What is Human Trafficking and it’s intersection with Prostitution?
Human Trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, capture or receipt of persons, by means of force, fraud, coercion or abduction; the abuse of power in a position of vulnerability and giving or receiving of payments for the control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. This is the challenge. When we think of the words “force, fraud and coercion” especially when working with minors who are close to 17 and 18. When 92% of adult prostituted persons were violated as children, it truly states that they are or were victims, therefore, if children become what they see in terms of human development then it should not be difficult to understand why “yes” actually can mean no, when victims that do not realize they are victims are are questioned.
Types of trafficking and commercial exploitation include but are not limited to…
- (Child) Sex trafficking and prostitution
- Forced (child) labor
- Involuntary domestic servitude
- Child soldiers
- Debt bondage
Some of the risk factors and warning signs
- Childhood sexual abuse, signs of physical abuse
- Drug addiction, drug abuser in the household
- Runaway, homelessness, poor grades and school attendance
- Presence of older “boyfriend” who gives expensive gifts
How does it affect our state, country and the world?
Sex trafficking is the primary type of trafficking in Florida, followed by forced domestic, farm labor and construction labor. Most identified victims of sex slavery and CSEC (commercial sexual exploitation of a child/children are females, however, the amount of trafficked children is steadily increasing. Florida is ranked 3rd in the prevalence in human trafficking in the United States, following Texas and California. Sex trafficking is the most common form of trafficking in the United States which includes all of US territories overall, taking place in various locations, including illicit massage parlors, motel rooms, private homes, or over the internet. The FBI and Homeland Security works relentlessly together with state and local law enforcement to identify victims and hold traffickers and buyers accountable. Human trafficking is the fastest growing crime in the world, and it is estimated that around 25 million victims are trapped in modern-day slavery, of which the majority are exploited for labor.
What do we do?
More Too Life, Inc is an award winning anti- human trafficking and youth crime prevention agency. We aim to reduce demand and advance the lives of victims while addressing the issues and root causes on a larger scale, intervening in crisis situations, preventing teens from being trafficked, assisting teens and adults with the urgency of internet safety, and preventing the demand of human trafficking through education and the importance of men of honor and the legacy of fatherhood. Part of our purpose is to strengthen the programs of other agencies by providing key training’s, services and resources to their staff and those victims we assist them in identifying.
Victim Services: LATN Education
Living Above the Noise (LATN)
Objective: To transform victims into survivor, thrivers and ultimately champions by educating and empowering youth, young women and men, as well as the LGBTQ community, with a variety of ways on how to live a sustainable lifestyle.
Why: By discovering identity and purpose, struggling individuals are prevented from falling in the cracks of society and becoming victims of human trafficking and sexual violence continually.
LATN is our 5 semester (3-12 month) educational curriculum written by Dr. Brook Parker-Bello of Youthiasm® and licensed by More Too Life, Inc. which we consider as a key aspect of our victim service framework model. The purpose of this is not only to foster a survivor mentality, but also to create leaders with a higher purpose who will have a positive impact on society, with an emphasis on a victim’s emotional shift on any kind of childhood violence or trauma being their fault to being a survivor champion. We have identified that most of our mentees come from fatherless, neglected and/or abusive homes and are searching for acceptance even before being trafficked, as a part of prevention. Our five semesters go through personal development, worldviews on human trafficking and sexual violence, early warning signs and prevention methods, internet safety and integrity with exposure to the world through technology, leadership, identity discovery, cultural influences, de-collateralizing from gang or pimp culture, and the necessary skills to enter a new life. The overall goal is to educate and empower youth and young adults with ways they can live a happy and sustainable lifestyle.
Living Above the Noise – Digital Integrity and Intelligence (LATN DI)
Objective: To educate youth on the importance of digital integrity, intelligence and internet safety as it relates to human trafficking, misconduct, healthy relationship boundaries.
Why: With the growing complexity of the Internet and its many components youth need to learn how to stay safe and respond to the dangers that are circulating on social media and the world wide web.
The LATN – Digital Integrity and Intelligence Education is a pull out from the complete LATN curriculum which focuses on prevention and awareness set against the backdrop of digital integrity and the urgency of internet safety as it is related to the root causes of being a victim of abuse, exploitation, bullying, and gang association. It also provides an understanding of the internet as a powerful tool that reduces global borders, promotes gender respect and equality, and introduces net neutrality, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, the six degrees of information, and the future of work. It consists of four 1-hour interactive sessions geared towards reaching students and youth of varying ages and learning styles. We teach on healthy relationships, identity discovery, goal setting, STEAM education, all while stressing the means of informed decision-making, prevention for substance abuse, sexual assault and misconduct, teen pregnancy and STDs, as it relates to human trafficking in the 21st century. Each of the 4 pars incorporates a multimedia presentation that is utilized in a diverse group of settings such as classrooms, assemblies, small groups, or by grade. The course is altered depending upon age.
MTL,Inc, Safe Stay, Residential and Shelter Support
By providing housing support for victims and homeless victims and women high risk in our care as we aim to utilize the concept of educate and empower by deep case management and providing housing via our collaborative partners.
Victim Service + Intervention:
Urgent Care Assessment Center
Our center is a safe place for victim intake assessments, individualized crisis care, mentoring life coaching and counseling. The center is also utilized for identity discovery activities, as well as our LATN education, life labs and related sustainable services. We also educate our mentees on the urgency of critical thinking and problem solving skills, relevant peer coping and goal oriented career skills, aimed at engaging them into their own communities and their importance in the world we live in.
Mental Behavioral Health Management
More Too Life, Inc, uses a trauma-informed and applied care approach with a multi-disciplinary team in all our therapeutic services. We aim to provide a social-capital wrap through for survivors and their families through individualized counseling, mentoring and identity discovery resources. We desire that all individuals begin to discover who they are and move beyond their trauma on to a purposeful and productive life. We partner with various clinics and mental health agencies in the community for therapy and psychiatry with Coastal Behavioral Healthcare and Centerstone.
Victim Service:
The Open Doors Network created by Voices For Florida is a well-coordinated framework, designed to serve exploited and trafficked children and young adults 10 – age of 24 in five Florida pilot regions. More Too Life is honored to serve as the chosen organization for the Suncoast Region, including Sarasota, Manatee, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. Our collaborators include various in-county human service providers, including DCF, SCC, and DJJ, found in all our four counties. However, this contract allows us to have an extended reach within the entire state of Florida. Hereby, we are able to work more effectively with our other four partner organizations across the state, adding up to 20 counties. This allows us to strengthen our program and award winning framework model by galvanizing our innovative survivor led, victim-centered services across county lines and collect more accurate data on the traffickers and buyers operating across the state. We have determined that almost all of our CSEC victims have been trafficked outside of their home county, reaching as far as Orlando or Miami, which is why we emphasize an inter-county approach.
Outreach
Even though human trafficking is illegal in every country, issues often intensify when laws aren’t enforced and there is a misunderstanding in the victim identification and offender jurisdiction. More Too Life, Inc, has an immediate first care advocacy and response when called upon as well as, community awareness initiatives, in schools, hospitals and the judicial courts. Additionally, our founder has been a key figure in the anti trafficking movement and the language and input in legislation that has passed federally and in the Florida legislature which has directly affected millions of victims across the nation.
