Mission
We are a practitioner-led, survivor-informed, evidence-based, and community-informed think tank that intentionally fills gaps in human trafficking prevention through an intersectional framework that fosters systemic change and progressive policy innovations.
Vision
We envision a world where all individuals are free from force, fraud, or coercion in their pursuit of self-determination. To make this vision a reality, SJI works to prevent and ultimately eliminate human trafficking and exploitation.
Values
At SJI, our work is guided by a commitment to equity, collaboration, and transformative change. These values shape our approach to preventing human trafficking and supporting survivors in their pursuit of empowerment and justice:
- Address all forms of human trafficking to ensure the most marginalized are visible.
- Work in partnership with survivors and their communities to drive meaningful change.
- Center survivor voices and driven by impacted communities.
- Apply an intersectional approach to understand the diverse experiences of human trafficking survivors.
- Advance policy innovations and systemic change through a multi-disciplinary approach.
- Pursue non-carceral approaches to preventing human trafficking.
- Apply critical, evidence-based, and community-informed lens to anticipate and prevent unintended consequences.
- Strive for tangible impact in our daily work.
Reflections From Lived-Experience Experts
Mercy Gray
In this video, survivor consultant Mercy Gray summarizes feedback from human trafficking survivors gathered during our Restorative Justice Conference at Loyola Law School. Mercy highlights the strong sentiment expressed by survivors about the critical need for government funding to support restorative justice programs in trafficking cases.
Rebeka Layton
Rebeka shares her insights about using a restorative justice approach in human trafficking cases to address harm and provide pathways to healing that do not rely on the traditional legal system, which she describes often causes more harm to survivors.
Aja Houle
Aja provides expert testimony about the California Labor Trafficking Prevention Act (AB-380), a bill that would provide the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) with statutory authority to investigate and prosecute claims of labor trafficking.
Adrianna Griffith
Adrianna reflects on racial equity and the responsibility that agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, must undertake to remove restrictions that determine whether someone deserves to live in a safe environment and prevent all forms of trafficking.
Polina Ostrenkova
Polina highlights that survivors are treated differently based on the color of their skin and encourages "white-identified" survivors to support and amplify the voice of survivors from communities of color.