Earlier this month, the Not Invisible Act Commission, compiled a 210-page report (PDF), calling on the federal government “to declare a Decade of Action & Healing to address the crisis of missing, murdered, and trafficked Indian people (MMIP).”
The 40-member Commission drew from law enforcement, Tribal leadership, federal partners, service providers, family members of missing and murdered individuals, and people with lived experience listening to communities across seven hearings in the field and one multi-day national hearing online
“The Commission outlined several findings on how human trafficking (HT) intersects with the foster care system, missing persons, and domestic violence where the treatment of survivors contributes to the shame and silence that are barriers to healing," said Katherine Chon, Director of the Office on Trafficking in Persons. “We will continue to work with the Administration for Native Americans and other federal and tribal partners to respond to the recommendations in the report.”
The report highlighted recommendations on human trafficking for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to address the Commission’s findings on needs for more sufficient access to culturally competent services for survivors, support for prevention practices, and integration of multigenerational trauma-informed practices, including:
- Recommendation J1: HHS should make funding available for hotlines serving MMIP and HT victims and families to have crisis advocates and counselors available, so that they can provide more than referrals to callers
- Recommendation K1: Prevention efforts should address runaways facing risk of trafficking, violence, criminal justice system involvement. The HHS Administration for Children and Families (ACF) program should develop and disseminate culturally appropriate, trauma-informed prevention programming.
- Recommendation L1: All federal programs addressing MMIP and HT must require grantees/program beneficiaries to create policies to decriminalize persons coerced or forced into criminal acts by their traffickers.
- Recommendation N1: HHS must provide funding for mentoring programs for surviving children and siblings of MMIP and HT to address their ongoing need for support from persons who know their communities and understand the trauma experienced by these children.