Anti-Human Trafficking Conference Receives Certification for Florida Social Workers

JUPITER, Fla. - May 1, 2014 - PRLog -- For those who are not only first responders but are responsible for bringing healing and restoration to victims in our state (and country), this education is much needed,” said Yvonne Williams, President of Trafficking In America Task Force, the sponsor of the 2014 National Conference that will be held July 16-18 in West Palm Beach, FL.

Thanks to our partnership with SandyPines, 21.5 total continuing education units (CEU) credits are available for this training for the Florida Board of Nursing, Florida Board of Psychology, the Florida Office of School Psychology, and the Florida Board of Clinical Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling through Florida Provider #: 50-946, UHS Youth Services.

The three day event is structured to address supply, distribution, and demand, the components of any business model, and one that human traffickers use. On the first day of the conference attendees will learn from a panel of survivors and healers. The purpose of this panel is to create an open and honest dialogue between those that have been victims of domestic sex trafficking and those who are working to bring healing to their lives. Like any doctor, they need to know what the patient is experiencing in order to prescribe the best method of treatment. Many well-meaning advocates never think of having this dialogue with their victims before jumping into the area of service provider. Conference planners believe that this panel will be ground breaking and one of the most valuable aspects of this year’s conference.

Additionally, Williams recently confirmed Laura Lederer, JD, founder of Global Centurion and former Senior Advisor on human trafficking for the US State Department. Laura will present her 2 year study on "Health Effects of Human Trafficking in the United States" after interviewing 107 domestic sex trafficking victims.

And on the second day distribution is the focus. In the morning session, an extremely knowledgeable panel of law enforcement and legislators will create a similar dialogue to engage in much needed collaboration, The afternoon session attendees will hear from Dan Benedict, founder of the Defender Foundation who is actively engaged in the hands on rescue of victims and deals with both sides of this issue, including the distribution process and how victims are actually trafficked. Dan and his teams have rescued hundreds of survivors in a very short time.

Last but not least, on the third day, the demand focused speakers will present on everything from Demand 101 to a former pornography producer and a program created to strategically address the demand, among other related topics. By the end of the third day, attendees should have everything they need to pro-actively work to really bring an end human trafficking by working to prevent demand, the leg in the triangle that fuels the entire human trafficking business – and it is a business comprised of organized crime, white collar corporate and professional businesses, as well as family members who are pimping their own children.

Williams says, “I’m often asked the question: Who is this conference for?” and she answers with confidence, “Everyone! We are all responsible for creating this problem and we need to all be responsible for fixing it. Human Trafficking is not new to America. I have talked with survivors that were trafficked fifty years ago. It just wasn’t defined as human trafficking until 2000 when the United Nations Trafficking Protocol (the Palermo Protocol of 2000, an international legal agreement attached to the United Nations) was established containing the first internationally agreed upon definition of human trafficking with the understanding that it is the force, fraud, and coercion from one person to the next that defines the essence of this crime. This is when we began to look at the reality of prostitution and that these beautiful young women (and children) are victims and not criminals. This is when the tides began to change with massive campaigns to bring education and awareness to the consciousness of the American population. Now we can finally do something to change our culture and bring restoration to humanity from this form of modern day slavery.”