The Triumph Over Abuse Blog
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By Christine Murray, See the Triumph Co-Founder
Although attention to the issue of human trafficking has increased, in many communities, specific services to support survivors of trafficking have yet to be developed. In some areas, agencies that typically serve survivors of intimate partner violence and/or sexual assault are leading the way to ensure that survivors of trafficking also can receive the support and resources they need. There are many potential overlaps between trafficking and intimate partner violence, including the following:
According to Futures Without Violence, some of the services that survivors of trafficking need include physical and mental healthcare, legal services, assistance with immigration issues, and tangible resources, such as housing. Across the country, many agencies are collaborating with others in their community to ensure that survivors of trafficking have access to these resources. For example, in New York, Sanctuary for Families has a comprehensive Anti-Trafficking Initiative. In New York City, Safe Horizon has an Anti-Trafficking Program, which both provides services to victims and works to educate the community about this issue. In Dallas, Mosaic Family Services offers support, such as legal representation and counseling, to survivors of both trafficking and domestic violence. Other organizations, such as the Center Against Rape and Domestic Violence in Corvallis, Oregon, help raise awareness about trafficking by providing information on their web-site. Other resources exist to help agencies who wish to provide competent services to survivors of trafficking. These include a manual for domestic violence service provider agencies from the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence, a set of recommendations from the Asian and Pacific Islander Institute on Domestic Violence, and an assessment guide from the Polaris Project. There’s a lot of work to be done to continue to educate the public about trafficking and to ensure that there are adequate services for survivors in every community. We’re thankful to those who are leading the way in communities across the country to both prevent and respond to this important issue. 6/12/2014 Want to Learn More about Trafficking?Human trafficking, including sex trafficking, is recently gaining greater public recognition and media attention. If you’re looking for resources to learn more about trafficking, we’ve pulled together some of the sites we’d recommend for credible, useful information.
Here’s our list:
This list is just an introduction to the many resources available for learning about trafficking and ways to help. For even more ideas of ways you can get involved in anti-human trafficking efforts, the U.S. Department of State offers a great list of 20 ways you can get involved. Also, be sure to check if your own state or community has coalitions or organizations working to address trafficking in your area. Three listings of these organizations can be found through Humantrafficking.org, the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement, and Wikipedia. 
By Allison Crowe, Co-Founder of See the Triumph
This month, See the Triumph is focusing on human trafficking. Human trafficking is defined as the acquisition of people by improper means such as force, fraud or deception, with an ultimate aim of exploitation. Sex is just one aspect of trafficking, and forced labor, slavery, and servitude are other forms of this disturbing and growing activity. One startling fact is that human trafficking brings in an estimated $32 billion a year and is tied with arms dealing as the second largest criminal industry in the world; illegal drugs is the largest (http://nightlightinternational.com/resources/facts-about-trafficking/). Unfortunately, human trafficking occurs most frequently with women and children. Young women are often lured by perpetrators with the promise of a modeling, acting, or nanny position. Not In My Backyard: One of the common attitudes out there about human trafficking is that it is a problem only outside of the United States. Many Americans view the issue as happening in places like Thailand, Russia, Asia, or Singapore - certainly not in our own backyards. The truth is human trafficking is happening everywhere. In our own communities - big cities, small towns, east, west, north, and south. Human trafficking is very common in the United States. In an article from Psychology by Dr. Wendy Patrick, the following statistics go to show just how big of a problem it is in our own backyards:
Today I urge all of you to consider what you can do in your own communities to raise awareness and fight against human trafficking. Here are a few resources where you can find information and support.
Let’s take some time in June to focus on this issue. Unfortunately, it is happening in our own communities, so it’s up to us to educate ourselves and each other about human trafficking and ways to end it, one backyard at a time. Take our Causes pledge to send the message: "Human Trafficking? Not in MY Backyard!" at the following link: A couple months ago, we heard from a group of local high school students in Greensboro, NC, who were interested in developing an on-line resource on human trafficking, and we were honored to partner with them. This highly motivated group of young people developed the video above for See the Triumph as part of our month-long focus on ending the stigma surrounding human trafficking. Please take a look, share it with others, and be inspired by the energy and passion that this group of young people showed through their work!
Special thanks go out to the production team that created this video: Dylan Erikson, Aidan Maycock, Sunwoo Yim, Stefano Romano, Ori Soker, Zachary Patel, Nathan Miller, Thomas Lawe, Junmo Ryang, Jeyla Savage and Pratham Chhabria! Here's a brief bio of the students involved in developing the video: "We are rising juniors at the Early College at Guilford in Greensboro, NC and originally began work on this video as a part of a project for our AP Environmental Science class taught by Mrs. Katheryn Cooper. We chose to address human trafficking because we felt that it was a social justice issue we personally knew little about, and yet it affects millions of teens and young adults each year. As a group, we hoped that by raising awareness about this often overlooked form of violence, we could make a difference. Via the use of modern media, we aimed to create an electronic product that would spread awareness to an audience beyond our school and local community. Through this experience, we became aware of the complexity and magnitude of human trafficking both locally and globally. We are now are better equipped to be a part of the solution and are committed to help end the stigma surrounding victims of human trafficking--many of whom are teenagers like ourselves." 
