Watch the Replay Below

COVID-related measures and changes to temporary visa regulations may disproportionately affect some people at risk of exploitation. Undocumented migrants and seasonal workers are faced with more precarious working and living conditions, resulting in greater vulnerability to falling prey to traffickers and criminal networks. There are also concerns that domestic workers, the vast majority of whom are women, are more vulnerable to exploitation, as health hazards and exposure to COVID-19 increase.

This event took place on January 7, 2021.

Some takeaways from our stellar panelists:

* Human trafficking can begin to be solved if we begin by educating ourselves, parents, children, law enforcement.

* Every kid who has access to the internet is at risk of human trafficking. 80-90% of underage kids are being targeted by human traffickers.

* Parents must be very cautious when their child partakes in online games that allow them to share the camera or screen. Many kids are being reached out by traffickers via social media, online games, etc.
* Parents need to be the first line of defense by following who their children are talking to.
* If we want to stop human trafficking, we must educate ourselves and the people around us about it.

IN OUR BACKYARD

offers free courses and resources regarding human trafficking:

http://inourbackyard.org/training/
A21: Can You See Me campaign: https://www.a21.org/content/can-you-see-me-usa/grmu6o

*During COVID-19 an “invisible” crisis exacerbated in South Florida of workers who are tied to their B1 visas. The dependency of the workers on their employers has led, in some cases, to labor trafficking.

*We must focus on equal Vaccine distribution to labor trafficking victims. Every frontline worker deserves to have accessibility to a vaccine no matter their migration status.

*We must contact your representatives and make noise. Every human being deserves equal access to the vaccine. We must advocate for it by raising awareness on the issue and communicating with our local government.

* We must put pressure on the new administration to rollback the asylum regulations in order for human trafficking victims to safely enter the United States.

* We need labor migration programs that reduce the control of employers and expand labor and citizenship rights. Our system at the moment is unfortunately paving the way to labor trafficking.

* Many B1 visa, agricultural visa holders are unaware that they are being labor trafficked.

Links to our panelists organizations:

https://aijustice.org

https://www.we-count.org

https://www.a21.org/

http://inourbackyard.org/

https://cjcc.georgia.gov/human-trafficking-task-force

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Cheryl Csiky has been a leader in the fight against human trafficking since 2011. She has worked from recovery to restoration and possesses expertise in many aspects of human trafficking.

Cheryl’s journey was prompted in 2011 by reading a book that confronted the atrocity of human trafficking, In Our Backyard , by Nita Belles. Armed with that knowledge, her natural leadership skills compelled her to begin mobilizing other volunteers to serve, resulting in recoveries, safe housing, and outreach strategies.

This work also began to stir inside Cheryl a realization about the worst experiences of her own childhood. At 10 years of age, she was groomed by a peer into doing “dates” for his profit in her suburban middle-class neighborhood. Her new understanding of trafficking caused her to realize she was actually a child trafficking survivor.

Cheryl courageously lives her healing journey from childhood sexual exploitation by raising awareness, mobilizing others and disrupting traffickers’ tactics and profits. Her experience now compels others to see this atrocity through a child’s lens.

Before joining IN OUR BACKYARD, Cheryl served as a Compassion and Justice Pastor for a Chicago area megachurch from 2013-2018. In that role, she developed anti-trafficking awareness programs, mobilized volunteers into various positions of nonprofits, and has continuously mentored and housed survivors. Her decade of extraordinary leadership leaves a legacy of courage with boots on the ground.

Accomplishments:

● Leader for IN OUR BACKYARD’s anti-trafficking team surrounding the past five Super Bowls.

● Featured in a CNN report regarding trafficking

● Developed National Recovery efforts with law enforcement and FBI

● She has implemented collaboration with top law enforcement, government officials, nonprofit

leaders, and survivors. Her vision continues to pioneer prevention efforts in this role.

● Developed a triage response for potential trafficking victims for Amita Health.

● Group leader/mentor in the Cook County Jail, the third largest jail system in the United States

and developed teams to serve as needed

● Trained in Chicago City street outreach by Brenda Meyers-Powell

● Led anti-trafficking events with attendance ranging from small groups to 25,000

● Led global anti-trafficking teams to Thailand and Cambodia

● Spoken at numerous conferences including the Justice Conference, Chicago

● Certified to serve youths affected by Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC)

● Certified Trauma-Informed Story Group Facilitator based on The Allender Theory

and Methodology.

Cheryl is the Executive Director of IN OUR BACKYARD, a national anti-trafficking nonprofit that links arms across America in the fight against human trafficking. Her passion, competency and experience provide leadership at IN OUR BACKYARD and beyond. She loves to travel the world, create story, play video games, and spend time with family at Disney World.

