We have compiled a list of books, documentaries, podcasts and links as a great place to begin to educate and inspire those wanting to learn more about investing in the flourishing of survivors and their families. Take a look!
Courses
Find Your LaneWant to fight human trafficking but don’t know where to begin? After years of trying to find our lane, we wanted to equip YOU to find yours.A fun, interactive quiz to tell you where your personality aligns. Downloadable E-book with resources for other non-profits fighting in each lane. Nine SHORT videos to make it easy to digest.
Trafficking TruthsThis free e-course invites fifteen national experts on to talk through all you need and want to know to fight human trafficking. With so much mis-information on the internet right now, it can be hard to sort through the truth. Come learn from Rebecca and her colleagues and friends in the packed 7-Part course.This course comes with your free downloadable e-book and access to all seven myths!
Girls Like UsRachel Lloyd’s riveting survivor story is the true tale of her hard-won escape from the commercial sex industry and her bold founding of GEMS, New York City’s Girls Education and Mentoring Service, to help countless other young girls escape “the life.” Lloyd’s unflinchingly honest memoir is a powerful and unforgettable story of inhuman abuse, enduring hope, and the promise of redemption.
Fragments: A Post-Traumatic ParadigmK.D. Roche is a nationally recognized speaker, author and human trafficking field expert. Having lived through a parent’s addiction and child sex-trafficking, K.D. is now an advocate for victims of sexual exploitation, consulting for organizations such as the Office for Victims of Crime, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and the National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Center. In Fragments: A Post-Traumatic Paradigm, K.D. offers a glimpse into the intricate way that a child’s mind processes traumatic experiences--in a sensory and non-linear fashion. Through a first person account of his experiences, follow him as he navigates through a parent’s addiction, bouncing from one house to the next and being sex trafficked during summers and holiday breaks from school. K.D. learns to separate his mind from his body, disconnecting thoughts, memories and even his identity in an effort to survive continual abuse and neglect. In this compilation of memoir, poetry, and creative non-fiction, readers will recognize vulnerabilities that lead to exploitation and abuse, including generational trauma, neglect and mental illness. Witness how perpetrators recruit and groom their victims and the tactics they use to keep them silent while following K.D. through many stages of child development. Understand the impact that recurring, compounded trauma has on the health and development of a person, affecting how they process information, emotion and memory. This book contains mature content for mature audiences.
Free CyntoiaNAACP Image Award nominee for Outstanding Biography/AutobiographyIn her own words, Cyntoia Brown-Long shares the riveting and redemptive story of how she changed her life for the better while in prison, finding hope through faith after a traumatic adolescence of drug addiction, rape, and sex trafficking led to a murder conviction.
Good News About InjusticeHaugen is the president of the International Justice Mission, an incredible organization that seeks to demonstrate the compassion and justice of God in nations around the world. The book is first and foremost a defense of this concept – that we, as followers of Christ and children of God, serve a compassionate God who is concerned with and passionate about the particular travesties of injustice in every corner of the globe. Haugen takes the reader through dozens of scriptural passages and principles to make his point and leaves the reader asking what they can do to make a difference in the world.
In Pursuit of LoveThrough her own gripping story of escape from human trafficking, Rebecca Bender teaches us what trafficking in America looks like - and what we can do about it - as she reveals the light of God in even the darkest places. In Pursuit of Love is a riveting read that will give you the confidence to pursue your own purpose and take you on a journey to places you never thought possible.
The Justice CallingOffering a comprehensive biblical theology of justice drawn from the whole story of Scripture, this book invites us to know more intimately the God who loves justice and calls us to give our lives to seek the flourishing of others.
The White UmbrellaThe White Umbrella tells stories of survivors as well as those who came alongside to help them toward recovery. It describes the pain and the strength of these young women and those who held the “white umbrella” of protection and purity over them on the road to restoration. This book offers principles and guidance to anyone with a heart for these hurting young women and a desire to help. It is an ideal resource for individuals or organizations seeking to learn what they can do.
Born Into BrothelsTraces the lives children in the Red Light district of India. The filmmaker, a New York based photographer, teaches photography to the children enabling them to document their life. Winner of the 2005 Academy Award for Best Documentary Film.
Children For SaleJada Pinkett Smith engages in intimate conversations with girls who were lured into the sex trafficking industry and the women who helped them escape their traffickers and create a safe, fulfilling life for themselves.
