Ending Human Trafficking

Derek Marsh joins Dr. Sandie Morgan to reflect on what they learned inside refugee communities in Greece — where Sudanese survivors of labor trafficking, and mothers rebuilding after violence, reveal how trust, disclosure, and practical support can change what people are able to name, ask for, and access.Chapters(00:00) - Welcome and What Made This Year's Greece Trip Different (04:51) - Inside the Refugee Camp at Kyllini (08:11) - Why Survivors Hesitate to Disclose — and the Brutality They Described (10:21) - Man to Man: Opening Up About Exploitation That Hasn't Stopped (14:46) - How Greece Identifies Victims While Saving Lives (17:43) - A Day of Respite: The Single-Mothers Camp (23:13) - Building Resilience and the Power of a Positive Presence (29:49) - Taking the Lessons Home: Meeting People Where They Are About Derek MarshDerek Marsh is Associate Director of the Global Center for Women and Justice at Vanguard University, where his work centers on education, prevention, and labor trafficking awareness. A longtime collaborator with Dr. Sandie Morgan and a recurring voice on the Ending Human Trafficking Podcast, he helps lead the Global Center's annual study-abroad program in Greece, returning to refugee-serving communities there many times over the years. He came to anti-trafficking work through law enforcement, founding the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force, and brings that frontline perspective to questions of victim identification and case development. On this trip, his expertise in labor trafficking — and his ability to connect man-to-man with male survivors who are often reluctant to identify themselves as victims — created space for Sudanese refugees to disclose exploitation they had not previously named.Key Points• This year's student group was strikingly independent, and a visit to the Young Diplomat Academy — hosted by Greece's National Human Trafficking Rapporteur — opened the door to a possible future partnership.• For the first time, the team entered a refugee camp in remote Kyllini, where Sudanese men who had been labor trafficked lived three-and-a-half hours from Athens, making access to paperwork and services extremely difficult.• Survivors were hesitant to disclose their trafficking — partly because earlier promises of help had gone unfulfilled — and when they did open up, Derek was struck by how violent and physical their labor trafficking had been.• Having a man speak man-to-man with male survivors lowered their barriers, and they revealed that exploitation was continuing right near the camp, where local actors had quickly learned to target new arrivals.• Greece's EKKA reported 891 identified victims — an admirable number for a nation of under 11 million on the front line of the Mediterranean migration crisis, where authorities must prioritize saving lives before investigating crimes.• At a separate camp for single mothers near Pyrgos, the team hosted a respite event with childcare, art therapy, and resources; the women had walked 45 minutes carrying their children to attend.• A student caring for a three-year-old watched him duck and cover at the sound of a passing plane — a vivid reminder that reaching safety is not enough, and that building resilience is key to a child's recovery.• The closing challenge: you don't need to visit a refugee camp to help — meet displaced people where they are, understand their context, and "look for the handle close to you," whether abroad or in your own community.Resources• Global Center for Women and Justice• Humanitarian Initiative Bridges• A21• EKKA — National Centre for Social Solidarity (National Referral Mechanism)• Ending Human Trafficking — Episode 371: Dr. Heracles Moskoff

Dr. Heracles Moskoff joins Dr. Sandie Morgan to explore what happens after a country builds the laws, shelters, and partnerships meant to protect people — and why outcomes still depend on whether someone, somewhere, recognizes what others overlook.ChaptersAbout Dr. Heracles MoskoffDr. Heracles Moskoff serves as Secretary General for Vulnerable Persons and Institutional Protection at Greece's Ministry of Migration and Asylum, a role he assumed in July 2023. He previously served as Special Secretary for the Protection of Unaccompanied Minors (2021–2023), overseeing the implementation of Greece's National Guardianship System and frameworks for the accommodation and protection of unaccompanied children. With over two decades of experience in migration policy, human security, and anti-trafficking efforts, Dr. Moskoff has held roles within Greece's Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2001, including as Expert Counselor on Human Security. In 2013, he was appointed National Rapporteur on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, coordinating Greece's National Referral Mechanism and National Action Plan (2018–2022). He represents Greece at the EU, United Nations, Council of Europe, and OSCE. He holds a PhD in Sociology from the London School of Economics.Key Points• Most countries have robust anti-trafficking legal frameworks, but the real gap is “national ownership” — the capacity of frontline professionals to recognize indicators when victims do not self-identify.• Faith communities and faith-based NGOs are essential partners because they reach both potential victims and the demand side at an existential level that law enforcement cannot.• Greece's National Emergency Response Mechanism — a 24/7 hotline with mobile units — has helped recover more than 10,000 unaccompanied children over the last five years.• A culture of impunity persists worldwide: only a small percentage of victims are identified and only a small percentage of perpetrators face justice; the identification chain has to extend beyond police to medical, migration, and public administration professionals.• Trafficking is not only the textbook case — the “gray area” of dirty, difficult, dangerous informal work for unaccompanied minors is its own form of exploitation, often tolerated by enforcement.• Consumer demand and corporate supply chains require regulation with real teeth; well-intentioned laws like the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act remain under-enforced, and Greece faces the same gap.• A new presidential decree authorizes new departments dedicated to anti-trafficking and gender-based violence, including planned shelters for male victims and victims of forced labor.• Survivors of forced criminality carry trauma alongside extraordinary resilience; with proper mental health support, integration can produce what Dr. Moskoff calls “a miracle of integration.”Resources• Global Center for Women and Justice• Greece Ministry of Migration and Asylum• Greece National Emergency Response Mechanism (for unaccompanied minors)• EU Pact on Migration and Asylum• United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime• California Transparency in Supply Chains Act

