Asian Anti-Trafficking Collaborative of the Bay Area (ATC)

History

The Anti-Trafficking Collaborative of the Bay Area (ATC-BA or ATC) (formerly the Asian-Anti Trafficking Collaborative) is a coalition of five community-based, anti-violence and social justice organizations. The Asian Anti-Trafficking Collaborative (AATC), which comprised of the Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach (APILO), Asian Women’s Shelter (AWS), and Narika, have long collaborated with each other since the 1980s on domestic violence and human trafficking. To expand our capacity to support survivors of human trafficking, we added two new members in 2013: the SAGE Project (Standing Against Global Exploitation) and Mujeres Unidas y Activas. Together we provide culturally and linguistically appropriate, comprehensive legal and social services to survivors of human trafficking, regardless of gender, national origin, race, or ethnicity.

The goal of the ATC is to help trafficked men, women, and children take steps that will transform them from victims to survivors of trafficking. Trafficked persons want, and deserve a fighting chance for a life that can be about the pursuit of happiness, and not about mere survival. To advance this goal, the members of ATC work with each client to identify and address their most emergent needs. ATC works to stabilize each client’s immigration status, help reunite them with family members in the U.S., assist them with navigating multiple legal and social services systems to access benefits and preserve their rights, and help each individual gain the skills and knowledge that is crucial to enabling a self-sufficient, healthy, and stable life.

ATC has served hundreds of survivors of human trafficking and continue to advocate and represent trafficked men, women, and children. Member agencies of the ATC spearheaded the passage of the first comprehensive state anti-trafficking law in the nation (AB 22), established local and national protocols to advance and protect victims’ rights. The former AATC was recognized as one of the top three model programs in the U.S.

Human trafficking is a reality in our own backyards and AATC is committed to providing comprehensive services to trafficked persons.

Mission

"The Anti-Trafficking Collaborative of the Bay Area (ATC) strives to provide culturally appropriate and comprehensive services to survivors of human trafficking, and enable and empower trafficked persons to transition from victim to survivor of violence in a safe and nurturing environment.”