HARRISBURG – Sen. Cris Dush (R-25) and Jordan Pine, founder, president and CEO, Greenlight Operation, hosted a state Capitol news conference today to reveal the key findings and policy implications contained in the first-ever, statewide Anti-Human Trafficking Survey.
Greenlight Operation and Messiah University surveyed nearly 200 expert community stakeholders — including survivors, law enforcement, faith-based organizations, educators and social services providers — who participated in 10 regional policy forums presented across the Keystone State by Dush and Pine.
“Greenlight Operation’s goal for the forums and institutional review board study was to gather vital feedback from those who are regularly working in the field and survivors who have had to navigate the various systems post-trafficking,” said Pine. “This diverse feedback has highlighted key areas to which our commonwealth must give greater attention, including improved education and awareness about human trafficking, increased resources for anti-human trafficking efforts and expanded aftercare services for survivors. Acknowledging the barriers is simply the first step. Now we must act. These vital improvements will require a collective effort in each region of our commonwealth to prevent future cases and support survivors who are exiting exploitation, but together, we will make a difference.”
Key Findings
- Overall, 97.3% of survey respondents overwhelmingly support coordinated regional human trafficking services and increasing public awareness initiatives.
- Notably, only 25% of law enforcement and first responders felt equipped to identify human trafficking.
- 51.9% of social services providers agreed their teams were proficient at identifying signs of human trafficking.
- From a financial/operational standpoint, only 11.4% of respondents agreed their organization was adequately funded to implement anti-human trafficking solutions.
- Only 3.2% of respondents agreed that sufficient aftercare services were available for survivors.
“Fully recognizing the Keystone State’s geographical location makes it a prime hot spot for sex trafficking, labor trafficking, prostitution and organized crime, this survey is only the beginning of our systematic approach to combatting this scourge against all humanity,” said Dush, who serves as chairman of the PA Anti-Human Trafficking Caucus. “We hope these findings will help direct our limited resources to the needed areas of better assisting victims, ensuring survivors thrive, and giving law enforcement the necessary tools to effectively apprehend and prosecute the buyers and traffickers. We must continue working together to shepherd more high-priority legislative initiatives across the finish line to prevent further destruction of innocent lives.”
Policy Implications and Solutions
In response to several open-ended questions, many respondents also identified inadequate funding; insufficient knowledge or training; competing organizational priorities; and limited community involvement as major barriers to fully engaging with the following Anti-Human Trafficking policy implications and solutions:
- Supporting organizations in identifying sustainable funding opportunities
- Expanding applied, professional specific education focused on reporting, response procedures and survivor-centered care
- Strengthening multi-disciplinary and regional coordination networks
- Increasing survivor aftercare services and referral resources
- Continuing statewide awareness initiatives encouraging community engagement, prevention, recognition and coordinating response efforts
Through force, fraud and coercion, human traffickers push their victims into demeaning forms of abuse, including domestic servitude and commercial sexual exploitation. If you suspect someone is being trafficked, call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.
DUSH CONTACT: Ty McCauslin, 717-787-7084