Melinda Smith |
Freedom Network USA’s Response to Pieper Lewis’ Sentencing
Freedom Network USA is appalled by the sentence handed down to a child human trafficking survivor this week. Multiple media sources have shared the story of Pieper Lewis, a traumatized minor who experienced multiple forms of abuse and exploitation during…
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Melinda Smith |
The Foster Care System and Human Trafficking
May is National Foster Care Month! As professionals working to combat human trafficking, it is essential to recognize the intersections between the foster care system and human trafficking. A flawed child welfare system perpetuates deep-seated cracks which vulnerable adolescents inevitably…
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Melinda Smith |
Standing with our AAPI Community
Freedom Network USA, today and every day, stands with our AAPI friends, neighbors, colleagues, and family members. In Georgia, Asian women working in Asian-owned massage and spa businesses were targeted in a display of racialized, gendered violence, which has left…
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Melinda Smith |
Human Trafficking and the Super Bowl
It’s that time of year again…..Super Bowl weekend. Every year as the big game approaches, people turn their attention to sex trafficking. Local and national media outlets suggest that large sporting events are linked to spikes in human trafficking. On…
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Melinda Smith |
Response to the Insurrection at the Capitol
A note from our Executive Director: This week has laid bare, again and in ways that more people are forced to recognize, the deep and abiding racism of America. The reaction to a white riot attempting to take control of…
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Melinda Smith |
FNUSA Welcomes First Cohort of Speaker’s Bureau
We are thrilled to announce the first cohort of the Freedom Network USA (FNUSA) Speakers Bureau. The bureau includes a vetted group of trainers that are available to provide comprehensive live and web-based trainings on the topic of human trafficking.…
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Melinda Smith |
Response to the 2020 Trafficking in Persons Report
The US is no longer an international leader in responding to human trafficking. Today, Freedom Network USA (FNUSA) releases an official response to the 2020 Trafficking in Persons Report. Every year the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons…
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Melinda Smith |
Freedom Network USA (FNUSA) Responds to COVID-19: Recommendations for Funders and Congress
Human trafficking is in part, a financial crime. Survivors often exit the trafficking situation with debt, not financial resources, interrupted education, little documented employment history, little or negative credit history, and criminal records as a result of their victimization. Survivors…
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Melinda Smith |
Lynette M. Parker and Ruth Silver Taube Awarded 2020 Paul and Sheila Wellstone Award
We are thrilled to announce the recipients for the 2020 Paul and Sheila Wellstone Award, Lynette M. Parker and Ruth Silver Taube of Santa Clara University School of Law. The Paul and Sheila Wellstone Award seeks to recognize individuals who have…
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Melinda Smith |
OVC Drops Restriction on Criminal Record Relief Representation in FY2020 Grants
Earlier this month, the US Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) released their human trafficking program grant solicitations with a notable change. The office has dropped the funding restriction on criminal record relief representation for FY2020 grants.…
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Melinda Smith |
Serving Survivors: A brief chat during Domestic Violence Awareness Month
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Freedom Network USA staff sat down to talk with Sulan Chang from Mosaic Family Services earlier this month about her work with survivors. What is the one thing people should know during Domestic Violence…
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Melinda Smith |
FNUSA Applauds Call on the Department of Justice to Restore Vacatur Funding for Survivors
Freedom Network USA applauds the House Judiciary Committee’s letter to Attorney General Barr demanding justification for the cruel and unreasonable restriction on legal services for survivors of human trafficking. When the Department of Justice first introduced a bar on using…
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Melinda Smith |
FNUSA Welcomes New Board Member, Wendy Rhein
FNUSA is pleased to welcome new board member, Wendy Rhein. She is currently the Regional Managing Director for UNICEF USA in Washington DC. With more than twenty years of development, communications, strategic planning and organizational management experience, Wendy has extensive…
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Melinda Smith |
FNUSA Releases White Paper on Standards of Care for the Anti-Trafficking Field
Today, Freedom Network USA is proud to share its latest white paper entitled, Standards of Care for the US Anti-Trafficking Field. Standards of Care establish basic guidelines to ensure consistent service provision regardless of the geographic area in which services are…
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Melinda Smith |
Womankind: Impacts of Criminalization and Advocacy at Work
A conversation with Aya Tasaki from Womankind, Freedom Network USA member. Tell us about the anti-trafficking work that Womankind does? Womankind supports survivors of human trafficking through our anti-trafficking program, Project Free, in addition to supporting survivors of domestic…
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Melinda Smith |
A Quick Look at the Public Health Approach to Human Trafficking
A human trafficking conversation with Hanni Stoklosa from HEAL Trafficking, Freedom Network USA Individual member. As an emergency department doctor, how did you find yourself working in the anti-trafficking field? The majority of human trafficking survivors in the US…
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Melinda Smith |
Housing As a Human Right
A conversation with Daniella Cameron from Preble Street, Freedom Network USA member. You say that housing shouldn’t be conditional. How can organizations ensure that the housing they provide or refer survivors to maintains that value? Organizations can ensure the…
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Melinda Smith |
FNUSA Releases White Paper on Survivor Leadership in the US
Today, Freedom Network USA released a white paper surveying survivor leadership development opportunities in the United States. Our founders were committed to lifting the voices of those with lived experience and working as partners in the fight to end human…
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Melinda Smith |
FNUSA Submits Comments to the US State Department
Yesterday, Freedom Network USA (FNUSA) submitted comments to the US State Department to inform the 2019 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. Released annually by the Office to Combat and Monitor Trafficking in Persons (JTIP), this report ranks countries around the world…
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Melinda Smith |
A Step in the Right Direction: Trafficking Victims Protection Act Reauthorized
In the final days of 2018, the House passed a package of four bills to reauthorize the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), after the Senate did the same on December 17. Today, the President signed the package that reauthorizes critical…