June 6, 2023 Quarterly Meeting Recap – Human Trafficking of College Students in San Diego County and Imperial Valley

Ideas for Education:

• More public education so the legislation involving human trafficking do not die
• Explain disease consequences in human sexuality
  • Need HIV education
• Engaging parents before students go to college
• Freshmen cases w/ alcohol
• Implement kNOw MORE!© (incentives)
  • Like MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving)
• Education on exploitation for educators, students
  • “Sex workers” vs. trafficked individuals
    • Power dynamics: Not independent if someone else is financially benefiting
  • Only Fans/ sugar daddy/other websites
  • Tattoo’s specific to HT
  • Harm reduction
  • Personal development courses – include HT
    • High school prep for college situation**
  • Empowerment vs. Fear Tactics
    • We need to move away from just focusing on action -> focus on empowering mentalities
    • How to speak up even if everyone disagrees

Ideas for Awareness:

• Student Clubs (creating and/or getting involved/buy-in)
• Transitional Age Youth foster youth/ meet college guys without good intentions
  • Start 12-13 years old – self-esteem
    • “What good intention looks like”
  • “Trusted Adult”
• Create social Media campaigns
  • Influencers (engage them in the campaign)
• Media perceptions of movies like “Taken” affect people’s understanding of human trafficking as “violence” and miss the subtleness of grooming
  • Change the verbiage of “Human Trafficking” to “Sexual Exploitation”
    • This will make it easier for people to identify as victims
  • Change the questions that are asked
  • Debunking myths
    • Sexual Exploitation in hazing (Greek Life) not seeing as a “good” exchange
  • Nudes of minors are child pornography
  • Provide case studies so they can better identify it
  • Describe it as a “cult” dynamic
  • Explain the long-term impact of sexual assault on a child/adult… Both to dissuade perpetrators and to provide an understanding of healing for victims*
  • Emphasize less the vulnerabilities (homeless, etc.), and highlight the harassment
    • Shows anyone could be targetted
• Utilize lived experience experts/survivors
  • Not necessarily tell their stories but speak about the issue
• Incentives for attending HT education/presentation: i.e Extra credit and pizza
• Awareness flyers focus on what to do… but rarely elaborate or include what human trafficking actually looks like. People know how to respond, but not how to identify HT
  • Add “understanding HT” to the “responding to HT” approach
  • The hotline is for victims but should include local numbers for people who want information on how to assist

Ideas for Training:

• Freshman Title 9 Course add SE/HT to sexual harassment training for staff & Faculty training*
• Parent Training
• CWS training… if a male is involved, the automatic assumption is of them being a pimp

Ideas for Prevention Systems/Protocols

• Incorporate into campus climate surveys – add Sexual Exploitation question
• Legislation is needed to punish buyers
  • It has been proposed but not passed 
• More than presentations – Freshman orientation
  • Fast track to therapy
  • Follow-through needed after presentations
  • SE in orientation (stalking, etc, not just HT)
• DA’s office – liaison to colleges
  • HT add-in
• Professors/staff should receive resources on how to respond
• Well-advertised student support (for commuters too)*
  • Food*
  • Shelter
  • Regular support
• Need a diverse population serving in support services (BIPOC)
• Anonymous reporting (eliminate shame)(give option to give identity)
  • Do they want a response? Provide them agency on how to move forward
  • Hub of LOCAL resources readily available
  • Involve peers (mentoring, counseling, etc.)
• Provide housing food eg. SMC in LA (rotating students w/ food housing)

Ideas for Research on Survivors/Victims:

• Why/when do they ask for help?
  • What support resources would help this process?
  • Identify barriers around HT awareness*
  • Identify barriers around reporting***
• How many survivors are receiving resources after being identified?*
• Research on how female recruiters function and how they do this job for their own survival
• Stats on that demographics were exposed to HT prior to being victimized
• Research on holistic healing for survivors
  • Research types of therapy that is most beneficial for survivors
• How common is Recidivism 
  • What barriers make people return to “the game”?
• Different types of trafficking
  • How are people being targeted outside of in person?

