Built on lived experience, research, and global best practices, the We’re Not Broken RAISE Framework offers funders, governments, and institutions a roadmap to invest in scalable survivor-led solutions.
The RAISE Framework
The RAISE Framework
The RAISE Framework
A survivor-informed overview to develop understanding of where harm is often overlooked and how to move from awareness to informed action.
About the Framework
We’re Not Broken is a survivor-informed framework that helps people recognize where boys experience sexual exploitation, abuse, and trafficking—and where systems, communities, and everyday adults often miss the signs. Grounded in lived experience, global research, and cross-sector practice, this work is designed to meet readers where they are and help them understand their role in prevention, protection, and recovery.
This framework is for:
Practitioners and public-sector leaders (e.g. social workers, educators, law enforcement, judges, policymakers) working to improve identification, response, and survivor-centered systems of care.
Foundations, funders, and institutional leaders looking to invest strategically in housing, mental health, substance use recovery, and survivor-led infrastructure.
Business, technology, travel, and community leaders who want to move beyond good intentions and understand how their roles intersect with prevention, response, and healing.
Parents, caregivers, and everyday adults seeking greater awareness and practical insight to recognize blind spots and protect children in everyday settings.
Intentional
Scale direct services and enable survivor-centered action
Collaborative
Remove silos, act across sectors, & engage global systems and services
Engagement
Leverage successful service models, smart technology, and survivor expertise
Download the RAISE Framework
The Full Framework
The complete We’re Not Broken RAISE framework.
A two-page abstract outlining challenges and measures for core actors.
The framework at a glance
Five Principles for Taking Action:
-
Recognize male survivors and remove systemic barriers to care.
The trafficking and sexual exploitation of boys is deeply stigmatized, underreported, and often denied – leaving data scarce, contradictory, or nonexistent in many regions. Anti-trafficking programs have largely focused on females. As a result, male victims face systemic neglect in the U.S. and globally. Program design and services must expand to ensure all survivors receive the care they need. Data gaps must not delay action. Immediate investment is needed to raise awareness and destigmatize seeking help among boys and men.
-
Address the need for safe housing as the foundation for healing and long-term stability.
Without safe, supportive housing, boys cannot escape trafficking or begin to heal. Yet, there are currently no “beds”, defined as designated placements in safe shelters or long-term housing, available for boys under 18 in the U.S. Globally, only limited options exist, in countries such as Cambodia, Colombia, and Thailand. Most housing programs are designed for women and girls fleeing their traffickers, leaving boys with little to no access to shelter or care. With strategic investment, we can adapt proven female-serving models and expand international efforts to build housing specifically for boys who have been harmed, hidden, and too often left to heal alone.
-
Invest in trauma-responsive mental health support and substance use treatment tailored to survivors’ realities.
Traffickers often use substances to control, manipulate, and entrap boys and young men. Survivors also turn to substances to cope and survive. These realities make substance use treatment and recovery essential – not only to break free from exploitation, but to reclaim independence and live a thriving life. Survivors need access to treatment that recognizes how substance use, and sex trafficking and exploitation are interconnected.
-
Secure private sector innovation and investment to leverage and expand public and philanthropic resources.
Unlike government, the private sector can move quickly, especially through tools like artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), and digital platforms. With philanthropic partnerships, the private sector can pilot survivor-focused initiatives: multilingual VR therapy, AI powered outreach, and collaboration with international and country-specific hotlines for those urgently seeking help. Some airlines, hotels, and financial institutions already help prevent trafficking and can expand their role by offering support at key industry touch points where trafficking is often facilitated. Strategic collaborations can scale these innovations globally, bridging gaps in care and opening new pathways to healing for survivors worldwide.
-
Establish a global fund and backbone organization to coordinate solutions at the scale this crisis demands.
By consolidating resources across public, private, and philanthropic sectors, we can build a comprehensive, survivor-centered network that leverages impact investments, matching grants, and multi-year funding contributions. This approach not only streamlines access to essential services but also fosters a sustainable infrastructure for housing, substance use recovery, mental health care, and economic empowerment - ensuring that no survivor falls through the cracks.