Soroptimist International - Our Fight Against Human Trafficking

The word itself “Soroptimist” seems to be hard to pronounce for a lot of people.  But it’s actually quite easy -- Sor and Optimist.  Soroptimist means “best for women.”  It is a global women’s service organization began in 1921 in California and spread like fire throughout the United States and then to Europe.   Soroptimist now has four federations, namely:  Soroptimist of the Americas, of Great Britain/Ireland, of Europe, and of the South West Pacific.  Most recently, women from all over the world converged on Istanbul, Turkey, for the 20^th international convention, with approximately 1,500 Soroptimist members attending from July 9 to 12, 2015, including me.   Workshops held at the convention included “Slavery in the 2lst Century” and “The Power of a Second Chance for Women.”    

My specific area is the Midwestern Region which encompasses the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Kentucky, and we are all members of Soroptimist International of the Americas.  There are approximately 721 members in those combined states as part of 32 clubs.  Currently, my position is Governor-Elect of the Midwestern Region.   In April 2016, my position will change to Governor of the Midwestern Region for a two year term where my duties will be to lead Soroptimist members of the Midwestern Region in their efforts to improve the lives of women and girls locally and globally through programs leading to economic and social empowerment for women and girls.

Soroptimist members have been educating themselves about the problem of human trafficking for approximately 10 years.  It all began at a Soroptimist meeting in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, where I met a survivor of human trafficking.  Back then the term “human trafficking” was just coming into existence.  The story I heard that night was a story I had never heard before - of a young girl being trafficked as a child.  You could hear a pin drop the entire time this young woman spoke to a roomful of Soroptimist members.

Since then, I have made it a point to attend as many events regarding human trafficking as possible.   What affects me the most are the stories told by the survivors.  The stories are real.  The stories are believable yet unbelievable.  The stories told by young women and girls is heart breaking and heart wrenching.  How can this happen to our girls and women? How can all of us prevent these things from happening to our girls?   What can we do?  The answer is that we must address the problem of trafficking at both the global and local levels.  The Soroptimists Stop Trafficking program can help you!  Here you can find a variety of resources to educate yourself and to help you educate your community about human trafficking and how you can take action to stop it. 

Take Action:  

• Visit the Soroptimists Stop Trafficking website and explore its resources.  
• Join Soroptimist International in our fight against human trafficking and our ongoing efforts to empower women.  
• Learn more about Soroptimist Midwestern Region or our national Soroptimist organization.   
• Attend one of our conferences or invite us to host a workshop in your area.  
• Finally, help Break the Silence by attending the Human Trafficking: A Closer Look Conference in Dearborn on October 15-16.  

Vivian Walczesky is a Legal Assistant, a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for abused and neglected children, current Governor Elect of Soroptimist Midwestern Region, a Mediator with the Michigan Southeastern Dispute Resolution Services, and former Board Member for Friends of CASA and Monroe County Community College Alumni.   

Break the Silence! Highlights from our upcoming Conference, Human Trafficking: A Closer Look

Here are some highlights for our upcoming Human Trafficking Conference.  Join us at the Dearborn Convention Center on October 15^th-16^th.

Survivors Speak Out--Labor and sexual victims who started the long journey to survival will recount their experiences.  They’ll describe what was of value to them along the journey and what was not as helpful.

Coleen Owens from Washington DC will be a key note speaker addressing the chronicles of labor traffickers who commit crimes against workers in agriculture, domestic work, hotels, and construction.

Becca Stevens from Thistle Farms-Magdalene, in Nashville, Tenn. will also be a key note speaker. She is one of the premiere speakers in the United States working with communities of women who have survived human trafficking, prostitution, and addiction.

Bridgette Carr Professor and Director of the world-wide renowned Trafficking Clinic at the University of Michigan Law School will be speaking at the Conference on "Myths surrounding human trafficking and how this harms victims".

To register for the conference, visit www.michiganprosecutor.org.  Click on training and then human trafficking.  The cost of registration is $125 although applications for scholarships for police officer and survivors are being accepted.  For more information or assistance registering, call 517-881-8013.

Please note that the conference is MCOLES approved.  Social work CEs will also be available at no extra cost.

You are Invited! Human Trafficking: A Closer Look

Break The Silence!  Join us at the Human Trafficking: A Closer Look conference to be held on October 15th and 16th at the Royal Dearborn Hotel and Convention Center in Dearborn, Michigan.

Co-Sponsored by the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan and the Michigan Human Trafficking Task Force, conference participants will benefit from engaging presentations and conversations with national and state experts on  human trafficking.  Together, we'll explore what is being done about human trafficking and what more needs to be done.  We'll identify unmet needs, focus on the urgency of research, highlight innovative community endeavors, learn from survivors and explore how new data collection processes might foster new approaches.  Whatever your background, whether you are an expert or a concerned community member this conference is for you.  All that matters is that you are committed to becoming a voice in the anti-trafficking effort.