Dr. Sigrid Burruss and Dr. Adrienne Schlatter join Dr. Sandie Morgan to explore what human trafficking actually looks like in healthcare settings, why safety matters more than rushing to the rescue, and how hospitals can build responses that help patients feel seen, supported, and safer -- with a close look at California's new SB 963, requiring emergency departments to screen every patient for trafficking.Chapters(00:00) - Intro + SB 963: The New California Law (03:08) - How Trafficking Survivors Come to Healthcare (05:51) - Recognizing the Signs and Using Screening Tools (10:00) - The Sticker Method: Creative Strategies for Privacy (14:36) - Planting Seeds Instead of Rushing to Rescue (19:27) - Training the Whole Team — Even the Cleaning Staff (24:40) - Where to Find Resources and Training (28:01) - Consent Laws, Reporting, and Adult Patients Dr. Sigrid Burruss & Dr. Adrienne SchlatterDr. Sigrid Burruss is a board-certified surgeon at UCI Health specializing in trauma surgery and surgical critical care. She earned her medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, completed her general surgery residency at UCLA Medical Center, and a fellowship in surgical critical care at UC San Diego Medical Center. Her professional interests include trauma prevention, reducing trauma recidivism, and understanding the relationship between mental health and physical trauma. She is engaged in connecting patients and families with community support systems to promote long-term recovery, and serves on the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force Healthcare Subcommittee and CSEC steering committee as a leader in clinical response to child sexual exploitation and human trafficking.Dr. Adrienne Schlatter is a board-certified pediatrician at UCI Health, with dual board certification in Pediatrics and Child Abuse Pediatrics. She earned her medical degree from Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine, completed her residency in pediatrics at Los Angeles County USC Medical Center, and a fellowship in child abuse pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine. Her clinical work focuses on the care of children who may be affected by abuse or neglect, including evaluation and coordination within multidisciplinary systems. Dr. Schlatter also serves on the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force Healthcare Subcommittee and CSEC steering committee, bringing her expertise in child abuse pediatrics to the intersection of clinical care, consent law, and trauma-informed practice.Key Points• SB 963, effective January 1, 2025, requires all California emergency departments to screen every patient for human trafficking and adopt formal policies for doing so -- regardless of whether risk factors are present.• Trafficking survivors may come to the ED for reasons that appear unrelated to trafficking: physical assault with an inconsistent history, recurrent STIs, or chronic conditions like hypertension and diabetes that go unmanaged because the trafficker controls whether they can follow up with a primary care provider.• The triage nurse and check-in staff are often the first point of contact -- not the physician -- making it essential that everyone who encounters a patient, from reception to security to cleaning staff, knows what to look for and how to escalate.• When a potential trafficking survivor arrives with a companion claiming to be a family member, clinical policy and common procedures -- like a separate exam, an X-ray, or a trip to the bathroom for a urine sample -- can create a private moment to ask sensitive questions.• The sticker method gives patients a covert way to signal for help: bathroom posters invite patients to place a sticker on their urine cup if they feel unsafe, prompting staff to create a private conversation even when a trafficker is in the room.• Healthcare providers need to manage the impulse to rescue immediately; many survivors, especially teenagers, may not recognize that they are being trafficked, so the goal is to plant a seed of safety -- not to expect immediate disclosure or departure.• Discharge paperwork can carry covert resources: embedding youth housing, counseling services, and hotline numbers in a generic "age-appropriate resources" sheet means a survivor leaves with something useful even if they are not ready to act on it today.• California consent law gives minors over 12 the right to consent to STI testing, mental health care, and substance use counseling without parental permission -- and anyone can consent to forensic evidence collection after sexual assault -- giving clinicians important tools for trauma-informed care without putting young patients at greater risk.ResourcesSB 963 -- California Hospital Human Trafficking Screening Lawhttps://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB963Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force -- Healthcare Subcommitteehttps://www.ochumantrafficking.com/committees/healthcaresubcommitteeQuick Youth Indicators for Trafficking (QYIT)https://resources.rhyttac.org/resources/screening-tool/quick-youth-indicators-trafficking-qyitCSE-IT -- Commercial Sexual Exploitation-Identification Toolhttps://www.westcoastcc.org/cse-it/National Human Trafficking Hotlinehttps://humantraffickinghotline.org/en

Ray Bercini and Sara Elander join Dr. Sandie Morgan to explore what's really at stake when a city like Los Angeles hosts the World Cup — and why the biggest trafficking risk might not be what you think.Chapters(00:00) - Introduction: What LA's Preparing for and Why It Matters (01:04) - Meet Ray and Sara: Roles at Saving Innocence and the LA Task Force (06:19) - Building a Legacy Committee: Planning for FIFA and Beyond (09:03) - Law Enforcement Readiness: Operations, Agencies, and Coordination (11:50) - Separating Myth from Reality: What the Data Actually Shows About Trafficking and Major Events (16:36) - Preparing for the Surge: Tips, Leads, and Victim Services Coordination (24:18) - Vetting Outside Organizations and Staying in Your Lane (32:37) - What Does Success Look Like After FIFA? Ray Bercini and Sara ElanderRay Bercini serves as Task Force Coordinator and Law Enforcement Liaison at Saving Innocence. With 31 years at the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department — including six years dedicated to human trafficking work — Ray brings deep cross-sector expertise to the intersection of law enforcement and victim services. He has been instrumental in building the LA Regional Human Trafficking Task Force into one of the largest co-located task forces in the nation, and has played a key role in preparing Los Angeles for major events including the Super Bowl, FIFA World Cup, and LA28 Olympics.Sara Elander is Director of Programs at Saving Innocence and Victim Service Coordinator for the LA Regional Human Trafficking Task Force. With over six years of experience in program management and trauma-informed care, Sara leads a team of crisis case managers and oversees survivor-centered services across LA County. