HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah -- Known as the “invisible crime,” millions of men, women, and children are trafficked every year in countries around the world including the United States.
The 2016 Global Slavery Index estimated 45.8 million people were victims to human trafficking in some form. Victims rarely come forward to seek help due to language barriers, punishment from traffickers, and fear of law enforcement.
In the United States, lawmakers are working to identify victims of this crime and bring traffickers to justice. It is estimated human trafficking generates billions of dollars of profit per year, second only to drug trafficking as the most profitable form of transnational crime.
National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month is recognized in the month of January. As a form of slavery, human trafficking involves the illegal trade of people for exploitation or commercial gain.
Trafficking in persons is the use of force, fraud, or coercion to compel a person to provide labor, services, or commercial sex. It includes elements of recruiting, harboring, transporting, providing, or obtaining a person for the purpose of exploitation.
The three most common forms of trafficking are: labor trafficking, sex trafficking, and child soldiering.
CTIP awareness event Jan. 23
The Sexual Assault Prevention and Response office will host a Combating Trafficking In Persons awareness event Jan. 23 from 2-3:30 p.m. at the Chapel Fellowship Hall.
The purpose of the event is to provide an opportunity for both base personnel and community partners to increase their awareness and emphasize the importance of combating trafficking in persons.
This year’s guest speaker will be Allison Smith, an advocate for children and families.
She received her undergraduate and graduate degrees in Human Development and Social Policy from the University of Utah, where she also taught for several years. She continued to teach in higher education throughout Nevada and also started a life coaching practice.
In addition, she started the Functional Family Project with the Sixth Judicial District Court, which was comprised of a multi-disciplinary team to facilitate child well-being during divorce in order to minimize the risk to the child.
She then became the Statewide Coordinator for the Office of Drug Endangered Children with the Nevada Attorney General’s Office. While there, she coordinated with each county to form a multi-disciplinary collaborative team to work on behalf of drug endangered children.
Through the course of her work in Nevada, she saw many drug endangered children who became victims of human trafficking. She is now the Education and Outreach Specialist for the Trafficking in Person’s Program the Refugee & Immigrant Center, Asian Association of Utah.
The event attendance requires registration and seating is limited. To register for the event please visit: https://hillctip2020.eventbrite.com/ or contact the SAPR Office at 801-777-1950.