Recognizing and Responding to Human Trafficking
As we enter human trafficking awareness month, it’s important to revisit how to recognize human trafficking – both labor and sex trafficking – and how to respond in a trauma-informed way. This month, we created a compilation of recent resources and trainings focused on human trafficking, especially in youth and young adulthood, including resources focused on safety planning, the intersection of homelessness and human trafficking, and the rise of child labor in the United States, and more. As always, please don’t hesitate to contact us if you’re looking for more!
Working at the Intersection of Housing Insecurity/Homelessness and Human Trafficking
National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center
January 2025
“For individuals experiencing human trafficking, access to immediate emergency shelter, transitional, and long-term housing is almost non-existent. This webinar will uplift the work of the Pathfinder Center located in Central South Dakota. Pathfinder Center is a project of Wiconi Wawokiya, a 501c3 non-profit, community-based refuge for victims of human trafficking. Pathfinder will present the housing needs of survivors, what works, how their work is different from domestic and/or sexual violence shelters, and why it is different. Pathfinder will also provide advocacy and policy recommendations to build or strengthen your program’s capacity to respond to the urgent needs of survivors of human trafficking.”
Safety Planning Information: Human Trafficking
National Human Trafficking Hotline
“Safety planning can include risk assessments, preparations, and contingency plans to increase the safety of a human trafficking victim or an individual at-risk for human trafficking, as well as any agency or individual assisting a victim. Consider these tips for conducting safety planning with victims of human trafficking as well as those who may be considering suspicious jobs or relationships and may be at risk for human trafficking.”
Human Trafficking: Screening and Assessment Tools and Practices for Runaway and Homeless Youth Settings
Runaway and Homeless Youth Training, Technical Assistance, and Capacity Building Center
Identifying youth at risk of or experiencing human trafficking in Runaway and Homeless Youth (RHY) settings requires programs to use holistic approaches which include formal and informal strategies. Young people experiencing homelessness may experience sex trafficking, labor trafficking, or both. This guide offers explanation as to how through screening and assessment, RHY programs can make appropriate referrals and connections with partner agencies to provide the best service team for each young person. They include links to who validated screening tools validated for use with RHY populations.
Access this information in English and in Spanish
The Rise of Child Labor in the United States
Framework
October 2024
“Child labor is a pressing issue that has resurfaced in the United States, raising serious concerns about the protection and rights of minors, as well as increasing opportunities for labor traffickers to exploit disenfranchised youth. Recent data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) shows a 14% rise in overall child labor violations since 2022 and an 88% increase in children illegally employed since 2019.”
Human Trafficking Prevention: Strategies for Runaway and Homeless Youth Settings
Runaway and Homeless Youth Training, Technical Assistance, and Capacity Building Center
October 2020
“This Issue Brief explores strategies to integrate human trafficking (HT) prevention into Runaway and Homeless Youth (RHY) programs. These strategies emphasize the vital role that RHY programs can play in the prevention of sex and labor trafficking among runaway and homeless youth. It also highlights the importance of integrating public health, trauma-informed, and positive youth development principles in the development and implementation of HT prevention interventions.”
Drug-Based Coercion in Human Sex Trafficking Situations
Polaris
July 2025
Megan Lundstrom, CEO of Polaris, sits down with Vanessa Bouché, Chief Impact Officer of Allies Against Slavery, to discuss drug-based coercion in human trafficking situations. Some states, including Michigan, have updated language around coercion to include control or facilitation of an individual’s access to controlled substances.
Recognizing and Responding to the Human Trafficking of Children
University of Michigan
2025
“This training equips child welfare and health care professionals in Michigan and beyond with the knowledge, tools, and trauma-informed strategies necessary to identify, respond to, and support child victims of human trafficking. It integrates legal mandates, evidence-based practices, and interdisciplinary approaches to address the complex needs of trafficked children. By enhancing professional competencies, the training promotes effective intervention and advocacy to ensure the safety and recovery of victims within the child welfare system. This online module was designed to meet the State of Michigan’s training standards and provides 2.0 contact hours.”
Standing Together Against Trafficking Conference 2025
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
2025
“The Standing Together Against Trafficking conference is an opportunity for anti-trafficking professionals, subject matter experts, and survivors to engage in dialogue, networking, and information sharing as we unite efforts to make Michigan a national leader in the anti-trafficking movement. This day-long event features a series of speakers and workshops with a focus on human trafficking service providers, health care, child welfare, and survivor support. The conference is hosted by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ Human Trafficking Health Advisory Board and Division of Victim Services.”
Looking for more resources around human trafficking?
Looking for more resources around human trafficking?
Check out compilations of resources from last year: “Listening to Survivors of Trafficking”