Understanding Human Trafficking
as a Public Health Issue



Monday, January 28th, 12 N - 1:00 PM
School of Medicine, Learning Theater





Despite the heroic efforts of law enforcement, human trafficking remains the fastest growing criminal enterprise in the world, second only to drug trafficking. We can no longer arrest our way out of this crime. The problem requires that we address root causes and implement preventative measures to protect people from being exploited in the first place. Guest speaker Makini Chisolm-Straker, MD will explain how a public health framework can foster a more robust multi-sector response, mobilize communities to take a stand, and inspire political will and social muscle to fight human trafficking. Ending human trafficking is achievable. But first we must know how to prevent it.


About our Speaker
Course requirement for VCU medical students:
Please view webinar before class:
Emerging Issues on Human Trafficking Webinar: The Public Health Framework

Keynote Address ~
From Awareness to Engagement: Where do we go from here?



Monday, January 28, 1:00 - 1:45 PM
School of Medicine, Learning Theater





Human trafficking is a crime that takes place in silence but has piercing impact. Ending human trafficking requires effective coordination of efforts at the national, state and local levels to protect the health and wellbeing of our nation. Melissa A. McMenemy, Statewide Facilitator, Office of the Attorney General, will share what Virginia is doing to stop this growing crime and protect its citizens.


About our Speaker
Course requirement for VCU medical students:
Please view this 13:20 sec TEDx talk before class.

Human Trafficking: A Process of Violence. Learn the health impacts.



Monday, January 28th, 2 PM - 4:00 PM
School of Medicine, Learning Theater





This crime is a multi-staged process of cumulative harm. If we talk about health issues first, it's easier to talk about human trafficking. Our guest speakers, Ron Chambers, MD, and Makini Chisolm-Straker, MD, MPH, will discuss the abuse, health risks, and potential health consequences associated with human trafficking. Learn why poor mental health is perhaps the most dominant health dimension of victims and survivors of human trafficking resulting from ongoing abuse, control and violence.


About our Speaker
Course Requirement for VCU medical students:
Please listen to this webinar before class

richmond, a slave-free city: connecting the dots



Monday, January 28th, 4:30 - 5:30 PM
School of Medicine, Learning Theater





Monti N. Datta, PhD Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Richmond, will build a case for how increased historical literacy can support the remaking of the Capital of the Confederacy as an anti-slavery city, and through this example suggest, even encourage, other such investigations and considerations in other urban locations.


Course Requirement for VCU medical students:
Please view this 12:41 sec video before class.

Adult Human Trafficking
Screening Tool (AHTST)



Tuesday, January 29th, 12 N - 2:30 PM
School of Medicine, 5th Fl, Room 200A





Recent studies show that 9 out of 10 victims interface with a health care provider while they are being trafficked. The clinic visit can therefore be a unique opportunity for providers to help a victim into the social safety net. The AHTST screening tool provides ways in which you can use a conversational screening session to effectively identify people who may have been trafficked and those vulnerable to trafficking. Our speaker will familiarize attendees with the eight screening questions and how to deliver them in a trauma-informed way. Learn why our role is not to seek disclosure nor "to rescue" but to empower the individual to leave on their own reserve. Our speakers, Survivor expert Tanya Street and Makini Chisolm-Straker, MD, and will teach attendees how to offer the patient as much control as possible BEFORE the screening in order to foster a sense of safety and trust.


Course Requirement for VCU medical students:
Please review the Short Screen for Child Sex Trafficking.
Course Requirement for VCU medical students:
Please review the Adult Screening Tool before class.

Human Trafficking iN America's Schools: Why PRevention Education is Necessary



Tuesday, January 29th, 3 PM - 5:00 PM
School of Medicine, 5th Fl, Room 200A





According to the US Department of Education, there are students who are going to school everyday while under the control of a trafficker. What other profession affords a provider 6 - 7 - 8 hours/ day the opportunity to recognize potential victims of human trafficking? This makes school personnel uniquely positioned to help victims out of exploitation and into the social safety net. Former Fairfax County Detective Bill Woolf and his team from justaskprevention.org will explain how to screen, identify, and respond to potential and actual victims of human trafficking in the school setting. They will underscore the importance of prevention education in keeping youth safe from the predatory and deceptive tactics of traffickers by empowering them with knowledge that would help them avoid being exploited in the first place.


Course Requirement of VCU medical Students:
Please view "Oblivious," a 6:24 sec short film before class
Course Requirement for VCU medical students:
Please watch this video training series "Inside the World of Teen Sex Trafficking" before attending the class.

