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Ending Human Trafficking

306 – Survivor Voices Leading Change, with Jerome Elam

Oct 30, 2023 · 30 min · Episode 1 · 29.3 MB
0:00-30:09

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This episode is brought to you by Vanguard University and the Global Center for Women and Justice, who offer an incredible anti-human trafficking certificate. Whether you're a frontline responder, a social worker, in the ministry, a healthcare provider, or simply a community member who wants to help, this program is built for you. Head over to gcwj.org/ahtc to take the next step and apply today. 

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Dr. Sandie Morgan is joined by Jerome Elam as the two discuss the importance of advocating for male victims of trafficking.

Jerome Elam

Jerome Elam is president and CEO of Trafficking in America Task Force, Child Sex Trafficking Survivor, Survivor Leader, recipient of the Award for Courage presented by the National Council of Jewish Women, a member of ECPAT Global Survivors Forum, a member of ECPAT Global Network of Survivor Led Organizations. He’s a staff writer and columnist for Community’s Digital News, a special adviser to the Utah Attorney General, a Marine Corps veteran, recipient of the US Attorney General’s Alliance Lifetime Achievement Award for Anti Trafficking work, and chosen as one of New York’s New Abolitionists.

Key Points

  • The Warsaw Human Dimension Conference unites 57 OSCE member countries to report on how they’ve been addressing human trafficking and it is global in attendance.
  • Human trafficking is multifaceted because there is forced criminality involved, making it less likely for men and boys to be identified as survivors.
  • Jerome Elam describes grooming as psychological quicksand in which the predator grooms the victim through the five stages listed in the episode.
  • Because of the shame that surrounds male victims, they are less likely to disclose the crimes, and through the grooming of a child’s environment, the victim is less likely to be believed by the adults around them.

Resources

Transcript

Sandra Morgan 0:00
You are listening to the Ending Human Trafficking podcast episode #306: Survivor Voices Leading Change, with Jerome Elam.

Welcome to the Ending Human Trafficking podcast here at Vanguard University’s Global Center for Women and Justice in Orange County, California. My name is Sandie Morgan and this is the show where we empower you to study the issues, be a voice, and make a difference in ending human trafficking. Our guest today is Jerome Elam. He is president and CEO of Trafficking in America Task Force, Child Sex Trafficking Survivor, Survivor Leader, recipient of the Award for Courage presented by the National Council of Jewish Women, a member of ECPAT Global Survivors Forum, a member of ECPAT Global Network of Survivor Led Organizations. He’s a staff writer and columnist for Community’s Digital News, a special adviser to the Utah Attorney General, a Marine Corps veteran, recipient of the US Attorney General’s Alliance Lifetime Achievement Award for Anti Trafficking work, and chosen as one of New York’s New Abolitionists. He’s so much more and you’re going to learn about that in our conversation. Welcome to the show, Jerome.

Jerome Elam 1:59
Thank you Sandie, it’s an honor to be here.

Sandra Morgan 2:01
You just came back from Warsaw, Poland for the OSCE Conference, there’s 57 member countries. Tell us what that is, why you were there, and maybe a couple of other things I’m going to ask you.

Jerome Elam 2:17
Absolutely. Thank you for that question. The Warsaw Human Dimension Conference is a yearly conference that is put on by the Organization for Security Cooperation in Europe’s Office of Democratic Initiatives and Human Rights, that brings together the 57 member countries of the OSCE where we can basically give them a report card on how they’re doing in terms of addressing human trafficking. So one of the things I’ve been really grateful for is opportunity to work on what we call the National Referral Manual, which is a guide book used by the 57 member countries of the OSCE to help combat human trafficking. We are able, at the Warsaw Human Dimension Conference, to talk to these countries about how they’re following the guidelines, how they’re doing combating human trafficking, and to give them any guidance we can to help them improve their approach to it.

Sandra Morgan 3:09
Well, who’s we? Because I know you’re there, I know a few other people, it’s not all survivors.

Jerome Elam 3:16
No, exactly. I am grateful, I’m actually in my second term as a member of the OSCE OHDIR, survivors of trafficking Advisory Council. But I was at the Warsaw Human Dimension Conference as a member of the Council, but also as a member of Civil Society, representing my nonprofit Tafficking America Task Force. The global community can attend this conference and really talk about these important issues, and we both know that human trafficking is evolving faster than the law can keep up with it. So we’re here to talk about how to...