Colorado’s anti-trafficking movement is in a new chapter, shaped by what’s happening on the national level.
Across the country, many of the systems meant to protect people from exploitation are changing quickly. Federal anti-trafficking offices have been significantly downsized, and access to public data and guidance is increasingly unstable. Many historic resources have been taken offline or revised. At the same time, federal funding streams are shrinking and long-standing policies are being rolled back. For people working every day to prevent trafficking, protect human rights, and support survivors, these shifts create real uncertainty.
During this time of tectonic change, data-informed thinking and action are especially urgent. At LCHT, research means listening to people with lived experience, tracking what’s changing on the ground, and turning that knowledge into action for communities and policymakers.
“Research matters more than ever to track history and provide evidence for what so many responders and advocates are seeing and doing on the ground,” says Dr. Annjanette “AJ” Alejano-Steele, LCHT Research Director and Co-Founder. “It documents the impact of dwindling access to government resources. And when we do it well, research helps create a shared, credible picture of what drives human trafficking. Especially for people whose experience are often dismissed or questioned.”
Data also affirm what’s working, where the gaps remain, and what tools are available to help ease the hard work of those responding to human rights issues like human trafficking at the local level. These findings also show the ways community members show up for one another as systems fail and disappear.
“Research allows us to hear directly from those affected and those squarely in the fight,” AJ adds. “It helps us collectively move forward in trauma-informed and survivor-centered ways.” Research moves experience from private pain into public knowledge. With this structured listening, we can identify patterns and collectively make sense. This helps change systems and informs laws, funding, and practice so fewer people are harmed in the future.
Research doesn’t fix everything. But without it, harm remains isolated and invisible. Keep reading to find out more about the research our team at the Laboratory to Combat Human Trafficking is doing this year.
Marla Sutherland, Research Manager, and Dr. Annjanette “AJ” Alejano-Steele, Research Director and Co-Founder, on an LCHT team retreat last fall.
On the road to The Colorado Project 2028
At LCHT, our Research and Action team is spending 2026 laying the groundwork for our next major statewide research initiative: The Colorado Project 2028. Our team is reviewing lessons learned and trends across earlier research projects from 2013, 2019, and 2023 to understand what’s changed and what’s stayed the same in Colorado’s anti-trafficking movement. This review will help to shape data collection in 2028.
As we create the blueprint for The Colorado Project 2028, we will define the how, who, why, and when of data collection and analysis in 2027. “We are determining what big questions we want answered about the patterns, shifts, and emerging risks in human trafficking during this time of change,” says Marla Sutherland, LCHT Research Manager. “We want to design a project that reflects what communities are actually living through right now.”
We recently wrapped up our Root Cause Community Conversation project, which explored how human trafficking intersects with parallel human rights issues in Colorado. This work helped us step back and ask not just where trafficking happens, but why people become vulnerable in the first place. Trafficking doesn’t happen in isolation. It is shaped by broader systems that make exploitation possible.
What we found is that vulnerability to trafficking is shaped by a range of conditions that are created and reinforced by larger systems, including:
- Housing instability and homelessness
- Immigration-related barriers to safety and stability
- Racism and the ongoing oppression of Native and Indigenous communities
- Homophobia, transphobia, and heterosexism
- Involvement in child welfare and juvenile justice systems
Across all of these themes, one message stood out clearly: belonging and connection matter. “People often name belonging and connection as key factors of resilience,” Marla says. “When formal systems fall short, mutual aid efforts and community support become central to how people survive and protect one another.”
LCHT’s Research Team cites an example of a popular quote crafted by a group of Aboriginal rights activists from Queensland, Australia in the 1970s: “If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” This sentiment guides LCHT’s anti-trafficking research.
Centering lived experience through the CARE Team
At the heart of planning The Colorado Project 2028 is a commitment to research that reflects the lived experiences of individuals and communities. In December 2025, LCHT brought together seven individuals with diverse identities, expertise, and lived experiences to form the Community Affirming Research Experts (CARE) Team. This team will inform every stage of the research, from design to execution to how findings are shared.
The CARE team includes people with lived experience related to human trafficking, child welfare involvement, immigration systems, housing instability and homelessness, and mutual aid efforts. We use a broader definition of lived experience that includes individuals, families, and community members who are either directly or indirectly impacted.
Navigating AI, data, and risk in anti-trafficking research
As artificial intelligence tools become more widely used across research, social service delivery, and other public systems, anti-trafficking organizations must also consider how and whether to use them. These debates are no longer theoretical. They are happening right now, often faster than ethical safeguards can keep up.
“We are concerned about the rapid adoption of large language models and other AI tools without clear protections,” Marla says. “There is a real paradox here. Tools designed for efficiency can also be tools of destruction and exploitation.”
Marla continues, “We see the parallels of the extractive nature of AI and the ways exploitation is further facilitated.” Our job is to name those risks and respond with care. This awareness shapes how LCHT approaches data ethics, consent, and protection moving forward.
When it comes to trafficking and exploitation, data are deeply personal. Survivor stories and sensitive public-facing information can be misused when collected or analyzed without meaningful consent. Automated systems can also reinforce existing bias, increase surveillance of already marginalized communities, or replace the relational, trust-based approaches that are essential to trauma-informed work.
“Research becomes harmful when it takes stories without care, exposes people to risk, or uses pain without accountability. We don’t extract data,” AJ says. “We don’t study individuals, nor do we sensationalize or exploit individuals’ stories. We study systems because harm is produced, not accidental.”
For LCHT, this means moving with care. Our Research and Action team is guided by clear principles around accountability, consent, and human judgment. We use technology only when it strengthens, rather than replaces, ethical and survivor-centered practices.
LCHT’s commitment to anti-trafficking research
As federal policies, funding, and focus areas continue to change, we are paying close attention. “We know that the systems around us are in the midst of dire changes,” AJ says. “Human rights violations are increasing, and LCHT has a steady eye on the needs of people with lived experiences and their communities.”
The shifts affect parallel human rights issue areas that are all interwoven with our work to end exploitation. Amidst the uncertainty, our anti-trafficking research will remain relevant and accountable to the needs of our communities and the changing conditions surrounding them.
“We have doubled down on our commitments to ensure non-extractive research methods,” adds AJ. Through our research, we’ll be able to provide a snapshot of Colorado’s comprehensive response to human exploitation. “It will be done in solidarity across community needs and with a social justice heart,” AJ concludes.
How you can tune into Colorado’s anti-trafficking research
LCHT’s research is a collective effort to protect survivors, inform action, and prevent harm before it happens. You can be part of that work.
Read up on LCHT’s past research on human trafficking in Colorado, including our most recent Colorado Project in 2023. Share the findings with your networks. Voice your support for survivor-informed approaches to policy. Invest in understanding the root causes of human exploitation in our communities in the first place.
Together, we can ensure that anti-trafficking research remains a tool for justice, belonging, and change in Colorado and beyond.