Health consequences
of Trafficking on Youth



Wednesday, January 30th, 8 - 10:00 AM
School of Medicine, 5th Fl, Room 200A





The sex and labor trafficking of youth in the United States is the most overlooked, misunderstood, and unaddressed form of child abuse in our country today, often resulting in immediate and long-term physical, mental, and emotional harm. Because youth rarely disclose their victimization, health care providers often fail to identify these youth, resulting in missed opportunities to help youth exit their exploitation and access the social safety net. Our speaker, Robin Foster, MD, will raise awareness of these opportunities so that providers will be better equipped to fulfill their important role in preventing, recognizing, and responding to minor victims of trafficking in their care.


Course Requirement for VCU medical students:
Please view this 11:16 sec video before class.
Course Requirement for VCU medical students:
Please view this 52:44 sec video before class.

Gear up! The new icd-10 codes on human trafficking are here



Wednesday, January 30th, 10:30 - 11:30 AM
School of Medicine, 5th Fl, Room 200A





The Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics has released the first ICD-10-CM codes for classifying human trafficking abuse. VCU's 4th year medical student, Austin Oberlin, will explain how these codes squarely define human trafficking as a primary form of abuse and will help physicians think about trafficking as part of their medical differentials.


Course Requirement for VCU medical students:
Please view this 3:40 sec video before class.

Ethical Considerations when caring for the trafficked patient



Wednesday, January 30th, 12 N - 2:00 PM
School of Medicine, 5th Fl, Room 200A





The overarching goal of the clinical encounter is not rescue or patient disclosure but rather, improving health and safety. As mandated reporters, what are some of the ethical dilemmas faced by health professionals when identifying and providing care to trafficked persons? Applying the bioethical principles of respect for autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence, and justice, this lecture, led by Fidelma Rigby, MD, considers the ethics of care model as a trauma-informed framework for providing health care to human trafficking victims and survivors.


Course Requirement for VCU medical students:
Please read before class:
Caring for the Trafficked Patient: Ethical Challenges and Recommendations for Health Care Professionals

Implicit Bias Training for
health care professionals



Wednesday, January 30th, 2:30 - 5:00 PM
School of Medicine, 5th Fl, Room 200A





A patient should not expect to receive a lower standard of care because of their race, age or any other irrelevant characteristic. However, implicit associations (unconscious, uncontrollable, or arational processes) may influence our judgements resulting in bias. A systematic review of 42 articles on implicit bias found evidence for implicit biases among physicians and nurses at a level that did not differ from the wider population. Staff from the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities (VCIC) will help attendees identify and confront unconscious bias in themselves and others to help mitigate the impact and promote respect for all groups.


Course requirement for VCU medical students:
Please view this 6:27 sec video before class.
Course Requirement for VCU medical students:
Please view this 5:29 sec video before class.

movies & myths about
human trafficking



Friday, February 1st, 9:00 - 10:30 AM
School of Medicine, 5th Fl, Room 200A





Most of the public garners much of what they know about human trafficking from media portrayals of the issue. Unfortunately, most media programming that helped raise awareness have propagated and reinforced several critical misunderstandings about trafficking. This is regrettable because popular portrayals shape what the general population understands about the issue, which in turn, will shape what they advocate for. Fourth year medical students, Jessica Chaoul, Alexandra Stiles, Meredith Mitchell, Anu Udayakumar, and Amy Hazzard, will call attention to the disconnect between media portrayals of human trafficking and the reality of the problem.


Course Requirement for VCU medical students:
Please read before class:
Movies and myths about human trafficking
Please view this 60 minute webinar before class:
Rethinking Representation

Research Submission:
Victim Blame



Friday, February 1st, 11 AM - 12 Noon
School of Medicine, 5th Fl, Room 200A





Why do victims of minor sex trafficking sometimes receive sympathy for their suffering and at other times scorn and blame? VCU medical students, Rachel Shin (M4) and Austin Oberlin (M4), are examining awareness and perceived similarity to a victim as factors that influence attributions of blame towards victims of sex trafficking. Potential implications and directions for future research will be discussed. Expand their research efforts by attending this session and sharing your thoughts on the topic.


Course Requirement for VCU medical students:
Please listen to this 32 min podcast before class,
"Stop Blaming the Victim."

