Success Stories
CHICAGO ALLIANCE AGAINST SEXUAL EXPLOITATION (CAASE): Empowering Young Men to End Sexual Exploitation
I (Caleb Probst) was asked to come into a high school in Chicago to work with their 9th grade boys. The school indicated that they were troubled by the behavior exhibited in the halls by some of the boys toward some of the girls, and thought the boys would benefit from going through our program. At the start of the first day, I asked the boys to write down words they would use to describe “a prostitute.” The majority of the responses were words like, “slut,” “hoe,” “THOT” (That Hoe Out There), “easy,” “nasty,” “dirty,” and “worthless.” Many of these words were the same words that the administration reported hearing directed at the girls in the school. At the end of the 4-session program, I asked the same question. This time, however, the responses were words like, “abused,” “raped,” “alone,” “desperate,” “depressed,” and “victim.”
As these young men went through our 4-session program, they had an opportunity to examine the constructs of masculinity and think critically about how they influence their own decision making. They also had a chance to consider how their behavior, and the behavior of their peers, can impact their community. One student wrote, “I’ve learned that men treat women like crap, they use them as an object… I know that this puts girls in danger of becoming a prostitute.” He and his classmates began to see that objectifying women and degrading them with words like “slut” can have serious consequences. When asked how girls end up in prostitution, many responded with “they had a traumatized life,” “they had a rough childhood,” or “[society says] they have less power.”
Now, not every girl who is objectified and degraded will end up being commercially sexually exploited, and these young men acknowledged that. But as one student said, “we [never] know her story.” At the end of the final session, I asked the young men if there was anything that they would do differently now, based on what they had learned during the program. The two most common responses were “I will stop saying words like ‘thought’” and “I am going to respect women more.”
On another occasion, here is a dialogue that transpired after a class of 12 young men (names changed except the instructor’s):
Caleb: So, now that we see what causes this problem, what can we do to help solve it?
Nathaniel: What d’you mean?
Caleb: Well, are there things that all of us could start doing, or stop doing, that would help the situation?
Aaron: (raising his hand, while calling out) Yeah! We could start respecting women.
Caleb: That’s a great idea, Aaron. And what are ways that we could respect women?
Eli: (also raising his hand, while calling out) Stop calling ‘em bitches!
Caleb: Alright! I like that, and thank you for raising your hand. What about if you’re hanging out with your friends and one of them starts calling women bitches?
Aaron: (again raising his hand, and sort of waiting to be called on) Ooh! I got this.
Caleb: Yes Aaron?
Aaron: Man I’d be like (standing up to demonstrate his idea through a dramatization) “Bro, you be tweakin’!”*
Caleb: Excellent! You can hold your buddies accountable by calling them out when they disrespect women.
DECEPTIONS: Exposing the Lures of Child Sex Trafficking and Internet Dangers
Deceptions (A program of Northwest Family Services) was presented: Exposing the Lures of Child Sex Trafficking and Internet Dangers to the Vancouver School District. They had been recently informed by the local police about the number of students in their school district that had or were being sexually exploited by local traffickers. I had met with this district a year prior hoping to generate awareness and a sense of urgency to educate young people about local trafficking. The reception was lukewarm at best. However, it wasn’t until this meeting with local police and having it confirmed by local law enforcement, that a call was made to my office. The district rep said, “we get it now…we would like to partner with AWARE so ALL of our 7th and 8th graders can receive the Deceptions program”.
The program has now reached thousands of students. As a presenter, we wonder at times if this program is “making a difference”. I can testify that 99.9% of the student comments that come in after a presentation affirm the need along with an expression of gratitude for giving them this valuable information. Preliminary evaluations implementing pre-post surveys also demonstrate a positive gain in knowledge and intent after the presentations.
I’ll always remember the 14 year old girl coming up to me after a presentation with tears in her eyes. She waited for the crowd of other students to leave before approaching me. She looked up to me and said “I want to thank you for coming to our school and sharing this program with us”. She went on to say “I was pulled into this (trafficking) last year and had horrible things happen to me. I’m only here because my parents and police fought so hard to find and rescue me. Girls HAVE to know this is going on in our community…so thank you for taking the time to come to our school”. We are constantly hearing stories of young people being approached by strangers on the Internet, malls or on the streets of our city. Students now know what the “grooming” process looks like so they can recognize it when they are being set up or manipulated.
