Human Sex Trafficking and the 2014 Super Bowl

Topic of 16th annual STOP F.E.A.R. Coalition conference and Polaris Project training

October 23, 2013— Human sex trafficking will be the main topic at the 16th annual STOP F.E.A.R. conference slated for November 1 from 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at Rockland Community College’s Technology Center.

Prior to the STOP F.E.A.R. conference on November 1, the Coalition will hold a presentation on human sex trafficking at Good Samaritan Hospital October 30 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. The Polaris Project, a leading organization in the global fight against human trafficking, will talk about the signs of sex trafficking for first responders including EMS, medical personnel, patrol officers, members of the hospitality industry as well as other direct service employees and the public.

“While we know that the Super Bowl will bring an economic boost to Rockland, we also know that with this event, girls and boys—the majority of whom are underage—will also be taken into our county for purposes of domestic minor sex trafficking,” said Carolyn Fish, Executive Director of Center for Safety & Change, “and we have to be prepared to address this; to identify victims who are being trafficked and to be prepared to help them.”

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, human sex trafficking is the third-largest criminal enterprise in the world, including here in the United States. Victims are transported across the country and are forced into compliance with violence, threats and drugs. The average age of these victims is 12 to 15 years old.

Keynote speakers Sergeant Chris Bray of the Phoenix Police Department and Eric Pauley from the FBI’s Innocence Lost Project will be presenting at the November 1 conference. Sergeant Bray supervises investigations into human trafficking and child prostitution and has trained law enforcement throughout the country on these crimes. Eric Pauley oversees the FBI’s Innocence Lost National Initiative and has served as a special agent within the Violent Crimes against Children Unit at the FBI.

For information on any of these free trainings, or to register for the STOP F.E.A.R. conference or Polaris Project trainings, contact Nancy Donoghue at ndonoghue@centersc.org, or at 845-634-3391.

  Polaris Project, STOP F.E.A.R. Coalition