Special Considerations:
Care of the Trafficked Patient
in the Obstetrical Setting



Friday, February 1st, 12:30 - 2:00 PM
School of Medicine, 5th Fl, Room 200A





More than 1:4 women become pregnant while trafficked. Having children or being pregnant adds an extra layer of vulnerability for people who have been trafficked because pregnancy can be used as a control tactic to keep victims emotionally bound and reliant on their trafficker for their needs and their child's needs. For women who are pregnant because of rape, their child may be a constant reminder of their past exploitation. Additionally, these women no doubt are at higher-risk for postpartum depression which is the leading complication of child birth. Guest speakers Janet Abraham, MSW, and Deanna Wallace, HSI, DHS, will explore the special needs of trafficked women in the obstetrical setting vis-a-vis the trafficking backdrop of prolonged, repetitive and unpredictable physical and psychological violence that victims suffer at the hands of their exploiter.


Course Requirement for VCU medical students:
Please read before class:
Maternity Care for the Trafficked Woman
Course Requirement for VCU medical students:
Please read before class:
How Ob/Gyns can and should be helping survivors

SEXTORTION



Friday, February 1st, 2:15 - 3:15 PM
School of Medicine, 5th Fl, Room 200A





According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Sextortion generally has one of three primary objectives: to acquire increasingly more explicit sexual images and videos (76%); to obtain money from the child (6%); or to have sex with the child (6%). Most Sextortion victims are between the ages of 8 and 17, with 78% of the victims being girls and approximately 12% of the cases involving young boys. Our guest speaker Deanna Wallace, HSI, DHS, will discuss how a child becomes a victim of Sextortion, the effects on victims, the perpetrators of Sextortion, and ways to protect youth against this crime.


Course Requirement for VCU medical students:
Please view this 2:45 sec video before the class.

SUGAR BABIES



Friday, February 1st, 3:30 - 4:30 PM
School of Medicine, 5th Fl, Room 200A





“The website seekingarrangement.com recently released its annual "Top 20 Fastest Sugar Baby Schools." Coming in at number 18 on the list is Virginia Commonwealth University. The site said it had 160 new sign ups from the school in 2014.” A lot of people don't understand what sugar babies are - let alone why they need a summit. Are they prostitutes? Are they companions? Are they just really hot girls looking to make a buck off their hotness? So, what's a sugar baby? What does mutual beneficial relationship mean? How is this relationship different from the client-prostitute transaction? What are the consequences of being a sugar baby or sugar daddy? Can the relationship morph into sex trafficking and become deadly? Our guest speaker, Deanna Wallace, HSI, DHS, will lead the discussion on these complicated questions.


Course Requirement for VCU medical students:
Please read before class:
ASU is ranked #1 Sugar Baby school in the country.

Family controlled sex trafficking:
A Survivor Speaks



Monday, February 4th, 8 AM - 9:00 AM
School of Medicine, 5th Fl, Room 200A





Familial trafficking is perhaps one of the most difficult types of domestic minor sex trafficking to detect. Often a ‘family business’, trafficking is a culture within the family that is passed down from generation to generation and disguised in a cloak of normalcy. Elisabeth Corey, MSW, Survivor Expert, will share her story of survival and recovery, and what she is doing to help survivors understand their memories, heal from their trauma, reclaim their lives, and move forward in hope.


Course requirement of VCU medical students:
Please view this 2:33 sec video clip before class.

A survivor speaks: Understanding trauma & Trauma-Informed Care



Monday, February 4th, 9:30 - 12:30 PM
School of Medicine, 5th Fl, Room 200A





The most dominant health dimension in trafficking cases is poor mental health because of the profound psychological damage caused by prolonged trauma and somatic complaints that frequently translate into disabling lifelong physical pain or dysfunction. Additionally, victims may have undergone complex, chronic trauma for weeks, months, or years (often during key developmental time frames) prior to being seen by the clinician. Our guest speaker, Elisabeth Corey, MSW, Survivor Expert, will explain why meeting the health needs of trauma survivors requires a victim-centered, trauma-informed approach that places control and choice for the clinical encounter under the patient’s discretion. This approach will give the survivor the stabilization they need and aid in their healing / recovery.


Course requirement for VCU medical students:
Please watch this 7:53 sec video before class

A multi-sector panel Speaks on
Human Trafficking



Monday, February 4th, 2 PM - 4:00 PM
School of Medicine, 7th Fl, Room 200A





The internet, along with other technologies, is the # 1 platform for the scouting of, luring, buying and selling people for illegal labor and sex. It is the feeding ground for both traffickers and buyers. This class will examine Internet trafficking / exploitation cases from the perspectives of law and justice. Together we will walk through a case that recently occurred in our area. Speakers include representatives from Henrico Vice, the State Attorney General’s Office, the FBI, as well as a family member of a victim.


