ABOUT US
OUR VALUES
Centered on Survivors
We acknowledge that lived experiences of individual survivors of human trafficking are varied and diverse and therefore rarely representative of any one “ideal” type of survivor. LCHT strives to honor, as experts, those individuals and communities who are most affected by the crime of trafficking. Experts include individuals—self-identified or otherwise—who are trafficking survivors, members of vulnerable populations or individuals whose lives are directly affected by anti-trafficking policies and actions.
High Research Standards
We are committed to evidence-based research efforts grounded upon objective, verifiable, reliable and replicable data. We strive to honor history while embracing innovation and foster respectful, intentional collaboration and participation among academics, activists, community members, service providers, law enforcement and survivors.
Human Rights
We adhere to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking, which recognizes that the human rights of trafficked persons shall be at the center of all efforts to prevent and combat trafficking and to protect, assist and provide redress to victims.
Feminist Goals
We apply the basic feminist goal to challenge and change women’s subordination to men to our work in the anti-human trafficking movement. We extend that goal beyond a binary understanding of women and men, understanding that certain groups of men can be subordinate to certain groups of women, due to the fact that gender intersects with race, class, nationality, sexuality and other identities, to reinforce systems of power and oppression.
Sexual Rights
We reject the prevalent black-and-white framing of the prostitution debate within the anti-trafficking movement, which suggests that if one is not against prostitution one must be for prostitution. LCHT moves beyond the prostitution/commercial sex work debate by choosing to include a commitment to sexual rights as defined by the World Association for Sexual Health for people of all ages, genders and sexual identities.
Responsible Awareness Campaigns
We believe that using images, language and data that shock, incite disgust, reinforce traditional norms about gender, race and nationality or otherwise misinform the general public about human trafficking, results in sensationalistic story-telling, is harmful to the movement and can be re-traumatizing for survivors.
Interdisciplinary Approach
We strive for an interdisciplinary approach, which relies on the intersection of various academic disciplines and their associated theoretical and methodological lenses to inform our work, rather than privileging one area of expertise at the expense of obscuring equally relevant but different perspectives. We extend our interdisciplinary values to apply to our organizational identity in the larger anti-trafficking movement, where rather than identify exclusively with community service, social justice or academia, we approach our work at the juncture where these three identities meet.