Mayor’s Task Force on Anti-Human Trafficking Meeting Minutes

August 22, 2018               1:30 pm - 3:30 pm          

25 Van Ness Avenue, room 70, San Francisco, CA 94102

 

Attendees:

Jen Callewaert, Department of Public Health; Saerom Choi, Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach; Ifasina Clear, Young Women’s Freedom Center; Carly Devlin, Huckleberry Youth Programs; Cristy Dietrich, Department of Public Health; Tony Flores, San Francisco Police Department; Maria Gaillac, NCCAHT; Rita Jovick, NCCAHT; Minouche Kandel, Department on the Status of Women; Antonia Lavine, National Council of Jewish Women; Carol Leigh, BAYSWAN; Sue Lockyear, Graduate Student; Pike Long, St James Infirmary; alix lutnick, RTI; Paola Martin del Campo, Safe and Sound; Beverly May, California Massage Therapy Council; Kristen Moore, SF Safehouse; Rose Mukhar, Justice At Last, Emily Murase, Department on the Status of Women; Jacqueline Ortiz, District Attorney Victim Services; Miguel Palmer, Love Never Fails; Jenny Pearlman, Safe and Sound; Kyoko Peterson, Department on the Status of Women; JaMel Perkins, Freedom FWD; Teddi Silverman, National Council of Jewish Women; Sarai Smith-Mazariegos, SHADE Movement; Mary Steiner, UNA USA/SF; Dongmei Tan, Department of Public Health; Monique Thomas, Larkin Street DYS; Alia Whitney-Johnson, Freedom FWD; Jessica Wright, Larkin Street DYS; Dominic Yin, San Francisco Police Department; Karina Zhang, Family and Children’s Services; Iris Zhu, Department of Public Health;

 

1. Welcome/Introductions/Check-In [Minouche Kandel]

 

2. Approval of Minutes from 6-27-18 Meeting [JaMel Perkins/Tony Flores]

 

3. Creating a Welcoming Space for Survivors at Task Force Meetings
   1. Sarai Smith-Mazariegos continued her presentation on survivor leadership and inclusion from the June 27^th Mayor’s Task Force General Meeting. She previously covered the use of imagery, labeling, locus of control, and trauma informed care.
   2. In this meeting, Ms. Smith-Mazariegos covered what is appropriate for survivor engagement, the transition from victim to survivor to leader, the role of allies, and the survivor leadership ladder.
   3. Someone asked Ms. Smith-Mazariegos how she feels this task force is doing on survivor leadership and inclusion. She said to make sure to listen to everyone and be aware whose ideas are being moved forward and whose ideas are not. Someone else asked what imagery is appropriate and Ms. Smith-Mazariegos recommended not relying as much on imagery.

 

4. Committee/Recommendation Updates
   1. Sex Work and Trafficking Policy Impact Committee: Review position paper on FOSTA
      1. Voting Procedures: Minouche Kandel went over the voting procedures for the task force. Only official members who have attended enough meetings and gone through the application process can vote. A majority of all[KM(1]  members are needed to pass something, not just a majority of members at the meeting. A majority of all members would be 10 members.
      2. Presentation: Saerom Choi presented about the position paper authored by the Sex Work and Trafficking Policy Impact Committee. The position paper states that the FOSTA law conflates sex work with sex trafficking, denies individuals engaged in sex work access to online platforms that they use for safety, pushes more individuals towards street-based sex work which has a higher risk of violence, and makes it more difficult for law enforcement to investigate.
      3. Discussion:
         1. Some members shared their perspective on the impact of FOSTA. An increase in street-based sex work in the Mission District has been observed. Members from the Police Department shared that they have seen a ripple effect after the closure of Backpage and that more sites have popped up on the internet. They said that the demand for sex work has not changed with the law, and that they are seeing competition between sex workers. Some asked whether the position against FOSTA includes the provision that allows trafficking survivors to sue websites for civil damages.
         2. There was discussion of FOSTA harming people who in sex work through coercion and through choice.
         3. There was also discussion about what actions the task force would take after voting on this position paper, and some members expressed reservations about voting on the position paper without specific actions or solutions in place. Some expressed interest in amending FOSTA instead of being opposed entirely and others asked about the positive aspects of FOSTA.
         4. Emily Murase from the Department on the Status of Women reminded the Task Force that if this position paper passed, it would be advisory to the mayor, but it would not necessarily reflect the mayor’s position.
         5. Outcome: 6 official members voted to support the position paper, 2 voted to not support it. There were several official members present that abstained from voting. The position paper did not pass.
         6. After the vote was taken, some members expressed confusion about the voting procedures and said that the procedures were new to them. There was discussion about who was a voting member, whether people can vote by email, and what the policies on abstaining are. At least one official member abstained from voting because they were waiting for approval from the policy team in their organization.

 

5. Report on Analysis of Services for Survivors of Sex Trafficking in SF
   1. Sue Lockyear, a graduate student at San Francisco State University, gave a presentation of her analysis of services for survivors of sex trafficking. She has been conducting this analysis with the National Council of Jewish Women.
   2. She interviewed direct service providers and others about service needs, gaps and barriers to service, collaboration, and recommendations.  She found that housing is a critical need, that there is a desire for better trauma informed care, that services can be fragmented, and that people need to view survivors holistically. One idea that came out the interviews was a forum where case managers can communicate with each other.

 

6. Update on Evaluation of Task Force evaluation
   1. Due to a lack of time, it was decided to move alix lutnick’s presentation to the next meeting.

 

7. Announcements
   1. San Francisco Collaborative Against Human Trafficking 2018 Conference
      1. Tuesday, September 25^th, 2018, 8:30 am – 4:00 pm; California State Building • Milton Marks Conference Center • 455 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco CA
      2. This conference is sponsored by the San Francisco Collaborative Against Human Trafficking and the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women.