A forum on sex trafficking in the Twin Ports will take place from 7-9 p.m. today at Trepanier Hall.
Reyna Crow, the event’s organizer, said she was spurred to action by a recent online article published by local author Christine Stark.
“We know trafficking continues to be growing at a fairly rapid rate,” Crow said. “We don’t have good numbers on it because it’s not safe to talk about or conduct research.”
A panel discussion will provide an overview of risk factors that make young people more vulnerable. The discussion will be followed by a short Q&A session and a second hour of small group planning.
“The goal for the evening is for every attendee to leave with at least two or three specific things they can do to create greater safety for children,” Crow said.
Tina Olson of Mending the Sacred Hoop, and the Native Sisters Society, will address trafficking of indigenous people. Nathalie Crowley of Program for Aid to Victims of Sexual Assault will speak about risks that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth experience. Verne Wagner of the Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests will speak to barriers that male survivors experience.
Stark is researching trafficking in Duluth as a follow-up to her work on the 2011 report, “Garden of Truth: the prostitution and trafficking of Native women in Minnesota.”
That was an instrumental report, Crow said, as it forced people to take notice of trafficking.
“I’ve been getting a lot of calls and emails - as soon as (Clark) publishes something,” Crow said. “I thought we’d pull people together, to get community members more involved in terms of an action plan.”
Online
To read Clark’s latest report on sex trafficking in Duluth, go to
thewip.net/2014/11/04/recourse-for-trafficked-native-women-in-the-duluth-harbor/
