Blog - Polaris

Awareness vs. Understanding of Human Trafficking

January 6, 2022

Twenty years ago human trafficking had only officially been a crime in this country for about a year. Building awareness was an urgent undertaking. Today, we see a new urgency around awareness - the need to move past the myths and stereotypes toward a deeper understanding of how human trafficking actually happens.

New Legislation Provides Survivors with a Path to Financial Freedom

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.

Tracing the Patterns of Trafficking in the Ghislaine Maxwell Trial

November 28, 2021

Ghislaine Maxwell faces six counts, including sex trafficking of a minor and sex trafficking conspiracy, for helping Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse girls.

Representing the True Diversity of Survivors

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.

Human Trafficking 101: Combating Misinformation with Education

October 11, 2021

Compassionate, committed individuals and communities that care are the most powerful resource there is to prevent and reduce human trafficking. However, to leverage this power, we must ensure that they are armed with the knowledge necessary to do the work.

The New and Improved Global Modern Slavery Directory

October 1, 2021

The Global Modern Slavery Directory has been helping victims, survivors, and anti trafficking organizations, connect to much needed resources across the globe. We relaunched the website so that it is more than a referral directory, but a tool that can both inform and transform the anti trafficking field.

Trafficking in the R. Kelly Case: Stripping Away the Glamour to Understand the Crime

September 28, 2021

For decades, R&B singer R. Kelly preyed on young women and men, using promises of a career in the music industry to manipulate them into abusive sexual relationships. We examine this pattern of exploitation and highlight the importance of listening to and believing all survivors.

Protecting Trafficking Victims: ICE’s New Policy Directive

August 23, 2021

A new policy directive issued this summer from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) is an important step for the Administration to build trust with immigrant victims of crime, including victims and survivors of human trafficking, by ensuring that they receive the protections they deserve.

Human Trafficking During a Pandemic: What We Can Learn From a Snapshot in Time

July 21, 2021

Two recent reports based on data from the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline highlight how the pandemic exacerbated systemic issues while trafficking adapted to the changing contexts.

Bringing Survivor Expertise to Anti-Money Laundering Professionals

July 12, 2021

A collaboration between researcher and survivor expert Megan Lundstrom, Polaris, PayPal and Capital One, provides anti-money laundering professionals with new insights to interpret the stories told by the bank records and credit card transactions of people experiencing trafficking.

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