FAIR GIRLS: Tell Your Friends
We were teaching at a middle school with 7th and 8th graders. The students were loud and talkative, especially one girl, *Maya, who was about 11 years old. Maya continued to blame the victim in the Trip Uptown Story and she said “Some girls get raped because they are asking for it”. This type of backlash is nothing new; however, this time we were hearing it from a girl who was barely 80 lbs. and the only 6th grader in our class. The next day, at the end of module 4, Maya slipped us a note telling us she was raped by her mother’s boyfriend when she was 6. We made a report with Maya and notified the counselor. Maya started seeing the school counselor regularly.
FREDERICK DOUGLASS FAMILY INITIATIVES
Cassata High School, Fort Worth, TX: Cassata student Leslie said, “I would like to thank the FDFI foundation for teaching me that slavery is still alive, and that human trafficking is a bad issue that needs to be addressed and conquered. I understand now why we now have modern day abolitionists to work on these problems.”
Benedictine Academy, Elizabeth, NJ: We absolutely loved your curriculum and plan on enhancing our work with your plan. We had a meeting with our Principal and will be meeting this week with all the staff regarding the implementation of the educational material.
Prologue Early High School, Chicago, IL (100 Days to Freedom project): Dear colleagues at the Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives, I’m writing to let you know that “What is Freedom?” by Prologue Early College High School, created for the National Video Challenge of the Frederick Douglass Family Foundation has won the 1st Place Trophy for Best Film on an Issue of Urgent Concern in the Chicago Youth Community Film Festival, taking place on Thursday, June 6th, 2013 at the Chicago Cultural Center.
HUMAN TRAFFICKING AWARENESS PARTNERSHIPS: ArtReach
Nola Theiss, Director: We’ve conducted our ARTREACH program over 25 times in schools, after-school programs and summer camps over the last 4 years. We’ve been asked to return to facilities every year for 3 years. We’ve been asked to work at 4 of the local Boys and Girls Clubs in our area (South, Florida) as news of the success of our program spreads from one to another. The script of play that was written at a Magnet School for the Arts 4 years ago has been used by numerous groups around the country. We have signed formal memorandums of understanding with a number of agencies to ensure that we will return with our program on a regular basis.
What we are most gratified by is the fact that a number of students have gone to school or facility counselors afterwards to seek help as they self-identified as trafficking victims. (Refer to the Disclosure Protocol for suggested guidelines on this website)
This summer, 2014, we are conducting 6 ARTREACH programs. We are using this opportunity to test some pilot programs for boys and trying different models at summer camps. In some programs, the boys and girls are together through the entire 5 sessions. In others, they are together for the introductory session and the final session only. In others the classes’ format is different, but the material is the same for both boys and girls. Pre and post student evaluations will be used as well as facility staff and HTAP staff and volunteer’s evaluations and observations will be considered. We recognize the need for education and awareness for boys and we are working on determining which approaches are the most effective.
We began our program in 2010, averaging 4 to 5 programs a year. This summer, we have been asked to conducted 6 programs, mirroring the growth of demand for the program. We have also conducted 7 Train the Trainer programs so as to spread the program in SW Florida, but also in Savannah, GA and neighboring communities, Milwaukee and Tampa. We have created a template of the program that is updated to show the changes in the program as circumstances change, allowing others to see the way the program can adapt and to learn from our experiences.
“I think the most helpful part of this program was learning about all the different disguises people wear and how to tell real from fake. I think this has already helped me a lot relationship wise.” 17-year-old female student
“[I learned] how to deal with problems and anger without hurting yourself.” 17-year-old male student
“I learned how to be a better person and stop hurting the people I care about.” 13-year-old male student
“The most helpful part was learning how empathy plays a major role in situations like these.” 17-year-old male student
“I was personally moved by the Empower Youth Program. Each module hooked me through PJ Sykes’ spoken word and never let go. The stories portrayed seem authentic. I see our kids in the stories. The program demystifies the powerful nature of life’s pushes and pulls and their profound influence on whether or not our kids become victims of exploitation. It made me want to do more.” School Counselor in California
Impact thus far has been development of clubs, fundraising through awareness campaigns involving bake sales, raffles, etc. and passing the money on to existing organizations working with people in forced labor. Mostly feedback has been student awareness that slavery today is not only sex workers and that there can be actions such as making personal choices on a small scale.
