Engagement Overview
STREETS has built a vibrant community of engaged students, scholars, practitioners, and survivors from around the world whose continued collaboration is centered on survivor-led policy and programs for healing and growth across the life course. As a research-to-practice bridge, we have worked together to confront human trafficking and sexual exploitation through teaching, action research, workshops, online conversations, conferences, community art projects, and outreach events.
I believe the greatest hope to confront human trafficking anywhere is creative collaboration. STREETS has allowed us to experiment with different forms of collaboration to meet diverse needs and allow partners the freedom to achieve mutual goals and learning together.
Jean Geran
Two-Way STREETS Online Conversation Series
Two-Way STREETS is an online conversation series we launched in the Fall of 2020 with the goal of connecting professionals in an open setting to discuss topics related to sexual exploitation and human trafficking.
001 Addressing Racism and Judgments about Sex Trading in Practice Settings a webinar with Dr. Lara B. Gerassi on December 10th, 2020
002 Not Invisible: Real Advocacy for Native American Survivors of Human Trafficking a webinar with Christine Stark and Sheila Lamb on February 25th, 2021
003 Fully Free in the USA: Promoting Wellbeing for Survivors with Criminal Records a webinar with Shamere McKenzie and Jessica Emerson on September 9th, 2021
004 Fully Free in WI: Promoting Wellbeing for Survivors with Criminal Records a closed conversation with local and state experts on January 20th, 2022.
005 Revolutionizing Anti-Human Trafficking Activism Together a virtual book launch and call to action with author Jasmine Conway on December 9th, 2022.
STREETS of Hope Fora
A signature of STREETS has been to bring together survivors, practitioners, and researchers to explore practices in aftercare as well as approaches to measuring the wellbeing of women and children who experience human trafficking for sexual exploitation. As a result, STREETS has convened two fora: 1) in 2015, STREETS of Hope I focused on envisioning wellbeing and promising practices for aftercare for survivors of sexual exploitation; 2) STREETS of Hope II in 2018 examined sex trafficking in the context of migration. The results of these two fora were synthesized and compiled as a set of first-generation guidelines to inform policy development, program design, and monitoring and evaluation. In 2019, STREETS published The UNESCO Chair Working Paper “Policies and Services for Survivors of Sex Trafficking” which contained the presentation summaries from the two fora to identify best practices and policy recommendations for addressing sex trafficking.
Watch STREETS of Hope Fora.
Thread of the Moon Documentary Film
Watch Thread of the Moon Documentary in English
Password: The_moon
Watch Thread of the Moon in Spanish
Password: La_luna
Irioweiniasi: Thread of the Moon is an award-winning documentary film produced by STREETS affiliates Esperanza Jorge and Inmaculada Antolinez. It illustrates one young woman’s journey from Nigeria through the deserts and forests of North Africa to Spain. The story is constructed in a choral way between various participating women who have faced trafficking and other forms of extreme exploitation to follow their dreams of a better life in Europe. Through narrative, music, and artwork the film poignantly gives a glimpse into the harsh realities of migration and human trafficking while highlighting the dignity, strength, courage and hope of the women making such journeys.
STREETS Partner Organizations
Project Respect
TRACE Kenya
Annual Highlight Events
2015 – Representation in an MMOCA Human Trafficking Mural
STREETS and Project Respect were invited to represent survivors in completing a large work on human trafficking by placing the final element in the wall mural for the Eric and Heather ChanSchatz: 22nd Century exhibit at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art.
2016 – ArtWorks for Freedom Exhibits and Community Art Projects
STREETS partnered with ArtWorks for Freedom to bring several art exhibits and community art projects related to human trafficking to Wisconsin. This included two outdoor exhibits at the Chazen Art Museum (Bought & Sold) and Edgewood College (Not Who I Am) both of which traveled to Racine and Beloit after Madison. It also included a Golden Doors to Freedom exhibit by William Adair at the Overture Center and a Red Sand Project exhibit by Molly Gochman at the Pyle Center both of which inspired community art activities organized by STREETS to raise awareness of human trafficking.
2017 – Vantage Point Luncheons
STREETS partnered with Vantage Point, a Madison-based women’s networking organization, by sponsoring state and national leaders in the fight against human trafficking as speakers for two network luncheons. Dr. Debbie Lassiter, CEO of Convergence-Milwaukee and Dr. Mark Lagon, former Ambassador-at-Large to Combat Trafficking in Persons shared their insights with local business leaders.
2018 – Indigenous Women and Human Trafficking: Plenary Panel at the 4W/WGSC Spring Conference
STREETS sponsored our affiliate May Sabe Phyu (Kachin) from Myanmar to deliver the Soffa Lecture titled Gender Inclusion for Lasting Peace at the 2018 4W Summit on Women, Gender and Wellbeing titled Our Bodies, Our Earth: Voice Violence and Peacemaking. She was joined by Emily Loerzel (White Earth Ojibwe) for the STREETS plenary panel session titled Indigenous Women Confronting Exploitation Locally and Globally. By comparing approaches to recovery and wellbeing for indigenous women across regions the audience gained insights into how to make life better for all.
2019 – Breaking Free Plenary Panel and Mask Exhibit at the 4W/WGSC Spring Conference
STREETS sponsored 10 guests from the survivor-led organization, Breaking Free, in Minneapolis to participate in the 2019 4W Summit on Women, Gender, and Wellbeing titled Transformative Education: Then. When? Now! Some of the women presented during a plenary session with a panel discussion titled Teaching from the Outside In. Together the five panelists had endured over 100 years of exploitation and shared how allies and the broader community can best support survivors of sex trafficking toward lifelong wellbeing. Plaster masks, created by Breaking Free survivors, also were on display to symbolize the past and future of women who have experienced trafficking or prostitution. The artists, who were there to answer questions, used their own faces as a mold for the masks, and then painted each one to symbolize some aspect of their survival and hope for the future.
2020 – Collaboration Project’s Faith-based Human Trafficking Intensive
STREETS helped organize, sponsor and moderate two panels at a one day workshop for members of various churches in Dane County to educate them about better practices for supporting survivors of human trafficking. The first panel included local leaders and service providers who presented both challenges and opportunities for churches seeking to support anti-trafficking work in Madison. The second panel was made up of four survivors from our partner organization in Minneapolis, Breaking Free, who shared their first-hand experiences of collaborating with churches to provide appropriate care and support to survivors.
