Strategies for Survivor Economic Empowerment

Discussing money is taboo. How much you have, your relationship with money, and how you spend it are all topics studiously avoided in polite conversation and professional settings. While some secondary schools incorporate lessons on budgeting, saving, and investing into their curricula, often there is no formal venue to learn about money that is accessible to all communities. For those who experience economic victimization, including individuals who have experienced human trafficking, education and resources may also be needed to address the financial trauma to improve their relationship with money. Economic empowerment programming demystifies financial wellbeing by providing education, tools, and resources for people to attain financial literacy, stability, and professional growth. For more information on key terms related to economic empowerment, review Understanding Key Concepts of Economic Empowerment for People Who Have Experienced Human Trafficking.

As part of the Human Trafficking Policy and Research Analyses Project, RTI International (RTI) conducted an environmental scan and led listening sessions with experts with lived and professional experience to assess promising practices to increase economic empowerment among individuals who have experienced human trafficking and communities with similar economic challenges. RTI held three community reflection workshops to review, discuss, and reflect on the information uncovered through the environmental scan and listening sessions. The community reflection workshops included participants from the listening sessions and additional experts, allowing participants in the research to inform the resource guide. RTI also partnered with consultants with lived expertise to inform the tools, findings, and final products throughout the project. RTI incorporated the principles of economic empowerment throughout the project, compensating the consultants, workshop participants, and listening session participants for their time and expertise in ways that were transparent and offered flexibility. For more information on the methods, review Economic Empowerment for People Who Have Experienced Human Trafficking: A Guide for Anti-Trafficking Service Providers.

The guide was informed by five guiding principles and the Five Tiers of Economic Empowerment  (PDF) developed by Futures Without Violence.

Guiding Principles

1. All programming should center survivor voice and choice.
2. All programming should incorporate the consideration of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
3. Economic disenfranchisement is rooted in deeper systemic inequalities that impact vulnerabilities to human trafficking, barriers to exiting, and barriers to recovery.
4. Meeting the needs of people with lived experience is best accomplished through strategic collaboration.
5. People with lived experience need ongoing access to financial advocacy, education, and resources in alignment with their changing economic situation and personal and professional development.

Five Tiers of Economic Empowerment

The five tiers of economic empowerment include key components of well-rounded programing that can allow people with lived experience to connect to education and employment opportunities. Supports from these tiers build upon each other, and people with lived experience may move back and forth between tiers as their circumstances and needs change. Through this research project, we learned more from experts with lived and professional experience about important considerations and recommendations for improvement under each tier.

1. Crisis Management programming addresses immediate needs, including physical safety needs, basic needs, and legal needs. Experts in listening sessions emphasized that economic empowerment needs are not separate from other basic needs, and that people with lived experience need individualized financial support. Programing that focuses on financial needs and may include financial advocacy, credit repair, public benefits assistance, and financial literacy education.
2. Career Exploration programming assists participants in envisioning and working towards their career goals through assessments, training, mentorship, and skill-building activities. Findings from our project highlight the importance of helping participants develop dreams and goals that move beyond just survival, but also allow them to envision a thriving future.
3. Skill Building and Work Readiness programming provides education on foundational skills like critical thinking, soft skills including emotional regulation in the workplace, and financial literacy. Our environmental scan found that this is the most common offering by economic empowerment programs.
4. Experience Building programming ideally offers paid opportunities to gain work experience and apply skills through apprenticeships, coaching, and program operated worksites. Experts in our listening sessions stressed that unpaid work can feel exploitative and re-traumatizing. In addition to wages, some programs offer access to funds through other means, such as direct cash assistance, grants, and stipends to pay for the time and expenses of program participation.
5. Employment programming includes supported employment, wage subsidies, and survivor entrepreneurship opportunities (e.g., incubator or accelerator programs, seed grants). In addition to highlighting different models of employment support, experts shared how trauma and mental health challenges can often impact employment success and sustainability, and that programs can provide training to potential employers on the impact of trauma.

Individuals who have experienced human trafficking benefit from programming that addresses all five tiers of economic empowerment. Organizations may benefit from mapping community resources and building partnerships to create access to a network of economic empowerment resources for program participants. Partnerships can enable access to diverse, culturally responsive services, but organizations may require training to ensure programming is delivered through a trauma-informed approach that emphasizes transparency and accessibility. These partnerships and programs are also strengthened by engaging people with lived experience as experts and leaders throughout program development and implementation. Economic empowerment programming is a valuable tool that can be leveraged to assist individuals leaving a trafficking situation in achieving financial stability and building a new future free from exploitation.