12/0814 CA Call - Human Trafficking; Local/International w/ Alex Madsen

CALIFORNIA PEACE ALLIANCE/

CAMPAIGN FOR A U.S. DEPARTMENT OF PEACEBUILDING 

Join Our Free

Second Monday Telephone Conference on 12/08/14

 

Guest Speaker

ALEX MADSEN

Project Coordinator – Services for Victims of Human Trafficking Project

 

Will Discuss

Human Trafficking: A Local Issue

 

December 8, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. (Pacific Time)

Call-in Number 1-862-902-0250 Access Code 3698002#

This call is open to all.  Join us to learn more about this topic & about the Peace Alliance.

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The United Nations defines trafficking in persons as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.  Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs  

Human trafficking impacts almost every nation in the world – whether as a country of origin, transit or destination for victims.  Trafficking in persons is a serious crime and a grave violation of human rights.  According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), every year thousands of men, women and children fall into the hands of traffickers.

The United States is no different.  Some experts estimate that over 100,000 American children are forced into prostitution every year, and human trafficking is a $9.8 billion dollar industry, according to Covenant House, www.covenanthouse.org.  Human trafficking exists in California and the San Francisco Bay area.  California is a top destination for human trafficking in the U.S. and within California, the San Francisco Bay area and Los Angeles have the highest rates of human trafficking, according to www.worsethanyouthink.org.

 

Join our call to learn from Alex Madsen about human trafficking and its local dimensions.  Alex is the Contra Costa County Project Coordinator - Services for Victims of Human Trafficking Project.  Alex joined CVS’s Zero Tolerance team in  June 2014.  During the two years before joining CVS, Alex worked as an Assessment and Evaluation Consultant for Citizen Schools, an education non-profit working to expand the learning day, and learning opportunities, for students in under served areas.