306 – Survivor Voices Leading Change, with Jerome Elam

Dr. Sandie Morgan is joined by Jerome Elam as the two discuss the importance of advocating for male victims of trafficking.

Jerome Elam

Jerome Elam is president and CEO of Trafficking in America Task Force, Child Sex Trafficking Survivor, Survivor Leader, recipient of the Award for Courage presented by the National Council of Jewish Women, a member of ECPAT Global Survivors Forum, a member of ECPAT Global Network of Survivor Led Organizations. He's a staff writer and columnist for Community's Digital News, a special adviser to the Utah Attorney General, a Marine Corps veteran, recipient of the US Attorney General's Alliance Lifetime Achievement Award for Anti Trafficking work, and chosen as one of New York's New Abolitionists.

Key Points

The Warsaw Human Dimension Conference unites 57 OSCE member countries to report on how they've been addressing human trafficking and it is global in attendance.

Human trafficking is multifaceted because there is forced criminality involved, making it less likely for men and boys to be identified as survivors.

Jerome Elam describes grooming as psychological quicksand in which the predator grooms the victim through the five stages listed in the episode.

Because of the shame that surrounds male victims, they are less likely to disclose the crimes, and through the grooming of a child's environment, the victim is less likely to be believed by the adults around them.

Resources

Trafficking in America Task Force 

National Council of Jewish Women 

ECPAT Global Survivors Forum 

ECPAT Global Network of Survivor Led Organizations

Communities Digital News

Organization for Security Cooperation in Europe’s Office 

Human Dimensions Conference

National Referral Mechanisms

OSCE ODIHR

Safe Harbor Laws 

304 - European Perspectives, with Ioana Bauer 

Jerome Elam in “The Silence”

The Clown and The Candy Man

Survivor Voices of Human Trafficking

Jerome Elam: UN World Day Against Human Trafficking

Jerome Elam: New York’s New Abolitionists 

Transcript

Sandra Morgan 0:00

You are listening to the Ending Human Trafficking podcast episode #306: Survivor Voices Leading Change, with Jerome Elam.

Welcome to the Ending Human Trafficking podcast here at Vanguard University's Global Center for Women and Justice in Orange County, California. My name is Sandie Morgan and this is the show where we empower you to study the issues, be a voice, and make a difference in ending human trafficking. Our guest today is Jerome Elam. He is president and CEO of Trafficking in America Task Force, Child Sex Trafficking Survivor, Survivor Leader, recipient of the Award for Courage presented by the National Council of Jewish Women, a member of ECPAT Global Survivors Forum, a member of ECPAT Global Network of Survivor Led Organizations. He's a staff writer and columnist for Community's Digital News, a special adviser to the Utah Attorney General, a Marine Corps veteran, recipient of the US Attorney General's Alliance Lifetime Achievement Award for Anti Trafficking work, and chosen as one of New York's New Abolitionists. He's so much more and you're going to learn about that in our conversation. Welcome to the show, Jerome.

Jerome Elam 1:59

Thank you Sandie, it's an honor to be here.

Sandra Morgan 2:01

You just came back from Warsaw, Poland for the OSCE Conference, there's 57 member countries. Tell us what that is, why you were there, and maybe a couple of other things I'm going to ask you.

Jerome Elam 2:17

Absolutely. Thank you for that question. The Warsaw Human Dimension Conference is a yearly conference that is put on by the Organization for Security Cooperation in Europe's Office of Democratic Initiatives ...