Ideas for Research on Student Body:

• Conduct surveys at the beginning & end of the semester to identify exploitation and attitudes/beliefs around sexual exploitation
  • How/when youth realized their commercial sex acts were exploitation vs. empowerment/their choice*
• Connect research to porn exposure to HT (consider age-appropriate exposure)
• Research on the buy trends, beliefs and attitudes*

Ideas for Survivor Voices: 

• Given that stories of survivors⁺ are the most impactful, the following suggestions were provided:
  • Organizing panels that include survivors to college campuses to bring awareness and demystifying the false glamorous ideas of exchanging sex for goods can have in the short and long-term; for example, health, emotional and physical consequences that this can bring to their lives.
  • When: As part of freshman orientations at colleges to demystify sex trade.
  • Survivor voices. Showing “You’re not alone.” Incorporating these voices.

Challenge: College students don’t always see/prioritize the long-term impact of choices

⁺ When utilizing survivors’ voices, avoiding “re-exploitation” through compensation is essential for best-practices.

Ideas for Child Welfare:

• Identify students who are/have been in the foster care system
• Focused resources among these at-risk students for stability of support
  • Foster -> beyond (college). How can people leaving (e.g. aging out) of foster move towards more support.
  • Mentors (how to have relationality and not just “provider” energy)
• Strengthen Casa Program (Individual who is trained/volunteer to support foster youth) as part of the stability of support for foster youth.
• Awareness of available resources. Spoken in regard to foster youth but applicable to any individual entering a university setting.
  • Movement into new phase of life
  • Once in a new phase
• Welfare services funding
  • Standard of empowerment training
  • Attention of foster families (background checks improved)
• Familial Education before exploitation (“I didn’t know”). Many families do not know they are part of human trafficking but think it’s just the way it goes

Challenge: Schools could miss those who may also be at risk but are not in the foster care system. Also, depending on how it is done, it can stigmatize some students. It has to be done in a way that doesn’t bring stigma to students. 

Ideas for Law Enforcement/Legislation:

• Restorative practices (breaking down walls – decisions and impact). This was in relation to a former buyer interacting with a survivor and getting to hear the impact first hand which brought a new understanding to their actions.
  *Native American/Indigenous practice

• Law enforcement protect the community (“Protection” directed at correct population)
• How many policy makers are part of the demand? Conflict of interest and barrier to policies being passed?
• Demand: Buyer consequences/prosecution
  • Some sort of registry that creates a social impact for those fueling human trafficking

Ideas for Community Services on Campuses:

Based on the study findings about food insecurity being the main reason for commercial sex exchange among college students, the following suggestions were gathered:

• Food Banks bring free food to campuses; especially those with higher percentage of students with low-income. 
• Churches bring food to campuses; especially those with higher percentage of students with low-income. 
• Information about free-food posted or given to students through student services, etc. 

Campus Services to address Vulnerable/Risk:

• Have a campus Hotline where students can report anonymously a concern or suspicion of trafficking of friends or themselves. 
• Social/groups/clubs on campus:
  • Educate leaders/staff of these social groups about what’s happening
  • Training leaders in how to help identify students
  • Connect outside resources with such participating organizations/social groups, clubs, etc. 
  • Connect them with those students who need them. For example–health insurance, therapy for sexual assault, safe housing/shelters like “One Safe Place” ( North County SD).  

Challenges: Barriers to reach out to take advantage of resources of those who have trauma; the willingness of social groups/clubs on campus to participate; ensuring resources are known by students. 

Ideas for Research across Multiple Sectors:

• Buyer prosecution is a huge barrier – we need to understand the impact of prosecution to encourage implementation.
• Attitudes/sentiments exploit vs. empower
• Information clearing house (access)
• Who is getting training when funding is not guaranteed. 
• Risk Factors
• Increases awareness of the full picture
• Technology uses (what technology is helpful in modernizing and staying up to date on trends/prevention)
• Personalizing data (this is connected to helping people expend beyond just numbers/data). There are names, stories, lives connected to each statistic.
• Are foster parents getting training? What does it look like?
• Support + resources for parents
  • To understand what it looks like, how to talk to their kids about it, and how to understand if their child is/has been exploited and how to support them well