By Liezl Tomas Rebugio, Anti-Trafficking Project Director

Last week I attended the Freedom Network Conference in Decatur, GA and caught up with many kick-ass progressive advocates! It was really incredible to be among so many anti-trafficking advocates that share the human rights approach embraced by NAPAWF. Some great organizations like the Sex Workers Project at the Urban Justice Center, CASA de Maryland and the ACLU Women’s Rights Project also participated in the conference. Another inspiring part of the conference was meeting folks from organizations in different parts of the country, such as the Political Asylum Project of Austin and Raksha in Atlanta. A researcher from New York University School of Law that conducted research for the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women, presented her findings in a report, Collateral Damage: The Impact of Anti-Trafficking Measures on Human Rights around the World. In fact, many of the recommendations in this report resonate with our recommendations in Rights to Survival & Mobility. It’s good to know we’re doing something right!

Coming together with other progressive advocates is really inspiring and rejuvenating for me. It reminds me that NAPAWF isn’t alone in this struggle to advance a progressive, human rights based movement to end human trafficking. Considering how much attention and resources the conservative-right wing receives from the federal government, it is easy to forget that there is a critical mass of like-minded advocates out there.