Training and Awareness Programs Archives - Page 3 of 8

September 6, 2016 by Guest

Knowledge is Powerful and Helpful: How Trauma Can Impact Interviews of DMST

By Iona Rudisill, Baltimore Child Abuse Center

Trafficking of youth has been occurring for decades and centuries. Regardless of the Emancipation Proclamation being enacted in 1863, the reality is slavery never stopped. That is exactly what juvenile sex trafficking is: the slavery and bondage of innocent youth for the pleasure and commercial exploitation of others. And this experience has profound impacts on the individual enslaved. Therefore, when a 14 year old is brought to an accredited Child Advocacy Center because they have been sexually abused by an aunt repeatedly fondling them, an uncle sodomizing them, and a cousin selling them to others for fiscal profit and gain, the trauma that this adolescent has experienced is complex. It is during the adolescent years of development when children begin to come into their own identity, this developmental milestone is directly impacted by the fact that the child has had to deal with mistrust, broken promises, psychological and physical threats as well as endless mind games. Since these adolescents have encountered a multiplicity of deplorable life experiences, the manner in which they manage this trauma imposed upon them can have an effect on how they interact with professionals who are trying to help them, particularly in the way the traumatized youth responds in an interview.

This is why I am offering a training session to provide professionals (i.e. social workers, forensic interviewers, mental health providers, law enforcement and attorneys) with a better understanding of how the dynamics of trauma can affect the results in the different types of interviews a juvenile sex trafficked youth will encounter. We will explore brain development of youth, and discuss steps that professionals can take in helping the youth unpack their painful memories with the understanding of how brain development has been impacted by their experiences. The more prepared an interviewer is to recognize that the trauma is speaking rather than the child, and utilize the tools required to bring the child out of that trauma-control, the more fruitful and helpful the interview will be for the variety of needs in a juvenile sex trafficking case.

About the Author: Iona Rudisill is an LGSW, with over 22 years of working in the field of child abuse and 16 years of experience in forensic interviewing, with training in a myriad of national and international protocols. She is currently the co-chair of the Maryland State Human Trafficking Task Force Victim Services subcommittee and Human Trafficking Program Manager at Baltimore Child Abuse Center.

This blog post was originally part of our 2016 JuST Conference Speaker Blog Series.

August 10, 2016 by Guest

The Role of Child Advocacy Centers in Sex Trafficking Cases

By Iona Rudisill, Baltimore Child Abuse Center

I became a nurse because when I was ten years old I went to a doctor who missed the signs, and that was my last chance at telling someone about what was going on in my life. My last thought was, ‘Maybe somebody could rescue me. Maybe I could have a different life.’ When that guy missed the signs, it devastated me…I just decided what would have made a difference for me—and that was the medical professionals.
–Jen Spry, RN and survivor of human trafficking

The sex trafficking of juveniles is now recognized as a critical public health concern. The burden of identifying, referring and treating victims requires multidisciplinary education for health care providers and a coordinated community response, one that Child Advocacy Centers nationwide are prepared to provide. In 1987, Baltimore Child Abuse Center (BCAC) was the first Child Advocacy Center (CAC) developed in the State of Maryland, and for decades BCAC has been providing a resource to the community with a comprehensive approach for youth who have personally experienced sexual trauma and witnessed various forms of violence. BCAC is an accredited Child Advocacy Center that understands when providing services to youth who have been trafficked or are highly vulnerable to being trafficked, a holistic response (i.e. forensic interviews, treatment, advocacy, healthcare) is needed – from prevention to aftercare for youth and their families. Given their background and experience in trauma-focused and multidisciplinary approaches, CACs can provide an excellent healthcare response for DMST cases. BCAC as well as some other CACs have board-certified forensic pediatricians as part of their multidisciplinary team. This forensic pediatrician collaborates with medical and non-medical colleagues regarding multiple public health care needs such as malnutrition, tattoo removal, forced pregnancies, substance abuse, mental health diagnosis, visionary problems, dental care and burns. These healthcare risks can leave a permanent scar on the life of a youth, if mishandled or overlooked. Therefore, Child Advocacy Centers are an essential component in providing a necessary healthcare response in the best interest of the youth by performing such medical procedures as non-acute forensic examinations and testing for STIs, as well as healthcare education and necessary referrals.

