Elise Fandrich (1L)
Polaris Project
Washington, D.C.
Elise is working as a summer fellow at Polaris Project, a non-profit based in Washington, D.C. that is dedicated to combating modern slavery in the United States. Despite the widely-held notion that the 13th Amendment ended slavery in America, thousands of people are trafficked into sex and labor industries in the United States every year. Polaris Project is fighting human trafficking by operating the National Human Trafficking Hotline, providing client services, coordinating trainings for law enforcement, and crafting federal and state laws designed to protect victims and prosecute perpetrators. Elise is the first Seattle University student to participate in the Polaris Project Fellowship program, where she joined the policy team and is responsible for tracking, drafting, and analyzing anti-trafficking legislation; analyzing model laws and guidelines, and assisting in legislative advocacy.
July 31, 2011
My summer has passed quickly, and eventfully. At Polaris, we policy fellows finished gathering and analyzing all of the statutes for Polaris Project's State Ratings Map. This visually depicts how each state ranks in terms of laws they have on the books regarding trafficking. For example, every state that has a basic law against labor and sex trafficking receives points, and then additional points are allotted if states include additional statutes that provide assistance to trafficking victims, mandate training for law enforcement, etc. We create the map by researching statutes in every single state, and compiling all those laws in a 100+ page document. The map is a very useful tool in compelling state legislatures to act. Last year, twelve states with insufficient trafficking laws on the books received the worst ratings. Since then, that number has shrunk to ten, and many other states have "moved up" in the rankings. These successes are certainly not due exclusively to Polaris' efforts; and many champions deserve thanks for their work. However, the map illustrates how merely pointing out the fact that someone else is doing a better job can serve as an impetus for improvement.
This past week and a half, I attended meetings with state officials in Richmond, VA; I met with some of Patty Murray's staff on the Hill to discuss the TVPRA 2011, a piece of federal legislation that strengthens and reauthorizes the current federal law against human trafficking; I attended a national conference on child welfare at the Capitol, and met with an official from the European Union to compare notes on trafficking issues in the United States and Europe. I feel incredibly fortunate that working in D.C. has afforded me with so many unique opportunities - these are rare and invaluable learning experiences, and I am grateful to be privy to so many important and meaningful conversations about law and policy.
June 30, 2011
First Impressions
Working for Polaris Project has provided new experiences on two fronts. First, learning more about the issue of human trafficking and the mechanisms of policy advocacy has been an intense and rewarding challenge. Second, I am finally making my debut in our nations capitol; before this summer, I had never been to Washington, DC, so I've enjoyed being a tourist on the weekends.
My first impression of DC was that it was busy. During the week, the city constantly is teeming with life; but not in the sense that there are simply lots of people living here, but rather that lots of people areworking here. After attending a congressional hearing, talking with other non-profit volunteers, and listening to the umpteenth person at the bar tell you which department of the government they work for, you realize that although a lot of controversy occurs here, at its best, DC is a place where there are thousands of individuals working very hard to try and make a positive difference in the world. That, along with evening jogs past the Lincoln Memorial, makes DC a truly inspiring place to work.
My job at Polaris is also inspiring, foremost because of the incredible individuals I get to work with. Human Trafficking is a serious and discouraging issue. When you spend your day learning about the control tactics pimps use to keep prostitutes under their control, or when I listen to stories of migrant workers being beaten, and sometimes killed for trying to escape horrible living conditions, it's very sobering.
However, the work environment at Polaris is one of hope, optimism, and dedication. In working with the policy team, more of my focus has been on legislative research. It is only in the last decade that anti-trafficking statutes have existed anywhere in the US, and there are still some states that do not have anti-trafficking laws. Because law enforcement at a local level is key in preventing and prosecuting trafficking, it's essential there be strong and comprehensive state legislation prohibiting such activity. My colleague's advocacy has played a crucial role in passing this type of legislation around the country. Their work serves as an encouraging example of how selfless dedication makes tangible differences in improving the lives of others.
