Human Trafficking Awareness Month | Model Behaviors

National Human Trafficking Awareness Month

January is National Human Trafficking Awareness Month. I talked with Phoenix’s Vice Mayor Jim Waring after a meeting on the subject to learn more about the Compass Plan. This innovative plan is tasked with creating a safe environment for the Super Bowl and spreading Phoenix’s anti-human trafficking message. After the Compass Plan was implemented, Cindy McCain and the McCain Institute, in conjunction with Arizona State University, somewhat debunked the theory that the Super Bowl is the largest event on the planet for human trafficking. Instead, their report found that although this deplorable activity travels with events such as the Super Bowl, it really is happening every day of the year.

Read More “National Human Trafficking Awareness Month” >

The Sex Trafficking of Native Americans in the United States

Before, I never thought about sex trafficking happening here—not in the United States. The extent of my knowledge about this seedy issue revolved around the 2008 film “Taken,” and just in case I ever needed to be rescued, I was hoping that my dad had a special set of skills like Liam Neeson.

Read More “The Sex Trafficking of Native Americans in the United States” >

“Confessions on Human Trafficking” with Katie Pedigo, Executive Director of New Friends New Life

Just think: Millions of people all over the world are being held against their will and traded for sex, labor, ransom, and forced organ donation.  Today is Human Trafficking Awareness Day, and this practice, the equivalent of modern-day slavery, is a grave violation of our basic human rights.  To learn about this issue in the United States, we spoke with Katie Pedigo, Executive Director with New Friends New Life (NFNL), a nonprofit organization that restores and empowers trafficked or sexually exploited women. At NFNL, Pedigo sees firsthand the effects that sex crimes have on victims and our community. Pedigo believes, like we do, that violence against women is not an illness.  Violence against women is a cycle that can be broken, giving victims the potential for a better tomorrow. Find out how your efforts can help combat human trafficking.

Read More ““Confessions on Human Trafficking” with Katie Pedigo, Executive Director of New Friends New Life” >