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Community Advocacy and Social Policy from Arizona State University and is committed to healing-centered approaches that empower survivors toward long-term recovery and stability.Key PointsThe widely repeated claim that major sporting events dramatically spike sex trafficking lacks supporting data — but the absence of proof isn't proof of absence, and LA is launching a research study around FIFA to finally generate real, local data.Labor trafficking is the more evidence-based concern around large-scale events, with exploitation rising sharply in the lead-up to events through construction, hospitality, and vendor supply chains.The LA Regional Human Trafficking Task Force launched a Sports and Major Events Committee with roughly 30 members and six subcommittees, designed as a legacy infrastructure that can serve future events beyond just FIFA.Coordinating tips during a major international event is a complex, unsolved challenge — multiple agencies including FBI, HSI, LAPD, and LASD will all have tip lines, and the team is working to centralize reporting without losing coverage.One of the most important lessons from the 2022 Super Bowl was that outside organizations parachuting in with good intentions — but without coordination — can undermine local trust and misdirect survivors away from local resources.Effective multi-agency collaboration requires every organization to clearly define what they uniquely bring to the table, stay in their lane, and go through a vetting process before engaging in high-stakes response work.Sara's definition of success after FIFA centers on community empowerment — if hospitality workers, transportation staff, and community members leave better equipped to identify and report trafficking indicators, that's a lasting win.Ray's measure of success is straightforward: survivors of all forms of trafficking — sex and labor — are identified, connected to resources, and treated with dignity, which no single agency can accomplish alone.ResourcesSaving InnocenceLA Regional Human Trafficking Task ForceNational Human Trafficking HotlineCompass ConnectionsBlue CampaignLA Regional Crime StoppersGlobal Center for Women and JusticeEnding Human Trafficking Podcast

Anna-Carin Svensson joins Dr. Sandie Morgan as they explore how Sweden's decision to punish buyers instead of victims has reshaped who feels safe coming forward — and how that same principle is now being applied to hold online exploitation accountable.Chapters(00:00) - Introduction: Sweden's Principle That Changed Everything (01:07) - The Equality Model: Why Sweden Criminalized Buyers, Not Sellers (07:37) - What 25 Years of Data Actually Shows (09:16) - When Exploitation Moves Online: Updating the Law for the Digital Age (14:37) - Why Multidisciplinary Collaboration Is Non-Negotiable (18:41) - The Gap Between Good Laws and Correct Application (25:02) - Prevention Starts Before the Warning Signs (29:51) - Hope, Humanity, and the Road Ahead Anna-Carin SvenssonAnna-Carin Svensson serves as Sweden's Ambassador to Combat Trafficking in Persons, representing Sweden in multilateral anti-trafficking efforts including at the United Nations. In this role, she has participated in high-level discussions related to the appraisal of the UN Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons, including the side event "Proactive by Design: Leveraging Multidisciplinary Collaboration and Digital Innovation to Prevent Human Trafficking."Previously, Svensson served as Director-General for International Affairs at the Swedish Ministry of Justice, where she led Swedish delegations in international human rights forums and oversaw Sweden's implementation of international legal obligations, including under the Convention against Torture. Across her career, she has consistently emphasized state responsibility, institutional accountability, cross-government coordination, and the importance of translating legislation into effective practice.Key PointsSweden's Sex Purchase Act, introduced in 1999, was a landmark legal shift that criminalized the buyer of sexual services rather than the seller, placing the state firmly on the side of the more vulnerable party in the transaction and signaling that prostitution is a harm to all of society — not just to the individual.A 2010 official evaluation of the law found measurable results: street prostitution decreased, criminal networks were deterred from establishing trafficking operations in Sweden, and public attitudes shifted significantly — evidence that law can have both a direct and a normative effect.As exploitation moved online, Sweden updated its legislation in 2025 to extend the same principle into the digital space, criminalizing the purchase of live, on-demand sexual acts performed remotely — because if something is illegal offline, it must be illegal online.Many victims who had been coerced into performing live cam shows said the new law would have made it easier for them to refuse, illustrating how legal frameworks can shift power back to the exploited person even before a crime is prosecuted.Correct application of the law matters as much as the law itself — broad training across all professions, not just specialized units, is essential so that any first responder can recognize a victim, give an appropriate initial response, and connect them to the right support.Multidisciplinary collaboration is not optional: criminal justice, social services, civil society, health professionals, schools, and international partners must all work in concert, because victims often feel safer disclosing to a social worker or nonprofit than to law enforcement, and that trust must be honored.Digital literacy and healthy relationship education must begin before exploitation happens — teaching young people to recognize manipulation, loverboy tactics, and online red flags is one of the most important prevention investments a society can make.Hope lies in the growing global community of organizations and individuals bringing creative, collaborative solutions to every aspect of this problem — and in the simple recognition that for every challenge, there are many possible answers.ResourcesEnding Human Trafficking PodcastGlobal Center for Women and Justice (GCWJ)UN Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons – 2025 AppraisalSweden's Sex Purchase Act – Swedish Gender Equality AgencySweden's 2025 Online Sexual Acts Legislation – Library of Congress SummaryTranscriptClick here to view the episode transcript.

