Call to report suspicious activity or concerns. The national hotline will in-turn inform the Iowa DPS Office to Combat Human Trafficking.
Teshuah International is an Iowa-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit working to expand safe, long-term restoration capacity for children rescued from sex trafficking. Teshuah currently supports two residential restoration homes in Asia with a combined capacity of 40 children. Since the work began, approximately 63 girls have received residential care, education, trauma-informed support, life-skills development, and preparation for sustainable independence.
Teshuah’s larger mission is to help close the severe gap between rescue and long-term restoration. Through its wholly owned social enterprise, Teshuah Tea and Coffee Company, the organization is developing a sustainable business model intended to fund survivor care, strengthen restoration infrastructure, and create future employment and training pathways.
Teshuah can assist survivor-service providers through collaboration, public awareness, business and donor engagement, strategic introductions, fundraising partnerships, and advocacy for increased long-term restoration capacity. Teshuah is interested in working with Iowa providers to identify unmet needs, connect organizations with supportive businesses and individuals, and strengthen rather than duplicate the services already available.
A21 is an international anti-trafficking non-profit organization of modern day abolitionists. Their mission is to free slaves and disrupt the demand. A21 has 17 locations across the globe including: Australia, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Denmark, Greece, Norway, Spain, South Africa, Thailand, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and four sites in the United States.
The Network has discovered a publication entitled “Anti-Trafficking Review Journal”. The April 2021 issue focuses on Trafficking in Minors, and is 164 pages. The authors are from across the world. The 10 articles in this latest issue are from around the globe. The journal is published quarterly, and the September 2021 issue will focus on Anti-Trafficking Education.
One-hour presentation
ACAMS is the largest international membership organization for Anti-Financial Crime Professionals. Recently, ACAMS and the FAST initiative teamed up and developed a free course to help fight modern slavery and human trafficking. The course is self-paced and online. Once you complete the course and take a test you will receive a training certificate. This course will show you new ways to identify financial footprints of modern slavery through transactions analysis, red flags, and key indicators.
Bikers Against Trafficking attempt to educate motorcycle enthusiasts to recognize and report suspicions of human trafficking. Their goal is awareness and education.
A collaboration of 11 pioneering cities committed to combating sex trafficking by reducing the demand for buying sex by 20 percent in two years.
A global network of organizations working to end child prostitution, child pornography, and the trafficking of children for sexual purposes.
The End Slavery Now Slave-Free Buying guide is meant to introduce customers to companies and brands that address slavery, forced labor, and human trafficking in their supply chain.
Legal services provided by a two-year fellowship (7/2018 – 6/2020) serving only victims of labor or sex trafficking in Iowa. There are no income requirements to qualify for legal services. The fellowship serves adult and minor victims, citizens and non-citizens statewide.
The mission of Fairtrade International is to connect disadvantaged producers and consumers, promote fairer trading conditions and empower producers to combat poverty, strengthen their position and take more control over their lives.
Fairtrade International believes that trade can be a fundamental driver of poverty reduction and greater sustainable development, but only if it is managed for that purpose, with greater equity and transparency than is currently the norm. They believe that people can overcome disadvantage and marginalization if they are empowered to take more control over their work and their lives, if they are better organized, resourced and supported, and can secure access to mainstream markets under fair trading conditions.
Freedom Network USA claims to be the largest and most comprehensive national coalition of those serving human trafficking survivors in the United States. This is a professional membership organization and charges $150 for individual memberships and $300 for organizational memberships. Members are asked to commit to working with other providers to create a strong and unified voice that is informed by survivors that they serve in order to influence federal and state policy and provide training and technical assistance.
The world’s largest community dedicated to ending human trafficking and modern slavery. They mobilize by engaging the public stakeholders in many different countries. They equip millions of supporters with awareness, education, and ways to take action that drives real change.
The Global Slavery Index is a project of the Minderoo Foundation which is based in Australia. They have a team of over 25 employees across seven locations and the Slavery Index is one of 7 major global initiatives. The Global Index is developed by the Walk Free team. They also have an investor tool kit (see link below). This tool kit is designed to help businesses and investors take action to improve human rights standards in their supply chains and combat forced labor, human trafficking, and other forms of modern slavery. In March 2020, the Minderoo Foundation conducted a study entitled “Combatting Human Trafficking since Palermo: What Do We Know about What Works?”, in which they evaluate projects and outcomes. Here is a link to the journal article: Human Trafficking “What Works” Study. This is an excellent resource.