Collection of forensic evidence in acute cases (sexual violations occurring within 72 hours) may be challenging in the CAC setting due to the extensive time involved in conducting these evaluations and the need for physicians who are comfortable with and experienced in doing these exams. Even if CACs do not have the personnel, space or time to complete these acute examinations, being able to refer to another healthcare provider is a necessity. BCAC has addressed this through an active partnership with Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, MD that is equipped to provide Sexual Assault Forensic Examinations (SAFE) for acute sexual abuse and assault cases, which would include DMST. Therefore, Law Enforcement and Child Protective Services investigators could transport a child who has received a forensic interview to Mercy for a forensic examination, which would provide the space, equipment and personnel to collect necessary evidence for their investigations.

The healthcare response in a CAC helps to provide consistency for a youth who has experienced DMST because they won’t have to travel to different places or be interviewed by different professionals, who all want to provide the necessary care for them. Therefore, ensuring that CACs have the critical resources and healthcare providers on staff who have knowledge about the multiple dynamics involved in these case investigations is essential. Overall, it is vital that health professionals of all branches receive the training and education needed to address the complexities of human trafficking.

In response to this need, Shared Hope International recently released i:CARE, a guide for health care providers to recognize and care for victims of domestic minor sex trafficking. Resources like this one are so important in advancing the knowledge needed to improve the responses to juvenile sex trafficking. If the doctor who missed the signs in Jen Spry, the survivor quoted above, had been trained, and had the support of other trained professionals in the medical community, she might have been saved from further abuse and might have received the specialized treatment victims of child sex trafficking require.

i:CARE was written in collaboration with physicians, psychologists, nurses, professors, experts and survivors of trafficking, and is accompanied by four short training videos. Visit the Shared Hope Store online to purchase your copy of i:CARE today.

June 26, 2016 by Guest

The Faith in Action Kit Opens Doors

From Beth in California

As an Ambassador for Shared Hope International in the Bay Area of California, I have found that those most interested in having awareness presentations are church groups, so the Faith in Action Kits resonates with their interest.

I was privileged to have been sponsored by the United Methodist Women (UMW), California-Nevada Region, to have a SHI booth at the worldwide UMC General Conference in Portland this past April. My relationship with the United Methodist Church began about a year and a half ago. Within five minutes of my arrival at the conference Shared Hope booth, the Bishop for that region showed up. We had met only briefly before, but Bishop Brown began our conversation with, “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” Kismet! And music to my ears!

I showed him the brochures and resources at our table, including the Faith in Action kit. Then I began to load him up with an armful of materials as I shared stories of our work. I knew Linda Smith wouldn’t mind if I gifted him with her book, Renting Lacy.

He was very interested in the faith-based materials and informed me that, upon his retirement this fall, he plans to train pastors using the Faith in Action kits to effectively speak and preach on the issue of sex trafficking. My reply?

“Well then, give me back all that stuff and I will MAIL YOU every single tool you will need to in order to do that, including a Faith In Action Kit. And I will come and train you!”

He is going to get permission from his leadership and then we’ll get started. I can’t tell you how exciting this is!

At the moment of this writing, I’m here at the California Nevada United Methodist Church Annual Conference working a Shared Hope booth, and Bishop Brown just walked by and shook my hand and thanked me for the packet! The new Faith in Action kit opens doors for us and all we have to do is walk through!

June 14, 2016 by Guest

Unforgettable and Life-Changing: My Experience as a Volunteer with Shared Hope International

A Post from Stephanie Tynan.

No life is worth another man’s profit.

I had heard about sex-trafficking before I stumbled upon Shared Hope International’s website; I knew that this devastating crime existed in our world. But what I didn’t know, was how sex-trafficking is an international, multi-billion-dollar industry that is so corrupt, so heartless and so gut-wrenching. It strips the life and soul from the victims it captures and so many of the ruthless perpetrators who profit off of human life are hiding behind the shadows, without punishment.

