137 – Interview with Prosecutors: John Cotton Richmond & Victor Boutros

This episode is brought to you by Vanguard University and the Global Center for Women and Justice, who offer an incredible anti-human trafficking certificate. Whether you're a frontline responder, a social worker, in the ministry, a healthcare provider, or simply a community member who wants to help, this program is built for you. Head over to gcwj.org/ahtc to take the next step and apply today. ---In this episode, Dr. Sandra Morgan and Dave Stachowiak introduce two previous federal prosecutors John Cotton Richmond and Victor Boutros to discuss the Human Trafficking Institute. They ask three questions that fall into anti-human trafficking strategies. How do we make people less vulnerable to traffickers? How do we care for survivors? How do we actually stop the traffickers? The answer is to start at the root of the problem. We need to understand the issues and the laws that are already in place. Then we need to understand how we can enforce the laws already in place and where we need to expand policies. Boutros shares that they will train specialized units to create a model of prosecutors and agents that are focused on human trafficking cases called the ACT Team. This episode challenges listeners to begin to think in innovative ways about how they can stop the crime at its source. It’s time we learn how to identify the traffickers, not just the victims, in order to be able to stop future exploitation. Victor Boutros Victor serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Human Trafficking Institute and President of the Board of Directors. He is a co-founder of the Institute, which was launched in 2015. Prior to his role at the Institute, he served as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit and trained law enforcement from different parts of the world on how to investigate and prosecute human trafficking. He is co-author with Gary Haugen of The Locust Effect: Why the End of Poverty Requires the End of Violence (Oxford Press). In 2016, Victor and Gary received the Grawemeyer Prize for Ideas Impacting World Order, awarded annually to the authors of one world-changing book based on originality, feasibility, and potential impact. Victor is a graduate of Baylor University, Harvard University, Oxford University, and the University of Chicago. John Cotton Richmond John Cotton Richmond serves as the United States Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons and leads the Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. In October 2018, the Senate unanimously confirmed him and President Trump appointed him to lead the United States’ global engagement to combat human trafficking and support the coordination of anti-trafficking efforts across the U.S. government. Ambassador Richmond comes to the highest position in the federal government dedicated to combating human trafficking, after a distinguished career in the global battle for freedom. He co-founded the Human Trafficking Institute that exists to decimate modern slavery at its source by empowering police and prosecutors to use victim-centered and trauma-informed methods to hold traffickers accountable and ensure survivors are treated with respect and care. Resources John Richmond & Victor Boutros The Human Trafficking Institute The Human Trafficking Institute- the Founder Episode 26 – Lessons from the Prosecutor’s Desk Are you enjoying the show? If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to subscribe or rate the podcast on iTunes by clicking here. Click here for FAQs about podcasts and how to subscribe. Haven’t been receiving our newsletter? Visit our homepage to join today. Contact us with questions, comments, or suggestions at [email protected].