Thursday, March 3, 7 p.m., UMD 4th Floor Library Rotunda
Free and open to the public

A panel discussion on Sex Trafficking in Minnesota and Duluth with Shunu Shrestha, PAVSA Trafficking Task Force Coordinator; Sergeant Ann Clancy, Police Department, Scan Division; Bree Bussey, MSW, Shelter Coordinator American Indian Community Housing Organization; Dr. Jane Ellen Maddy, Duluth Branch of AAUW, and Dr. Sean Walsh, Director of the UMD Center for Ethics and Public Policy.

Sponsored by the Duluth Branch of the American Association of University Women and the UMD Center for Ethics and Public Policy.

According to a recent study, sex trafficking of young girls is increasing in Minnesota.  A recent article in the UMD Statesman discusses the problem of sex trafficking in our community.  Human trafficking is the #1 illegal money-maker in the world today.  Minnesota has the 10th highest rate of sex trafficking in the United States.  Over 100,000 American children become victims of sex trafficking every year, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the U.S. Department of Justice.   High-profile Minnesota sex trafficking cases have recently been in the news (here and here).   Recently, federally coordinated task forces have recovered 1,250 sex trafficked children in the US.  Some of the girls were 10 years old.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, “293,000 American youth are currently at risk of becoming victims of commercial sexual exploitation … The average age at which girls first become victims of prostitution is 12-14. It is not only the girls on the streets that are affected — for boys and transgender youth, the average age of entry into prostitution is 11-13.” The vast majority of these young children are controlled by pimps through abuse, intimidation, and coercion.

For more information, visit the Center for Ethics and Public Policy Trafficking Website.