ECPAT-USA Hosts Discussion On Race And The Criminalization Of Trafficked Youth

ECPAT-USA was honored to host a special event on how race and trafficking intersect in the criminal justice system last week with Cyntoia Brown (now Brown-Long), civil rights attorney Justin Moore, and ECPAT-USA Board Member and Survivors’ Council Member Katrina Massey.

Trafficking victims of color are often dismissed as criminals, instead of being recognized as individuals in need of our protection and support. The disproportionate impact of trafficking on BIPOC - in both victimization and criminalization - is often overlooked in conversations around the issue. The panel focused on the real-life consequences of these dynamics by centering the lived experiences of survivors.

Highlights from the full conversation, as well as additional resources, are available below.

The Conversation of Choice

Cyntoia Brown in Conversation Panel Highlight - The Conversation of Choice

The Adultification of Black and Brown Girls

The Abuse-to-Prison Pipeline

Zephi Trevino Case Parallels

The Importance of Survivor Representation

What You Can Do To Help

Additional Resources

Learn More:

• Free Cyntoia: My Search for Redemption in the American Prison System by Cyntoia Brown-Long

• What I’ve Been Through Is Not Who I Am, documentary from ECPAT-USA and Witness

• Girlhood Interrupted: The Erasure of Black Girls’ Childhood, report from the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality

• The Sexual Abuse to Prison Pipeline: The Girls’ Story, report from the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality, Human Rights Project for Girls (Rights4Girls), and Ms. Foundation for Women

• Black Girls and the (Im)Possibilities of a Victim Trope: The Intersectional Failures of Legal and Advocacy Interventions in the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Minors in the United States, a report from UCLA Law School

• Responding to Sex Trafficking Victim-Offender Intersectionality - A Guide for Criminal Justice Stakeholders, Shared Hope International

Take Action:

• Support The GLITTER Project and sign the petition to designate Jan. 29 as Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Awareness Day

• Sign the petition calling for the charges against trafficking survivor Zephi Trevino to be dropped 

Resources for Survivors:

• National Human Trafficking Hotline

• The ECPAT-USA Survivors’ Council - If you are interested in learning more about our Survivors’ Council, including how to join, please contact us here

• Empower Her Network

• World Without Exploitation’s Share Your Story initiative 

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