The summit, which was hosted at the United States Capitol, brought together corporate leaders, survivors, policymakers, and members of the Trafficking Survivor Equity Coalition to identify the next steps in the war against trafficking while laying out tangible action steps to be taken to advance national efforts and improve upon broken structures.
"For us to advance our national efforts in response to human trafficking, we need a deep understanding of where we are and our current gaps in states' response," said Kristi Wells, Safe House Project CEO. "The Summit and the release of the State Resource Guides provide road maps for each state's public and private sector to strengthen their response to human trafficking through their efforts and legislative agendas," she said.
This report is the first of its kind that ranks states specifically on four key pillars of supporting identified survivors of human trafficking. The purpose is to help states identify their strengths and highlight areas for increased improvement.
The report identified each states' training mandates for key professionals who have high intersection points with victims of trafficking. The impact made through those trainings are evident by the number of survivor identifications. The report also highlighted the availability of human trafficking specific residential programs, emergency response coordination for victims of trafficking, and the state legislation that helps create sustainable solutions for survivors in each of these areas.
Currently, California is ranked #1 in the country for its comprehensive response to serving trafficking survivors while 5 states, which include Alaska, North Dakota, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming, tied in 46th place.
"We are grateful to produce the reports and host this event because when we galvanize leaders at the community, state, and national level while equipping them with actionable data and ways to improve, we are mobilizing them to the next frontier in the fight against trafficking. When we work together, there are opportunities to see hope and freedom brought to survivors of trafficking and see world-changing impact," said Brittany Dunn, Co-founder of Safe House Project.
Download your state's evaluation at www.safehouseproject.org/state-resource-guides.
About Safe House Project: Safe House Project (501c3) is a nonprofit combating domestic sex trafficking by increasing victim identification of trafficked individuals through survivor-informed training, supporting victims in their escape, and increasing the number of restorative care opportunities for child trafficking victims. To learn more about Safe House Project visit www.safehouseproject.org.
Media Contact:
Elizabeth Fields; Marketing Communication Coordinator
elizabeth@safehouseproject.org
507-769-0819