Prevention of Human Trafficking

Human Trafficking involves an act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring or receiving a person through a use of force, coercion or other means, for the purpose of exploiting them. Every year, thousands of men, women and children fall into the hands of traffickers, in their own countries and abroad.

Special Guest: Hugh Organ He obtained his Masters of Science in Criminal Justice from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. Hugh is the Associate Executive Director for Covenant House Pennsylvania. Over the last 10 years at Covenant House he has been working with street youth, providing drop in services, shelter services, as well as, street outreach.   Many of these street youth were domestic trafficking victims.  In September 2009 he was asked to lead the Philadelphia Anti-Trafficking coalition.The coalition consists of 56 agencies working together to fight human trafficking in the Philadelphia region. 

Special Guest: Ric Esther Bienstock, one of Canada’s leading documentary filmmakers, has been producing and directing a diverse and eclectic range of films for over 15 years.  Her most recent film Sex Slaves (aka The Real Sex Traffic) recently won a U.S. Emmy for Outstanding Investigative Journalism, the Edward R. Murrow Award from the Overseas Press Club of America, the 2006 British Broadcast Award for Best Documentary, a Royal Television Society Award in the U.K. and was nominated for a British Academy Award (BAFTA). http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/slaves/

Special Guest: Margo Hirsch is an attorney with admissions to the Bars in New York and New Jersey and serves as Executive Director of the Empire State Coalition of Youth and Family Services, a consortium of organizations and individuals working on behalf of runaway, homeless and street involved youth and their families.