Anti-Human Trafficking Alliance by Tech and Digital Literacy
Creating human trafficking awareness through technology education
The Problem
Trafficking in native communities, especially the disappearance of native girls and women, is a clear and present danger—and one that is difficult to identify and quantify with hard data. Native women and girls are disproportionately likely to become victims of sex trafficking, contributing to the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls.
The US Department of State’s 2015 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report recognizes that American Indians and Alaska Natives are among the most vulnerable populations of trafficking in the United States.
In the US and Canada, there is no current data collection method that provides a complete picture of human trafficking in regards to Indigenous peoples. Additionally, many people are unaware of the online vulnerabilities that can increase the risk of becoming a trafficking victim.
Solution Summary
There is much opportunity to be gained from being able to safely use computers and internet in Indigenous communities.
Our computer literacy trainings will equip attendees with the skills necessary to utilize technology to their advantage, particularly towards developing business models such as an online business platform where they can market their arts and crafts, livestock, and services which are traditional methods of commerce within tribal lands. Additionally, another major component will create awareness about the dangers of the use of technology, including the growing problem of online traffickers targeting tribal communities. This project intends to help people within the Navajo Nation and Hopi communities learn how to better use current technology and to gain further awareness of and techniques to prevent human trafficking. These trainings will be conducted throughout highly populated areas of the Navajo Nation and Hopi lands such as Shiprock, NM; Tuba City, AZ; Window Rock, AZ; and Sells, AZ.
Market Opportunity
- According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), human trafficking is the most lucrative crime after drug trafficking.
- Savannah's Act and the Not Invisible Act of 2019 are recently introduced pieces of legislation aimed at addressing the crisis of missing, murdered, and trafficked Native people by engaging law enforcement, tribal leaders, federal partners, and service providers and improving coordination across federal agencies. These bills would establish an advisory committee of local, tribal, and federal stakeholders to make recommendations to the Department of Interior and Department of Justice on best practices to combat the epidemic of disappearances, homicide, violent crime, and trafficking of Native Americans and Alaska Natives.
Statistic
- In a four-site 2015 study, an average of 40 percent of women involved in sex trafficking in the US and Canada identified as American Indian/Alaska Native or First Nations.
Highlights
- Providing awareness on this issue in DC for three years
- Initial research into a comprehensive data system
Organization Goals
- Use technology and education to help prevent the trafficking of American Indian peoples
- Help youth and elders learn how to participate in social media and online activities safely
- Bridge connections for American Indian peoples across digital divides
- Continue awareness of the trafficking of peoples through schools and tribal administrations
- Work with other tribes across the United States
Existing Partnerships
- Tribal colleges and governments
- Collective Liberty (anti-human trafficking organization)
Partnership Goals
- Financing
- Data strategy
- Marketing
- Anti-trafficking organizations
Education Technology Awareness Outreach Human Trafficking Youth Elders
The primary goal of this initiative will be to help the youth and the elders to learn how to use technology and to understand the ways trafficking of American Indian people can occur through social media, with a secondary goal of being to connect their anti-trafficking efforts more collaboratively to the national United States anti-trafficking field. These trainings will be conducted through-out highly populated areas of the Navajo Nation and within Hopi lands such as Shiprock, NM, Tuba City, AZ, Window Rock, AZ and maybe Sells, AZ. This project will be promoted as a computer literacy tour and will utilize outreach through a public safety announcement using facts and figures to generate interest.
During the course of the trainings, we will utilize pre and post trainings surveys to monitor and evaluate the success of the trainings, as well as to collect information about their access to internet and computers through the local chapter houses and connectivity within their communities.
While the trainings will equip attendees with the skills necessary to utilize technology to their advantage, particularly towards developing business models such as an online business platforms where they can market their arts and crafts, livestock and services which are traditional methods of commerce within tribal lands, another major component is to create awareness about the dangers of the use of technology including the growing problem of online traffickers targeting people within tribal communities. This project intends to help tribal people within the Navajo nation and Hopi to learn how to use current technology and to gain further awareness about the trafficking of peoples.
Considerations: The biggest issue may be pitching the training courses to the tribal leaderships who will play a key role in sharing with the administration and ensuring that the people are made aware about these training sessions.
However, once we have permission from the leadership, we would prefer to pitch the courses to the community as a whole as from past experience one of our team members has noted from the field (computer literacy training) that there were higher rates of attendees when the courses were provided to the community opposed to just the school system.
We will have members of the team who are knowledgeable of how to conduct computer literacy courses and one member who has an education background in the anti-trafficking of Indigenous peoples. Also, two of our team members have backgrounds in engineering which will also help with the technical components.
- Idea
The technology used will be personal devices and home computers that connect to the internet. Devices that can access social media sites (e.g. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat), online messaging services (e.g. Facebook's Messenger, Google's Hangout, social media direct messaging), and anonymous apps that can mask identity (Craigslist, Whisper). The devices and services will be a focus for an awareness training for community members and for the training on the principles of computer use for personal versus academic versus professional environments (e.g. training to those that wish to help by networking with orgs via internet).
The unique approach is using computer science principles & personal devices to start to discuss the issue of Native women missing. The training allow members to become involved in the issue. Part of the lessons involve awareness of the trafficking of people which will help prevent this issue on tribal lands w/technology. There are little funds to address the trafficking of peoples & this project supports education of computer usage which can assist w/ many personal opportunities (businesses, online schooling, etc.) & will help share about the dangers of trafficking thru the internet on tribal lands.
We will work with local chapter houses and colleges to assist with the training courses which will be free and assessments will be used to determine level of understanding. There are 5 Navajo Nation agencies and 110 local chapter houses split into the agencies. Each chapter house can assist with training locations and organizing the events for the community. If we have permission from the leadership, the agencies will be contacted to discuss their involvement and to decide chapter locations whom wish to be involved, which will be based on accessibility.
The Navajo Nation - 300,000 people. Not everyone will be able to attend training but the more people know individually about the material, the more they can share with others (family and friends) and take action on their own.
The Navajo Nation is very desolate and there is much opportunity to be gained from being able to use computer hardware and the internet. The internet can be a means to connect the people to more opportunity. In addition, the tribe is poverty stricken and this course we intend to be free during the tour for the attendees.
Part of the project will involve continued awareness of the trafficking of peoples through schools and through the administration. Yes - if this is successful then will seek to work with other tribes across the United States, especially those that have current standing issues with the trafficking of peoples. In addition, depending on the surveys and whether the computer education component is successful then we will continue this in hopes it assists in personal development especially if members are encouraged to help towards the anti-trafficking cause through what they learn.
One of our members has been providing awareness on this issue in DC for three years. Two other members are contemplating the idea of a data system and we have one interested partner that is interested in consulting on how to fund the long term operation of the project.
Because we believe that through the use of technology and education we can help prevent the trafficking of American Indian peoples. This is a means to share about the dark sectors of the use of technology while helping bridge connections for American Indian peoples across digital divides. Yes, we do believe that Solve can help with our mission as well as provide personal growth to willing participants.
Tribal colleges, Tribal governments and a small anti-trafficking non-profit. Each of the team members are either from a tribal college or are have connections to anti-trafficking organizations. As enrolled members of the tribe, we can find a way to connect with our tribal leadership.
Anti-trafficking organizations - they can help financially.
Fellow Team
Headquarters:
Window Rock, AZ, USA
Washington, DC, USA
Project Stage:
Prototype
Working in:
Navajo Nation + Hopi Tribe, AZ/NM, USA
Team Members:
5
Indigenous Rights Advocate