Conference teaches people how to join the fight against slavery

Images of human trafficking filled the large screens as HTAC participants assembled in the main sanctuary of Greenwood Community Church for the opening sessions of the conference.

Love 146 was just one of the many abolitionist groups who took part in HTAC.

Left to right - Molly Wolff & Kendis Paris, HTAC co-hosts, welcomed participants as the conference began.

Larry Martin, far left, senior vice-president of International Justice Mission, chats with some of the more than 300 participants.

Bradley Miles, Deputy Director of Polaris Project, giving report.

Emily Maddock, of Emily's Ransom Notes, arranges some of her artwork in preparation for sale at the Fair Trade Expo portion of the conference.

Chapter 61 Ministries member, Kylla Leeburg discussed human trafficking issues with James Pond, founder and executive director of Transitions Global.

More than 300 participants at the all-day Human Trafficking Awareness Conference (HTAC) learned from some of the nation’s top abolitionists that everyone has a role to play in ending the injustice of human trafficking and exactly how each of them could join the fray.

HTAC was held Oct. 25 at Greenwood Community Church, Greenwood Village, Colorado. Speakers and presenters included The International Justice Mission, Polaris Project, Transitions Global, Love 146, Shared Hope International, Prax(us), United Students Against Sweatshops, Free the Slaves, Not for Sale Campaign, Lutheran Social Services, the FBI and more. Denver Channel 7 News Anchor Bertha Lynn acted as event moderator.

“As I walked around that day, spoke with people, heard what the speakers were teaching and what folks were learning, I was thrilled, because our vision was being realized...people were becoming aware of human trafficking, but not just aware, they were becoming equipped to fight it,” remarked Kendis Paris, co-coordinator for the event and member of Chapter 61 Ministries.

Paris, along with Molly Wolff, her neighbor and fellow anti-slavery activist, each worked close to 30 hours a week for 11 months, organizing and coordinating the event.

Chapter 61 Ministries co-sponsored the conference, along with the Home Foundation, a ministry focused on human trafficking efforts and founded by Christian recording artist Natalie Grant; Wellspring Church; Colorado Foundation for Families and Children; Teen Challenge; Tony’s Market; and a number of private donors.

International keynote speaker, Larry Martin, senior vice president of International Justice Mission and dean of the International Justice Mission Institute, provided a historical overview of human trafficking and its changing face, contrasting “old slavery” with that of modern-day.

Bradley Miles, deputy director of Polaris Project, gave an up-to-date report on where the issue of human trafficking stands today in America, noting both advances and critical needs in the areas of public awareness, law enforcement training, state law enactment, victim services and prevention.

Local keynote speaker Seth Donovan, founder of Prax(us), a member of the Colorado Network to End Human Trafficking (CoNEHT), addressed the systemic roots of slavery and asked participants to challenge themselves, asking the tough questions about who does their work, where their food comes from and how they promote slavery through their insulation and comfortable lifestyles.

Before participants separated to attend afternoon workshops, they also listened to a discussion on fair trade issues and took part in a panel discussion with various members of the Colorado law enforcement, legislative and victim services arenas.

A fair trade expo, held in conjunction with the conference, enabled participants to learn more about the importance of exercising consumer power in purchasing products made either without slave labor or by survivors of human trafficking as they interacted with vendors. Organizations who participated included Ten Thousand Villages, Emily’s Ransom Notes, Yobel Market, Kiowa Valley Organics, Earth Friendly Coffee and Trouble with the Alphabet.

In the registration area, each abolitionist group represented at the conference had a table arrayed with brochures, books and other anti-human trafficking literature and manned by knowledgeable people who helped provide an understanding of the organization and how any individual interested would be able to help with their efforts.

Paris commented, “Both at the conference and since, folks signed up in droves to become part of anti-human trafficking groups; others have offered their services to put on another HTAC; others have said they now know what practical steps they need to take in their own cities and spheres of influence. The speakers themselves were ecstatic with the number of folks in attendance, the incredible feedback and reception they received, and the connections they made.  Katherine Chon, co-founder of Polaris Project, commented that although she’s immersed in human trafficking information all the time, even she learned something at this conference. “

Afternoon workshops ran the gamut from a First Responder session, presented by the FBI, to aid in the identification and assistance of human trafficking victims to Human Trafficking – Partnering with Faith Based Communities. In the latter workshop, Phil Gazley of World Advocates encouraged advocacy and activity from a faith-based perspective as well as educated the community at large on how to effectively partner with faith-based communities through various projects. The formation of faith based alliances was also discussed.

One of the most popular workshops was Successfully Empowering Sex Trafficking Survivors, led by James Pond, founder and executive director of Transitions Global. Transitions Global has the most successful model in the world for providing aftercare for victims of human trafficking, based on the lowest recidivism rates and success lives following aftercare. Because of that, in 2007, the United States government asked Transitions Global to develop a domestic aftercare model for the 300,000 people trafficked yearly interstate for commercial sex.

Pond explained that for every person rescued from slavery, there needs to be a highly effective model for survivor protection, rehabilitation, and sustainability. The workshop focused on aftercare shelter programs for survivors of sex trafficking and addressed therapy approaches, holistic care, victim’s needs, security issues, and risks.

He gave two basic rules for people interested in working with human trafficking victims: don't buy victims, because you perpetuate the system, and never attempt a rescue, because it’s dangerous and you can tamper with the evidence and prosecution.

He covered the difficulties of providing aftercare, not the least of which is working 16-18 hour days, dealing with victims who are “more like grizzly bears than koalas” after what they’ve been through, the survivors’ emotional and physical issues, which include post traumatic stress disorder, borderline personality disorders and dissociation, sex-transmitted diseases, infections, fibromyalgia and nutritional deficiencies.

Transitions Global currently has shelter projects providing transitional aftercare to survivors in Cambodia and the United States, with partnered projects in Indonesia and Greece.

At program’s end, Pond shared the stories of several young women who had been rescued from sex trafficking in Cambodia and were now leading successful lives, pursuing careers in the computer industry, as a spokesperson against slavery, in law, and in providing aftercare for other human trafficking survivors.

“It is my prayer that this conference will have lasting effects on the folks who came … that their hearts will be moved, that their commitment to fighting this gross injustice will not waver, and that as a result of their work, slaves will be freed,” Paris concluded.

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