HEAL Trafficking is an organization of multidisciplinary professionals and over 3,000 survivors in 35 countries dedicated to ending human trafficking and supporting its survivors from a public health perspective. You may join the network if you are a survivor or a professional healthcare worker. There is no fee for becoming a member. They have an excellent e-newsletter and training. Their mission is to globalize a shift in anti-trafficking services toward approaches rooted in public health and trauma-informed care.
TOURISM CHILD PROTECTION CODE OF CONDUCT (The Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism) (www.thecode.org) (www.ecpatusa.org/code)
For articles on what the hospitality industry is doing to fight human trafficking, search for “human trafficking” at: http://www.travelweekly.com
Headquartered in Manchester, England: This global organization, which operates on four continents, employs a strategy based on preventing exploitation, rescuing victims, restoring lives, and reforming society.
P.O. Box 280365
Nashville, TN 37228
The hospitality industry has a code of conduct for the protection of children from sexual exploitation in travel and tourism.
The HTC is a nonprofit research and advocacy organization committed to using academic rigor and transparency, sound methodology, and reliable data to understand forced labor and human trafficking. Their aim is to provide research that improves inter-organizational cooperation and accountability, influences anti-trafficking policy, and raises public awareness about the problem. They also partner with academics, students, legislators, NGOs, and international organizations to provide the public balanced information about human trafficking. The HTC is housed within the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver and is comprised of M.A. candidates and faculty. This research center has a series on forced labor and fair trade standards.
In Our Backyard is a nonprofit based in Central Oregon that links arms across America in the fight against trafficking. Their focus is prevention and education, and they have collaborated with many states by providing training for social service agencies, schools, faith communities, etc. IOB believes that awareness is the critical first step in ending human trafficking.
The mission of Love146 is to end child trafficking and exploitation worldwide. They provide prevention and education services along with their survivor care program.
P.O. Box 8266
New Haven, CT 06530
The nation’s clearinghouse and comprehensive reporting center for missing children and issues related to the prevention of and recovery from child victimization.
Internet Safety Programs:
www.netSmartz.org
www.netSmartzkids.org
June is Internet Safety Month.
The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) is the leading national organization exposing the links between all forms of sexual exploitation such as child sexual abuse, prostitution, sex trafficking and the public health crisis of pornography. As the thread of pornography in the web of sexual exploitation is systemically overlooked by society, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation has prominently advanced this issue as a central pillar of its projects in order to promote more holistic solutions.
This organization produces public service announcements and radio ads that are broadcast nationally. They are focused on keeping children safe, especially from internet traffickers. The key to their platform is the students who through peer to peer communications are empowered to stop the predator in their own environment.
Students have a voice and PACT provides them a platform to bring an end to child trafficking by raising awareness, preventing victimization, and reducing demand.
The Polaris Project operates the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) and its hotline which is used throughout the United States as the central number to call for help, leave tips, and get information on human trafficking. Their resources include numerous online trainings and print information on human trafficking for individuals and various groups (including law enforcement), legislative advocacy (state and national), case information, and more, all of which can be found at traffickingresourcecenter.org.
Works at preventing sex trafficking in North and South America. Training materials are available.
RAGAS raises awareness that millions are held captive and illegally forced to work for commercial gain. The organization encourages its communities to participate in local education projects which help to prevent vulnerable children, youth, and adults from becoming modern day slaves. Its board leaders are Rotarians in Australia, Egypt, India, Pakistan, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, The Philippines, The United Kingdom, and The United States.
Shared Hope provides major national anti-trafficking conferences and training. The organization strives to prevent the conditions that foster sex trafficking, to restore victims of sex slavery, and to bring justice to vulnerable women and children. They support 14 freedom and restoration projects in the United States and around the world. Their demand reduction effort is found at sharedhope.org/join-the-cause.
The mission of The Freedom Fund is to mobilise the knowledge, capital and will needed to end slavery. The organization identifies and invests in the most effective frontline efforts to eradicate modern slavery in the countries and sectors where it is most prevalent. Partnering with visionary investors, governments, anti-slavery organisations and those at risk of exploitation, The Freedom Fund tackles the systems that allow slavery to persist and thrive. Working together, they protect vulnerable populations, liberate and reintegrate those enslaved and prosecute those responsible.