Matthew Friedman joins Dr. Sandie Morgan as they explore how pig butchering scams work, why they're so effective, and how they're tied to forced labor and human trafficking, while explaining what prevention can look like from personal red flags to safeguards in financial systems.Matthew FriedmanMatthew Friedman is the Founder and CEO of The Mekong Club, a pioneering organization that mobilizes the private sector to fight modern slavery across Asia. A globally recognized expert on human trafficking, Friedman has spent over three decades working at the intersection of business, government, and humanitarian action to combat exploitation and promote ethical leadership. Before founding The Mekong Club, Friedman served as Regional Project Manager for the United Nations International Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP/UNDP), overseeing a six-country initiative spanning China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Thailand. He also served as Deputy Director for the USAID Office of Public Health (Asia Region), managing a $100 million annual portfolio. Friedman holds a Master's degree in Health Education from New York University and is a renowned keynote speaker who has delivered more than 900 presentations in 20 countries, inspiring individuals and organizations to take a stand in the fight against modern slavery.Key PointsPig butchering scams are sophisticated romance scams where criminals build trust over weeks before convincing victims to invest life savings in fake cryptocurrency schemes, with the metaphor referring to "fattening the pig before the slaughter."An estimated 300,000 to 400,000 young professionals have been trafficked into scam centers across Southeast Asia, where they are forced under extreme violence and coercion to run online scams targeting victims in wealthy nations.The Prince Group sanctions marked one of the most significant global crackdowns on forced-labor scam centers, with the UK freezing real estate assets and the US freezing $15 billion in cryptocurrency, signaling increased international cooperation.Financial institutions can help prevent pig butchering by monitoring unusual withdrawal patterns, such as when customers who haven't touched their accounts for 30 years suddenly liquidate everything, and by contacting clients before large transfers are completed.Victims in scam centers face brutal violence including being tasered, beaten, and in some cases tortured to death with videos sold as "hardcore" content, creating a level of violence unprecedented in modern slavery according to Friedman's 35 years of experience.Only 0.2% of the 50 million people in modern slavery receive assistance globally, not because counter-trafficking organizations don't care, but because the $236 billion generated by criminals vastly outweighs the $400 million available to fight it.Public education and awareness are critical for prevention, as people in North America remain largely unaware of pig butchering scams while Asian communities have become more informed through widespread media coverage and victim testimonies.The Mekong Club has developed multilingual e-learning tools including a three-and-a-half-minute video to help raise awareness about both human trafficking into scam centers and the scams themselves, emphasizing that prevention must be widespread.ResourcesThe Mekong ClubThe Mekong Club - Tools & ResourcesValid8 FinancialEnding Human Trafficking Podcast - Episode 269Matthew Friedman on LinkedInContact Matthew FriedmanEnding Human Trafficking Website

Chris Simonsen joins Dr. Sandie Morgan as they explore how communities can close the gap that makes young people vulnerable to trafficking—not with rescue mentalities, but with trauma-informed care, consistent relationships, and spaces where young people feel safe enough to stay.Chris SimonsenChris Simonsen is the Chief Executive Officer of Orangewood Foundation, one of Orange County’s leading organizations serving youth who have experienced abuse, neglect, homelessness, and exploitation. With more than fifteen years at the helm and over three decades of executive leadership experience, Simonsen oversees a comprehensive continuum of care that includes housing, education, transitional support, wellness services, and specialized programs for youth who have been exploited or trafficked. Under his leadership, Orangewood has expanded its focus on intervention for children and Transitional Age Youth (TAY), emphasizing strategies that prevent revictimization, stabilize immediate crises, and strengthen long-term resilience. Simonsen’s leadership is shaped by a commitment to relationship-based, trauma-informed care and a theory of change rooted in the belief that consistent adult support, safe environments, and practical resources dramatically alter a young person’s trajectory.Key PointsOrangewood Foundation made a strategic decision ten years ago to remove all labeling criteria for their programs, allowing them to serve any teen or young adult in need regardless of foster care status or county of residence, which caused the organization to grow from 40 to 250 employees.The number one priority when working with vulnerable youth is building a trusting relationship and creating a safe environment where they feel comfortable, which can take weeks or months before meaningful goal-setting work can begin.Young people without support structures are highly vulnerable to traffickers, and their trauma is so much more complex that Orangewood created dedicated programming including the Lighthouse transitional housing program and Project Choice drop-in center specifically for survivors and at-risk youth.Prevention work must address the developmental realities of youth who haven’t had long-term stability or supportive infrastructure, including implementing social-emotional support in schools through programs like advisory groups that stay together for four years.The role of loneliness and connection is critical—young people need to build their own communities and peer support