Approximately 3 hours
to complete
Earn a record
of completion
Long-form and video
production format
Course Overview
Human trafficking is best described as the despicable exploitation of others for profit through the use of force, fraud, or coercion. This pernicious act decimates the lives of the trafficked, fracturing families, and exploits the victim’s body and labor as a renewable resource.
Traffickers seek out vulnerable populations, commonly using techniques of physical and psychological abuse—utilizing fear and intimidation to exert control over their victims. Some traffickers keep their victims under lock and key, while others use less obvious methods, specifically debt bondage—asserting erroneous financial obligations wherein the victim feels honor-bound to satisfy dubious debt.
Trafficking has been described as akin to slavery and persists in all areas of the world with a significant presence in California. Tied with illegal arms sales, human trafficking is commonly seen as the second largest global criminal industry and as the fastest growing criminal activity in the 21st century.
The International Labour Organization estimates human trafficking generates approximately $150 billion a year globally.
This self-paced self-study course will examine and discuss numerous aspects of this criminal activity, to include victim traumatology; barriers to successful application of a victim-centered approach via trauma-informed care; how to effectively create and foster a multi-disciplinary collaborative anti-trafficking approach; and the role our information sharing environment play in understanding and articulating the trafficking threat.
The course creator has assembled expertise in their respective fields to bring deep meaningful discussion and context to this emerging crime.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Identify, articulate, and name several methods of power, control and coercion utilized by traffickers
- Describe the importance and value of a victim-centered approach when responding to trafficking
- Identify effects of trauma and violence endured by victims of trafficking
- Articulate the challenges and benefits to creating and working in a collaborative environment
- Describe the fusion center and threat assessment system
- Describe how to report trafficking-related suspicious activity to one of the local human trafficking task forces or local fusion centers
Module 1: Why is Applying a “Trauma Informed Care” and a “Victim Centered Approach” So Difficult?
Module 2: The Challenges of Multi-Disciplinary Collaboration in Human Trafficking Task Forces
Module 3: Information Sharing Frameworks and How to Report Suspicious Behavior
About the Instructor
Ben Greer, J.D., M.A., Emergency Management Instructor, California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (CalOES)
Mr. Greer’s role at the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services is as a subject matter expert in the field of human trafficking and child sexual exploitation; specifically instructing and developing human trafficking courses for law enforcement and emergency management personnel.
Before joining Cal OES, he served as a Special Deputy Attorney General for the California Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. He led a team of attorneys and non-attorneys in a comprehensive report for the California Attorney General entitled, “The State of Human Trafficking in California 2012” and published extensively on various aspects of trafficking.
Aside from his work with CalOES, he recently graduated from the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security Master’s Degree Program and is a Research Associate for the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Applied Research in Human Trafficking (CCARHT).