About Afua

Afua Addo is the Women’s Services Coordinator at The Center for Court Innovation’s Hidden Victims Project. The Hidden Victims Project is based in Queens Criminal Court and serves the Human Trafficking Intervention Court, Queens Misdemeanor Treatment Court, and Queens Mental Health Recovery Court. Queens operates the largest human trafficking intervention court in the state of New York. In addition, she provided technical assistance to burgeoning trafficking courts in Atlantic City and the USVI; and conducts training regarding the intersection of trauma, race, gender and sexuality.

As Criminal Court Advocacy Coordinator she provided direct court advocacy, intensive case management and alternatives to incarceration at GEMS (Girls Educational & Mentoring Services) to female victims of domestic human trafficking and child sexual exploitation for one year before joining The Hidden Victims Project. Afua began her career in healthcare administration and educational human resource strategic planning with NYC Health & Hospitals Corporation and Department of Education, respectfully.

Over the last ten years, Afua has worked as an advocate for youth of color, victims of child sexual abuse, domestic human trafficking, and domestic violence while also pursuing art as a professional vocal/performance artist. In 2015 she participated in The White House roundtable on the impact of mandatory minimums on women and girl survivors- exploring the impact of criminalizing policies on African-American women and girls. She returned to the White House this winter to join the Office of Violence Against Women in discussion of Girls of Color and Intervening Public Systems: Interrupting the Sexual Abuse to Prison Pipeline.  In addition to coordinating services for women and girls, Afua has partnered with the Crown Heights Mediation Center to provide support for boys and young men of color survivors. She currently manages the Human Trafficking Intervention Court Task Force, is a member of the Close Rikers Task Force: Get Women Off Rikers Advisory Committee and advises the Center for Court Innovation’s Raise the Age Advisory working with local and statewide commissions to ensure adequate responses to young women funneled through the justice system into newly established diversion and alternative to incarceration programming.

Center for Court Innovation

The Center for Court Innovation seeks to help create a more effective and humane justice system by designing and implementing operating programs, performing original research, and providing reformers around the world with the tools they need to launch new strategies.