Mount Saint Mary College examined one of the most pressing human rights issues of the modern era with its annual St. Martin de Porres Lecture on Social Justice earlier this month.
Sponsored by the college’s Catholic and Dominican Institute, “Walking Together Toward Freedom: Human Trafficking, Social Justice, and the Catholic Call to Human Dignity” addressed the hidden crisis of human trafficking and explored actionable steps for community change.
Trauma therapist, social worker, and anti-human trafficking advocate Danielle Heitmann Grossano, MA, MSW, LICSW, highlighted how exploitation operates locally and globally. Through the lens of Catholic Social Teaching, trauma-informed practice, and spirituality, Grossano explored how the community is committed to justice, working against the systems that perpetuate the demand for trafficking.
She said she felt drawn to the cause the more she learned about it: “Once I started getting that knowledge, I said, ‘Oh, I have to do something,’” she explained. “It really was kind of a calling.”
The presentation took an in-depth look at the mechanics of human exploitation, breaking down the legal definitions under the Action, Means, and Purpose (AMP) framework. Grossano detailed how force, fraud, and coercive control create high-risk environments for vulnerable populations, pointing out that coercion is often the most misunderstood yet common method used by traffickers.
Grossano is a graduate of Boston College’s dual master’s program in Social Work and Theology and Ministry, and is a temporarily professed lay Dominican. She spent five years providing clinical care to survivors of human trafficking and currently serves as Legislative Co-Chair of the New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking.