The Long Beach branch of the American Association of University Women will present “Human Trafficking: Can it Happen in Long Beach?” this Saturday at the Grand Long Beach Events Center.
Alicia Revels, the human trafficking coordinator with YWCA Greater Los Angeles, will speak on the prevalence of human trafficking, what law enforcement and community agencies are doing about it, tips for recognizing the signs of trafficking and what community members can do to combat it, according to a release from AAUW.
Human trafficking is considered a modern-day slavery and includes the use of force, fraud or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Annually, millions of men, women and children are trafficked globally for forced labor, domestic servitude or removal of their organs. Human trafficking is second only to drug trafficking generating billions of dollars.
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children estimated that one in six of the 18,500 endangered runaways reported to them were likely sex trafficking victims, and that 86 percent of these likely sex trafficking victims were in the care of social services or foster care when they went missing, according to the release.
The event, on Saturday, January 6, includes a buffet breakfast available for $23.50. Check-in begins at 9:30AM with breakfast at 10:00AM and the program at 10:30AM. RSVP to [email protected]. For more information click here.
The Grand is located at 4101 East Willow Street.