Hyper-sexualization of Youth- HUGE problem

I am going to this conference today. I don't think we realize how deeply integrated sexualization of people- as objects and commodities- is in our daily sensory consumption. It has infiltrated music, television shows, movies, magazine covers, commercials- EVERYTHING. It is a huge problem for many reasons, not the least of which is the psychological and emotional impact it has on the children in our society. It erodes their self esteem and self worth where they see themselves as only able to market their body, not their mind. They are reduced to their looks and sex-appeal rather than the whole, wonderful person that each human being is.

I'll report more on this later.

Leadership and TRUST

Leadership plays a large role in my internship. In any business, organization, or situation there will be change. Those who rise to the challenge of change and facilitate the process demonstrate leadership. Change requires strong leadership.  

Change is uncomfortable and unknown and doesn't always bring out the best in people. This presents another challenge associated with effective leadership. James G. Clawson wrote, “The challenge of effective leadership is to bring out the best in others” (2012). 

Well, that seems like a recipe for failure- leadership is change and leadership is bringing out the best in others- even though change does not lend itself to bringing out the best in people... I guess no one said leadership is easy.

These are just two aspects of leadership. There are volumes written on leadership- but, I am just looking at these two aspects right now. I think we are all familiar- at least to some extent- with change. Something is being done one way, or is going one direction and it needs to be done another way- or turned in a different direction. That's change. 

What does "bringing out the best in others" mean? What does that look like? Part of what it means is that a leader will recognize every individual’s talents and potential. They will see how each person is a valuable asset to the team. This is important to accomplish the goals of the organization. Additionally, it is important for the individual. One's motivation and happiness in the work place has a big impact on their general well-bing in their life. 

So, I was looking for images relating to leadership online. Let's face it– a blog post without pictures or visuals is no blog post at all. Am I right? I found a really great one here. Interestingly enough, it really does a great job of describing how my supervisor- or the program director at TRUST- works as a leader. She is extremely talented at bringing out the best in people and helping to develop further. She leads through instruction, inclusion, developing people, and building relationships. These pieces come together to create a great organizational foundation. 

Well, I took the image from the website and changed it a little bit to represent TRUST as an organization. Now, hold on. Hold on. I know you are probably thinking that people are leaders, not organizations! (duh). 

Here's the picture. It's worth a thousand words. Look at it, and then we will talk about it. I think you may decide I'm not totally crazy by the end of this.

TRUST's Vision: Arizona will create a best-practices model featuring a coordinated approach to domestic minor sex trafficking with specific emphasis on increasing public awareness, demand reduction, prosecution of traffickers and buyers, and victim services.

It is pretty obvious I blotted out their words and put my own on each puzzle piece. The imagery of puzzle pieces connecting together just fits TRUST perfectly. Here's why.

Training and Resources United to Stop Trafficking (TRUST) is working to affect change in our community around the heinous crime of human trafficking. That change being- it needs to stop. The thing about trafficking is that it is very complex and multi-disciplinary. This means it takes expertise and efforts from a wide variety of stakeholders in the community. The puzzle pieces above represent some of these. 

This group represents a vast array of interests and talents. How do we get everyone on the same page at the same time to work towards this goal together? The anti-trafficking movement will be so much more effective if the different entities know what everyone else is doing so that we don't duplicate efforts and we can make resources go as far as possible. This is where TRUST fits in. 

The program director is very good at recognizing the best in others- or what each entity brings to the table to forward the cause. She also understands that for real change to happen, it takes a unified effort. This is the mission of TRUST- to partner with all the entities and be a kind of "information hub". This way, TRUST can facilitate collaboration and coordinate needs. Let's say one of the transitional resources- like housing- needs toothbrushes. And, we know a dental provider has a bunch of toothbrushes that have to be given out as part of their community involvement. Guess what? The housing and the dental care place don't know each other- but TRUST knows them both. TRUST knows what each has and what each needs. Matchy-matchy.

Another example? Let's say it is 2 am and law enforcement has intercepted a trafficked victim. She is tired and needs to sleep. Where is he going to put her? In jail? No. TRUST knows what transitional facilities has beds open- we can match them up. See how it works like a puzzle? Pieces fit together and the efforts unite to create a picture of success in combatting trafficking. 

There are many movements that have a wide range of stakeholders. Too often each entity- NPOs, NGOs, law enforcement, victim services, etc- are working in "silos", meaning they don't know what other efforts are out there and what resources there are. It is a pretty revolutionary approach to get everyone at the same table and work in unison. Our efforts and work goes so much further that way. 

Forming a new change model that emphasizes the skills and resources of each entity is leadership. And, TRUST would only work in leading the community efforts if it had a strong leader who can see the direction it needs to go and manage all the information sharing. By interning at this organization, I learn fabulous leadership skills. At the same time, I become a leader in the community on anti-trafficking as I take training organized by TRUST and helping in the day-to-day affairs to reach out to other stakeholders to increase their training and resources.