SPEAKERS

Mollie Thorsen is a part of the A21 D.C. founding team as U.S. director of advocacy.

Thorsen hosts the annual D.C. Walk For Freedom, mobilizing thousands of people throughout Washington, D.C., to raise awareness of human trafficking. Thorsen also works on the “It’s A Penalty” campaign on behalf of A21 to help amplify anti-trafficking efforts surrounding the Superbowl. In addition, she leads A21’s Can You See Me? campaign, implemented in transportation hubs and along roadsides across the U.S.

She is co-founder and COO of The Little Burros, a manufacturing company that creates innovative garden tools. It was named a top garden tool by Popular Mechanics, Newsday, International Business Times, Sunset magazine, among others, and was awarded the Bronze in International Design Awards. In honor of her late sister Becca’s advocacy, The Little Burros donates a portion of all sales to A21 to fight human trafficking.

Thorsen holds a bachelor’s degree in art history, criticism, and conservation from Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia.

Claudia Navarro is the Deputy Director at WeCount!. In her role, she’s been working to uplift the working conditions of domestic workers and day laborers in South Florida. Her work has included developing leaders, engaging in policy advocacy, and expanding the immigrant workers’ rights via local partnerships. She has worked primarily on issues around wage theft, labor trafficking, and sexual harassment and abuse. She graduated from Florida International University with a Bachelor’s in Women and Gender Studies and is currently pursuing a second Bachelor’s in Economics from Florida International University. Born and raised in Miami, Claudia is of Mexican & Nicaraguan descent.

Michelle Marie Ortiz has dedicated her career to representing and advocating for immigrant survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking. Ms. Ortiz serves as Deputy Director of Americans for Immigrant Justice (AI Justice), a non-profit law firm dedicated to protecting and promoting the rights of the most vulnerable immigrants in our community.  Ms. Ortiz directs AI Justice’s Domestic Violence & Human Trafficking Program, Lucha.

Ms. Ortiz is on the frontlines of the struggle to protect immigrants’ rights in Florida and across the nation. Ms. Ortiz works to ensure that AI Justice clients and their family members are able to obtain the protections and benefits afforded to them under US law.

In addition to using existing legal protections to help clients and their children escape violence and exploitation, Ms. Ortiz works at the local, state and national levels to advocate for structural change. She played an important role in the 2013 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and has provided extensive education and technical assistance to organizations and government entities, including law enforcement agencies. Ms. Ortiz has appeared in local and national media outlets, presented at countless conferences, and advised government officials on policy.

Ms. Ortiz serves on the Executive Committee of the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Council of Greater Miami; is Chair of the ICE OPLA Liaison Committee of the South Florida chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers’ Association (AILA); and serves on the National Latin@ Policy Council. The daughter of Cuban refugees, Michelle was born and raised in Miami.

Special Agent (SA) Victor  Williams of the Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Retired (Ret), is a respected figure in Law Enforcement with over 34 years of domestic and international experience.  In 1991 SA Williams Ret., joined the U.S. Customs Service, which later became the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In February 2011, SA Williams Ret., was assigned to the Office of the Special Agent in Charge Miami, FL Human Trafficking Group and in 2012 became the Coordinator for the South Florida Human Trafficking Task Force (SFHTTF) until his retirement in January 1, 2018.  SA Williams Ret. has worked many human trafficking (HT) cases with other Federal and State/Local law enforcement agencies with the assistance of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), faith-based organizations and other state/local service.

As an instructor, presenter or class coordinator, SA Williams Ret., has traveled to the International Law Enforcement Academies in Budapest, Hungary and Gaborone, Botswana educating other international law enforcement officers from all over the world on the prevention of HT, protection of victims, prosecution of violators and partnerships with the community.  SA Williams Ret. has presented to the Bahamian, Jamaican and Vietnamese law enforcement communities and prosecuting attorneys to assist in establish their own HT programs and has also presented to police departments, universities, high schools and other local organizations. In June of the 2018, SA Williams Ret. join the Atlanta Hawks Basketball Club as a security consultant until June of 2020.

SA Williams Ret. is the President/Founder of V.B. Williams Consulting and is currently the Coordinator of the Georgia Coalition to Combat Human Trafficking, the State’s first law enforcement-based HT coalition addressing all forms of HT in the State.

SA Williams Ret., is an eight and half year veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard, a native of Norfolk, Virginia and has a bachelor’s degree from Barry University in Miami, FL.