Social Work to Host Human Trafficking Symposium

11/29/2015

Did you know that in 2015 – 152 years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation – that an estimated 14,500 to 17,500 people, primarily women and children, are exploited in the U.S. each year through modern slavery, otherwise known as “human trafficking”?

The U.S. Department of State defines human trafficking as “the act of recruiting, harboring, transporting, providing or obtaining a person for compelled labor or commercial sex acts through the use of force, fraud or coercion.” In 2000, Congress established the Trafficking Victims Protection Act to prevent, suppress and punish the trafficking in persons.

JSU and the Alabama chapter of the National Association of Social Workers are partnering to present a Human Trafficking Training and Symposium on Dec. 4, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., on the 11th floor of the Houston Cole Library. The event is intended to help professionals in a number of fields – including social work, counseling and law enforcement – better define, recognize and assist in the prevention of human trafficking.

Sunny Slaughter – a noted expert on human trafficking, criminal behavior, victimization and other crimes against persons – will serve as the keynote speaker. Other guest speakers will include Lauren Hartin, president and co-founder of Blanket Fort Hope, and Jayme Amberson, assistant district attorney of Alabama’s 7th District.

Registration is $35 for members of the National Association of Social Workers, $45 for non-members, and $20 for students. Lunch will be provided and the event counts for seven Continuing Education Units upon completion. Register online