Volunteering with Shared Hope not only gave me the chance to dedicate my time to an organization with a generous mission, but it taught me more about sex-trafficking: the signs to recognize sex-trafficking and ways to help prevent it from happening to someone I know. The employees and volunteers at Shared Hope exude selfless support, love, and encouragement to help the women and children who were or are affected by the evil that this awful crime haunts them with. The staff are friendly and they truly care about the well-being of the people who suffer from sex-trafficking. They shared their resources with me and their knowledge about the issue. I thank them for their kindness to me and for what they do to help others.

I was not aware of how incredible of an organization Shared Hope International is and I am so glad I stumbled across their website that day. Shared Hope International is doing miraculous things. I feel so honored and appreciative that I was able to work with Shared Hope and to join their mission to help end this devastating crime.

Thank you Shared Hope International.

March 13, 2016 by Guest

Things Just Got Real.

Guest Blogger: Jo Lembo

My husband Nick and I go out regularly representing Shared Hope International’s message of prevention. When we are invited into area schools, we use the film Chosen, which tells the story of two girls, ages 13 and 18, who broke the stereotypical at-risk youth picture. They were from good homes, straight-A students, athlete, cheerleader, in youth group; and still they were tricked by traffickers.

This week when we introduced the film to 2000 students in two assemblies at Skyview High School in Vancouver, WA, I told about the five most common types of pimping: boyfriend relationship, violent guerilla, gang, survival sex where you trade your body for basic needs, and familial, where someone in your family is selling you. As we always do, we encourage students who know if this happening to a friend or if it’s happening to them, to go to a trusted adult, “and sometimes it can’t be someone in your family.” Because we had met with 100 of the staff the month prior, I knew the counselors and teachers were ready to field questions and knew what actions to take if a child came forward.

After the second assembly, a security officer approached me and asked if we would be willing to talk with a 16-year-old girl who was, at that moment, in the counselor’s office and very upset. He told us she had come in after the first film showing, crying and saying she was afraid that this was happening to her.

This is when you know what you are doing is important. Really important. And possibly the lifeline for a desperate kid who has the courage to reach out. So we took a deep breath and stepped into the counselor’s office with the girl I’ll call Amanda. She struck me as being strong, almost defiant. And she was. Having heard that her family members might be the ones to groom her, and that sometimes the safe person might not be in her home, she left the first assembly determined to get help elsewhere. She stopped a security officer and told him she needed to go to the counselor’s office. He escorted her through the door, where she began to cry and unfold her story. Then, at the close of the second assembly, he came to get me. Would we be willing to talk to her?

When Nick and I arrived in her office, the school counselor had already done what she is trained to do. She had called law enforcement and had made a mandatory report to CPS sharing the details from Amanda. And she had found out that no crime had been committed yet.

Was the step-dad creepy? Yes.

Had he come into her room while she was dressing? Yes.

Had he made lewd remarks about what she could do to his body? Yes.

Had he touched her? No.

Had he threatened her? No.

Had she talked to her mother about his 9 counts of prostitution? Yes. And her mother had told her there’s nothing wrong with paying money to go on a date. Her mother also told her that she had a dirty mind and needed to stop thinking about him that way.

Was that going to stop her from sharing these things now that she had heard that Lacy and Brianna could have gotten help had they known? No. She was now determined this was not going to happen to her.

What are you most afraid of? He said he’s moving us to Portland, to an apartment on 82^nd Street. She doesn’t want to lose her support at Skyview.

With the counselor, the security guard, Amanda and us, the two presenters of the film Chosen, we talked about a plan for her to stay safe. As a part of a strong and broad network, I was able to give the counselor contact information for a wonderful victim advocate right there in her county who is willing to talk with Amanda and help her figure out what is happening and advise. We gave the counselor information about a strong program operating in Portland and the contact information of someone in the Portland school system for Amanda to reach out to if they move. Her counselor encouraged her to call 911 if anything happened to make her feel unsafe; that she had a right to call no matter what anyone would tell her. She remembered in the video Chosen the guy had told her bad things would happen to her family if Lacy asked for help, and she said she wasn’t going to let that happen. She would call.

Amanda seemed visibly stronger and more confident as we stood up to go. I handed her my card so she would have my information. I told her she is brave and strong and she is going to be okay.

And I believe she will be. Because now she knows.

For more information go to www.justfaithsummit.org

This blog post was originally part of our 2016 Faith Summit Speaker Blog Series.