Audrey Baedke learned about “the life” as a young adult when her friend was recruited by a pimp. She watched sex trafficking change her friend’s life trajectory. Through this lens, Ms. Baedke graduated from Trinity Lutheran College with a major in Multicultural Studies, became certified as a High Fidelity Wraparound Facilitator and Coach, and gained eighteen years of experience working with survivors. She is a co-founder of REST and oversees REST’s direct services, including street and text outreach, a 24/7 hotline, advocacy, drop-in, economic empowerment program, health services, emergency shelter, transitional and permanent. She multiplies her influence by training other service providers to confidently implement best practices.
SESSION(S):
Serving Transgender Survivors
- Real Escape from the Sex Trade Programs Director Audrey Baedke and SWATCH – Trans Palace Chief Matriarch Mercy Dizon overview how to provide services to all genders. Programs often face barriers when attempting to provide services to gender diverse survivors. U.S. Transgender Survey of 2015 a survey of over 27,000 transgender individuals demonstrates as high as 64% of transgender women of color engaged in the sex trade for income in the last year. However, a majority of programs do not serve transgender community members or have little success in program engagement. Audrey and Mercy review our wins and struggles in overcoming these barriers during our time working together at REST. Additionally, we discuss how this is possible for Christian NGO’s and non-christian NGO’s alike. From responding to discomfort with current program participants and staff to planning for successful engagement with all survivors of commercial sexual exploitation our collective wisdom leads to effective program outcomes for all.
