Our field collects significant data. This session asks who is in the room when that data gets read? Most have no answer that includes Lived Experience Experts (LEE) at the analysis stage. This session shows that omission has real consequences. Data analyzed without LEE co-creation at the analysis stage produces systematically incomplete, and sometimes harmful, conclusions. The same numbers can be analyzed in different ways depending on who is doing the interpreting. This is demonstrated four times using Safe House Project’s (SHP) own 2026 dataset. Four analysis moments anchor the session, each showing the same structure: the data, what it could have been read as without LEE co-creation, and how it is because lived experience was at the table. The session closes with a structured table discussion asking participants to identify a data point in their own organizations and consider who was — and was not — in the room when it was analyzed. The call to action is not a tool or a checklist. It is a shift in conviction: that the standard for LEE involvement in the anti-trafficking field must extend from program delivery into research and analysis, and that this is not optional if the goal is accuracy.
Brittany Dunn is Co-Founder and COO of Safe House Project, a national nonprofit dedicated to survivor identification, emergency placement, and safe housing access. A Wellesley College and Thunderbird School of Global Management graduate and former M&A professional, her work has been featured in Forbes, The Hill, and CBN.
Alia Azariah is a nationally recognized expert on human trafficking, CSEC, and survivor aftercare. A survivor herself, she serves as Director of Collective Impact at Safe House Project, shaping survivor services nationwide through training, policy, and advocacy. A 2025 Obama Leaders USA selectee, she has trained thousands and spoken at the U.S. Capitol, UK Parliament, and beyond.