Monday, I presented my human trafficking powerpoint to the Not For Sale group. It went extremely well! All the information came back to me and I think my passion for the issue was definitely apparent. Not For Sale is primarily focused on raising awareness and raising money to rescue girls and to provide shelters... but since most of my research was on the Demand side of the issue and I really feel like that is essential in this fight, I wanted to be sure and make that a big part of my presentation. I did, and I really opened up their eyes to that part of the issue. During Human Trafficking Awareness week (first week of Nov) we are going to have several events to raise awareness... and I suggested doing one focused on the demand side - maybe addressing how pornography fuels the induesty. They really liked the idea and asked me to spearhead that event!
On Monday nights, the International and Area Studies Dept hosts different speakers and event from around the country. Incidentially, the people speaking this week were some journalists from the Pulitzer Center who cover 3rd issues, specifically women and children in crisis. It was a fascinating presentation and I'm so glad I went. The journalists also spoke in my International Leadership seminar Tuesday afternoon so it was neat to hear from them again - in a much smaller setting. One of the journalists works primarily through photos and documentaries and he showed this short documentary that he made. It was incredibly powerful and left us all in a numbed silence. Here is the link to the video: http://pulitzercenter.org/video/haiti-child-prostitutes-survival-sex. I highly suggest you watch it and maybe pass it on to friends and family... It's a powerful way to spread the word about the reality of prostitution and trafficking.
In a weird sort of way, it's warmed my heart to be working on this issue again. I think that is part of why I have loved this week so much... This is definitely one of my passions.
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