Historic Initiative to Combat Human Trafficking

MIAMI, June 27, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Taking a national leadership role in the fight to combat human trafficking, St. Thomas University's School of Law is formally launching its Human Trafficking Academy July 16-27, 2012. The Academy - a project funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance – is designed to conduct research, outreach and education in the field of human trafficking.

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Through a multidisciplinary approach, the Academy aims at providing effective tools to increase the awareness about human trafficking, identify and protect human trafficking victims and develop strategies to prevent and effectively combat this crime. The Academy program will consist of two intensive weeks of training and education. Each week, it will target a diverse group of professionals involved in anti-trafficking work through sessions tailored for the respective audience.

- The first week, July 16 – July 20, 2012 and it will be focused on training the first responders--law enforcement, federal agents, firefighters; criminal justice and legal professionals.

- The second week follows from July 23 – July 27, focusing on training service providers; healthcare, religious, educational and other professionals; advocates, volunteers, students.

- The July 20th conference, a plenary event, will highlight the present state of affairs in the anti-trafficking field and will explore future direction and strategies.

Academy participants will gain insight into various forms of human trafficking, best practices in addressing this crime, modalities of working with survivors, and ways of partnering with the community to develop a cohesive anti-trafficking strategy.  Upon completion of the training, the Academy's participants will be able to recognize not only the importance of prevention, protection, prosecution, and partnership in facing the trafficking crime, but also of rescue, recovery and reintegration of human trafficking survivors, and will have mastered the tools to do that.

The program, led by Professor Roza Pati, Executive Director of the Law School's Intercultural Human Rights Program ([email protected]),  consists of ten courses (8:30 am – 4:30 pm) that will be taught by top-level experts, academics and practitioners, who have a long-time experience in working in the field of anti trafficking in persons.  Scholarships for room and board will be provided for selected participants on a limited basis. To register, just click www.stu.edu/humantraffickingacademy2012 . For additional information on all University programs and activities please visit www.stu.edu.

SOURCE St. Thomas University