By Christine Murray, See the Triumph Co-Founder
This June, we’re turning our attention to human trafficking, and especially sex trafficking. Increasingly, professionals and the general population are recognizing trafficking as a major category of interpersonal violence. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime defines human trafficking as “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.” More specifically, human sex trafficking involves trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation, including forced prostitution and other commercial sex acts (See The Advocates for Human Rights and The Polaris Project for more information). Our focus at See the Triumph is typically on intimate partner violence in general, based on our research with survivors. However, this month we wanted to address trafficking for three main reasons. First, there are many links between intimate partner violence and trafficking. For example, trafficking victims may be lured into trafficking situations through the guise of an intimate relationship with their abusers. Also, as power and control dynamics underlie intimate partner violence, so too are trafficking perpetrators masters at maintaining control over their victims’ lives and decisions. Second, domestic violence agencies and other community resources are increasingly called upon to serve the needs of trafficking victims and survivors. They may be asked to provide such services as shelter and victim advocacy for survivors in their local communities. Third, there is a significant stigma that survivors of trafficking face, and we believe the lessons we’ve learned about the stigma surrounding intimate partner violence can shed light on the stigma surrounding trafficking. What does stigma look like, as it applies to trafficking? In our research, we conceptualize stigma as having the following major components:
At See the Triumph, we’re passionate about ending the stigma that only compounds the challenges associated with abuse victimization. Those who survive any form of abuse deserve our support and admiration. We hope you’ll join us this month in learning about how we can work together to end the stigma surrounding trafficking as part of our efforts to end the stigma surrounding abuse. As Ndioro Ndiaye, Deputy Director General for the International Organization for Migration, said, “By breaking down the stigma and by empowering trafficked women to step forward and speak of their experiences, global efforts to counter human trafficking, particularly of women and girls for sexual exploitation, will be much more successful. But this can only be done by tackling ignorance and prejudice among the public at large as to why women fall prey to traffickers.” 
By Nick Wiley (featuring Cameron Fitzpatrick) See the Triumph Guest Bloggers Amongst an ocean of infinitely more well-qualified authors, I’ve found myself the recipient of an open invitation to write about something I hope will be fresh and interesting to the readers of See the Triumph. In that vein, I’d like to begin with a quick disclaimer: I am, by no means, an expert (or even mildly knowledgeable) on the subject of sexual assault. Rather, I am a musician who has found himself in the midst of a project that has been fortunate enough to catch the eye of some local charitable organizations and I’m here to tell the beginning of our tale. I believe a little back-story is in order. My name is Nick Wiley and I’ve been a semi-professional musician for around half of my twenty-six years on earth. When I’m not playing guitar, I make a living as an IT professional and help out when I can at a small Anglican church plant in my home of Asheboro, NC. Since 2006, I’ve played in bands with my brother Stephen (drummer) and, by way of several projects along the way, we reconnected with bassist/vocalist Cameron Fitzpatrick about a year ago and formed our current band, Kindler. Early this year we began exploring the possibility of producing a music video for one of the tracks from our debut EP “Afterglow.” It was decided very quickly that “Shifting Ground” would be made into our first video because it has an immediately palatable and vivid story along with catchy melodies. Cameron, who wrote the lyrics, had this to say about it:  “’Shifting Ground’ is a song about triumph. I took inspiration from a true story and my distance from the event gave me the idea to tell the story as if the narrator was watching things take place from afar. Lyrically, I did not want to focus on the event or the trauma it caused; rather, I wanted to highlight the strength of the main character throughout her story. She finds herself dealing with a terrible course of events and falling into despair, but her eventual triumph is what matters. My hope is that the song speaks to anyone who has experienced violence or trauma, either directly or through a loved one, and that it will give them some comfort and strength in knowing that they are not alone in their struggles and that the end is always in sight.” On April 25, 2014, we released our debut music video “Shifting Ground” at a live premiere in Greensboro, NC and made it available via YouTube.com to the free world. Right before the release we showed the video to some local charities and ended up partnering with the Randolph County Family Crisis Center to dedicate the video premiere to National Sexual Assault Awareness Month. See the YouTube video below, or click here to watch “Shifting Ground.” Click here for lyrics. As artists, we often find ourselves the recipients of varied opportunities to use our platform as a voice to speak out about political and social issues. Much like Switzerland, Kindler’s default policy is to remain quiet and neutral in an effort to not isolate potential fans or make them feel uncomfortable. Sexual assault is an issue that is so innately senseless and wrong that we immediately made the choice to abandon our policy of neutrality without hesitation. I heard the other day that there is actually someone on staff with the state who crunches numbers and probabilities to determine an acceptable number of casualties when road construction is necessary. I don’t need a degree in civil engineering to be able to look at that situation and say that something is wrong and broken. When did it become socially acceptable to put tax dollar savings and driving inconvenience above human life? For me, sexual assault is the same way. I don’t have to be an expert on the subject to know that it needs to stop and that there is no point at which we should become satisfied until sexual assault has become a historical fact and not a present reality. There is no set of statistics that we should look at and be satisfied with until the numbers begin to look a whole lot more like zeros. To victims, families, professionals, and anyone affected by sexual assault and domestic violence: it is my sincere hope that this music video will serve as an inspiration to you and provide you with comfort and solace. To the perpetrators, enablers, and criminals: I hope this video conjures a never-ending and undeniable feeling of discomfort like ants beneath your skin. One day this fight will end and you are fighting on the losing side.  