Human Traffickings Survivors are the True Experts
For many years, the anti human trafficking field has focused on “rescuing” victims from their trafficking situations and asking concerned citizens to “say something” if they “see something.” It’s past time to recognize that we can’t say something without knowing the true story from the survivors themselves. We have made it a mission at Polaris to put survivors first, as they are the true experts in the field. Survivors are more than just a story, they are the key to preventing human trafficking in the first place.
Survivor Stories
Stories are powerful when they are told by the person who knows them best, the person who not only lived them at the time but lives with them ever after and so are always, in some way, reinterpreting their meaning.
Survivor Gallery
This section is dedicated to and driven entirely by the survivor community. Survivors are the engine of innovation and true progress in our field, whether they are working to fight human trafficking, supporting others, driving buses, writing poetry or raising kids.
National Survivor Study
The National Survivor Study is a scientifically rigorous research project developed in full partnership with survivors of human trafficking to gain insights that we can use to push for real and impactful change.
Listen to Survivors
If we don’t represent human trafficking accurately, then people in trafficking situations will have an even harder time recognizing what is happening to them and finding a way to break free. It’s time to listen to survivors and represent their experiences.
The Resilience Fund
The Polaris Resilience Fund offers direct cash assistance, no strings attached, to human trafficking survivors to use in whatever they see fit. In doing so, the Resilience Fund gives survivors back exactly what their traffickers stole from them – control over their own lives.
