Learn what human trafficking is so that you can begin to study this issues, be a voice, and make a difference in ending it. Sandra Morgan, the Director of the Global Center for Women and Justice, and Dave Stachowiak, a GCWJ board member, discuss “What is human trafficking?” They explain the elements of human trafficking and examples through stories of both men and women who were coerced into modern-day slavery.

Key Points

Resources

[Note from the Ending Human Trafficking podcast team: This episode was recorded in 2011 so the contact information provided is no longer accurate. Please refer to gcwj.org for the correct contact information.]

Transcript

Dave [00:00:00] You’re listening to the Ending Human Trafficking podcast, this is episode number one recorded in April 2011. Welcome to the Ending Human Trafficking podcast, my name is Dave Stachowiak.

Sandra [00:00:30] And my name is Sandra Morgan.

Dave [00:00:33] And this is the show where we empower you to study the issues, be a voice, and make a difference in ending human trafficking.

Sandra [00:00:42] Dave, those are the goals of the Global Center for Women and Justice. And I’m the director for the Global Center for Women and Justice. And human trafficking is a major issue that our students at Vanguard University are really interested in.

Dave [00:00:56] And I am really excited to be doing this show with you. And I’ve actually been looking forward to it all week, Sandie. We’re recording this on a Friday morning and I’ve been looking forward to this all week because, how long have we known each other now? Probably three or four years?

Sandra [00:01:13] Yeah, at least.

Dave [00:01:14] And ever since I met you, I have wanted to get involved with doing something with human trafficking and helping raise awareness about the issue. And I didn’t really know how and didn’t really know how to get involved. And I’ve been excited about this all week because this is a great way to get the message out about what’s going on with this issue and helping really empower people with the right information. So I am so excited to be a part of it and I’m glad that we are jumping into this.

Sandra [00:01:47] Well, and that reminds me that almost every week I either get a phone call, an email, or someone walking into my office and they sit down and they say, I don’t know what to do, but I want to help end human trafficking. How do we start? What do we do? And that’s what I really love about the Global Center for Women and Justice, is it gives us a framework, a place to educate, to do research, to teach our students and our community how to be good advocates for change.

Dave [00:02:22] Well, we are planning to do whatever we can to be advocates for change as well. And this show is our plan, at least initially here, is to make this a biweekly show. And so we’ll be coming to you twice a month with information on how you can play a role in really ending human trafficking. And we’re going to be talking about the issues. We’re going to study them and then hopefully give you the right tools to go out and actually be informed about making a difference. And so, Sandie, would you start off, first of all, and just give us a little background on what is the Global Center for Women and Justice at Vanguard and a little bit about the center that you direct.

Sandra [00:03:02] The Global Center for Women and Justice at Vanguard University has been around for just a few years. It’s a rather new approach to equipping our students. We oversee a women’s studies minor and we encourage our students to do research and to do applied theory in the approach towards justice work in our community. There are so many big justice issues and they’re in the media and they grab your heart and sometimes your purse strings, too. And um, but we want to do things that are sustainable, that are best practice, that are going to make long term change possible. And we believe that this generation, equipping this generation is a goal and a practical way to accomplish that goal.

Dave [00:04:00] Well, we’re going to jump right in then and talk about our topic today, which is what is human trafficking and really getting some some good information about the issue and educating our audience. And you really Sandie are an expert in this area in so many ways. And one of the reasons I’m so glad to be doing the show with you is to learn more about human trafficking. And by the way, if you would like to learn about human trafficking as well, or you have questions for us as you’re listening to the show, there’s two ways you can reach out to us. And that way we can get back to you and even include your question on a future show. One way is to reach us by phone....