I Am Jane DoeDOE chronicles the epic battle that several American mothers are waging on behalf of their middle-school daughters, victims of sex trafficking on Backpage.com, the classified advertising website that for years was part of the iconic Village Voice. Reminiscent of Erin Brockovich and Karen Silkwood, these mothers have stood up on behalf of thousands of other mothers, fighting back and refusing to take no for an answer. (Available on Netflix)
Sex Trafficking in AmericaFilmed over three years, this 54-minute documentary from PBS Frontline takes a look at sex trafficking in the United States. At 16, Kat was kidnapped and trafficked by men she met online. Through her story, the film explores how victims are chosen, groomed, and sold. In the documentary, Kat says that she didn’t even know something like that was possible in the US. The film also follows a unique police unit based in Phoenix. They’re dedicated to fighting sex trafficking through techniques like undercover social media operations. While “Sex Trafficking in America” reveals the trauma of trafficking, it also offers a glimmer of hope.
Very Young GirlsVery Young Girls is an exposé of the commercial sexual exploitation of girls in New York City as they are sold on the streets by pimps and treated as adult criminals by police. The film follows barely adolescent girls in real time, using vérité and intimate interviews with them, documenting their struggles and triumphs as they seek to exit the commercial sex industry. The film also uses startling footage shot by pimps themselves, giving a rare glimpse into how the cycle of exploitation begins for many women.(Available on Amazon Prime)
Sex + Money: A National Search for Human WorthSex+Money: A National Search for Human Worth is a documentary about domestic minor sex trafficking and the modern-day abolitionist movement fighting to stop it. Since September 2009, the crew has traveled to over 30 states and conducted more than 75 interviews with federal agents, victims, politicians, activists, psychologists, porn-stars, among others.
The Everyday Advocate PodcastJoin Jessica & Audrey on The Everyday Advocate Podcast as they sit down and talk about empowered leadership and healthy relationships as we work in the field of human trafficking, and how you can grow as a mentor and leader wherever you are today.
Ending Human Trafficking The Global Center for Women and Justice launched the Ending Human Trafficking podcast in April 2011 and it has passed the 160 podcast milestone as of January 2018. Our mantra is Study the Issues. Be a voice. Make a difference. We believe that if you do not study first, you may say or do the wrong thing. The National Family and Youth Services Clearinghouse promoted EHT as “a good way to get up to speed on human trafficking”. Our audience includes students, community leaders, and even government leaders. EHT listeners come from all corners of the world, which accomplishes our mission of building a global community that works together to end human exploitation.
The New ActivistThis show features conversations with activists and leaders who are tackling some of the world’s biggest humanitarian issues from the frontlines of the war against injustice.
You Can MentorWe help mentors build relationships with kids from hard places in the name of Jesus. From encouraging stories of life change, to practical youth mentoring tools, this podcast will help volunteers and leaders overcome common mentoring obstacles in the modern day.
Polaris ProjectPolaris project is a leading international organization combating human trafficking and modern-day slavery. Based in the United States and Japan, they bring together community members, survivors, and professionals to fight trafficking and slavery in the spirit of a modern-day Underground Railroad.
IPATHThe Indiana Protection for Abused and Trafficked Humans (IPATH) is a statewide task force that was first initiated in 2005 by the Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime and the Bureau of Justice Assistance to address the issue of human trafficking. IPATH’s goals are prevention, protection, and prosecution, and is comprised of over 60 organizations statewide including: law enforcement specialists, social service providers, health providers, legal service providers, awareness and education organizations, as well as passionate community members and faith based groups.
IJMInternational Justice Mission is a human rights agency that secures justice for victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent oppression. IJM lawyers, investigators and aftercare professionals work with local officials to ensure immediate victim rescue and aftercare, to prosecute perpetrators and to promote functioning public justice systems.
Love146Love146‘s mission is abolition and restoration. They combat child sex slavery & exploitation with the unexpected and restore survivors with excellence. Love146 works toward the abolition of child sex slavery and exploitation through Prevention and Aftercare programs.
Shared HopeShared Hope International exists to rescue and restore women and children in crisis. We are leaders in a worldwide effort to prevent and eradicate sex trafficking and slavery through education and public awareness.
U.S. Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in PersonsThe Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (G/TIP), led by Ambassador Luis CdeBaca, provides the tools to combat trafficking in persons and assists in the coordination of anti-trafficking efforts both worldwide and domestically.
End It MovementBorn out of the belief that even one person trapped in slavery is too many, #ENDITMOVEMENT is a coalition of the leading organizations in the world in the fight for freedom. Each of our amazing coalition partners are doing the work, on the ground, everyday, to bring awareness prevention, rescue, and restoration. Joined by students and Senators, Nonprofits and Fortune 500s, END IT is each of us standing for what's right until the number of men, women, and children suffering in silence moves from 40 million, to ZERO.
