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 |
Join Us: Working Together Against Human Trafficking
Sunday, July 30th is World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, and this year’s theme is to leave no one behind. As people and organizations working to end human trafficking daily, this rings true for us. You may have recently seen…
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Karalyn Joseph |
Equating Abortion and Human Trafficking Creates Barriers to Services for Survivors
FNUSA has always been committed to a human–rights–based approach, ensuring that all survivors have unrestricted access to evidence–based, non–judgmental medical care – including comprehensive reproductive health services. All survivors must be allowed to choose the appropriate services that match their…
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Melinda Smith |
FNUSA Recommendations Highlighted in the 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report
On June 15, 2023, the US Department of State (DOS) released its 2023 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report evaluating the efforts of countries around the world to prevent human trafficking, protect survivors, and prosecute traffickers. Each year, this report includes…
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Emma Ecker |
FNUSA Response to the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Ensuring the Safety and Well-Being of Unaccompanied Children
Yesterday, June 14, 2023, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on ways the United States can ensure the safety and well-being of children who enter the US without a parent or guardian. The hearing was spawned by the revelations…
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Melinda Smith |
FNUSA’s Response to The New York Times’ Article on Child Labor
Children deserve to be safe in their homes and communities. Every day, children embark on dangerous journeys to flee violence and abuse to find safety in the US. Some travel with their families and are separated at the border. Others…
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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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Haley Epping |
Supporting LGBTQ+ Survivors
How to support LGBTQ+ youth trafficking survivors? LGBTQ+ youth are disproportionately vulnerable to trafficking due to homophobia and transphobia. Many LGBTQ+ youth grow up in unsupportive households, which can cause a traumatic upbringing. Some youth are kicked out of their…
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Haley Epping |
Transphobia and Human Trafficking
When we talk about the fundamental causes of trafficking, we often focus on how people’s identities can make them vulnerable. However, we must make it clear that their identity does not make them inherently more susceptible to trafficking. Instead, the…
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Haley Epping |
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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Haley Epping |
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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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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Haley Epping |
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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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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Haley Epping |
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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Haley Epping |
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…
