11 months ago
Hundreds of students and professionals are expected to attend a two-day natinoal conference at Mercer University on stopping sex trafficking.
Two Mercer professors, Andrew Silver and Mary Alice Morgan, along with Crisis Line of Central Georgia director Julie Steele, say they want people to understand the facts about sex trafficking.
They're hoping to get the word out during the conference, scheduled for March 19-20 at Mercer.
Officials say nearly 20,000 women and children are trafficked into the United States each year.
Morgan said many of those caught up in the sex trafficking trade are just kids.
"The average age of women who are brought into this kind of sexual exploitation is 13 to 18 years of age," Morgan said. "So we're not really talking about women. We're talking about girls."
Silver said too often sex trafficking victims are treated as criminals. He's hoping the conference can change that attitude.
"So basically in our public awareness campaign, we raise awareness about what all small cities in this country are facing, a shift of protocol," Silver said.
Steele said she hopes people attending the conference will learn enough to educate others about the problem.
"I think my main goal in the conference is not only raising awareness in our community, but as we have people who will be at the conference both student and professionals and ministers that come in from other communities that we will educate them and send back ambassadors," Steele said.
Morgan wants to let people know the problem extends beyond their city and county lines.
"We would like to raise community awareness of both problems of internatinal and domestic sex trafficking, which is in essance sex slavery," Morgan said.
Among other things, Morgan said two sex trafficking victims are scheduled to share their stories at the conference.
