Resources

Community accountability can be creating communal support for those impacted, and/or collectively interrupting, challenging, stopping, and shifting abusive behavior and the underlying systems that support it. The key is working collectively in community rather than relying on external authorities and systems of oppression. It is not a formulaic set of responses, but grows organically in relation to the specific people and relationships involved.

All the pieces linked here represent years of learning, practicing, and organizing around transformative justice, community accountability, abolition, and alternatives to the criminal legal system. Thank you to all the amazing people who have created them. Please read, share, and learn and be sure to lend proper attribution to the creators of all the content. Audio recordings available for accessibility.

Explore the tools and resources that support the use of human-centered, non-punitive accountability practices in movement spaces.

Being able to recognize when we have caused harm and work to make repair is essential to community accountability. We often focus our curiosity about accountability on how others can take accountability for harm they caused us, while failing to be thoughtful about the ways we have caused harm. In 2022, the NSN hosted Mia Mingus for a powerful workshop based on this blog post, which is essential learning for all of us in this sector.

Sometimes when we are overwhelmed or triggered, we can forget details and dates. What felt like it happened once or twice might have happened six times, or what felt like it happened over a dozen times may have happened twice. In general, it is a good idea to document incidences that are part of a pattern both to help with remembering what happened and when, as well as with preserving any evidence. This form provides a simple way to document challenges in case it arises to the level of a grievance.

To eliminate health disparities, we need to make progress in states and regions where conservative opinions are the norm. Some ways of talking about health equity topics can backfire in conservative contexts – while others can unlock the door to support for good policy. In this session, the FrameWorks Institute will share pragmatic strategies for navigating toward justice in red-state terrain. Each recommendation is grounded in evidence from empirical research showing that reframing can help to build common ground on even the most divisive public health topics.

Drawing on FrameWorks’ research on critical health equity topics like tobacco health burdens, maternal and infant health, and oral health access, we teamed up with a county health director to share about communication strategies that elevate health equity issues and mobilize the public and political will for change. Listen in for a guided tour of proven, evidence-based strategies for explaining what health equity is, why it matters, and how to advance it.

This document (and its associated one-pager) from Frameworks Institute offers guidance for how to frame community safety in your advocacy and awareness efforts for increased community understanding and buy-in.

This scoping review examines 237 articles, reports and grey literature containing research from Canada, the United States of America and the WHO European Region. It summarizes and synthesizes this evidence-informed research to help Member States in addressing the intersection of health care and trafficking and in attempts to prevent and respond to human trafficking.

An excerpt from Cast’s 2022 Impact Report on the impacts of criminalizing survivors.

Excerpt from Cast’s 2022 Impact Report about Promoting Survivors’ Health and Wellbeing.

PDF from Cast’s 2022 Impact Report about the connections between housing/homelessness and trafficking.

Share-able pdf about Cast from Cast’s 2022 Impact Report, including quotes from NSN members.

This is a training that was delivered in 2022 to a cohort of advocates in a survivor leadership cohort to identify how language and power dynamics can create patterns of power and control, even between trauma survivors, and how that shows up in our personal and professional relationships.

Ellison, G., Dhonaill, C.N., Early, E., A Review of the Criminalisation of Paying for Sexual Services in Northern Ireland. Belfast: Queens University, Department of Justice, (2019). Available at: https://www.justice-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/justice/report-criminalisation-paying-for-sex.pdf

Le Bail, H., Giametta, C., Rassouw, N. (2018). What Do Sex Workers Think About the French Prostitution Act?: A Study on the Impact of the Law From 13 April 2016, Against the ‘Prostitution System’ in France, [Research Report] Médecins du Monde. pp.96 (2019) Available at: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02115877/document

Perlotta Berlin, M., Immordino, G., Russo, F., & Spagnolo, G, Prostitution and Violence: Evidence from Sweden, Centre for Economic Policy Research, (August, 2020). Available at: https://repec.cepr.org/repec/cpr/ceprdp/DP15188.pdf

Vuolajarvi, N., Governing in the Name of Caring—The Nordic Model of Prostitution and its Punitive Consequences for Migrants who Sell Sex, Sexuality Research & Soc. Policy, 16, 151-165, (2019). Available at: https://berufsverband-sexarbeit.de/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2018-Vuolaj%C3%A4rvi-Governing-in-the-Name-of-Caring-the-Nordic-Model-of-Prostitution-and-its-Punitive-Consequences-for-Migrants-Who-Sell-Sex.pdf

Levy, J., & Jakobsson, P. Sweden’s Abolitionist Discourse and Law: Effects on the Dynamics of Swedish Sex Work and On the Lives of Sweden’s Sex Workers. Criminology & Criminal Justice, 14(5), 593-607 (2014). Available at:
https://documentation.lastradainternational.org/lsidocs/3049-Levy%20Sweden.pdf