A Conversation with Katie Resendiz, Program Director for TRUST AZ

Katie Resendiz
Program Director
at TRUST AZ

Katie Resendiz has a graduate degree in Conflict and Peace Studies, focusing on education and negotiation. Her family of Pennsylvania coalminers was very active in the Union and other efforts to broaden worker's rights. This is where Katie's commitment to equality and human rights began.   

Katie was unique among her colleagues in graduate school, as most of her peers wanted to use their education internationally, in high-conflict areas. She sought a less-recognized application of her education; Katie wanted to work in the U.S. as a conflict zone, utilizing her education in nontraditional ways. She was offered a position as the statewide coordinator for combating human trafficking. This combined her interests and skills in labor rights, collaboration, and community education and awareness.  

Her anti-trafficking efforts continue as Program Director at Training & Resources United to Stop Trafficking in Arizona (TRUST AZ). TRUST is a collaborative organization that works to establish partnerships with the various stakeholders in the movement in order coordinate efforts and expand the reach of limited resources. The relationships between the various aspects of human trafficking– law enforcement, legal services, victim services, recovery facilities, community education programs, legislation, and so forth– have a greater impact when they unite their efforts to end child slavery and domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST).

The Program Director position at TRUST is very unique; it is not a typical job that one could apply for at any nonprofit organization. Education for this position includes an understanding of community development, organizational structures, legislation and leadership, and specific to this position is experience in and knowledge of trafficking in Arizona. Although this position is very specialized, the knowledge and skills do cross over to many leadership roles. In my case, even the specialized knowledge of trafficking is important. My pursuit of this master's degree is enable me to have a macro-perspective of the field of human trafficking that encompasses all aspects. Those with a singular focus on a specific aspect in this multi-dimensional issue are so valuable to this cause. However, I believe that there is also a need for those with a broad understanding of how the various entities interact with each other and can aid one another.

There are some newer trends, or paradigms, in the anti-trafficking movement. We are beginning to see more men as advocates. There is more emphasis on understanding and addressing the demand for purchased sex. How is it that a person- usually male- can view another human being as a commodity; a good to be bought and sold? Men are stepping up and saying this is not an acceptable thing to do.

Those of us working to combat human trafficking are recognizing that we can learn a lot from the homeless and runaway youth agencies and resources. These youth are much more vulnerable to being coerced into trafficking situations.

Additionally, those advocating for trafficked victims and reaching out to the community are coming back to recognizing that all trafficking is horrendous– sex and labor trafficking alike. At the crux of the issue are two fundamental truths: all humans are valuable and consent is important. Civil society does not work without constant application of these fundamental truths.

Airline Ambassador International Sex Trafficking Training

Training for workers in the airline industry to recognize human trafficking and to understand the protocol if  they see risk held at the Double Tree Hotel at 44th St and McDowell

TRUST AZ and Deb Carstens from the Carstens Family Funds hosted a luncheon wherein Nancy Rivard, Sandra Fiorini, Delphia (I don’t remember her last name), and Petra Hensley from Airline Ambassadors International spoke about sex trafficking as it pertains to the airline industry. They were joined by Deborah Sigmund from Innocents at Risk. This training is intended to equip airline professionals, particularly flight attendants, with knowledge to recognize potential trafficking situations and the protocol for intervention. The approximately 150 attendees included representatives from 10 airlines, ICE representatives, and Aviation Directors Tammi Fisher from Sky Harbor Airport and (I forget his name) from Mesa-Gateway Airport. This training has potential to be extremely beneficial to anti-trafficking efforts.

I don't remember the name of the lady on the left. However, next on the left is Sandra, then Nancy, Deborah, Petra, and Delphia.

Airline Ambassadors International provides training all of the country. Angels at 30,000 ft shared this information about another training.

BREAKING NEWS --- DC training with Airline Ambassadors International 
Details to come, and info on how to RSVP will be posted on a future post and in your email if you are on the group list. Please do not RSVP yet, just SAVE THE DATE!

April 28, 2014
Conference outlining the various programs that Airline Ambassadors, Inc. offers.
- Escorting program - background and FA involvement
- Missions trips and sponsorships of orphans
- Human trafficking general training

This will be open to all flight attendants, their guests and the public. No cost.

April 29, 2014
Train the Trainer - for those who have already had general Human Trafficking training with AAI and are an AAI member.
There will be a limited number of seats for this, and a cost to cover all materials. A commitment to train at future HT trainings for crew and in your community are required.

(If you are not yet an AAI member, please go here to sign up in advance of the class: http://airlineamb.org/membership/membership-new-members/)

April 30, 2014
Congressional Summit? Possibly... but date is not set in stone. We'd LOVE for flight attendants to show up in uniform if this happens.

You can come to one day, two days, or all days!