networks, not just rely on organizational staff, to develop healthy relationships and long-term resilience.For those wanting to help, the most effective approach is to support existing trauma-informed organizations through volunteering, donations, or collaboration rather than starting new nonprofits, and to get educated on what human trafficking really is before attempting direct intervention.Schools need to dedicate more resources to the social-emotional aspects of teenagers’ lives, not just academics, and provide direct education to students about trafficking prevention at appropriate age levels without parental pushback.The Ending Human Trafficking Collaborative led by the Samueli Foundation exemplifies how community education and cross-sector partnerships can strengthen prevention efforts by bringing together experts and philanthropists to direct resources where they’re most needed.ResourcesOrangewood FoundationSamueli AcademyProject Choice (Orangewood Foundation)Lighthouse Transitional Housing Program (Orangewood Foundation)Ending Human Trafficking PodcastGlobal Center for Women and Justice – Vanguard UniversityOrange County Human Trafficking Task ForceSamueli FoundationTranscript[00:00:00] Chris Simonsen: The number one thing we have to do initially with any of our young people is build a trusting relationship with them.[00:00:07] Make them feel comfortable.[00:00:09] Delaney: When young adults don’t have safe housing, trusted adults, or a sense of belonging, prevention fails and traffickers step in to fill that gap. This episode explores how communities can close the gap, not with rescue mentalities, but with trauma-informed care, consistent relationships and spaces where young people feel safe enough to stay.[00:00:30] You’ll hear why prevention often starts long before exploitation is visible, and how schools, nonprofits, and everyday adults can be a part of the solution. Hi, I’m Delaney. I’m a student here at Vanguard University and I help produce this show. Today, Sandie talks with Chris Simonsen, CEO of Orangewood Foundation about how supporting transitional age youth and building community-based responses can reduce vulnerability to trafficking.[00:00:57] And now here’s their conversation.[00:01:06] Sandie Morgan: Chris, I am so grateful to have you on the Ending Human Trafficking Podcast. Welcome.[00:01:12] Chris Simonsen: Happy to join you, Sandie. It’s nice to be here.[00:01:16] Sandie Morgan: We have known each other a pretty long time, and I think one of the highlights in my career was when Orangewood and you in particular, gave me the Crystal Vision Award and I just want to do a thankful shout out for what that meant. So many of us have worked in this space for a long time, and we often do not stop to reflect on our achievements.[00:01:50] I have the feeling we need to find a way to give you that award.[00:01:56] Chris Simonsen: Well, who knows? Maybe that’ll happen someday after I’m retired.[00:02:00] Sandie Morgan: Oh, okay. Well we can’t let that happen too soon. So, let’s provide some context because we know each other well, but for our listeners here, what is the mission of Orangewood?[00:02:16] Chris Simonsen: Yeah, so Orangewood Foundation has been around actually 45 years, this year. And it started out with just one project, which was to collaborate with the county of Orange to build an emergency shelter for foster youth. At the time they had a facility, but it intermingled foster youth that were there on an emergency basis with probation youth.[00:02:41] And so it was quite confusing for these young children that were removed from their homes on a temporary basis to be mixed in with these other children that had committed crimes. So the director at the time, Bill Steiner, went to the county and said I’d like to create a separate facility to house these children that have been removed from their homes until we can find them a suitable placement.[00:03:07] So the county had a piece of land, but they didn’t have any funds to build the facility, so that’s when General William Lyon, who founded our organization, got involved and rallied the community to raise $8 million. And five years later they opened up the Orangewood Children’s Home and turned that over to the county to operate and run.[00:03:30] And they’ve been doing that ever since for the last 40 years. So then our board asked themselves, well, what more could we do? We’ve got all this momentum in the community and awareness around the challenges of foster care and child abuse that’s going on in the county...

Diana Mao joins Dr. Sandie Morgan as they explore how economic empowerment serves as a frontline defense against human trafficking, revealing why desperation—not just deception—drives vulnerable families into exploitation. https://youtu.be/NLM4TP2d_lQ Diana Mao Diana Mao is a dynamic leader at the forefront of the fight against human trafficking and workforce development. As the President and Co-Founder of Nomi Network, she's helped raise and mobilize over 30 million dollars to create economic opportunities for survivors and women at risk. Her work has brought together corporate leaders, government agencies, and social impact partners to build pathways to freedom and stability. She's a Presidential Leadership Scholar and a New York Academy of Medicine Fellow, and her innovative approach has earned her awards like the NYU Alumni Changemaker Award and the Texas Women's Foundation Young Leader Award. She's advised Congress on key policy issues, and her voice is regularly heard on some of the world's biggest stages, including the United Nations, the Bush Presidential Center, and the Clinton Presidential Center. With degrees in Business Economics and Chinese from UC Santa Barbara and a Master's in Public Administration from NYU Wagner, Diana blends academic rigor with hands-on leadership. Key Points Economic vulnerability drives trafficking more than deception alone—when families face starvation and earn less than 75 cents a day, they may knowingly take dangerous