Crago A.-L., Bruckert C., Braschel M., Shannon K., Sex Workers’ Access to Police Assistance in Safety Emergencies and Means of Escape from Situations of Violence and Confinement Under an “End Demand” Criminalisation Model: A Five City Study in Canada, MDPI Social Sciences, 10(1):13 (2021). https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci10010013

McBride, B., K. S., Bingham, B., Braschel, M., Strathdee, S., & Goldenberg, S. M., Underreporting of Violence to Police Among Women Sex Workers in Canada: Amplified Inequities for Im/migrant and In-Call Workers Prior to and Following End-Demand Legislation, Health and Human Rights Journal, Vol. 22, 257, (December, 2020). Avbl. at: https://cdn1.sph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2469/2020/12/Goldenberg.pdf

Goldenberg S., Liyanage R., Braschel M., et al. Structural Barriers to Condom Access in a Community-Based Cohort of Sex Workers in Vancouver, Canada: Influence of Policing, Violence and End-Demand Criminalisation BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health; 46:301- 307, (March, 2020). Available at: https://srh.bmj.com/content/46/4/301

Bronwyn McBride, Kate Shannon, Alka Murphy, Sherry Wu, Margaret Erickson, Shira M. Goldenberg & Andrea …

Argento E., Goldenberg S., Braschel M., Machat S., Strathdee S.A., Shannon K., The
Impact of End-Demand Legislation on Sex Workers’ Access to Health and Sex Worker-Led Services: A Community-Based Prospective Cohort Study in Canada, PLoS ONE 15(4):
e0225783. (2020). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225783

Machat S., Shannon K., Braschel M., Morehart S. & Goldenberg S.M., Sex Workers’ Experiences and Occupational Conditions Post-Implementation of End-Demand Criminalisation in Metro Vancouver, Canada. Canadian Journal of Public Health, (2019). Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6825525/

Landsberg, A., Shannon, K., Krüsi, A., DeBeck, K., Milloy, M., Nosova, E., Hayashi, K., Criminalizing Sex Work Clients and Rushed Negotiations Among Sex Workers Who Use Drugs in a Canadian Setting, Journal of Urban Health, 94(4), 563-571, (2017). Avbl. at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5533660/pdf/11524_2017_Article_155.pdf

Krüsi A., Pacey K., Bird L., et al. Criminalisation of Clients: Reproducing Vulnerabilities for Violence and Poor Health Among Street-Based Sex Workers in Canada—A Qualitative
Study, BMJ Open, (2014).

This executive summary articulates the high-level findings of a months-long working group of experienced anti-trafficking leaders with lived experience, most of whom also mentor newer leaders and help them navigate challenging situations. It outlines kinds of harm survivors experience within the anti-trafficking sector, explains an approach to harm and repair, and offers concrete recommendations for funders, organizations, and survivors working in the sector.

This report articulates the findings of a months-long working group of experienced anti-trafficking leaders with lived experience, most of whom also mentor newer leaders and help them navigate challenging situations. It outlines kinds of harm survivors experience within the anti-trafficking sector, explains an approach to harm and repair, and offers concrete recommendations for funders, organizations, and survivors working in the sector.

View our full workbook for advocates with lived experience working in the many movements to end violence as they explore whether or not, when, and how to share their lived experience of trauma, and how to navigate boundaries along the way. Click “view” for a printable PDF; click listing title to access a fillable Google Doc.

Worksheet from the Survivor Storytelling Workbook to help speakers organize a compelling story structure. Click “view” to see a printable PDF, and click on the listing title to view a fillable Google Doc.

Worksheet from the Survivor Storytelling Workbook to help survivors evaluate whether or not to accept an invitation to a specific opportunity or engagement. Click “view” for a printable PDF, and click on the listing title to access a fillable Google Doc.

Worksheet from the Survivor Storytelling Workbook to help speakers think through identifying and crafting their story arc. Click “view” to see the printable PDF, and click on the listing title to access a fillable Google Doc.

Checklist from the Survivor Storytelling Workbook to help survivors think through safety and privacy concerns and planning when sharing their stories publicly. Click “view” for printable PDF, and click on the listing title to access a fillable Google Doc.

(PDF can be found by clicking “View,” accessible text instructions can be found by clicking the title of this listing to see the full listing.)

Helpful guide for what to look for in a contract to make sure you understand and can successfully complete it, and helpful questions and considerations for planning and completing contract work. Click “View” for the PDF; click the listing title for a fillable Google Docs version.

Sample contract for consulting work with an organization.

Sample contractor timesheet for use to submit to one organization.

