Empower Conference 2021 

For the past several months, there has been a growing number of states and countries proposing dangerous legislation that would fuel the demand for exploitation and abuse. It has become crucial, now more than ever, that the anti-trafficking movement pay close attention to discussions being initiated by the pro-exploitation industry. This is why we are inviting YOU to gather with us virtually for the 2021 Empower Conference. We will be welcoming survivor leaders and anti-trafficking experts from around the country to share an inside perspective on the sex trade – the complex issues that fuel it, the harsh realities within it, and the truth behind the legislative frameworks that claim to regulate it. What can we learn from other states? What is the Equality Model and how does it work? What’s being done in Michigan and what are the next steps?

 

*Please note, by registering for this you will receive access to the previously recorded sessions.  Look in your inbox for a follow-up email with instructions on how to watch each session.  Also included in this email will be resources that are helpful following the conference and a follow up email that was sent to registrants.

Register Now! 

 

We were honored to welcome the following experts to Empower: 

Melanie Thompson is the Youth Outreach Coordinator at the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women and is separately a speaker, activist, and leader in the global fight to end prostitution and commercial sexual exploitation. Trafficked and sold into prostitution in New York at the age of 12, she was later arrested and placed into foster care.

She became an activist at age 14.

Ms. Thompson has testified before numerous legislatures about the need to pass strong anti-trafficking laws and ending the arrests of sex trafficked and prostituted children and people in the sex trade. She is a student at the City University of New York and plans to open a non-profit organization to assist victims of trafficking and foster care.

Brittany is a Human Trafficking Consultant & Survivor. She is an expert and consultant in the field of sex trafficking, specializing in direct services, training and policy work. She is a survivor of pimp-controlled domestic sex trafficking and a national leader in the movement against the injustice of sexual exploitation.  Brittany is a certified trainer in the Ending the Game national human trafficking curriculum.  She has served in multiple roles working with survivors, including residential manager at a transitional housing program and community outreach specialist.

Brittany is also a national trainer and policy consultant who has educated and trained thousands of individuals including legislators, law enforcement and non-profit staff at the local, state and national level about the complexities and realities of sex trafficking. Brittany’s passion is training and bringing awareness on the issue of sex trafficking to uplift and empower other survivors. In her past work Brittany shaped the Micro Grant program with the NYC Mayor’s Office in conjunction with Sanctuary for Families to ensure it was victim-centered and trauma-informed and that it addressed the intersection of gender-based violence and financial security. Currently, she is a Lead Human Trafficking Consultant at Shobana Powell Consulting where she develops and facilitates trainings and advises on program development and legislation across the US.

Nate Walsh has been a Human Trafficking Prosecutor in Maine for six years. He regularly trains law enforcement in trafficking laws and investigation practices, and works alongside survivor leaders and advocates on anti-trafficking initiatives. He recently assisted with the drafting of legislation to enact the Equality Model in Maine that would decriminalize sex selling, while increasing penalties for sex buying.

Alice works as a Victim’s Advocate at Neighborhood Legal Service (NLS) where she has helped provide comprehensive services and support to hundreds of human trafficking victims.  NLS offers free legal assistance and community resources for housing and trauma support. Alice worked with NLS to create the ‘Strive to Thrive Jail Diversion Program’ that is successfully running in the 36th District Court in Wayne County Michigan. This thriving program offers specialty services such as case management, therapy, treatment, survivor support groups, mentoring, and more.

Alice is founder of the Sister Survivor National network, a virtual network connecting survivors across the country. She is a a human rights activist who cares about the trafficked and exploited. Author and creator of Out of the Darkness (a survivor’s story) and the Who Am I Now? (Workshops), Alice has led dozens of workshops, and mentor ship programs. Alice is an appointed Commissioner on the Governor’s Human Trafficking Commission for Michigan. She has over 13 yrs. experienced working with those who have been trafficked and sexually exploited. Alice is an expert speaker on human trafficking and sexual exploitation topics. She has been sought out to educate on human trafficking by professionals including legal, law, medical, government agencies, churches, and schools. 

Alisa is the Director of Education and Partnerships at Organization for Prostitution Survivors (OPS). OPS focuses on providing services that are holistic, individualized and responsive to the self-identified needs of each participant. Survivors are experts in their own lives and healing – OPS uses a combination of support modalities from harm reduction to exit services, empowering survivors to determine their individual needs on their journey. In addition to co-directing OPS, Alisa is known for her expertise on multi-prong and asymmetric policy model responses to commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) and the impact these approaches have as they are implemented within American social structures. She is an independent consultant, educator, and presenter having consulted to organizations and agencies across the US, including: Demand Abolition, World Without Exploitation and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. She is a founding member of King County’s Ending Exploitation Collaborative and sits on numerous task forces and public and private advisory boards. Alisa uses her lived experiences of CSE, teen homelessness, domestic violence and childhood sexual abuse as a lens to inform her work and approach.

Cristian is a Survivor Leader at Sanctuary for Families and a member of ECPAT-USA's Survivors' Council. Cristian is an advocate, speaker and educator for anti-trafficking initiatives - including the Equality Model, - immigrant and LGBTQ+ rights. He is a survivor of international and domestic human trafficking, a Mexican immigrant, HIV+, a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and someone who speaks openly about the mental health challenges he has faced that frequently result from trauma.

Although these are parts of him, he is whole, who cannot be defined. Cristian Eduardo is also a student, who is science and engineering oriented. Cristian Eduardo's inspiration for his social justice work is to give insight that victims always remain human beings.

Bekah is the Executive Director of Valiant Hearts, a ministry dedicated to eradicating sexual exploitation. At the age of 17, Rebekah became a victim of sex trafficking when she ran away from home. She remained a victim for more than 10 years with multiple traffickers. She was able to escape when the federal authorities finally became involved. 

As a survivor, Rebekah has wisdom to impart and a story that will help give understanding to the crime of human trafficking as well as shed light on what happens here in America. She is an advocate for victims of human trafficking, a consultant with the National Criminal Justice Training Center, a mother, and honors graduate student. Rebekah’s story is one of hope and restoration..  

Yasmin Vafa is co-founder and Executive Director of Rights4Girls. A human rights attorney and advocate, Yasmin’s work focuses on the intersections of race, gender, violence, and the law. She educates the public and policymakers on these issues and how they affect the lives of marginalized women and children. Yasmin has successfully advocated for passage of several laws at the federal level, testified before the U.S. Senate and international human rights bodies, and has been recognized for her legislative advocacy by Congress. She is co-author of several reports, including The Sexual Abuse to Prison Pipeline: The Girls’ Story, which exposed the widespread criminalization of girls of color in the U.S. as a direct result of their victimization. The report has not only shaped the national conversation around women and girls’ incarceration, but helped inspire national efforts to decriminalize survivors of gendered violence.

Yasmin has been featured in the Washington Post, New York Times, National Public Radio, PBS NewsHour, ABC News, NBC News, Reuters, POLITICO Magazine, USA TODAY, and The Hill. She currently serves on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ National Advisory Committee on the Sex Trafficking of Children and Youth, is an adjunct judicial educator for the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, and served on both the U.S. Department of Justice National Girls’ Initiative Core Advisory Committee as well as the National Task Force on the Use of Restraints on Pregnant Women and Girls Under Correctional Custody.