jobs because desperation outweighs risk assessment. Nomi Network operates 42 training sites across India, Cambodia, and the United States, providing trauma-informed workforce training, job placement, and micro-enterprise support that creates sustainable alternatives to exploitative labor. Building capacity within existing community organizations—rather than disqualifying partners who don't meet predetermined standards—creates more sustainable and culturally contextualized anti-trafficking interventions. Living immersively in the communities being served allows organizations to co-design programs with survivors and understand the daily realities that shape vulnerability, from gathering water at 5 AM to facing harassment after 6 PM. Successful prevention requires creating bridges between vulnerable communities and the private sector, as demonstrated by Nomi Network's partnerships with major employers like India's largest manufacturers and Toyota subsidiaries that provide direct job pipelines. Youth in Dallas County's detention system who complete Nomi Network's apprenticeship programs secure jobs earning $18 per hour—more than double the minimum wage—fundamentally changing their economic trajectories and reducing trafficking vulnerability. The anti-trafficking movement is increasingly leveraging technology and AI as tools for prevention and intervention, recognizing that criminal networks are already using these technologies at exponential rates to target vulnerable populations. Self-care practices including morning exercise routines, faith-based reflection, and intentional rest enable sustained leadership in emotionally demanding anti-trafficking work, helping leaders operate from inspiration rather than obligation. Resources Nomi Network Invisible Children World Vision International Justice Mission (IJM) Hagar International Vanguard University Ending Human Trafficking Podcast Transcript [00:00:00] Diana Mao: And at the end of the survey he offered my male colleague, his youngest daughter, you like her, you take her. And as I looked into his eyes, I could see desperation and I didn't even know what, if he knew what he was doing. [00:00:11] Delaney: When your children sleep on bare ground and you earn 75 cents a day,

Clayton Cranford joins Dr. Sandie Morgan as they discuss how children need trusted adults who explicitly tell them that if something goes wrong online, it's going to be okay—because what predators exploit most is a child's fear of reaching out for help. https://youtu.be/1t42r59-nIE Clayton Cranford Clayton Cranford is a former Orange County Sheriff's Department Sergeant, school resource officer, and juvenile investigator with specialized expertise in behavioral threat assessment and online safety. He is the founder of Cyber Safety Cop, a program dedicated to educating parents, schools, and communities about how digital platforms can expose children to exploitation, grooming, and trafficking risks. With over 20 years in law enforcement and years working directly with youth and families, Cranford has trained tens of thousands of parents and educators nationwide on digital parenting strategies, social media risks, and emerging threats such as sextortion, encrypted apps, and AI-generated content. He is the author of Parenting in a Digital World and a recognized speaker at major school safety and cybersecurity conferences. His work aligns closely with prevention-first strategies and community collaboration, making him a valuable voice in the intersection of technology, youth safety, and anti-trafficking efforts. Key Points Boys are disproportionately targeted for financial sextortion schemes where predators impersonate young girls, quickly establish relationships through unsolicited images, and then extort victims for thousands of dollars, sometimes leading to tragic outcomes within hours. Online predators use sophisticated grooming tactics on girls over weeks and months, often employing multiple fake personas to build trust before exploiting victims through threats of exposing images to friends and family, creating a cycle of exploitation that can last for years. Parents must explicitly tell their children that no matter how embarrassed they are or how serious the situation seems, nothing will stop their love and support—because what children know intellectually about online safety often doesn't align with their emotional responses in the moment. AI companion apps have become widely adopted by teens, with nearly three-quarters having tried them and half using them regularly, yet these apps lack regulation, age verification, and safeguards against encouraging self-harm or creating unhealthy parasocial relationships. School resource officers serve as crucial intervention points not for enforcement but for building trusted relationships where students feel comfortable reporting concerns about peers or seeking help before situations escalate to emergencies. The rapid adoption of smartphones from less than 20% to over 80% of teens in just three years created a gap where parents handed their children powerful devices without understanding the risks of platforms like Snapchat and Discord that facilitate anonymous contact and exploitation. Prevention requires parents to understand how apps work, implement age-appropriate monitoring tools, ensure notification requirements for app downloads, and have concrete plans with their children about who to contact if something goes wrong online. Legislative action is urgently needed to require age verification, transparency about AI safeguards, and regulation of technologies being rapidly deployed to children without adequate study of downstream mental health and safety impacts. Resources Cyber Safety Cop website and resources Transcript [00:00:00] Clayton Cranford: parents had no idea what they were, what they were kind of getting themselves into when they handed their kid a phone. [00:00:06] Sandie Morgan: She calls her tattoo sleeves "armor," covering years of scars from predators who convinced ...

