Professionally, I am aiming to be a lawyer with a specialization in indigenous rights including the repatriation of artifacts. For this summer internship, rather than interning at a museum or a law office, I decided to intern at The Worthy Ranch, a place that specializes in helping survivors of sex trafficking. I am passionate about human rights and although I had a basic understanding of human trafficking as an issue, I wanted to learn more about the issue firsthand rather than from news reports. Human trafficking is not the most “fun” topic but it is a major issue that is too often confused with human smuggling.
One of the main points that I learned was that a majority of sex trafficking victims were first “sold” by someone they knew—a boyfriend, a neighbor, and sometimes even by members of their own family. It is more common for victims of sex trafficking to be groomed rather than being taken by strangers. As part of this internship, I did a deep dive into available research for the purposes of grant writing. This deep dive has changed my perception of the issue and gave me insights on not just sex trafficking but labor trafficking. I have also been impressed with my supervisor, Heather Estus, in her drive to develop programs from the ground up for survivors of sex trafficking including job training and coaching.
In the course of this internship, I interviewed Billings City Councilperson and former Montana Congressional candidate, Penny Ronning. Ronning is also head of the Yellowstone County Human Trafficking task Force. She knew the data and statistics and gave me tips on research because human trafficking due to its nature does not have accurate statistics. Being that Ronning herself is a lawyer, she offered advice on law school and what I could do with my degree. I did not expect to receive career counseling during this internship, but she gave me sound advice. Beyond that, she gave me hope. A majority of sex trafficking goes unnoticed by the public and there has not been adequate police trained on the issue resulting in few convictions considering that human trafficking is a criminal enterprise worth about $150 billion.
This internship has not only taught me more about sex trafficking and aftercare for victims. Through this internship, I became more informed about the issue and more inspired for entering
law school. My advice to future interns and to anyone doing work in this area is to rid yourself of preconceived notions about human trafficking and enter this space with compassion. Sex trafficking itself is a complex issue and survivors need support, not judgment.
Photo: The Worthy Ranch Retreat, last year.
