Coming to Midland: Human Trafficking Forum

HUMAN TRAFFICKING:
CONTEMPORARY SLAVERY

Make plans to join the League of Women Voters of Midland and
the Midland Association of Churches

Human Trafficking Forum

Tuesday, March 19th, 7:00 p.m.

Carrasco Room, Scharbauer Student Center
Midland College

Special agents, Juanita Santana and William Heath Hardwick with the Department of Homeland Security will be the guest speakers. Ms. Santana is a Victim/Witness Coordinator. She has a B.A. in Psychology and is fluent in Spanish. Mr. Hardwick is a Computer Forensics Agent who conducts computer forensic examinations and previews of computers, storage media and cellular telephones. He has a B.S. degree in Criminal Justice and has processed over 300 computers and cellular telephones to recover evidence of crime and to present evidence to be used in criminal proceedings in Federal court.

Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings mainly for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation or forced labor. Other purposes can be extraction of organs, or tissues or even surrogacy.

Who are the victims? According to the Polaris Project *, there is not one consistent face of trafficking victim. Trafficked persons in the United States can be men or women, adults or children, foreign nationals or US citizens. Some are well-educated, while others have no formal education. While anyone can become a victim of trafficking, certain populations are especially vulnerable. These may include: undocumented migrants; runaway and homeless youth; and oppressed, marginalized, and/or impoverished groups and individuals. Traffickers specifically target individuals in these populations because they are vulnerable to recruitment tactics and methods of control.

Undocumented immigrants in the U.S. are highly vulnerable due to a combination of factors, including: lack of legal status and protections, language barriers, limited employment options, poverty and immigration-related debts, and social isolation. They are often victimized by traffickers from a similar ethnic or national background, on whom they may be dependent for employment or a means of support.

* Polaris Project is one of the leading organizations in the global fight against human trafficking and modern-day slavery. Named after the North Star "Polaris" that guided slaves to freedom along the Underground Railroad.

For more information call Jan Artley
at (432)683-2592