The Power of Community Groups in Educating and Raising Awareness About Sex Trafficking
Ena Cord, BA & Eva Karpati, BPHE | September 22 | 1:45-2:45 pm
Topic: Programming | Knowledge Level: Beginner
The National Council of Jewish Women Canada (NCJWC) is committed to enhancing the lives of individuals within communities through education, service, and social action. It seeks to create positive change by empowering women, assisting the vulnerable, educating the public, and advocating for others. In 2013, after hearing an account from a survivor of sex trafficking at its national conference, the NCJWC Board unanimously passed a resolution to take on sex trafficking awareness as a key project. Given the reality that sex trafficking victims have become younger, NCJWC began its focus upon educating parents, grandparents, and caregivers about this risk to children. NCJWC recognizes that educating parents is key to averting victimization and critical to healing children who have become victims. NCJWC has created an educational power point presentation (NOT IN MY FAMILY) that engages audiences to better understand the risks posed to children and how to help children if they have become victims. NCJWC has also developed partnerships and coalitions and successfully advocated to governments to raise awareness about sex trafficking, culminating in the Government of Canada declaring February 22 as Human Trafficking Awareness Day. As a women’s organization where many members are mothers and grandmothers, NCJWC has created a powerful collective voice to address this critical issue. This work is relevant and serves as a model to other community organizations, women’s organizations, and ethnocultural groups who wish to mobilize and educate members about the dangers of human sex trafficking.
Presentation Objectives:
· Explore and emphasize the responsibility and power of community groups in addressing the issue of sex trafficking
· Share a resource that has been developed for parents
· Share the approach that has been taken in building partnerships and coalitions to raise awareness
· Identify risk factors and ways of prevention sex trafficking