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The Polaris Post
Dear John,
Thank you so much for standing with Polaris in the fight to end sex and labor trafficking. Your support and commitment to this movement makes a real difference — helping survivors rebuild their lives and making it harder for traffickers to operate. We’re deeply grateful to be in this work with you.
This month, we’re excited to share updates on recent legal action bolstered by a call to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, a major win in survivor-centered legislation, and a behind-the-scenes look at how our Financial Intelligence Unit is equipping partners to disrupt traffickers.
We hope you’ll be inspired by these stories — and consider forwarding this newsletter to friends who share your commitment to freedom and justice.
Together, we’re building a future where every person is free to choose how and where they live and work.
With gratitude,
The Polaris Team
Hotline in the News: Holding Traffickers Accountable
The National Human Trafficking Hotline continues to play a key role in helping law enforcement and the courts hold traffickers accountable. Here’s just one example:
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Recently, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the conviction of a trafficker
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on multiple charges of sex trafficking and forced labor between 2014 and 2020. The initial indictment from 2023 noted 13 victims, including one who reported the situation to the Trafficking Hotline in 2021 — “prompting Homeland Security to intensify the investigation.”
Read More
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Read More
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Get to Know the Team: Activating Partners with Intelligence
Did you know that Polaris has a dedicated team that helps financial institutions and law enforcement spot and stop human trafficking through actionable information about potential trafficking situations?
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Meet Lauren,* a member of our Financial Intelligence Unit. This team researches, analyzes, and shares critical information that helps our partners take action against traffickers.
What does your day-to-day look like?
I act as an intelligence officer, gathering and analyzing open-source, publicly available information to create packages for our partners. You’d be surprised how much trafficking activity is out in the open — not buried on the dark web. Traffickers often leave a digital footprint through social media or connections with friends and family. They’re not as hidden as they think. What’s missing is the time and resources to connect the dots — and that’s where we come in.
What makes you feel proud of the work you do?
By corroborating leads from the Trafficking Hotline or negative news checks using open sources, we can give our 20 partners tips on potential traffickers to investigate in their own systems, helping them identify suspicious activity and activate the evidence required for law enforcement to intervene. I remember the first time I saw the arrest of a trafficker that I had researched on the news — I can’t directly link my intelligence to the arrest, but I felt proud to have played a part.
Over your career, has there been a moment that solidified your commitment to this work?
I’ve been working in the anti-trafficking field for more than a decade. One of the most rewarding parts is helping partners understand the complexities of trafficking. I once explained the continuum along adult sex work and sex trafficking, and the partner said, “I never thought about it like that.” That moment reminded me just how valuable this work is — not only in catching traffickers, but in shifting perspectives to better support victims and survivors!
*Name changed to protect privacy
An Advocacy Update
Good news: The TAKE IT DOWN Act
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is now law! This important legislation makes it a crime to share non-consensual images — including AI-generated “deepfakes” — and requires online platforms to remove reported content within 48 hours.
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Polaris supports this critical step toward protecting privacy and dignity, and we applaud the survivors, advocates, and lawmakers who made it possible!
Meanwhile, the Trafficking Survivors Relief Act
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(HR 1379) — which would create a pathway for survivors to clear federal criminal records — is looking good to pass through the House of Representatives. We are still working behind the scenes on its reintroduction in the Senate, and it’s important to keep the bill front and center in the midst of many other legislative issues. Remind your Congress members today
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!
Contact Your Congress Member
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Contact Your Congress Member
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Freedom Happens Now.
I Want to Help Today!
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I Want to Help Today!
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Copyright © 2023 Polaris is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
P.O. Box 65323, Washington, D.C. 20035.
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