Familial trafficking doesn’t always get the attention it needs from the anti-trafficking movement. This usually happens because back when this movement started it was criminally motivated to end trafficking that was happening in the form of prostitution, and other kinds of more visible trafficking types. Since familial trafficking is much more discrete than other types, like pimp-controlled, it’s able to happen without getting detected. Due to this lack of visibility and the fact that victims are usually children, familial trafficking doesn’t get picked up on the traditional trafficking radar.
The important thing to keep in mind is that familial trafficking is in fact happening and survivors from this type of trafficking will experience a different kind of trauma that may require different services. This lesson covers what familial trafficking actually is, the impacts, and how to work with survivors who experienced this type of trauma.
About the Presenter:
Christine Cesa, our Outreach Coordinator graduated with BS in Education and an MA in Intercultural Studies with Children at Risk. Christine is a lived experience expert and has served as a Survivor Advocate with CAST LA and Dignity Health responding to victims of violence and survivors of human trafficking and providing emergency services to survivors in the healthcare system. She is a consultant with Polaris, the Office for Victims of Crime, the New Jersey Coalition on Human Trafficking, and the Board of Ride My Road. She is a published author on the fact sheet for the TIP report in 2021 highlighting Familial Trafficking and a co-author in an anthology, “Medical Perspectives in Human Trafficking in Adolescentsâ€. Christine trains healthcare systems and speaks at conferences such as National Conference on Ending Sexual Exploitation, Crimes Against Women, JUST, Build Beyond, and other similar presentations.