LMU Loyola Law School

Sunita Jain

Anti-Trafficking Initiative

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The Sunita Jain Anti-Trafficking Initiative (SJI) was founded in 2021 at Loyola Law School to advance advocacy and policy that prevent human trafficking and support survivors. Recognizing the urgent need for a comprehensive, survivor-centered approach, SJI was established to amplify the voices of lived-experience experts, promote trauma-informed legal and policy solutions, and ensure that anti-trafficking efforts are rooted in justice and human rights. Through research, education, and direct engagement with survivors, SJI seeks to address systemic gaps and drive meaningful change in how trafficking is understood and addressed.

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. 

Get in Touch

Sunita Jain Anti-Trafficking Initiative (SJI)

Loyola Law School
Founders Hall 214 
919 Albany St 
Los Angeles, CA 90015
213.252.7442
Stephanie Richard Square

Stephanie Richard

Faculty Advisor, Director

Sabra Boyd

Media Relations