All members are expected to be in alignment with the NSN’s Core Values, which guide how we communicate with each other, how we understand the root causes of human trafficking and thus appropriate solutions, and what kinds of policies we will be advocating for. (English, Swahili)

What does membership mean? What does it not mean? Who can speak on behalf of the NSN? This document clarifies the roles, responsibilities, expectations, and opportunities for NSN members.

All members are expected to abide by our Expectations for How We Show Up in the NSN and When Representing Ourselves as a Part of This Network. (English, Swahili)

On March 3, the National Survivor Network sent a letter in response to a recent letter signed by 36 state’s Attorneys General that misunderstands and misrepresents the purpose of a victim-centered hotline.

The National Survivor Network (NSN) is a values-based, survivor-led professional membership network for survivors of …

This video is part four of a four-part series on community accountability led by Rebekah Layton. It was the pre-work for our February 25 NSN weekly skills session for onboarded NSN members. You can view the full series in our “Community Accountability” playlist

Este panel cubre: – ¿Qué queremos decir con “no juzgar radicalmente”? – ¿Qué es la reducción de daños? ¿Qué no es? – ¿Cómo llevamos una lente interseccional a la práctica de la reducción de daños? – ¿Por qué es esencial un enfoque de reducción de daños cuando se trabaja con personas en el sexo comercial en todo el espectro de agencia, incluso cuando se trabaja con los sobrevivientes de la trata?

This panel will address: – What do we mean by “radical nonjudgment”? – What is harm reduction? What is it not? – How do we bring an intersectional lens to the practice of harm reduction? – Why is a harm reduction approach essential when working with people in commercial sex across the spectrum of agency, including trafficking survivors?

Rethink how you engage with others and center wellbeing with this kit designed for organizations and individuals who are interested in revamping intakes, assessment and engagement processes.

How we collect data, what data we collect and what we consider to be success impacts our practices and what we prioritize in programming, sometimes to the detriment of equity and wellbeing. This tool provides a list of questions to consider when collecting program data and analyzing indicators of survivor success.

In collaboration with Alliance for Hope International, the Full Frame Initiative designed this resource primarily for programs that focus their work with people who have experienced domestic and sexual violence. It provides actionable information, exercises, and tools to help shift from a singular focus on short-term safety toward increasing survivor safety in the context of creating opportunities to support long-term wellbeing.

Resources and tools for evaluating the tradeoffs involved in change at the individual or policy level, how to anticipate tradeoffs, and how to reduce harmful impacts on marginalized populations.

Jackson’s story is a composite created for the National Survivor Network. Use allowed provided appropriate citation.

This video is part three of a four-part series on community accountability led by Rebekah Layton. It was the pre-work for our February 17 NSN weekly skills session for onboarded NSN members. You can view the full series in our “Community Accountability” playlist on YouTube.

Work somewhere that you need to submit or request a quarterly report to the board about staff or program activities? The NSN created a simple template you can adapt for your purposes.

Write out a detailed program plan to outline your goals and objectives and how you will work towards them in manageable, specific, time-bound steps. Helpful for writing grants and developing evaluations for your work.

This evaluation toolkit combines a philosophical approach to evaluation with options and links to deeper learning about a wide variety of evaluation tools.

Task Force Logic Model and Evaluation Worksheet: A simple form intended to help draft a logic model for a task force and track task force development through a series of stages.

How to Create a Dissemination Plan (pdf of CDC webinar slides) Whenever you create a resource — a toolkit, training, or book — it is helpful to have a “Dissemination Plan” to help you guide the rollout and public reach of your efforts!

Sample ledger for monthly income and expenses for nonprofits and/or businesses. Make a copy in order to edit.

Sample Consultant Invoice: Make a copy before editing

This video is part two of a four-part series on community accountability led by Rebekah Layton. It was the pre-work for our February 10 NSN weekly skills session for onboarded NSN members.

To conduct digital advocacy effectively, one needs to have a clear plan in mind, a good understanding of the target audience, and a clear picture of the intended results.

View the feedback we sent to the U.S. Department of State on behalf of our members for the 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report.

This video is part one of a four-part series on community accountability led by Rebekah Layton. It was the pre-work for our February 3 NSN weekly skills session for onboarded NSN members.

On January 25, 2023, the NSN and GFEMS co-hosted a hybrid in-person and virtual launch event to introduce our Meaningful Engagement of People with Lived Experience toolkit. Click the button to listen to the podcast of that event on Soundcloud, and click the title to the left to listen while viewing a transcript.

This toolkit provides a framework and analysis for understanding, assessing, and prioritizing meaningful survivor engagement. Learn more about the Lived Experience Engagement Spectrum and how to move your organization up the Lived Experience Inclusion Ladder. Learn about how to address common barriers to meaningful lived experience and get access to 30+ pages of surveys, tools, and evaluation guidance you can use to measure your organization’s progress.

