How much do you know about human trafficking in Colorado? Many of the realities of how this human rights crime actually shows up in our local communities can be hard to believe. So we brought together our team and some current partners to share some surprising truths about human trafficking that you might not know…
Today’s guest post comes from Julia Owen, a recent alumni of LCHT’s Leadership Development Program. Julia works professionally in the immigration field in Colorado. Her suggestions around survivor-driven policy came through an independent review of survivor-led resources as well as input from existing survivor leaders. While the anti-trafficking field is moving towards a survivor-centered model,…
In Colorado, housing insecurity and homelessness are both causes of human trafficking and areas of greatest need for survivors. Lack of stable housing — and the underlying role of poverty — are major contributors to vulnerability that can lead to exploitative situations. This is particularly true among youth populations. One study found that among shelter…
Today’s guest post comes from Julia Owen, a recent alumni of LCHT’s Leadership Development Program. Julia works professionally in the immigration field in Colorado. Her perspective this International Migrants Day provides important insight into the resilience of immigrants seeking relief, but also the compounding circumstances of a global pandemic, that can increase the vulnerabilities we…
As national awareness of human trafficking continues to increase, we now see hotline numbers in public spaces, hear announcements at airports, and find classes specific to the topic. Given the current level of engagement and attention on human trafficking, it’s hard to believe that it wasn’t until 2000 that this human rights abuse was federally…
While browsing social media over the past few weeks, you may have observed a surge in human trafficking-related hashtags and posts. As board members with the Laboratory to Combat Human Trafficking, it was encouraging to see that people were discussing an issue that doesn’t get nearly enough attention – particularly during a year of economic…
There are so many ways to reflect on the last few months and how we will respond to the COVID-19 crisis in the months to come. We have witnessed how interconnected humans are, how our actions (and forced inaction) affect the earth and the environment, and how fragile our economy is. We have suffered previously…
In January, the Colorado Human Trafficking Council (CHTC) released its 2018 Annual Report. The CHTC was established by legislation and appointed by Governor Hickenlooper in 2014. The Lab is consistently active on the council, most notably through our Executive Director Amanda Finger, who serves as a council member.
The Human Rights-Based approach requires that human rights are at the core of any anti-trafficking strategy, it seeks to identify and redress the discriminatory practices and unequal distribution of power that underlie trafficking.
A Brief History of Colorado’s Human Trafficking Council As a quick summary, the Colorado Human Trafficking Council was written into HB14-1273, which made sweeping changes to Colorado state laws on human trafficking. Much of HB14-1273, sponsored by former Representative Beth McCann (now Denver’s District Attorney), followed recommendations set forth in the Uniform Act on Prevention…