FAIRFIELD, Conn.—Two Sacred Heart University social work professors are tackling human trafficking with prevention training that focuses on potential traffickers before they even start.
Stefania Agliano and Bryan Hall developed the curriculum through I AM, an organization they co-founded and manage. It’s a unique, interactive teaching model that targets boys and young men who could be at risk of perpetrating or perpetuating sexual exploitation and human trafficking. It is now under way with up to 100 trainers through a Los Angeles-based national service organization, Saving Innocence. Their goal is to reach between 3,000 and 4,000 at-risk young males.
“This program emphasizes working with marginalized, oppressed youth who experience disproportionate and disparate treatment in educational, child welfare and juvenile justice systems,” says Agliano, clinical assistant professor and field liaison at SHU. “It also addresses toxic masculinity and dismantling the dehumanization of young men and boys of color, with specific emphasis on racial justice and equity in responding to sexual exploitation and trafficking.”
Hall, also a clinical assistant professor and field liaison, explains this program is unique because it focuses specifically on the prospective trafficker, not the buyer, which is the aim of typical prevention efforts. “We are trying to address the dehumanization of our most at-risk youth: male children and young men, mostly of color, who grow up on the streets in abject poverty, exposed to violence and gangs, often a result of institutional racism. These kids are plagued by disparity and ‘disportionality’—much of society considers them culturally irrelevant and, through its negative lenses, dictates what these at-risk youth can do or be, exacerbating the problem,” he says.
Following two days of training, behavioral health providers and social workers can teach the 10-week curriculum to other interested individuals, including social workers, teachers, clergy, coaches and parents, with particular emphasis on professional behavioral health providers and the agencies they represent. More than 40 people have been in training since early February to work with the at-risk young males, and Saving Innocence is identifying an additional 50.
The youth for whom this outreach is intended come from various sources, including child protective services, foster care, juvenile and criminal justice, local police departments and other organizations that work with troubled youth.
Agliano says Saving Innocence is an excellent partner for this program, as its mission is to provide around-the-clock escape for child victims of sex trafficking. Using a highly relational and collaborative approach, the organization engages in strategic partnerships with law enforcement, social service providers and schools, while mobilizing communities to prevent abuse and increase neighborhood safety.
Many youth intervention programs are one-size-fits-all efforts, says Hall, but they are not really relevant to current circumstances, disparities and the issues and realities that lead troubled youth to turn to drugs, human trafficking, theft, violence and gangs. Even affecting a few has far-reaching benefits, he says, citing a DePaul University study on the secretive culture surrounding pimps and victims. The study, involving 25 pimps, found that, cumulatively, they had trafficked more than 4,000 victims. This means 160-165 potential sex trafficking victims can be spared that trauma for every one person encouraged to take a different path through positive interventions.
“Our program looks at relevant issues such as fatherhood, the influence of pop culture, societal attitudes, gender-based violence, issues of consent, the role of racism and more,” Agliano says. “We explore who these young people have in their lives to look up to, examine what they want to do with their lives, who they want to be and how they can believe in themselves and start working toward these positive goals. There’s so much in their lives they feel they can’t control—they don’t believe they have options, resources or people to turn to for help and guidance.”
“We ask our trainers and the next generation of people they will train how they perceive themselves, these youth, society and the problems and realities that perpetuate abuse and violence,” Hall says. “They first have to understand how to relate to these kids if they’re going to be effective in reaching them … and that starts with understanding that these troubled youth have no hope or self-love, and that they perceive they aren’t seen by society or those around them as having value. If you can’t see beyond their behaviors, how can you expect to help them change or believe in themselves?”
Hall and Agliano say their work supports the mission of SHU’s School of Social Work, which hopes to offer a certificate program related to human trafficking in the near future. These efforts complement SHU’s mission as a Catholic university and demonstrate the School of Social Work’s commitment, depth of knowledge and experience, says Agliano.
PHOTO: Sacred Heart University Professors Stefania Agliano and Bryan Hall (back row, center) with I AM trainers in Los Angeles.
As the second-largest independent Catholic university in New England, and one of the fastest-growing in the U.S., Sacred Heart University is a national leader in shaping higher education for the 21st century. SHU offers more than 80 undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs on its Fairfield, Conn., campus. Sacred Heart also has satellites in Connecticut, Luxembourg and Ireland and offers online programs. More than 9,000 students attend the University’s nine colleges and schools: Arts & Sciences; Communication, Media & the Arts; Social Work; Computer Science & Engineering; Health Professions; the Isabelle Farrington College of Education; the Jack Welch College of Business & Technology; the Dr. Susan L. Davis & Richard J. Henley College of Nursing; and St. Vincent’s College. Sacred Heart stands out from other Catholic institutions as it was established and led by laity. The contemporary Catholic university is rooted in the rich Catholic intellectual tradition and the liberal arts, and at the same time cultivates students to be forward thinkers who enact change—in their own lives, professions and in their communities. The Princeton Review includes SHU in its Best 385 Colleges–2020 Edition, “Best in the Northeast” and Best 252 Business Schools–2019 Edition. Sacred Heart is home to the award-winning, NPR-affiliated radio station, WSHU, a Division I athletics program and an impressive performing arts program that includes choir, band, dance and theater. www.sacredheart.edu