Human Trafficking Institute Inc.
Combating slavery at its source by empowering justice systems to stop traffickers
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
According to the most recent estimate from the International Labour Organization, there are approximately 24.9 million human trafficking victims in the world today. Traffickers force people into labor or sexual exploitation, seize their earnings, and pay them little or no wages. Even though every country in the world has laws against this form of exploitation, traffickers still manage to bring in $150 billion in annual profits–that’s more than Apple, Microsoft, and Berkshire Hathaway combined- helping make trafficking the fastest-growing criminal enterprise in the world. Traffickers rake in profits, operating under a sense of impunity due to limited criminal justice enforcement, all while exploiting some of the most vulnerable populations and facing no serious repercussions. Our model fills this gap to stop traffickers from exploiting potential victims in the first place.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Uganda Country Program
With an estimated refugee population of 1.4 million in Uganda, traffickers have taken advantage of the crisis situation. According to Platform for the Needy, Uganda has the largest youth population in the world; 60% of Uganda’s population are minors, and 15% of whom are orphans. According to the Trafficking in Persons Report, it is estimated that traffickers are currently exploiting 7,000 to 12,000 children through sex trafficking in Uganda. HTI works with the Justice Department to improve trafficking convictions in countries with sanctions due to their large numbers of human trafficking. We partner with countries serious about measurably improving human trafficking enforcement but lack access to the model or the specialized expertise to do so. We implement our model in coordination with our Partner Countries’ governments over an extended period of time until the model is self-sustaining and the justice system is fully equipped to stop traffickers.
Belize Country Program
Since 2017, HTI has partnered with the Belizean government to ensure investigators, prosecutors, and social service workers are prepared to move human trafficking cases through the court system efficiently. After HTI completed the federally funded Central American Regional Security Initiative (CARSI) 1.0 grant, Belize received a Tier 2 upgrade in the annual Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP) issued by the U.S. Department of State in July of 2022. The TIP upgrade from the Tier 3 Watch List took Belize off the United States sanctions list and has created an opportunity for the country to engage in globalization with the private sector allowing for a more stable economy and financial security for Belizeans. As HTI enters phase two of our proven 3-part model in Belize, we are collaborating with other government and non-government agencies to create sustainable, long-term solutions to trafficking in Belize.
United States
In 2021, the US Human Trafficking Hotline received 50,123 tips and engaged with 13,277 victims or survivors of human trafficking.
HTI works with prosecutors and law enforcement nationwide to build specialized units of police and prosecutors. Alongside conducting capacity-building to equip them with the skills, tactics, and tools they need to be effective. The problem is, if we don’t also invest in efforts to stop the traffickers, we end up in an endless cycle of devastation where more traffickers exploit more victims who need more survivor care. HTI seeks to move upstream and not just deal with the tragic consequences of trafficking after-the-fact but stop it at its source: the trafficker. HTI has developed and implemented evidence-based specialized training for prosecutors, law enforcement, and front-line first responders, providing tools to conduct an investigation, while focusing on victim identification.
Where we work
External reviews
Photos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of individuals who have been arrested that are successfully prosecuted and 'appropriately' sentenced
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Human trafficking perpetrators convicted
Total number of arrests across clients
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Traffickers arrested
Number of stakeholders/stakeholder groups identified
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Victims removed from exploitation
Human trafficking investigations initiated
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Human trafficking is not a naturally occurring phenomenon. It is a choice made by traffickers. The core difficulty in combating trafficking is stopping traffickers in their tracks. While other interventions may reduce vulnerability to trafficking, traffickers need to be prevented from causing more harm. When traffickers are cut off from exploiting more people, those potential victims are no longer targets. Ending trafficking around the world may seem like a daunting task, but stopping an individual trafficker is doable.
Each trafficker stopped sends a message to other traffickers that their crime is not worth the risk, initiating a ripple effect of deterrence. We empower justice systems to stop individual traffickers so that other interventions, like poverty alleviation and victim services, can be more effective.
The Human Trafficking Institute combats trafficking at its source by empowering justice systems to stop traffickers. When justice systems have the tools and training to effectively stop traffickers, they protect the vulnerable and prevent potential victims from being trafficked in the first place.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We implement a proven 3-part model designed to decimate trafficking at its source by stopping traffickers and preventing them from exploiting more victims. Our model helps justice systems more effectively prosecute traffickers, allowing cases to run more smoothly through the pipeline from investigation to trial. Our programs provide prosecutors, law enforcement officers, and social workers with the tools and expertise to decimate trafficking in their home country.
