Survivor Speak - Polaris

New Legislation Provides Survivors with a Path to Financial Freedom

Blog Post — January 4, 2022

The Debt Bondage Repair Act creates a process through which survivors can provide information and have adverse credit information resulting from their trafficking experience removed from their credit report.

Representing the True Diversity of Survivors

Blog Post — November 17, 2021

The National Survivor Study flips the traditional dynamics of social science research on its head, working with survivors as true partners in every step along the way.

Love & Trafficking: Social Media Toolkit

Updated February 1, 2022

This toolkit contains social media graphics and videos available for download to share with your networks and audiences to help them understand the grooming process and how sex trafficking really happens.

The National Survivor Study: Harnessing the Power of Survivors to Shed Light on Trafficking

Blog Post — March 16, 2021

The National Survivor Study, an innovative and scientifically rigorous new project, will be designed from start to finish in close collaboration with survivors, who are the experts in their own experiences.

Finding Solutions and Solidarity

Blog Post — February 5, 2021

There are many things the anti trafficking community does not agree on, and some very deep and very real divisions that make it hard to work together at times. We believe there are also real opportunities to work together toward things that will meaningfully improve people’s lives.

Lessons Learned about Trafficking 40 Years Later: A Survivor’s Perspective

Blog Post — October 16, 2020

Survivor Cheri Crider describes her story of resilience. She emphasizes that people need to better understand the complexities of how trafficking works and how certain systems exacerbate the crime.

Why an Increase in Victims and Survivors Contacting the Trafficking Hotline is Meaningful

Blog Post — August 4, 2020

The U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline saw a nearly 20 percent increase in victims and survivors directly reaching out for support. This indicates a significant development for both the Trafficking Hotline and the anti-trafficking field as a whole.

Promising Practices: An Overview of Trauma-Informed Therapeutic Support for Survivors of Human Trafficking

Published November 1, 2015

This report from Polaris and the Sanar Wellness Institute provides an overview of promising therapeutic support that can be used to enhance individual and group intervention for survivors of all forms of human trafficking.

From Recruitment to Resilience: Trafficking Survivors Find Support on Social Media

Blog Post — March 6, 2019

For many survivors of commercial exploitation and trafficking, social media has been an integral part of their recovery process as well as a way to network and grow professionally.

Surviving with Social Media: How Victims and Survivors use Social Media to Stay Safe

Blog Post — February 28, 2019

More than three-quarters of survivors surveyed by Polaris in 2017 reported that they used internet platforms during their exploitation.

More than Four Walls: The Anti-Trafficking Housing Landscape and the Reality of Finding Shelter

Blog Post — November 7, 2018

Despite the anti-trafficking community’s great strides to create a safety net for survivors, there are still many systematic and inadvertent barriers that block survivors from accessing the critical housing they need.

The Role Domestic Violence Shelters Play in Supporting Human Trafficking Survivors

Blog Post — October 30, 2018

Many domestic violence (DV) programs have come to understand the profound similarities in the experiences of DV and human trafficking. Both situations are rooted in power and control. Survivors in both are often hurt by someone they see as an intimate partner. Both can face similar cycles of violence. And both often face a need for safe, emergency housing.

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