What can the church do to help combat the insidious practice of human trafficking? A resolution has already been passed by general convention calling for education on the issue. .but how are victims being treated? How can legislation be written by states to be more effective in punishing the perpetrators? How can our children be protected from being snatched off the street and taken as sex slaves? Our panel representing different aspects of the issue will discuss their work and together we will look for actions the church can take.
Laura-
I will be speaking about the legal rights and remedies for trafficking victims in both state and federal courts, and resources for the victim. I will also discuss the NYS legislation and its good qualities, as well as how we were able to get it through. Finally, I would like to add the interplay of prostitution, poverty, and trafficking, and reasons why trafficking, and prostitution should be illegal. (This is timely since Canada is considering legalizing prostitution.)
Maggie-
I will speak about the importance of each state making human trafficking a felony,
how to gain enough support to push legislation through the legislature, and the use of churches, synods, mosques, and other groups such as law enforcement, hospitals, ect. for building support. Also, we will discuss what individuals and churches can do to first educate people and then to advocate for a national and local strategy to stamp it out.
Laura A. Russell is currently the Supervising attorney of the Family Law Unit of both the Bronx Neighborhood Office and the Harlem Community Law Office of the Legal Aid Society, and the Co-Supervising Attorney of the Domestic Violence/Immigration Unit. As a Supervising attorney, she supervises staff in family law and immigration matters, works on domestic violence policy issues and coordinates family law matters for the two neighborhood offices. Through her immigration work, she works with victims of gender based crimes, including trafficking victims. She sat on Judge Miller’s Matrimonial Commission, co-chairs the Lawyers Committee Against Domestic Violence Matrimonial Law Task Force, and sits on the Domestic Violence Committee of the New York City Bar as well as the Law Guardian Advisory Committee for the Second Department. Ms. Russell is admitted in both New York and New Jersey, and has lectured on various family law topics, including equitable distribution, domestic violence and Orders of Protection, and immigration topics, including remedies for domestic violence victims, crime victims and other immigration relief.
Senator Maggie Tinsman was first elected to the Iowa State Senate in 1988. She served in the Iowa Senate for 18 years until January 2007. She was a member of the Human Resources, Judiciary, State Government, and Appropriations Committees and co-chair of the Health and Human Services Appropriations Sub-Committee.
In addition, Senator Tinsman participated in many committees: co-chair of the Medical Assistance Projections and Assessment Council; member of the Medical Advisory Committee, Tobacco Use Prevention Council Board, and the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women Board; active with the National Conference of State Legislators; served on the Executive Committee of NCSL; served on the Executive Committee of the Forum for State Health Policy; participated in Women in Government (State Director); National Foundation for Women Legislators; and Midwest Council of State Governments (Health and Human Services Committee) She has recently started a new policy analysis and consultant business called Maggie Tinsman, LLC, specializing in education, economic development and health and human services issues – speaking and teaching.
Amanda Meng is a parishioner of All Saints' in Atlanta and a recent graduate of Georgia Tech (B.S. Global Economics and Modern Languages). At Georgia Tech she joined other students in raising awareness and advocating against child prostitution in Atlanta. She is active in the diocese of Atlanta's Millennium Development Goals Taskforce and plans to pursue a graduate degree and career in international development.
This program will be held as part of the World Mission Conference. See http://www.ee08.org/index.html for further information.
