Emma Ecker |
FNUSA’s Statement on Funding Cuts to Lifesaving Victim Services Programs
This week, the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs cancelled numerous grants that serve survivors of crime without notice. These programs are essential to ensuring victims of trafficking, domestic violence, sexual assault, elder abuse, and hate crimes can access…
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Emma Ecker |
Where We’re Headed: How Federal Policy Changes are Threatening Survivors Lives
Almost three months into the second Trump Administration, one thing is very clear: survivors are not a priority for this government. Policy changes, drastic cuts to lifesaving programs, and threats to anti-trafficking services since the beginning of the Administration have…
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Chris Ash |
How Conflating Sex Work and Sex Trafficking Harms Sex Workers
One thing to keep in mind is that while sex work and human trafficking in commercial sex are two different things, individual people may have experienced both at different points in their lives. I’ve been in abusive relationships and I’ve…
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Chris Ash |
How Conflating Sex Work and Sex Trafficking Harms Trafficking Survivors
In every other form of human trafficking, it is clear that while some labor practices are harmful, not all of them rise to the level of human trafficking. In those cases, we work to create laws that foster safer working…
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Emma Ecker |
The State of Human Trafficking Services One Month into the Second Trump Administration
The first month of the new Administration has brought immense challenges to providing human trafficking survivors with lifesaving support and preventing exploitation. Survivors depend on a wide array of federally funded services both during and after exploitation. Access to food,…
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Emma Ecker |
FNUSA Condemns Pause on Federal Funding Leaving Survivors Without Lifesaving Services
Freedom Network USA (FNUSA) is the nation’s largest coalition of trafficking survivors, social service providers, and attorneys working directly with trafficking survivors. FNUSA’s 53 service provider members served over 6000 survivors last year alone. We unequivocally condemn the Trump Administration’s…
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Isiejah Allen |
Barriers to Mental Health Services for Trafficking Survivors
By Kylie Swinmurn Access to mental health services in the US is already challenging for most people, but these challenges are especially daunting for survivors of human trafficking. These obstacles to care are compounded by complex trauma experienced, systemic issues…
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Emma Ecker |
Prevention as Preemption: Primary Prevention as a Framework to Constructively Fight Trafficking
By Aneesa Shaikh Preventative actions are of vital importance to our anti-trafficking efforts because they not only confront immediate risks, but also establish long-term solutions that eliminate vulnerabilities while also strengthening resilience for the future. Current US trafficking policy focuses…
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Emma Ecker |
FNUSA Recommendations Highlighted in the 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report
By Emma Ecker On June 24, 2024, the US Department of State (DOS) released its annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report which evaluates the efforts of 188 countries to meet a set of minimum standards to address human trafficking. The…
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Isiejah Allen |
Membership Application Pause
Freedom Network USA typically opens our membership applications from July – September each year. The application process includes a written application form, interviews with each applicant, a thorough review of value alignment, a feedback period from our existing membership, and…
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Isiejah Allen |
New T Visa Regulation Includes FNUSA Recommendations that Protect Survivors
New T Visa Regulation Includes FNUSA Recommendations that Protect Survivors On April 30, 2024, the Department of Homeland Security released the long-awaited Final T Visa Rule. For many years, FNUSA has advocated for the regulation to include more protections for…
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Isiejah Allen |
FNUSA Denounces Efforts to End Safe Asylum
On January 26, 2024, President Biden put out a statement calling on Congress to pass a budget bill with extreme immigration cuts that will devastate the US asylum process. The bill would prevent fair asylum, devastate due process, and exacerbate…
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Isiejah Allen |
US Advisory Council Annual Report Highlights Necessary Changes to Anti- Trafficking Efforts
Each year, the US Advisory Council on Human Trafficking releases a report outlining recommendations for US federal agencies to improve their anti-trafficking efforts. The Council is made up of lived experience experts appointed by each Presidential administration for two-year terms.…
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Isiejah Allen |
Screen Survivor Stories: Summary of Holes
The 2003 movie Holes, based on the book written by Louis Sachar, follows 14-year-old Stanley Yelnats’s experience with the juvenile justice system. Stanley is wrongfully accused of stealing from a homeless shelter because he cannot afford decent legal representation. Stanley…
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Isiejah Allen |
Screen Survivor Stories: Summary of American Street Kid
American Street Kid is a documentary that follows director Michael Leoni onto the streets of Los Angeles to expose the truth about youth homelessness in the US. We follow him over months as he develops relationships with these young people…
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Isiejah Allen |
Screen Survivor Stories: Summary of Fast Food Nation
The 2006 film Fast Food Nation follows multiple characters at the fictitious fast-food burger chain Mickey’s. Sylvia, Raúl, and Coco are three Mexican immigrants who come to the United States in search of a better future. Initially smuggled into Colorado,…
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Isiejah Allen |
Documents to Provide Evidence-Informed Foundation for the Development of National Standards of Care for Anti-Trafficking Service Providers
Freedom Network USA (FNUSA) recently released foundational documents to support the development of National Standards of Care for Anti-Trafficking Service Providers (National HT Services Standards of Care). The National HT Services Standards of Care will provide practical guidance on delivering…
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Emma Ecker |
The National Human Trafficking Hotline Cannot Act as a Law Enforcement Tipline and Help Survivors
The National Human Trafficking Hotline Cannot Act as a Law Enforcement Tipline and Help Survivors Throughout 2023, the National Human Trafficking Hotline (NHTH) has come under scrutiny after claims from 36 State Attorneys General that the hotline is failing to…
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Melinda Smith |
New Report Released on Collaborating with Sex Worker Safety Advocates
Freedom Network USA (FNUSA) and the National Survivor Network (NSN) are excited to share a new set of guidelines, “Re-Centering Sex Worker Safety in Anti-Trafficking Work: Perspectives from the Field.” These guidelines were created to help anti-trafficking organizations reduce the…
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Melinda Smith |
Survivor Reentry Project takes Intake Pause
FNUSA’s Survivor Reentry Project has grown substantially over the past two years. Our staff and pro bono partners are working harder than ever to assess, represent, and ultimately clear criminal records resulting from a trafficking experience. We are committed to…