The Quest of the Grassroots Heroes: Narrative Resilience in Nonprofit Organizing for Human Trafficking Prevention

Author: Kay, Carson; Waldbuesser, Caroline & Hackenburg, Lucas

Abstract: Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) dedicated to human trafficking prevention – like the A21 Campaign – can inspire grassroots organizing and localize international advocacy through their websites’ rhetorical narratives. Through the strategic embodiment of organizational identification and narrative resilience, the A21 Campaign motivates members to further the NPO’s activism in their respective communities. By centering volunteer advocates as heroes, framing advocacy outcomes as multi-dimensional, and localizing outreach to globalize impact, the A21 Campaign’s website underscores that narrative-based advocacy must recognize the importance of place, actively support grassroots abolitionists, and reaffirm that survivors’ stories persist far beyond their initial escapes. Implications regarding moral subjectivity, power tensions, and survivor representation emerge, warranting continued discussion of how colonization, surveillance, and inequity can thwart critical efforts to seek transformative global change in gender equality and inclusive activism.

Keywords: human trafficking, nonprofit organizations (NPOs), narrative resilience, organizational identification, advocacy