Nick Wiley (guitar) and Cameron Fitzpatrick (bass/lead vocals) make up two-thirds of Kindler, a progressive/experimental rock band in the style of Rush, Tool, Mastodon, and YES. The trio was founded in 2013 and is completed by Nick’s brother, Stephen Wiley (drums.) Kindler’s well-reviewed debut EP “Afterglow” was released in August, 2013 and was followed by a heavy tour schedule beginning in early 2014. In April, Kindler released its debut music video “Shifting Ground” in association with several local charities as a vessel for their promotional efforts during Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Kindler will return to the studio in late June, 2014 to record their first full-length LP. For more information, visit http://www.kindlerband.com
By Monika Johnson Hostler, Executive Director of the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault
See the Triumph Guest Blogger I still remember it like it was yesterday. It was a beautiful May morning, the day the doctor would confirm it was a girl. The moment I knew I was pregnant I also knew it was a girl. When the doctor confirmed it, one tear slipped from the corner of my eye. I knew that single tear held multiple emotions. I felt sheer joy and elation to be able to give what my mother gave me: the power to be an individual, a strong women. I also realized I was going to give birth to a daughter in a violent world. A world that is not only violent, but silently accepts the violence. However in the same 60 seconds I also realized I had spent the last ten years dedicated to ending violence again women, girls and our most vulnerable. So yes, I was capable of raising a daughter, and yes, she too could survive and thrive because I still have hope. Hope that we are laying the foundation, building the infrastructure needed for a world of peace, love, and all that good stuff. As it turns out that was the first of many moments of conflicting emotions about my role as a parent and as a womanist and they still persist today, nine years later. The internal conflict begin as we thought about names, bought clothes, chose paint, you know all the stuff most new parents enjoy. Now, I am not saying I didn't enjoy it, but I am saying doing this work makes most of us hypervigilant about everything. This experience was sobering in so many ways because all the research I had touted about raising girls and boys with equity and equality included ideologies like: use neutral colors, neutral language and let them choose their own path. That went out the window the first time I saw an adorable pink, ruffled dress that my princess had to have. To most people, this doesn't seem strange but my sisters in the work will understand that pink and blue are gender-prescriptive stereotypes that contribute to beliefs that girls are less than boys and perpetuate violence against girls. I bought the dress and many more like it, but not without the struggle. In the months to follow that I spent on bed rest, I didn't read any parenting books. Instead, I spent the time in my head. I needed to reconcile what was going on for me, as an advocate who was soon to be a mother. I concluded that as humans, we are complex and multidimensional and can hold many ideologies and beliefs. Being rigid in my beliefs worked when I was only responsible for myself but parenting made it clear to me that I would learn to be flexible. I also recognized there are many roads that lead to ending violence against women and children; not all roads are one-way. The pink dresses were not a one-way road to condoning violence. Eight and a half years later, I can see the self-evaluation and reconciliation were worth it. I am still a strong passionate advocate that believe we will end violence against women and children. Most importantly, I remember the key is prevention, and that means investing in children. Violence prevention is about culture and norm changes. Making sure ALL children are safe, healthy and loved is an investment in a future without violence. The moral of the story isn't about my daughter being a princess in pink, but it is about the reality of being a parent. Parenting is challenging and requires constant self-assessment. I still don't have an answer on how we raise children in a world full of messages that perpetuate patriarchy and violence. But, below are a few things that help me in holding both roles while maintaining my sanity.
I can only hope that my daughter will see my decisions as an investment and that she too will be a change agent. Parenting and ending violence against women and children is everyone's responsibility and it begins with PINK: Protecting, Investing and Nurturing ALL Kids. About the Author: Monika Johnson-Hostler is the Executive Director of the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault. Prior to coming to NCCASA, Monika worked at the local rape crisis center in Scotland County as the Crisis Intervention Coordinator. Monika has been an activist in the social justice movement for over 15 years. In that time, she has presented on the issue of sexual violence to numerous communities including the Joint Task for the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Military Academy subcommittee. Johnson-Hostler serves as the board chair of the National Alliance Ending Sexual Violence (NAESV), one of the policy entities responsible for the passing of the Violence Against Women Act and securing over $420 million for violence against women work across the country. Monika was appointed by the Obama administration to serve on the National Advisory Committee on Violence Against Women. |
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