Carissa Phelps joins Dr. Sandie Morgan as they discuss an unprecedented opportunity for trafficking survivors to access $215 million in remission funds from the Backpage settlement, with a critical February 2026 deadline that could finally put survivors ahead of their traffickers for the first time in movement history. https://youtu.be/5XfS9sZG7-8 Carissa Phelps Carissa Phelps is a licensed attorney, author, and survivor advocate who founded Runaway Girl, Inc., a social purpose corporation providing survivor-led experiential trainings nationwide. She earned both a Juris Doctor and MBA from UCLA in 2007 and holds a B.A. in Mathematics from California State University, Fresno. As a pioneer in survivor-led advocacy, Carissa has spent nearly two decades empowering communities and amplifying survivor voices through innovative strategies. She is the author of the acclaimed memoir "Runaway Girl: Escaping Life on the Streets, One Helping Hand at a Time" and co-producer of the award-winning documentary "Carissa," both powerful tools used worldwide for education and training on child exploitation and trafficking. Key Points The Backpage remission fund represents $215 million available to trafficking survivors who were exploited on Backpage.com (2004-2018) and CityXGuide.com (2018-2020), marking the largest victim compensation fund in trafficking history. Unlike previous restitution processes that required court appearances, this remission process uses a third-party administrator, removing the traumatic requirement for survivors to face their traffickers in court. The February 2, 2026 deadline creates urgency for outreach, as many survivors remain unaware of this opportunity and the application process requires documentation of trafficking and economic losses. Survivors First community was formed as a working group under Love Never Fails Us to conduct weekly webinars, provide step-by-step guidance, and connect survivors with pro bono legal assistance and medical providers. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) has partnered with over 15 major law firms to provide free, trauma-informed legal representation to help survivors navigate the application process. Economic losses are calculated at federal minimum wage for a 40-hour work week during the trafficking period, though survivors can request higher amounts with proper documentation of different wages or hours. This funding opportunity represents a chance for the anti-trafficking movement to get ahead of traffickers for the first time, particularly as new technologies like Web3 and blockchain create new frontiers for both exploitation and prevention. Resources 19 – Runaway Girl Survivor's First Community Backpage Survivor Remission Network Transcript [00:00:00] Carissa Phelps: For the first time, for the first time in the history of this movement, we have an opportunity to get ahead of traffickers. [00:00:08] Sandie Morgan: Right now, $215 million is waiting for trafficking survivors. This is money that most survivors don't even know exists. The deadline is February 2nd, 2026. The legal system is finally learned from mistakes. There's no court required here. Victims don't have to face their traffickers to apply for this funding. It's a pathway to justice. [00:00:45] I am Dr. Sandie Morgan from the Global Center for Women and Justice at Vanguard University. And my guest is Carissa Phelps. [00:00:57] She's an attorney, a survivor advocate, founder of Runaway Girl Inc. And she is leading the charge to connect survivors with the Backpage remission fund. Let's join our conversation. [00:01:16] [00:01:22] Sandie Morgan: Okay, so Carissa Phelps, welcome to the Ending Human Trafficking Podcast.

Dr. Beth Lorance joins Dr. Sandie Morgan as they discover how a high school coach gave one of his players expensive gifts, things her mother had refused to buy, with the mom posting online asking what to do, not realizing she was witnessing grooming behavior that creates the same vulnerabilities traffickers exploit in trusted spaces throughout our communities. Dr. Beth Lorance Dr. Beth Lorance is an adjunct professor at Vanguard University, where she teaches Family Violence and has also taught Introduction to Psychology and Psychology of the Family. She earned her PsyD in Clinical Psychology and previously served as the director of Vanguard's counseling center. In addition to her academic background, Beth is a licensed minister with the Assemblies of God, which allows her to bring both psychological expertise and theological insight into conversations about abuse, trauma, and healing. Her passion is deeply personal, rooted in her own family history of child sexual abuse, and she is committed to equipping others to use their voices to prevent abuse, protect the vulnerable, and walk alongside survivors. Beth also works to bring awareness into the church, encouraging faith communities to reflect Jesus' response to victims and to take seriously the call to protect those who are most vulnerable. Key Points Family violence creates deep vulnerabilities by teaching children harmful lessons that love is transactional, they're not enough, and there's something wrong with them that they can't overcome - wounds that become embedded in their brain chemistry when trauma happens at a young age. Traffickers don't create vulnerabilities but rather exploit existing wounds from family abuse, stepping into unmet needs and exploiting lessons already learned about intimacy being tied to exploitation. Statistics reveal that 90% of abusers are known to their victims with only 10% being strangers, and 31% of traffickers are actually family members of the victim, making "stranger danger" education insufficient. Grooming is a process of control and manipulation that builds trust, chips away boundaries, and creates dependency so victims willingly comply when lines are crossed into inappropriate behavior because they've been normalized to the perpetrator's actions. Training is essential for leaders, staff, pastors, volunteers, and teachers to recognize grooming signs like expensive gift-giving, requests for secrecy, and isolating language such as "your parents don't understand you, but I do." Clear boundaries and policies are crucial, including no one-on-one supervision between adults and children, with swift consequences when policies aren't followed to prevent grooming opportunities. Children need to be empowered to say no even to trusted adults, with parents and leaders respecting their boundaries and teaching them about "tricky people" rather than just strangers. Trauma-informed communities must stop asking "what's wrong with you?" and instead listen without judgment, sitting with broken people without requiring them to change or behave in prescribed ways to receive care. Parents should be vigilant about adults in their children's lives, knowing what interactions look like and requiring that any adult who wants to be friends with their child must be friends with the parent first. Breaking the cycle requires communities that believe victims, provide someone to stand up for those who can't yet stand up for themselves, and create new family structures when biological families fail to protect. Resources 204 – Is Your Organization Trauma Informed and Why Should It Be? 124 – Prevention: Trauma Informed and Transformational Schools Transcript [00:00:00] Sandie Morgan: Welcome to the Ending Human Trafficking Podcast here at Vanguard University's Global Center for Women and Just...

