Community-Based Research
LCHT is committed to evidence-based research efforts grounded upon objective, verifiable, reliable and replicable data. We strive to honor history while opening the field to innovation and foster respectful, intentional collaboration and participation among academics, activists, community service providers, law enforcement, survivors and volunteers. We do so while holding true to our values of non-discrimination, interdisciplinary approaches and feminism.
Our research approach must involve critical analysis. For that reason, you might hear us talking about…
... differences between victims/survivors based on race, class, gender, and myriad other fluid and intersecting identities.
… the fact that experiences of sugar cane harvesters can vary from person to person.
… questions surrounding what’s considered “normative” sexual behavior for adults in 2010.
… questions surrounding the power women have in the production of pornography.
… critical discussions on the differences between human trafficking today and legalized/institutionalized slavery in the U.S.
... and much, much more.
These are key lenses of feminist research methodology that guide how we bridge academe with on-the-ground practice. This is part of our efforts to conduct Participatory Action Research.
Participatory Action Research is a recognized form of research that focuses on the effect of the researcher’s direct action of practice within a participatory community with the goal of improving the performance quality of the community or an area of concern.
Colorado Project to Comprehensively Combat Human Trafficking (Colorado Project)
LCHT has been awarded a grant from the Embrey Family Foundation to launch an unprecedented, national study of promising practices in the anti-human trafficking field. To be piloted in Colorado, the project will provide states with a critical tool to assess strengths and gaps in anti-trafficking efforts.
For more information, please go to the official Colorado Project page of our site.
Community Needs Assessment
Through the Community Needs Assessment (CNA) Project, the Laboratory to Combat Human Trafficking assesses levels of knowledge and awareness surrounding the complex crime of human trafficking. Additionally, LCHT seeks to coordinate with local anti-trafficking leaders to provide information needed to create a roadmap for service provision, training, technical assistance and coalition-building activities. As a result, LCHT provides Colorado communities with a better understanding of the prevalence of human trafficking in the area and insights into the different forms of trafficking taking place.LCHT is conducting Community Needs Assessments in several communities throughout Colorado, including Boulder, Colorado Springs, Denver, Englewood, and Fort Collins. As a means of increasing community ownership and project sustainability, 75 individuals have been trained to conduct the Community Needs Assessment surveys. To date, over 160 surveys have been collected from these communities. In support of this statewide effort, The Zonta Club of Denver awarded Laboratory to Combat Human Trafficking funding in February, 2009 to extend and update a Denver community needs assessment report conducted in 2006 and to strengthen and build a the victim service referral network. Furthermore, the Zonta Club of Douglas County and Wellspring Church of Englewood have also funded Laboratory to Combat Human Trafficking to include their own communities in the CNA project.
The goals of the Colorado Community Needs Assessment are:
- To facilitate the enhanced coordination and provision of services to victims of human trafficking statewide in Colorado
- To identify current resources available to serve trafficking victims
- To better understand the scope and nature of human trafficking
- To inform future public awareness, training, and technical assistance activities
- To describe current barriers and challenges that inhibit the effectiveness of a community response and,
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To inform the creation of protocols to facilitate coordination of services provided by the Colorado Network to End Human Trafficking,
including a marketing plan to reach community service providers.
"Much of the success of the Human Trafficking Task Force of Southern Colorado is due to the dedicated, knowledgeable support we have received from several organizations. Key among them has been LCHT and Dr. AnnJanette Alejano-Steele. One of the backbones of our program is based on the community needs assessments which were conducted with LCHT. We are grateful for this vision and guidance." –Betty Edwards, HT Taskforce of Southern Colorado