Follow us here to stay up to date on human trafficking policy, hear about training opportunities and events, and learn more about what’s happening in the anti-trafficking field.
Freedom Network Community |
The Intersection of Forced Marriage and Human Trafficking
Written by Terri Waldron While human trafficking and forced marriage are distinguishably different human rights violations, there can be similarities in the experiences for survivors of these crimes. The vulnerabilities that leave individuals susceptible to human trafficking are often the…
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Freedom Network Community |
Impact of Arrest and Conviction Histories on Trafficking Survivors
Written by K.B. White Human trafficking survivors are often arrested, prosecuted, and convicted for crimes that their traffickers forced them to commit. As a result, survivors are marked by criminal records that create barriers to housing, employment, education, and even…
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Freedom Network Community |
Interview with Mariah Grant about Decriminalizing Sex Work
Answers by Mariah Grant, Director of Research and Advocacy at The Sex Workers Project of the Urban Justice Center How do you think the US government can best assist sex workers? I would first emphasize that people who do sex…
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Freedom Network Community |
Trafficking in Rural America
Rural Areas Create Vulnerabilities Rural areas are known for having fewer people and a thick country landscape. While envisioning a rural community, human trafficking may not come to mind for most. However, many factors present vulnerabilities for trafficking survivors in…
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Freedom Network Community |
Every Survivor Counts: Interview with Yuri Guerrero
The following is an interview with one of our members Yuri Guerrero who is a survivor of labor trafficking and has been a survivor advocate for over 3 years. Why did you choose to get involved in the anti-trafficking movement?…
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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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Freedom Network Community |
Climate Change Harms Indigenous Communities.
This Earth Day, we reflect on how both human trafficking and environmental racism harm Indigenous communities, specifically women. We can see this intersection clearly in oil pipeline construction, such as Line 3, which is currently being built in Minnesota on…
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Freedom Network Community |
Chauvin’s Conviction is Not Justice.
A note from our Executive Director: Justice for George Floyd is not found in a conviction. We knew that the outcome, no matter what would be painful. It is, at least, an acknowledgment of the terrible harm committed against…
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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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Freedom Network Community |
Anti-Racism Work is Essential in the Anti-Trafficking Movement
A special thank you to Jatnna Gomez from the University of Maryland SAFE Center for her input. For Freedom Network USA, Black History Month is a time to celebrate Black Excellence and continue focusing on how the anti-trafficking field can…
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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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Freedom Network Community |
Interview with Kate Mogulescu About Landmark Decision
The following is an interview with one of our members Kate Mogulescu who was involved in a landmark decision to free a human trafficking survivor under a new New York State Law. *Thank you to Patrice Smith for giving us…
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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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Freedom Network Community |
FNUSA Starts Emergency Survivor Relief Fund
In May 2020, Freedom Network USA (FNUSA) established a fund to help human trafficking survivors in the time of COVID. The FNUSA Human Trafficking Survivor Relief Fund provides emergency financial assistance to survivors who have been negatively impacted by…
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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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Jean Bruggeman |
Freedom Network USA Stands in Solidarity
Freedom Network USA stands in solidarity with human rights activists around the world. Black Lives Matter. We are outraged and angered by the killing of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many others. Systemic racism, oppression, and discrimination…
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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.…