Headquartered in Washington, District of Columbia: The Human Trafficking Legal Center (HT Legal) empowers courageous survivors of labor and sex trafficking to seek justice. The center provides human trafficking survivors who seek legal representation with access to highly-skilled, pro bono attorneys. HT Legal spearheads national efforts to hold human traffickers accountable for their crimes and raise awareness of victims’ rights. The center works to obtain criminal convictions, criminal restitution, and civil judgments against traffickers. It also conducts groundbreaking research on trafficking and mandatory criminal restitution, informing public policy and influencing federal reform. With pro bono legal assistance, trafficking survivors can rebuild their lives.
The NO Project is an award-winning global educational anti-slavery campaign that specifically targets youth awareness of modern slavery and human trafficking through film, music, art, dance, theater, journalism, education, and social media. Their approach is based on the principle that education includes global citizenship, ethical decision-making, and protection. The NO Project offers free downloadable teaching material on human trafficking and modern slavery. This material is primarily for older teens. The NO Project values the power and skills of young people to join the fight against trafficking.
Thorn is a nonprofit anti-trafficking organization founded by actor and Iowa native Ashton Kutcher. The organization has been a leader in the worldwide fight against human trafficking since its founding in 2011. Kutcher’s foundation has developed software known as “Spotlight” which is being used by many urban police departments to uncover human trafficking on the internet. Spotlight is also utilized by the Iowa Department of Public Safety. Thorn is applauded as the “Digital Defender of Children.”
Produces training materials related to human trafficking for health care and social service providers, and law enforcement officers. They provide a series of webinars for health care providers, behavioral health professionals and social workers called SOAR.
Their anti-human trafficking program is called the Blue Campaign. DHS is responsible for investigating human trafficking and protecting victims. They also provide some immigration relief to foreign born victims of human trafficking. They coordinate human trafficking efforts with other government agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Their training materials include a large number of resources for law enforcement.
The TIP (Trafficking in Persons) Office leads the Department’s global efforts to combat human trafficking through the prosecution of traffickers, the protection of victims, and the prevention of human trafficking by: objectively analyzing government efforts and identifying global trends, engaging in and supporting strategic bilateral and multilateral diplomacy, targeting foreign assistance to build sustainable capacity of governments and civil society, advancing the coordination of federal anti-trafficking policies across agencies, managing and leveraging operational resources to achieve strategic priorities, and engaging and partnering with civil society, the private sector, and the public to advance the fight against human trafficking.
Survivor engagement is a central tenet of the federal government’s approach to establishing effective anti-trafficking strategies that address prosecution, protection, and prevention. Survivors’ voices are important in shaping policy, and the federal government is committed to supporting leadership development of survivor leaders.
USIAHT is a national organization focused on ending trafficking in the United States and is dedicated to educating American citizens and legislators, disrupt sex trade, consolidate efforts for maximum effect, and partner with other organizations in this fight. They work in conjunction with federal, state, and local government officials who influence policy on ending trafficking in the United States. This is a faith-based organization that is very well known for launching its Abolitionist Project in 2020 (see link below). Their community based strategy is to end human trafficking by establishing trafficking free zones. The organization has offices in Florida, California, Texas, Nevada, and it’s headquarters in Washington D.C.
The Victim Witness Services Unit for the United States Attorneys Office, Southern District of Iowa, provides services, support, and education to victims and witnesses of federal crimes. Staff is committed to ensuring that victims and witnesses are treated with fairness and respect and receive information and assistance for relevant services. Some of those services include notification of significant court events, referral to appropriate support services, reasonable protection from the accused, help determining and requesting restitution, and the return of property and information concerning the conviction, sentencing, imprisonment, and release of the offender.
You Can Free Us is an international human rights organization that is fighting modern slavery around the world through advocacy, rescue, and rehabilitation. The organization is based in Texas; however, it has programs throughout the world. Founded in 2010, You Can Free Us has quickly grown. They have safe houses, training centers, and intervention hubs in seven countries. Their prevention strategies are contained in a 2020 book called Libertas.