor ventilation system. The truth was
that the female employee was actually a trafficking victim being held against
her will by human traffickers in an apartment building that was obviously not
fit for people to live in. Batstone then
went on to discover how prevalent human trafficking is in almost every country
in the world and decided he had to do something about it. Batstone uses his own skills as a journalist
to raise awareness by having written five books on the subject, and receiving
two nationwide awards in journalism. Not
For Sale is a proactive coalition that seeks to end modern day slavery through
education beginning in our own communities, local businesses, and on college
campuses.
I think that their work on trafficking is highly
efficient. Not For Sale first seeks to
make people aware of the issue and then ask them what they could do as
individuals to help the cause. The
mission calls for personal responsibility and realistic action. More than any of the other coalitions, I
would choose to work for Not For Sale. I
greatly respect and admire the approach to fight this issue with the philosophy
that if everyone does even one thing to help, the world, as a whole, will be
affected.
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