Course requirement for VCU medical students:
Please review this website before class.

Life after Human Trafficking:
A Survivor Speaks



Tuesday, February 5th, 2 - 4 PM
School of Medicine, 5th Floor, Room 200-A





"I am more than that story. I live with the fact that I am a survivor accepting the pain and tragedy of my past, healing in my present and anticipating the joy of life as it continues to unfold." Tanya Street, Survivor Expert, works tirelessly to make sure every victim and survivor of human trafficking has this opportunity. Learn why.


About our Speaker
Course requirement to VCU medical students:
Please read this article before class

A Survivor Speaks
on the power of shame



Tuesday, February 5th, 4 PM - 5 PM
School of Medicine, 5th Fl, Room 200A





Similar to victims of domestic violence, stigma, fear, and shame silence the victim of human trafficking. Learn why Shannon Martinez, Survivor Expert, has dedicated her life to helping women understand the stigma of sexual exploitation and what they can do to be free of it.


Course requirement for VCU medical students:
Please visit this website before class.

understanding the ROle of demand
in SEX TRAFFICKING



Wednesday, February 6th, 10 - 11:30 AM
School of Medicine, 5th Fl, Room 200A





Human sex and labor trafficking follows the economic principles of supply and demand. Traffickers are in the trade of selling people because there is an insatiable demand for cheap labor and commercial sex. Purchasers of both illegal labor and sex, in turn, fuel the demand with their money and keep the traffickers in business. This presentation will focus on the demand for illicit sex.


The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act 2015 (JVTA) squarely recognizes both the trafficker and the buyer "equally culpable" in sex trafficking offenses. Yet our culture does not focus on the buyers and current laws have essentially created a culture of immunity for them. Who are these buyers? Why do they purchase even knowing it is a criminal act? Do they deserve a second chance? Our guest speaker, Leslie Rubio, will attempt to address these questions in regards to sex trafficking.


About our Speaker
Course requirement for VCU medical students:
Please view this 12:38 sec TEDx talk before class.

The clinic visit as "safe space"



Wednesday, February 6th, 12 N - 1:30 PM
School of Medicine, 5th Fl, Room 200A





Victims and survivors of human trafficking often-times suffer from complex trauma which can make the medical encounter delicate and challenging, even potentially harmful if the assessment is not conducted in a trauma-informed manner.

Victim centered care reduces re-traumatization by placing control and choice for the clinical encounter under the patient’s discretion. According to Robert Lung, District Court Judge and Survivor, "The trafficking has impacted my ability to trust health care. It's extremely triggering to go into that environment knowing that I'm suppose to have my mind set that I'm just a body and that "poking here" and "touching there" and "testing this" and "feeling that" are all just normal things that anybody would go through. Trying to turn off your connection to your body during an exam is triggering..... it's essentially reliving the abuse. You know the person in the doctor's office isn't raping you, but there are times when they're touching you in every place your rapist or perpetrator did when you were being trafficked. It's a very difficult experience." Our guest speaker, Christina Jennings, WHNP-BC, MSN, MS Health Education, will teach you how to build rapport to give your patients a feeling of safety during the clinic visit.


About our Speaker
Course requirement for VCU medical students:
Please view this 6:43 sec video before this class.

3-hour training on
commercial sexual exploitation (CSE)



Wednesday, February 6th, 2 PM - 5 PM
School of Medicine, 5th Fl, Room 200A





* This training / orientation will be conducted by staff of Latisha's House. This class is required for medical students who plan to visit Latisha's House in Williamsburg.


The Latisha’s House, a 501 (C) 3, is a long-term residence that provides a safe, residential home for young women who are victims of human sex trafficking and sexual exploitation. At any given time, the residence houses five to seven women. They’ve put three women through college to earn four-year degrees since opening in 2014. The foundation provides medical care, dental care, and teaches social skills. The overriding mission is to rescue women survivors and restore their shattered lives to wholeness by providing long term housing, educational support, assistance in recovery from substance abuse, trauma based counseling, medical intervention, structure, guidance, life-skills and job training. In conjunction with more than 25 community partners, Latisha’s House is committed to increasing the opportunities for these female survivors to holistically build new lives with dignity, purpose, value, independence and free choice.


Course requirement for VCU medical students:
Please view this 12 minute Tedx talk before class.

