Latest News
Stay up to date on the latest from Gateway Alliance against Human Trafficking.

An Overview of Labor Trafficking
By Nicole Caldwell, Undergraduate Student: B.A. in French with a minor in Political Science, University of Missouri in St. Louis (UMSL); Gateway Human Trafficking Intern Did you know that one of the first recognized cases of human trafficking in the United States...

In honor of African American History Month
Trafficking of African Americans in the United States By Nicole Caldwell, Undergraduate Student: B.A. in French with a minor in Political Science, University of Missouri in St. Louis (UMSL); Gateway Human Trafficking Intern A 300+ year history of institutional racism...

Intersection between Domestic Violence (DV) and Human Trafficking
By Shima Rostami, Ed.D., Executive Director, Gateway Human Trafficking Domestic violence can result in physical injury, psychological trauma, and in severe cases, even death. The devastating physical, emotional, and psychological consequences of domestic violence can...

Ovarian Cancer among Child Trafficking Victims
The Silent Killer among the most Innocent Victims The following article contains information that may be disturbing to some readers. By Shima Rostami, Ed.D., Executive Director, AND Erika Hatfield, Advisory Council, Gateway Human Trafficking This month, wearing teal...

Human Trafficking In-Transition during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Traffickers are adjusting their business models to the ‘new normal’ created by the COVID-19 outbreak By Shima Rostami, Ed.D., Executive Director, Gateway Human Trafficking For traffickers human trafficking is a business; for them it is about money and the profit they...

What is the relationship between having a disability and vulnerability to human trafficking?
By Shima Rostami, Ed.D.; Executive Director, Gateway Human Trafficking AND Robert Fisher Human trafficking is an egregious violation of the inherent rights and dignity of a person, and individuals with certain disabilities may be more susceptible to exploitation by...

Trafficking of Immigrants and Refugees
By Shima Rostami, Ed.D.; Executive Director, Gateway Human Trafficking With the number of forcefully displaced people hitting a record of 68.5 million in 2017 (Edwards, 2018), experts say a lack of legal support and funding has enabled a multibillion-dollar criminal...

PTSD and Human Trafficking (June 2020)
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can greatly impact the revictimization of a survivor of human trafficking. By Shima Rostami, Ed.D.; Executive Director, Gateway Human Trafficking AND Erika Hatfield, M.A.; Advisory Council Member, Gateway Human Trafficking....

The Silence of the Most Innocent Victims: How the COVID-19 Pandemic has affected on Human Trafficking
By Shima Rostami, Ed.D.; Executive Director, Gateway Human Trafficking Human trafficking is a hidden crime and there are many reasons that keep victims from seeking help such as language barriers, fear of traffickers, and/or fear of law enforcement. Additionally,...

In Honor of the Most Innocent victims: Abused Children
uthor: Dana Klar, J.D., LCSW, Child Advocate and Assistant Teaching Professor for the Child Advocacy Studies program, the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL). April is known as National Child Abuse Prevention Month when an annual observance in the United States is...