The recently named 2022 TIP Heroes (Trafficking in Persons Heroes) met with the NCJFCJ during a meeting last Friday (7/22/22) at the Northern Nevada International Center. NCJFCJ Program Director Cheri Ely met with the TIP Heroes to discuss NCJFCJ’s initiatives to address child trafficking through the court system. Each year, the US Dept of State honors outstanding individuals around the world who are fighting to end human trafficking. Since 2009, the TIP Report Heroes have been invited to participate in a State Department sponsored, two week visit to the United States, where the Secretary of State personally honors them at the annual release of the TIP Report in Washington, DC. Following the event, the TIP Report Heroes travel to additional U.S. cities to meet with their counterparts around the country to share their stories and engage on anti-trafficking efforts.
Cheri Ely shared with them the NCJFCJ Resource Center for Courts on Child Sex Trafficking toolkit. Providing new and experienced judicial officers and courts with the tools they need to enhance their ability to address these challenging cases. This toolkit is organized by topic and includes Understanding the Scope of the Problem, Interpreting the Legal Landscape, Implementing Promising Practices, and Leveraging Judicial Leadership. The Resource Center was developed with the support of the NoVo Foundation, Rights4Girls, National Immigrant Women’s Advocacy Project (NIWAP), Awaken, National American Indian Court Judges Association (NAICJA), and consultants Honorable John Romero (Ret.) and Toni McKinley, MA, LPC.