Simulation-based medical education
on human trafficking



Thursday, February 7th, 8 AM - 9:30 AM
School of Medicine, 5th Fl, Room 200A





Simulation is an important methodology in bridging the gap between theory and practice in medical education. Simulation-based medical education (SBME) provides a structured, learner-centered environment in which novice, intermediate, and advanced practitioners can learn or practice skills without causing harm to patients. This session will introduce SBME that focuses on individual skills training for a physician interacting with a survivor of human trafficking based on the stages of change. VCU medical student Jessica Chaoul, who designed the program, will lead the presentation with VCU medical students Anu Udayakumar and Amy Hazzard.


Course requirement for VCU medical students:
Please view this 2:26 sec video before class.

Motivational interviewing:
An empowerment tool



Thursday, February 7th, 10 - 12:00 Noon
School of Medicine, 5th Fl, Room 200A





Motivational Interviewing involves guiding more than directing. The overall "spirit" has been described as collaborative, evocative, and honoring of patient autonomy. This technique is critically important when working with victims of human trafficking because most, if not all, suffer from Complex Trauma. Shared decision-making is essential to help the patient feel safe, validated and less isolated. Survivors in focus groups strongly support an empowerment approach, stressing that protocols and assessments should NOT be exclusively focused on prompting victim disclosure or immediate removal from the trafficking situation. Rather, the overarching goal of the visit is to care for the immediate health needs of the patient and providing them with the resources and tools necessary to help them successfully leave their trafficker with their own reserve. Our guest speakers, Rashelle Hayes, PhD, and Melissa Bradner, MD, MSHA will explain why Motivational Interviewing techniques can help create an environment of empowerment where patients feel appreciated for their voice, resiliency, and strength.


Course requirements for VCU medical students:
Please read the ACOG committee opinion before class.

Preventing and ending
youth homelessness in
richmond, Virginia



Thursday, February 7th, 4:30 - 6:00 PM
School of Medicine, Learning Theater





The Richmond Youth Count is a survey that is part of a national effort to be able to better understand youth homelessness. Youth Counts are being done all over the country to help communities better understand how many young people are experiencing homelessness or unstable housing, and to get information about what their needs are. The first Youth Count ever to be conducted in Richmond was done by Advocates for Richmond Youth in March 2016! We believe the Richmond Youth Count helps us to gain important resources for young people in our city, and helped us to bring people together to tackle this issue as a community. This discussion will be led by Alex Wagaman, PhD, and her team of youth advocates.


Course requirement for VCU medical students:
Please read the Youth Count Report before class.

3-hour TRAINING:
Deconstructing Trauma and
why there is no such thing as
a child prostitute



Saturday, February 9th, 11:30 - 2:30 PM
School of Medicine, 5th Fl, Room 200A





The physical and psychological violence experienced by victims of sex trafficking results in profound traumatic symptoms that are long-lasting and far-reaching. A survivor may experience these symptoms immediately or later in life, or may never experience any of them. Every survivor responds differently. Our guest speaker, Dawn Chillon, PhD, will 1) help attendees understand the mindset of a highly traumatized victim of sexual violence, 2) illustrate how trauma can run their lives and lead to automatic behaviors that make things worse, 3) differentiate between a normal behavioral response and a traumatic stress response, 4) teach attendees how to reframe problem behaviors in the context of trauma, and 5) help attendees understand why there is no such thing as a child or teen prostitute.


Course requirement for VCU medical students:
Please read before class:
There is no such thing as a child prostitute

Closing Celebration & fundraiser for Latisha's house:
"We can dance!"



Saturday, February 9th, 3:30 PM - 5:30 PM



The Lobby
VCU School of Medicine, McGlothlin Medical Education Center
1201 E Marshall Street, Richmond, Virginia



This event is free but a goodwill donation of $10 per person will be appreciated. All Proceeds will benefit Latisha's House.


" I want to attend and make a goodwill offering to support Latisha's House."
"Unfortunately, I cannot attend but I would like to make a donation anyway."
Art Exhibit:

Making the Invisible Visible
Two art pieces by local artist Kristy DiGeronimo will be auctioned. Her works are visual interpretations
of poems by survivors of sex trafficking.
Theme for the Evening:

"We can Dance!"
An informal evening of food, art, poetry, video, live music and camaraderie in celebration of survivor voice, resiliency and strength.

Blue Heart is the International Symbol against Human Trafficking
Join Our Grassroots all-Volunteer Organization
ImPACT Virginia is also known as People Against Child Trafficking in American Schools
TAX ID #47-3931846 We are a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization