Emancipation Nation

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Do the laws we pass against prostitution really help vulnerable populations engaged in sex work? Our guest says these laws do not, and they particularly don’t protect the most vulnerable in society.

The narrative we have all been taught to believe is that prostitution is wrong and people shouldn’t willingly engage in it. But this moral stance isn’t based in the reality of our times. Today, women (and men) sell sex because they are trafficked, or because they need to survive, or because they consent to be sex workers. We would agree that at least two of the three reasons someone is involved in prostitution makes them vulnerable. Put yourself in their shoes. If the last 25 encounters you had with police resulted in your arrest, at the 26th encounter, how wiling are you to share that you had been raped, robbed, or trafficked by someone? Would you still believe police are there to protect you? What happens when you experience a violent crime, but fear the police? What are the psychological effects and the real life consequences? What happens when the rapists, felony abusers, and traffickers aren't taken off the streets because victims are too afraid to make a report? Expert Kristen Diangelo provides listeners with the eye-opening realties of sex workers and the law that will take effect in California ito protect them in January 2020. 

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Freedom is the most fundamental right that many take for granted. Shari Ho will never take her freedom for granted. She was an innocent child trafficked to the U.S. at only seven years old from her village in the mountains in Taiwan. Enslaved in California for approximately 20 years, Shari recounts her story and her escape in a book titled, “My Name is Also Freedom” written by Melodie Fox. Listen to this powerful episode about labor trafficking in the U.S as recounted by the author. Being afraid, but courageous, Shari was able to escape. Now in her 40s, Shari owns a childcare business, goes to counseling, and takes English courses. She makes freedom and recovery a daily practice. She is a survivor-thriver in every sense of the word.

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In part two of the podcast featuring Sarah Ladd, she discusses her work focused on trauma-informed practice as well as labor trafficking policies. She reveals the reality of work-life balance and discusses the importance of using your own life as an inspiration and motivation for “being persistent” and furthering your advocacy efforts. Be sure to check out part one of the series. You don’t want to miss it! 

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There is a story about a baby floating down a river. The compassionate helper frantically grabbed the baby, warmed it, clothed it, fed it, and found it a home. But soon there was another baby and another. Others joined in to help. Finally, another compassionate helper said, "I'm going up stream to find out who is throwing the babies in the water, and stop it." When Sarah found herself overwhelmed with the need she saw in the children she worked with in other countries and the weak laws and policies in place, she decided to focus on breaking through the wall to create better responses. She went upstream. Persistence, courage, confidence, compassion, and a laser focused strategy is what catapulted Sarah Ladd to engage in critically impactful human trafficking work in the U.S. and around the world. Listen to Sarah Ladd’s journey from taking a study abroad course and international jobs to graduating law school and working in the anti-trafficking field. And look out for more of Sarah’s story in Part II next week!

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Dr. Stacey Litam, though she may be a tiny woman, is a powerhouse of skill and compassion. She is a licensed professional clinic counselor (LPCC) in Ohio, nationally certified counselor, as well as an assistant professor at Cleveland State University in the counseling education program. She’s also a part-time instructor at Northeast Ohio Medical University where she teaches the foundations of clinical medicine courses. Currently, Dr. Litam also works at a Northeast Ohio agency serving survivors of trafficking, along with subance-use-disorders and LGBTQ+ clients.

This episode focuses on all things trauma—discussing the difference between trauma-informed care and trauma-informed therapy; how the experience of trauma is subjective and the impact is in the eye of the beholder; why environments should be as trauma-informed as possible; trauma-informed therapies; and the pieces of advice Dr. Litam needs other helping professionals to hear in order to take care of themselves.

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Public relations and communications trained Cat Jacoby of Fierce Freedom uses her background in public relations and communication to join the fight and educate others about the very real issues of human trafficking. She works for founder Jenny Almquist, originally an interior designer turned freedom fighter. Fierce Freedom is unique in that they focus their efforts on educating those rural areas and small towns across the U.S. that many programs miss to provide them with general human trafficking content, but particularly, information that is helpful to smaller, rural communities.

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This is the second half of an interview with Christy Croft, Program Manager for the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault. In this episode Christy discusses the difficulty some advocates have in trying to understand someone else's trauma, particularly if they have not had trauma themselves. She discusses the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study and assessment tool and mentions her approach using the Empowerment Model.

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This is part one of a two part interview with Christy Croft who currently serves as Prevention Education Program Manager for the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault. Christy does not forget her trauma as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, interpersonal violence, and lived experience in the sex trade as she works to serve others in similar and vulnerable positions. Being a survivor, she reminds us not to “construct” someone’s experience, but to listen to survivors. She also points out that while the goal is to reduce risk and increase protection in serving victims of human trafficking, we should know the research. Many times one type of intervention also addresses other social problems.  She provides a critical resource (Connecting the Dots) to understand how our work may be helping to reduce shared risk and protective factors. In this episode, we talk about the importance of using evidence-based practice and touch on the importance of the well-known Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study to identify levels of trauma. Christy also asks us to be trained and listen to LGBTQ+ youth experiences and how their experiences relate to trafficking and trauma. Lots of good resources in this episode including: "Teach to Reach", "Point Source Youth", and "FORGE"

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Drug addiction and human trafficking, particularly sex trafficking, have been intricately linked. Whether a trafficker uses drugs to control victims or victims use drugs to cope with trauma, drugs play an important role in enslaving vulnerable individuals. Having a strong working knowledge of drugs, from the realities of those that use them, is an invaluable resource. This episode covers approximately 14 of the most popular drugs used in the U.S. today, their street names, prices, how people use them, the drugs they use in combination, and common adulterations (cuts) included in drugs. Today we take it to the streets.

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Dr. Karen Countryman-Roswurm is a survivor of the streets, has a doctorate, and serves as Director of the Center for Combatting Human Trafficking at Wichita State University. She makes the point that being labeled a victim or survivor of trafficking may imply that the trafficking experience is all that defines a person and denies the lifelong lived experiences of each person. Honoring those experiences that contribute to a person's whole life opens the door to serving them effectively. Trafficking is often the result of vulnerability brought about by earlier experiences and the inability of overwhelmed and traumatized systems to appropriately and adequately respond. These are deeper, longer, and systemic issues that won’ be solved through awareness alone, which is why Dr. Karen Countyman-Roswurm developed interventions and responses that are focused, research based, and are working. The Center’s prevention and interventions efforts cut across populations to address at risk elementary school youth to trafficking survivors as well as changing policy and legislation. Learn more about her insights and tremendous work in Kansas.