USM-USFSP Joint Classroom -- 27 October -- Students Against Slavery

On October 27th, our classes met together as a joint seminar (via videoconference)and learned from speakers from NGOs in Florida that are working to combat human trafficking here and to assist survivors of human trafficking.

First, we heard from a human trafficking survivor who is now President of chapter of Students Against Slavery where she attends law school.

This young woman showed a tremendous amount of courage as she re-lived the horror of her experience and recounted for us how she got trapped into slavery (a terrifying tale that began in a Tampa strip club) and the methods that were used to get her into this situation and to keep her there. While listening to this personal story it became obvious that there needs to be more training of law enforcement and other professionals (e.g., ER staff in hospitals) so that HT can be identified and stopped.

It is estimated that 20,000 victims are trafficked into the U.S. from other countries each year. And Florida is one of the top destinations in the U.S. (along with California and Texas).

However, the survivor who spoke to us is a U.S. citizen who grew up here, went to college here, and in many ways lived a life very similar to the students in my classroom. It really brought the story of human trafficking "home" for us. (Her story also literally brought the story "home" -- insofar as many of the places where she was forced to work were houses right in the neighborhoods where we live.)

This is not a problem that affects only people overseas -- it is a problem that affects all of us.

Several students in my class are interested in starting a chapter of Students Against Slavery on our campus. I'll follow up with more information about the group in a future post.

Students Against Slavery has a facebook page where you can go for more information about the group.

You can also find more information on the website of the International Association of Human Trafficking Investigators (IAHTI): www.iahti.org

We also heard from Donna Lancaster of the Zonta Club of Pinellas County http://zontaclubpinellas.org/

Zonta works closely with the International Association of Human Trafficking Investigators (IAHTI) and the Clearwater Area Task Force on Human Trafficking. See http://www.catfht.org/

We know that there are "more strip clubs than McDonalds in Tampa." While many of the activities that take place in these clubs are legal, the women who work at these establishments often become targets for sex traffickers.

Our speaker talked about how the traffickers find their victims, often as young as Middle School aged girls.

Ms. Lancaster discussed the education, resources, and legislative changes that are needed to combat human trafficking in Florida.

She used the recent Treasure Island case as an example. The arrests were likely made only because the officers received HT training 2 weeks earlier.