Anti-trafficking legislation often focuses primarily on increasing penalties for traffickers and those seeking to purchase sexual services, and/or diverting those arrested for selling sex to programs and services. However, this approach often diverts resources from the investigation and prosecution of other forms of exploitation, ignores the roots causes of trafficking crimes, and puts trafficking victims, sex workers, and other marginalized populations at higher risk for violence and criminalization. Join chairs of the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force (MDHTTF) Legislative Committee and the Human Trafficking Prevention Project for an overview of MDHTTF’s legislative priorities for the 2023 General Assembly session, ideas for supporting advocacy efforts and elevating survivors’ voices and experiences, and a discussion of how a human rights approach can be used to craft better policy and prevent unintended consequences from anti-trafficking proposals.
Panelists include:
-Melanie Shapiro – Policy Director, Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence
-Amanda Rodriguez – Executive Director, TurnAround, Inc.
-Jessica Emerson – Director, Human Trafficking Prevention Project
This webinar is hosted by the Human Trafficking Prevention Project (HTPP), a partnership between the University of Baltimore School of Law and Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service. For more information about this webinar or the HTPP, please contact HTPP Manager Heather Heiman or visit www.mvlslaw.org/ht.