(Screen reader-accessible Google Doc versions linked in the full resource listing, as well as editable tools for your use.)

If you’ve ever felt like “safe space” was too bubble-wrapped but that “brave space” felt too risky, this booklet is for you, and uses the principles of Emergent Strategy to create a third option! But first, how are they different? How are they similar? Emergent Space attempts to bring together the best parts of both brave and safe space frameworks using a holistic, anti-oppression lens.

Our theme for Human Trafficking Awareness and Prevention Month (January, 2022) was 31 Days of Change to Empower Survivor Leadership in the Anti-Human Trafficking Movement. Each day of the month, we shared a recommendation for movement change that could empower survivor leaders.

Workplaces Respond provides resources, training, and technical assistance to employers, survivors, co-workers, and advocates to prevent and respond to domestic violence, sexual harassment and violence, and stalking impacting the workplace.

This shorter document includes key points and highlights from Care, Self-Determination, and Safety — the NSN’s foundational prevention document.

Care, Self-Determination, and Safety outlines the NSN’s approach to preventing human trafficking using a community-centered, public health, root causes approach that changes the societal and structural drivers that perpetuate human trafficking.

At the NSN, we draw on and hope to build upon the deep historical legacy of community organizing and grassroots solidarity. Following is a resource on the role of the organizer, by Mike Miller. Mike Miller is a 60 year veteran community organizer working in the tradition of Saul Alinsky, for whom he was a project director, and the Deep South organizing of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, on whose staff he served for five years.

Excerpt: “This Special Forum seeks to explore the possibilities for challenging labour unfreedoms through exercising solidarity.

This is the North America regional report for: A Review of Promising Practices in the Engagement of People with Lived Experience to Address Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking. Additional resources can be accessed on the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre (the Modern Slavery PEC) website.

This is the full report: A Review of Promising Practices in the Engagement of People with Lived Experience to Address Modern Slavery and
Human Trafficking. Additional resources can be accessed on the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre (the Modern Slavery PEC) website

This is a summary of the report: A Review of Promising Practices in the Engagement of People with Lived Experience to Address Modern Slavery and
Human Trafficking. The full report can be accessed on the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre (the Modern Slavery PEC) website.

Darnell’s story is a composite created for Freedom Network USA’s Decal Project campaign. Use allowed provided appropriate citation. Content warning: homelessness, substance use

Maryam’s story is a composite created for Freedom Network USA’s Decal Project campaign. Use allowed provided appropriate citation. Content warning: forced labor, threats of sexual violence, domestic servitude

Alex’s story is a composite created for Freedom Network USA’s Decal Project campaign. Use allowed provided appropriate citation. Content warning: homophobia, trafficking in commercial sex, threats of deportation

Mel’s story is a composite story of someone with lived experience of child sexual abuse, domestic minor sex trafficking, adult sex work, and adult trafficking within commercial sex. It is a helpful teaching tool for “meeting the person where they are” and how someone’s healthcare, service, and support needs might change at different points in their life.

This training offers an overview for interpreters and organizations that work with interpreters on a trauma-informed approach when interpreting for survivors.

Guidelines by the NSN and HEAL Trafficking for facilitating an inclusive and professional space when hiring speakers and trainers.

This training offers a basic overview of active and reflective listening skills that can be used in peer support, crisis response, and facilitator spaces.

This series explores common trauma triggers survivors may experience in their professional lives, and offers sample language for professional replies.

An incomplete understanding of “survivor leadership” in the work can lead to a sense of competition between people with lived experience in the work, rather than a sense of solidarity. What do we mean by “scarcity thinking” in this context? What kinds of work are there in our movement and sector? Where do we begin to move into regular work in the movement? This training explores these questions and more.

Blog post with associated video training highlighting principles of trauma-informed storytelling and why it is important to use in your advocacy and education efforts.

This training from the National Survivor Network rethinks how we understand “survivor leadership” and offers practical tips and solutions for survivors, our allies, and organizations leading the effort to end human trafficking.

This research guide from the Sex Workers Project of the Urban Justice Center provides an …

Video training with examples of how to navigate boundaries in the workplace

On May 20, 2022, the NSN formally released a statement wholeheartedly opposing end demand (“Demand …

On March 14, 2022, the National Survivor Network submitted feedback to the human trafficking Senior Policy Operating Group (SPOG) on racial equity in human trafficking.

In our explanation of the EARN IT Act and our concerns around privacy, surveillance, community organizing, and safety we used a parallel of a coffee shop to highlight how to think through privacy concerns with digital surveillance.

NSN writeup to support the development of negotiating employment or contract work

This page includes ideas for templates and sample products/policies nonprofit professionals may find useful. Consider saving these forms, or similar forms, into a folder you share with new hires as part of their onboarding.