Human Trafficking and Vulnerable Communities
The International Labor Organization estimates that there are nearly 25 million men, women, and children subjected to labor or sex trafficking worldwide. Though human trafficking is a global issue, its effects are much closer to home than you may think. People are trafficked everyday in almost any industry and city.
New immigrant communities are particularly vulnerable to human trafficking due to their unfamiliarity with the justice system and laws, language barriers, and lack of knowledge of available resources. For this reason, it is important to understand how to recognize and prevent local incidents of human trafficking, particularly within the labor industry. Thus, the Amistad Movement strives to educate immigrant communities on how to work together to prevent human trafficking on a local level.
What is Amistad?
Like the captives aboard the Amistad slave ship who revolted and won their freedom, the Amistad Movement seeks to empower immigrants in at-risk communities with the educational tools to protect their own community members from falling victim to human trafficking.
The Amistad Movement seeks to:
- Form Amistad educators from within the immigrant community to raise awareness about and build protective factors against human trafficking.
- Build trust between immigrant communities and law enforcement to increase identification and reporting of human trafficking cases.
- Strengthen coalition-building that enables immigrants to benefit from local NGOs and government programs working against trafficking and providing trauma-informed and survivor- centered care.
The Amistad Movement is inspired by the Catholic social principle of subsidiarity, which teaches that the best solutions to local problems arise from, and are led by, the members of affected communities. The Movement leverages the talents and gifts of immigrants themselves to effect lasting change in their communities, recognizing that their initiative arises from intimate knowledge of factors that make their communities vulnerable to human trafficking.
AMISTAD ACTIVITIES & RESOURCES
Welcome! The guides, presentations, and other materials below seek to educate IMMIGRANT communities about human trafficking, and how to respond to what Pope Francis describes as a “wound against contemporary society”. The resources are to help you with awareness raising and community engagement. While the program is designed for an immigrant community, and “Amistad Educators”, you do not have to fit this description in order to access and benefit from the materials.
¡Bienvenidos! Las siguientes guías, presentaciones y otros materiales buscan educar a las comunidades de INMIGRANTES sobre la trata de personas y como responder a lo que el Papa Francisco describe como una “herida contra la sociedad contemporánea”. Los recursos son para ayudarlo con la sensibilización y la participación de la comunidad. Si bien el programa está diseñado para una comunidad de inmigrantes y “Educadores de Amistad”, todos quienes se interesan por el tema pueden acceder y beneficiarse de los materiales.
Know Your Facts
Learn the basics of human trafficking: indicators, motives, victim and trafficker profiles, and prevention strategies / Conozca los conceptos básicos de la trata de personas: indicadores, motivos, perfiles de víctimas y traficantes, y estrategias de prevención
Before you begin your journey as an Amistad Educator (or an interested community member), it is important that you have a general understanding of what human trafficking is. You are not expected to become an expert on the topic, but having basic knowledge of the myths, misconceptions, and the reality of human trafficking will help you during outreach activities and information sessions. This short unit provides a Human Trafficking 101 presentation and script. The information provided is typically the first step in educating yourself about the reality and misconceptions of human trafficking so you can teach others, whether that be friends, family members, neighbors, or local community members.
Ready to Lead
Explore effective outreach practices using the Amistad Leader Guide and Community Outreach Module / Revise prácticas de sensibilización efectivas utilizando la Guía para Líderes de Amistad y el Módulo de Sensibilización Comunitaria
Now that you have familiarized yourself with important facts regarding human trafficking, you’re ready to begin educating your community! This section provides resources to assist you in your efforts. From conducting outreach to delivering information sessions, the Amistad Leader Guide and Community Outreach Module will be with you every step of the way. Your groups can be as small as 5 people or as large as 50, there is no standard audience size!
Community Information Sessions
Educate your community on the different sectors where labor and sex trafficking are present using informative and interactive presentations, and a supplemental workbook / Enseñe a su comunidad los diferentes sectores donde la trata laboral y sexual están presentes mediante presentaciones informativas y un libro de ejercicio complementario
Labor and sex trafficking can occur almost anywhere. For this reason, it is important to educate your community about the different industries where it is present. These presentations cover everything from agriculture to hospitality, pointing out the characteristics and challenges of exploitation and trafficking in each industry. There is also an Amistad workbook that can be used as a complement to the introductory presentation – Human Trafficking 101.
Spread the Word-Community Resources
This section provides tools and resources for the community such as informative handouts and Amistad Flyers / Esta sección proporciona herramientas y materiales educativos para difundir entre la comunidad
Spread the word about Amistad and help raise awareness in your community by distributing these resources! This section offers an array of materials to use or distribute during information sessions, after Mass, at community events, festivals, bulletins, and at local stores and restaurants (with the owner’s permission, of course). These resources offer information about workers’ rights, the national human trafficking hotline, trauma experienced by victims and survivors, and more.
The Amistad Program is supported by the Anti-Trafficking Program of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).