Collaborating against Human Trafficking: Cross-Sector Challenges and Practices

Foot's honest and critical attention throughout her book to the visible and the not-so-visible challenges to cross-sector collaboration against human trafficking is a refreshingly clever approach to partnership-building within this growing field. Though human trafficking is often cited as a crime that is 'hidden in plain sight', Foot works to confront this belief in her book by encouraging stakeholders of all backgrounds and positioning - from victims to survivors to law enforcement, governments and VSPs - to persevere through challenges of collaboration together. In doing so, Foot makes a strong case for an achievable and worthwhile way forward in the anti-trafficking arena in the United States and beyond.
[Foot's] insights into the roles of gender, race, class, and nonsurvivor or survivor status...contribute important knowledge to the countertrafficking field. They may also point to further lines of inquiry.... Because human trafficking hinges on the disempowerment and debasement of human beings, Foot's special attention to the role of power dynamics within counter-trafficking collaborations appears particularly important for social workers and other collaborators to consider closely.... Foot's many years of study, her balanced and inclusive approach, and her dissemination of practical knowledge makes her a reliable source of information for those who are committed to improving or building their own countertrafficking collaborations.
Kirsten Foot's book is a timely contribution to the field.... This book in many ways reveals some of the implicit and silent barriers and impediments that influence collaboration efforts; some of which may be true to any sector, and some of which may be specific to the countertrafficking field. Overall, the book offers some interesting and important accounts.... [I]t is a well-written book, it weaves together anecdote, data analysis, and the broader literature in an assured and engaging way, and it will be of interest to those seeking to improve collaboration efforts and to scholars of communication studies more generally.
I enjoyed reading this book and believe it should be required reading for all management researchers with an interest in multisector collaboration and its role in social and environmental justice. Foot's work is academically rooted but also the product of direct experience in the field. Her observations are based on the literature, an in-depth study of various collaborations around trafficking, and her own experience volunteering in the sector. The book is full of fascinating vignettes from her field research that bring the topic to life. And given that these vignettes always at least touch on, and often engage deeply with, the horrors of trafficking, they keep the reader highly engaged in a way not often encountered in our field.
[Foot] presents a first-hand account and thoughtfully constructed conclusions around the many issues that develop when anti-trafficking organizations work together towards defeating human trafficking.... The book summarizes and provides a clear structure to many issues that have yet to be collectively considered in this field. Foot has written a highly practical text that makes many useful suggestions for improving inter-organizational collaboration by offering group exercises and resources that combat human trafficking. Her protocols are well referenced and include detailed footnotes.... Overall, Foot succeeds in drawing the reader in with captivating notes from her interviews, field work and experiences and utilizes jargon that is accessible to audiences of different levels. This text is succinct yet detailed, and the author makes a clear point to remain as impartial as possible in order to encourage the reader to view issues presented from multiple perspectives. This book is very relevant to inter-professional care because it can be used as a point of reference when considering potential issues and improvements for collaboration within not only criminal justice and social work, but also other health-related and community-focused fields. Foot states that trust, respect and perseverance are the values required to improve interdisciplinary collaboration - a necessary and central factor - in the fight against human trafficking.
Collaborating against Human Trafficking addresses a very important issue: what works in much vaunted partnerships to fight trafficking. Policymakers, scholars, and aspiring activists would do well to heed the lessons about sound and aligned goals in this book, as those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.
As a survivorship expert, I consider this book a must read for anyone working to counter human trafficking.
Foot has written an excellent book: thoughtful, well researched, and instructive. I urge business leaders to read it and engage in the twenty-first-century fight against human slavery.
This useful and much needed resource explores hard truths of collaboration in honest and helpful ways.
Foot brings to light the challenges of cross-sector collaboration, the frustrations and rewards for those involved in collaborative anti-trafficking efforts, and what can be achieved--or lost. This highly readable book should be required reading for anyone engaged in collaborative work.
An excellent examination of multisector collaboration. Kirsten Foot draws on astute research, exceptional insights, and illustrative examples to beautifully explain both the tensions inherent in and the benefits to be derived from incorporating many intersecting perspectives.
Anyone who has worked on the ground to end trafficking will instantly recognize the trials, tradeoffs, and triumphs involved in collaborative work. Foot takes the reader directly into these day-to-day efforts, demonstrating how much has been learned and how much more there still is to do.