Our model includes:
Specialized Teams
We help our Partner Countries build specialized anti-trafficking teams of police, prosecutors, and victim specialists. We train these teams on specialized investigative and prosecutorial techniques to arrest and charge suspected traffickers. We work with our Partner Countries to fast-track trafficking cases through the courts to prevent excessive backlogs.
Targeted Trainings
Members of the specialized anti-trafficking teams complete a robust training program, comprised of our intensive Human Trafficking Academy and targeted trainings, designed to improve investigative techniques centered on victim needs. Our experts, law enforcement specialists, and victim service professionals provide hands-on training and real-time guidance as they investigate and prosecute cases in the field. Each training program is crafted with input from agencies that handle trafficking cases so as to properly address each Partner Country’s needs and challenges.
Embedded Experts
In cooperation with our Partner Countries, we place enforcement experts inside prosecutors’ offices and police departments. These experts are accomplished prosecutors and law enforcement officers with extensive experience working on human trafficking cases in the United States and abroad. Our experts help support prosecutors and investigators as they pursue trafficking cases, from the identification of victims to the end of a trial. They work side by side with the specialized teams to build skills, solve trafficking case-related challenges, and provide accountability to prevent corruption long after we are gone.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
HTI’s approach for decimating human trafficking is based on a model successfully piloted by our co-founders during their tenure at the U.S. Department of Justice. The pilot increased the number of traffickers charged in 6 target districts by 114% and convicted more traffickers than all of the other 88 federal districts combined in just two years. Our programs now bring this model and other best practices for combating human trafficking to our Partner Countries that are serious about measurably improving their trafficking response. Prosecuting human trafficking cases requires intensive training from experienced experts to develop specialized skills and mastery of core knowledge. We embed our experts within the justice systems of our Partner Countries to provide hands on support and intensive training so prosecutors and investigators can effectively combat trafficking. We implement our programs in coordination with our Partner Countries’ governments over an extended period of time until the prevalence of trafficking drops, the model is self-sustaining, and the justice system is fully equipped to stop traffickers for the long run.
HTI’s programming team includes former federal prosecutors from the U.S. Justice Department’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit, the former heads of the U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service’s anti-trafficking work and Homeland Security’s Victim Services, as well as experienced practitioners who have worked within government agencies in Latin America, Australia, and East Africa. HTI’s team is comprised of professionals with significant subject matter expertise in prosecution-focused human trafficking programs and collaborates closely across our global teams and with government partners to share knowledge and bolster justice system responses to trafficking around the world.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
HTI currently partners with the governments of Uganda and Belize to enhance their anti-trafficking efforts.
HTI’s team on the ground in Uganda includes experienced lawyers who provide daily technical assistance to prosecutors handling human trafficking cases, a victim assistance expert to connect survivors with proper care and rehabilitation support, and a case coordination expert that tracks human trafficking case data and fosters shared learning to help inform and improve the response to human trafficking. In addition to providing daily guidance, training, and resources, the team supported Uganda’s Criminal Investigations Directorate in successfully establishing a specialized anti-trafficking unit of 250 officers that is dedicated to solely handling trafficking cases.
Likewise, in partnership with HTI, the Government of Belize designated a specialized judge to handle all TIP cases and established a specialized Anti-Trafficking in Persons Police Unit (ATIPS). HTI’s team on the ground includes subject matter experts in law enforcement, victim assistance, and interagency coordination who provide mentoring, training, and tools to support the collaborative justice system response to trafficking.
In addition to capacity-building efforts in our Partner Countries, The HumanTrafficking Institute engages in research, advocacy and thought leadership in the United States to help inform and improve our own justice system’s response to trafficking. HTI’s Thought Leadership team publishes data-based scholarship and develops practical resources for those investigating and prosecuting human trafficking with the goal of becoming a credible, leading source for scholars and to empower the next generation of anti-trafficking leaders.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Human Trafficking Institute Inc.
Board of directorsas of 10/20/2023
Eric Ha
International Justice Mission
Term: 2020 -
Lenny Moon
FlyCoin
Joe Armes
SW Industrials, Inc.
Stewart Bertron
Bertron LLC
Victor Boutros
Human Trafficking Institute
Caroline Stevens
MPK Equity Partners
Organizational demographics
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Leadership
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