Debbie Deem joins Dr. Sandie Morgan to discuss how transnational fraud predators are stealing billions from older adults and the intersection between financial crimes and human trafficking. Debbie Deem Debbie Deem is a retired FBI victim specialist with over 40 years of experience serving crime victims. She's currently an elder justice victim advocate, specializing in transnational fraud crimes and she serves as co-facilitator for the National Adult Protective Services Association Fraud Forum. She helped start the Victim Assistance Programs at the US Attorney's Office in both San Francisco and Los Angeles, where in the early to mid-1990s she discovered what we now call human trafficking victims and was assisting those victims while also working with financial crime victims. After moving to the FBI in 2003, she began focusing on older victims of lottery, sweepstakes, and romance frauds, gravitating toward the most underserved victims throughout her career. Key Points Financial fraud against older adults is now the most common crime happening around the world, with $4.9 billion reported stolen from Americans 60 and older in 2024 alone, representing a 33% increase from the previous year. The Federal Trade Commission estimates that close to $160 billion per year is stolen from all Americans due to fraud crimes, making this a massive underreported crisis. Language matters when discussing fraud victims - using terms like "defrauded" instead of "scammed" helps maintain victim dignity and reduces blame, similar to how language evolved in human trafficking advocacy. Common fraud types include romance frauds using stolen military or celebrity images, crypto investment frauds starting with innocent text messages, lottery/sweepstakes frauds, tech support impersonations, and phantom hacking where criminals impersonate bank security. Victims experience trauma bonds and love bombing similar to human trafficking victims, making it extremely difficult to recognize they're being manipulated even when red flags are present. The neuroscience behind financial fraud shows that brain chemistry and excitement responses make these relationships feel authentic to victims, requiring neuropsychologists and medical professionals to help explain what's happening. System failures are widespread - in one case study, a victim lost $380,000 but police didn't respond, banks didn't file required Adult Protective Services reports, and victim services provided no meaningful support. Crypto ATMs have become "fraud machines" found in gas stations and small stores, though California now limits transactions to $1,000 per day, causing criminals to evolve to using couriers and other methods. Prevention strategies include not answering unknown phone calls, getting scam warning apps, sharing personal fraud experiences with family members rather than lecturing, and establishing trusted contacts on all financial accounts. Revictimization occurs through recovery scams where criminals impersonate law enforcement agencies claiming they can help recover stolen funds, and through tax obligations on money withdrawn from retirement accounts even when it was stolen. The crime creates long-term devastation including bankruptcy, homelessness, suicide ideation, and forcing elderly victims back into the workforce after losing life savings. This field is where human trafficking advocacy was 20 years ago - needing widespread recognition, proper terminology, victim services, and systemic responses to address the crisis effectively. Resources Debbie deem Neuroscience Behind Financial Scams: A DOJ elder initiative Internet Crime Complaint Center - ic3.gov National Elder Fraud Hotline Transcript [00:00:00] Welcome to the Ending Human Trafficking Podcast here at Vanguard Univ...

Eleanor Kennelly Gaetan joins Dr. Sandie Morgan to discuss the critical need for legislative reform to combat online sexual exploitation, focusing on Section 230 immunity and emerging laws like the Take It Down Act. Eleanor Kennelly Gaetan Eleanor Kennelly Gaetan is director of public policy at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation in Washington DC. She has been an advocate for stronger laws to fight sexual exploitation and has had a role in passing key anti-trafficking laws like the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act and SESTA-FOSTA, which changed Section 230 to hold tech platforms more accountable for their role in enabling sex trafficking. Key Points Human trafficking was only identified as a crime in the year 2000 with the passage of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, making it a relatively new field where small movements have achieved significant progress. Eleanor witnessed firsthand in Romania how young women were lured abroad with false promises of legitimate work, only to be trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation, highlighting the critical need for proper victim services rather than detention centers. The Take It Down Act represents a crucial breakthrough by criminalizing the uploading of non-consensual sexually explicit material for the first time and requiring platforms to provide real human help desks for removal requests within 48 hours. Image-based sexual abuse creates ongoing trauma for victims because unlike other trafficking incidents that end, having images online means "you're being raped and it's online and you can't get it down," creating continuous retraumatization. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, passed in 1996 when the internet was nascent, provides broad immunity to internet service providers and has been interpreted by courts as creating a "wall of immunity" for social media platforms. The case against Twitter involving 13-year-old boys demonstrates how platforms monetize child exploitation material through advertising revenue while claiming Section 230 immunity protects them from liability. California's Age Appropriate Design Code represents one approach to reform by requiring companies to test products for age appropriateness before launch, using product liability law to sidestep Section 230 immunity issues. Meta tracks children's negative emotions and targets vulnerable youth with harmful content, including targeting kids who fear being "too fat" with eating disorder material, showing the deliberate exploitation of minors. Bipartisan support exists for reform, with both Democratic and Republican senators preparing to introduce a bill to repeal Section 230, recognizing that tech companies are not policing themselves effectively. The Social Media Victims Law Center currently represents over 4,000 families whose children have been harmed or killed due to social media platform irresponsibility enabled by Section 230 immunity. Congressional education on online harms has accelerated with over 24 briefings since 2019, positioning the current Congress as potentially the most informed ever on these issues. Federal guidance on best practices remains insufficient, with some jurisdictions like San Diego developing excellent collaborative models while others lack functional systems for moving victims into services. Resources Social Media Victims Law Center - Social Media Litigation Lawyers Can't Look Away: The Case Against Social Media CDA230 Transcript [00:00:00] Welcome to the Ending Human Trafficking Podcast, brought to you by Vanguard University's Global Center for Women and Justice in Orange County, California. I'm Dr. Sandie Morgan, and this is a show where we equip you to study the issues, be a voice, and make a difference in the fight to end human trafficking ...