For this final blog post, I would like to explore the idea of specialized courts in the area of human trafficking. I have had the opportunity to watch and experience CATCH Court in Franklin County over the past few years and it really is just such an incredible model that I believe should be replicated all over the country. It is an extremely effective way to handle these types of victim-defendants of women that have been trafficked. Women in these situations are referred to as “victim-defendants” because they are technically a defendant being charged with prostitution or solicitation in the criminal justice system, yet they are clearly a victim of being trafficked. I would like to dive deeper into the specifics of CATCH Court, as well as look as what other courts around the country are doing.

Continue reading Specialized Court Dockets: CATCH Court & Beyond →

In this blog post, I want to discuss human trafficking, specifically labor trafficking, in the context of mega sporting events and especially the Olympics. International sporting events such as the Olympics and the World Cup require a lot construction of buildings and stadiums in relatively short amounts of time. For example, when a city hosts the Olympic Games, an entire village is created for spectators and athletes to enjoy their time there. These projects requires hours upon hours of work, and many workers. Because of the heightened need for workers in a short time frame, labor trafficking has become a major avenue for getting these workers. Unfortunately, this often gets overlooked by the focus on sex trafficking. We have heard countless stories and seen articles about how things like the Super Bowl and the Arnold Classic create a high demand for sex trafficking, and while this may be true, the reality is that labor trafficking is also highly prevalent in these types of situations and is most often not talked about. It is a problem that must no longer go on hiding underneath the attention of sex trafficking.

Continue reading Human Trafficking and Forced Labor in the Context of the Olympics and Major Sporting Events →