Public Affairs Director Jon Michaels (since 1977) talks with Jordan Masciangelo, a male trafficking survivor and advocate, and Becky Rasmussen, CEO and President of Call to Freedom about their Hidden In Plain Sight program at the State Theatre. from their website: calltofreedom.org Who We Are Sex and labor trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation occur at growing rates across the United States, including in the state of South Dakota. Several intersecting factors, including extreme poverty, geographic isolation, and homelessness, result in high levels of victimization across the state. Call to Freedom is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in South Dakota dedicated to bringing wholeness to all individuals impacted by sex and labor trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. Founded in 2016, Call to Freedom hired its first full-time staff member in 2018 and has grown to 26 full-time staff united by their passion for ensuring survivors of trafficking and exploitation are believed and supported by their community. Staff members bring decades of experience combatting violence and providing community-based services and include previous South Dakota Department of Corrections staff, social workers, law enforcement, and addiction recovery specialists. The majority of our direct service staff had worked with Call to Freedom in their prior roles as community-based service providers and joined call to Freedom because of their passion for its holistic, person-centered approach. Our staff are uniquely positioned to serve trafficking survivors, given their experience working with people who have experienced trauma, responding to crisis situations, and identifying community resources available within the Sioux Falls community and across South Dakota. Call To Freedom Statement of Faith: We model Christ in our approach to restore wholeness to those impacted by sex and labor trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. Mission: Call to Freedom brings wholeness to all individuals impacted by sex and labor trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation by navigating a healing path through our continuum of care model. Vision: Our vision is to create a comprehensive CommUnity model of care for individuals, and support communities while educating and advocating to combat sex and labor trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. Barriers that prevent identification Individuals who are at risk of trafficking or who have experienced trafficking are often not recognized for various reasons. These barriers to identification fall into two categories: individual-related and provider-related. Provider Related Barriers Lacks knowledge about human trafficking“Checks off boxes” without seeing the full situationInadequate understanding of lawsFears violating HIPAA rulesLacks trauma-informed care trainingDoes not believe it is their role to get involvedLacks access to neutral, professional interpretersThinks that asking will be time-consuming or too complexFeels the individual is unresponsive or hostile to questioningLacks information about referral optionsAttributes behavior(s) to harmful cultural stereotypesHas preconceived notions of how an individual who has experienced trafficking will behave or look Individual Related Barriers Lacks awareness that what they are experiencing is traffickingLacks understanding of victim and legal rightsLacks identification and other recordsHas a language barrierFears deportation or law enforcementFears that reporting could lead to being returned to an abusive home, jail, or foster care placementFeels complicit in an illegal actFears that traffickers will cause harm to self, family, or loved onesHas limited literacy and education that hinders ability to communicateHas experienced trauma bonding with the trafficker or other victimsDistrusts the provider or those in authorityFeels hopeless and helplessFeels shame or guilt For more information on the barriers that prevent identification, visit National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Center Is it an indicator of trafficking? A variety of flags can be indicators of trafficking. The examples listed are not definitive, and not every individual will present the same flags. Additionally, seeing one or two indicators doesn’t necessarily mean that something is happening to you, it simply lets you know that you should probably step back and take another look at the situation. How to Protect Yourself Online Exploitation Requests for pics or videos that are private. One sided conversations, like someone not sharing about themselves while you have been very open. Someone threatening you or blackmailing you to do things – when someone does that with images or video of you, it’s called sextortion. Labor Trafficking Threats or abuse from employer Unable to quit your job or go home Withholding payment, not allowed to see or be in control of your paychecks or taking money out of your paycheck Sex Trafficking Asking you to...
