Within US Borders: Exploring Domestic Human Trafficking Initiatives

STOP the Traffick Within U.S Borders: Exploring Domestic Human Trafficking Initiatives

BERKELEY, CA-- On Thursday, March 6, 2008, STOP the Traffick will host the discussion panel “Within U.S. Borders: Exploring Domestic Human Trafficking Initiatives.” The crime of modern day slavery still exists in the form of human trafficking and service agencies from all over the Bay Area of California have come together to discuss the various government policies and social services provided for human trafficking survivors in California and the United States. Doors open at 5:30p.m. to meet participating organizations at 370 Dwinelle Hall Conference Room at UC Berkeley. (Signs will be posted to Dwinelle Hall from the Corner of Telegraph and Bancroft Ave.) Refreshments will be provided. Admission is free.

Theresa Flores, author and sex trafficking survivor, will be the keynote speaker. Panelists Jim Saleda, Officer for the Vice Crimes and Child Exploitation Unit of the Oakland Police Department; Mary Wiberg member of the California Alliance to Combat Trafficking and Slavery Task Force; and Erin Gangitano, Staff Attorney for the Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach will discuss the reasons why the invisibility of human trafficking activities go undetected on a daily basis despite trafficking victims performance of labor in, ironically, public spaces.

A sex trafficking survivor will be present to share her story in honor of International Women’s Day. The launch of the second annual STOP the Traffick Panel is part of the Gender Equity Resource Center’s Women’s History Month Series, Celebrating Women Across the World.

The event is co-sponsored by the Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC), UC Berkeley Gender and Women’s Studies Department, UC Berkeley Gender Equity Resource Center, LunaBar, Prytanean Women’s Honor Society, Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach, and the Oakland Police Department.

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