Workshop educates community about human trafficking
To some, the subject of human trafficking is overwhelming.
“We think of it as a global crime and it is,” said Pat Mowen, prevention educator for the Crime Victims’ Center. “But to solve it, we have to think of it in our own community.”
Mowen spoke those words at the start of Friday’s day-long workshop called “Human Trafficking: It’s Closer Than You Think,” co-sponsored by the Crime Victims’ Center and Soroptimists of Fayette County at the Uniontown Holiday Inn. Human trafficking is modern-day slavery that includes forced labor and sexual exploitation of adults and children.
Well-attended by local members of education, social service agencies and law enforcement, the workshop featured speakers who explained how to recognize human trafficking and what to do about it.
“It’s a real problem and if we don’t get a handle on it, it will continue,” said special agent Denise V. Holtz of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Pittsburgh Bureau.
For more information, see Sunday’s HeraldStandard.com