LOVE 146: Not A #Number
“A youth came forward after a session of Not A #Number and shared information about the sexual abuse and exploitation of a friend he wanted to protect. This youth’s friend had also shared self-harm and other emotional struggles related to her history of abuse. In addition, the youth had information that indicated current abuse and exploitation by her friend’s boyfriend. The youth that shared the information with the facilitator wanted to make sure that his friend receive help and [would] be safe. The facilitator was able to connect with this youth, who immediately confirmed portions of what was shared, and provided connection to services and support. The program had helped a youth recognize signs of abuse and exploitation in his friend’s situation and help her connect with a trusted adult and services.” The facilitator was able to connect with this youth, who immediately confirmed portions of what was shared, and provide connection to services.
MY LIFE MY CHOICE – Quotes from students that have been in MLMC groups
“I learned that pimps come in all shapes and sizes and it can be a regular person, male or female, but on the other side it can be a normal person/student.”
“If I got approached by a pimp I think I would know because he’s a random asking for name/# and that’s just weird.”
“I learned to watch out for pimps and the way they look and the things they do, and can avoid going around those places.”
“This group teaches me a lot. I wish I had this group before I was a victim to a pimp”
“Nicole’s (a survivor) story was very inspiring because we have very similar stories and sometimes I feel like nothing’s going to get better, but seeing how she is now, I would of never known that was what her past was like so it really gives me a lot of hope.”
“I want to know what type of people pay for sex. If I began getting exploited, I would feel like my life was over. I don’t want to run away anymore because I’m scared.”
“Your story was dark and beautiful. I’m proud of you for getting the help you need. Seeing you smile every week gives me hope that no matter what I go through, I can make it and I should keep my head up and a smile on my face. I’m so glad you shared your story. :)”
“I felt like today’s lesson was really interesting. I never realized that pimps had such an impact on the girls and that’s honestly sad.”
“Wow…her story was sooo inspiring, now I really want to do better in life.” I really want better for myself. I felt her, well I felt like I was with her. She really opened my eyes.”
“I think this group may help me express myself a little bit more because I don’t have anyone close enough to tell my personal problems to so I kind of keep them bottled up.”
“I love being in this group. I like all the topics. So far they are really helpful because there are things we keep to ourselves but when someone brings it up I feel comfortable talking about anything.”
PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY SCHOOLS: Project Hope
The first 3 are student/teacher responses and the last one is a story of a student that was “wrapped around” by our partners and I to ensure that services were implemented.
Student response 1: “ When I first heard this lesson on sex trafficking I was shocked and sad because I didn’t know it happened where I lived. It is terrible to know that people my age get convinced into doing these things. Thanks to the lesson I know what I need to about sex trafficking. I know what to do if something like this happens to my friends, family, or even myself. ”
Student response 2: “The presentation really helped me understand what sex trafficking is. It makes me very upset seeing that kids my age are being influenced to become a prostitute. This meeting helped me understand how kids are influenced and how I can see it coming.”
Teacher responses: “Your program is instrumental in stopping the process by making our students aware of the process and its warning signs. We would be honored if you came back next year.”
Due to community collaborative efforts with partners, a 13-year-old middle school student was identified as a potential trafficking victim through family and gang control. Contact and case management have been initiated by the project coordinator. This involves tracking, visitation, and service implementation. The student was recently released from the Juvenile Detention Center (JDC) and was re-enrolled in a new middle school. The project coordinator was able to provide a seamless transition with supports in place within the school. The student is also now receiving trauma based in-home services. The student’s response to the team involved, which includes the project coordinator, a detective and a counselor, was: “you guys saved my life.”
A student at high risk was identified by a PWCS staff member as a result of division wide training. The project coordinator was able to provide and initiate wraparound services from our partners for the student to include: case management, mental health services, physical health services, community supports, and specialized supports in school for the student. Due to these supports within the Division and from our partners, the student is doing wonderfully academically, has received recognition from the principal for positive behavior in school, and participates in a special after school activity.
RICHMOND JUSTICE INITIATIVES: Prevention Project
“Once I learned about the issue of teen human trafficking, I wanted to help! The things we learned in class through the Prevention Project lets you know how to protect yourself and others and also how to make a difference!” ~Prevention Project Student, Henrico, Va
“I didn’t know a lot about teen human trafficking or how serious an issue it is before the Prevention Project program. After attending all the lessons, the Prevention Project really made the issue real for me. Now, I try to tell as many people as I can, whenever possible.”
~Prevention Project Student, Henrico, Va
“The Prevention Project program was easy to teach. I had everything I needed in the program to properly relay information to the students. Classroom discussion was lively and the students really responded well to the content of the curriculum, learning the realities of human trafficking nationally and locally.” ~A. Bryant, Teacher, Henrico, Virginia