In 2018, I started providing statewide training and technical assistance for all of North Carolina’s rape crisis centers on how to engage in human trafficking prevention and response. I noticed I was getting a lot of the same questions repeatedly, and asked my supervisor if there was a handbook of some sort that we could refer people to. When she told me there wasn’t, my initial thought was “WHY ON EARTH NOT?!?!” From that point forward, I started taking notes. Every TA call or training I did, I recorded themes that came up in our conversations. I sorted these notes by topic, and then conducted interviews with over a dozen professionals and survivors in our state to find out what they’d want included in a manual for rape crisis centers. Once my full annotated outline was ready, I found an experienced anti-trafficking direct services provider — Courtney Dunkerton — to collaborate on writing this incredible resource. In particular, there is a section in which I offer guidance on authentic survivor engagement. Initially published in 2019, revised edition released in 2020.
project manager, co-author