Who will be at the conference?  The conference reflects the collaborative efforts of law enforcement, prosecutors, courts, victim service providers, community members, faith based groups, medical and rescue personnel, businesses, university faculty and trafficking survivors.  Presenters and attendees share the vision of advancing a victim-centered approach that builds awareness, supports prosecution, and advocates for the children, women and men who have suffered the consequence of trafficking.

To register for the conference, visit www.michiganprosecutor.org  Click on training and then human trafficking.  The cost of registration is $125 though applications for scholarships for police officers and survivors are being accepted.  For more information or for assistance registering for the conference call 517-881-8013.

Please note that that the conference is MCOLES approved.  Social work CEs will also be available at no extra cost.

When Human Trafficking Survivors Have an Attorney: Victim Advocates

This blog entry is the second in a series offering a few tips for working with human trafficking survivors who are represented by an attorney. This entry discusses attorneys as victim advocates. (The first in the series posted on 8/23/15 and was titled “When Human Trafficking Survivors Have an Attorney: Confidentiality”).

Often the University of Michigan Human Trafficking Clinic clinic serves as a victim advocate for survivors.  This includes helping victims to aid in a law enforcement investigation of their traffickers, serve as a witness at trial, make a victim impact statement at sentencing, and request financial restitution.

While law enforcement agencies or prosecutors’ offices may have staff who serve as victim advocates or volunteers might play that role (all providing valuable help to survivors!), lawyers can play a different and, hopefully complementary, role. Attorneys have a confidential relationship with clients so that they can listen to clients’ concerns and advise them about various options, without disclosing those counseling conversations to anyone else in the case (unless they have the clients’ permission). And, attorneys are trained to prepare witnesses for trial and to advocate for their needs before the court.

Communications between survivors and staff members or volunteers are not usually legally protected as privileged communications. Victim advocates from law enforcement agencies and prosecutors’ offices cannot promise to keep communications confidential; indeed they may have a duty to report new information to their supervisors. Although a volunteer advocate might promise confidentiality, the promise is not legally enforceable.

Giving survivors access to confidential legal representation can actually benefit both survivors and law enforcement. Survivors have immediate access to a professional who represents only the survivors’ interests. When attorneys are present at an initial interview of someone identified as a possible victim of human trafficking, we, and law enforcement officers, quickly tell the survivor that the lawyer does not work for the law enforcement agency or for the court: that we are independent of the decision makers and we will advocate for only the survivor.

It is not difficult to imagine why this is helpful to survivors, but how does it aid law enforcement in the investigation? One of the greatest fears our clients express is the worry that they are in trouble, and that they are the subject of the investigation – that if they tell the truth, they will end up in jail or deported. This concern has typically been the threat made over and over again by their traffickers to keep them trapped. When they finally escape, they have difficulty trusting that law enforcement is there to help, not prosecute, them. 

Also, some survivors come from countries where law enforcement and the courts are corrupt and cannot be trusted to protect victims. The attorney for survivors can help them understand that the trafficker is the true target of the investigation and reassure them that the attorney will be by their side throughout the investigation to help explain the process and to protect their rights. This often allows victims to cooperate freely with the investigation by giving law enforcement information that can support prosecution of traffickers.

Attorneys are trained to prepare clients for testimony, so attorney victim advocates can help to reassure a worried client-witness, and can provide valuable guidance about the client’s concerns to the prosecutor. This works especially well when the attorney has a respectful relationship with the prosecutor and stays in the role of victim advocate, not interfering with the prosecutor’s work.

Also, attorneys who serve as victim advocates can participate in developing victim impact statements for survivors, advocating for restitution, and collecting it on behalf of clients. In one of our cases, the Clinic worked with a client who cannot speak English to develop a victim impact statement for the Court. After her trafficker was sentenced, the clinic advocated for an award of restitution, which was granted. The trafficker appealed the restitution order and the clinic has recently submitted a brief in the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to defend the District Court’s award of financial restitution. Much of this work, and the ability to file an appearance and brief with the Court, could only be done by an attorney victim advocate.

As in most work in which a variety of people are trying to be helpful, one of our biggest jobs is to stay inside our appropriate role and to be respectful of each other’s work. The survivors with whom we work will be much better off if they can obtain the coordinated and complementary support of volunteer advocates, staff victim advocates, and attorneys while they attempt to navigate the complicated world of the criminal justice system.

Take Action: If you or someone you know wishes to contact the University of Michigan Human Trafficking Clinic for legal advice and/or possible representation, please call 734-615-3600.

Suellyn Scarnecchia is a Clinical Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School.