Empowering Survivors of Sex Trafficking & Preventing Future Exploitation

Pathway to Safety brings together the experiences of survivors of sexual exploitation and sex trafficking with allied experts in policy, direct services, and law enforcement to address those vulnerable in the sex trade, including sex trafficking victims.

Through these efforts, we strive to strengthen community safety and support those most impacted by the sex trade, including our BIPOC, LGBTQI, and immigrant communities across the state of California.

 

Supporting sustainable and survivor-informed exit strategies for those in the sex trade will offer survivors and those wishing to exit the sex trade a chance to heal, overcome their exploitation and prevent future abuse. By offering trauma-informed services that include mental health services, housing, workforce development, and survivor mentorship, we will help survivors.

We believe buyers and exploiters must be held accountable and offered meaningful opportunities to understand the impact of their choices. Our approach provides courses in a non-judgemental way that are combined with penalities that demonstrate our commitment to stopping their harmful behaviors.

Direct service providers and law enforcement recognize that people of color, gender minorities, and immigrant communities face disproportionate arrests on a range of crimes, including loitering. Pathways partners and direct service providers work with law enforcement to enhance intervention and empowering solutions and reduce arrests that further the cycle of exploitation that harms survivors and communities.

Benefits to Survivors

 

  • Pathways for non-arrest for loitering for prostitution

  • Offers referral to mental health services, including a 60-minute counseling session with a county-designated mental health provider trained in trauma-informed counseling and life skills coaching. Survivors are offered $100 per session to attend. Pathway to Safety will design individualized care and a recovery plan to fit each survivor's needs

  • Referrals for housing services identified as trauma-informed for survivors of sex trafficking. Providers will be offered $500 monthly for 12 months to support long-term housing

  • Work with a workforce development coach who will work with each client to find work and educational skills development opportunities and sustain jobs in various sectors. $250 month for 12 months per survivor will support long-term employment.

How Pathway to Safety works

 

Survivors are offered a $100 stipend to attend a 60-minute therapeutic meeting. If they miss an appointment without explanation, they will then be referred to a county multi-week diversion program. Upon missing the diversion program meeting, infraction fees may occur. Upon the second engagement with law enforcement, a real-time diversion with appointed county advocates will take place as an intervention. There will be no arrests at any time.

Referrals for services, including housing, will be filtered through a state agency referral network that filters to the state-approved county NGO or referral point of contact.

All agencies must be vetted at the county level and receive funding for capacity building.

Holistic Approach to Demand Reduction

 

  • Mandated to pay $1000 fee

    Attend a 12-week course on gender-based violence with a focus on relational trauma, healthy relationships, the impact of commercial sex for a total of $3000 for the course.

  • Mandated 52 Classes at $13,052 for the offender.

  • Mandated Jail Time and Restitution

    Courses will be designed to address buyers and potential exploiters to reduce demand and promote public safety. Lessons will include healthy relationships, the impact of commercial sex on communities and relationships, gender-based violence, and trafficking.

Budget/Appropriations

The National Human Trafficking Hotline reported an estimated 10k Commercial Sex Survivors called for services in 2019. Assuming an estimated 10,000 survivors will utilize counseling services and 3750 will utilize wrap-around services.

 

Assumptions of Expenses

$3M allocated to counseling

$150 per hour x 10000 survivors = $1.5M

$1.5M Cost to establish referral infrastructure (#s, recruiting counselors, digital platform, flyers, National Human Trafficking resourcing for housing and Workforce development referrals, and L.E. training module to go into law enforcement continuing education)

$1M allocated to incentives

$100 incentive to attend counseling x 10,000 survivors

$15M in services (3750 . . . estimate 1⁄3 would accept services)

$500 per month for up to 12 months paid for 1,250 survivors that accept the referral from counseling to go to housing

$250 per month for up to 12 months paid for 2,500 survivors that accept the referral from counseling to go to a workforce development program

$14M for 58 Counties to house 3 Survivor Advocates for onsite diversion purposes.

Assumptions of Revenue

To collect payment for each County, we will create an H.T. Buyer and Exploiter 12-52 Week School If there are 10,000 survivors, there are minimally 10,000 buyers/exploiters.

We will charge first-time offenders $3000 ($250 per class) for their 12-week class; 2nd-time offenders $13000 for their 52-week class.

Key Income and Finance Strategy

First time offenders fines: (75%) - $22.5M Second time offender's fines: (25%)-$32.5M