Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2012

Abstract

The conference entitled, “Human Trafficking and Exploitation of Children and Youth in the United States,” was held at Loyola University Chicago on September 22-23, 2010, sponsored by the Center for the Human Rights of Children.

The purpose of the conference was to bring national, multi-sector and interdisciplinary experts and participants together to discuss the plight of children being trafficked to and within the United States. The goal of the conference was not only to present an overview of child trafficking in the United States, but also to provide an opportunity to initiate dialogue among a network of professionals and to actively engage in advancing the movement to combat child trafficking in the United States.To build on the momentum and activism demonstrated at the conference, the Center for the Human Rights of Children has created this outcome document. The document summarizes the information presented during the conference about the current state of child trafficking and exploitation, promising practices, challenges, resources, and action items. The document reflects information and opinions presented by expert panelists, as well as information submitted by participants during question and answer sessions, evaluations, and a questionnaire (See “Methods"). The first panel presentation, “Challenges in Identifying Child Trafficking Cases,” sets the stage for the conference and the document, highlighting some of the larger systemic challenges addressed in more detail in subsequent panel presentations and workshops. There were reoccurring issues and themes throughout the conference that are reflected in this outcome document. This document is not intended to be acomprehensive overview of child trafficking. It reflects the presentations, discussions, and reflections during the two-day September conference, and is designed to be a practical starting point for future dialogue and efforts to combat child trafficking in the United States. Please note that while this document uses the term “victim,” a legal term used to describe a wronged party, we recognize and respect the resiliency and perseverance of child survivors of human trafficking and exploitation. We hope this document can be a guide for future advocacy, scholarship, research, and collaboration on the issues of human trafficking and exploitation of children and youth in the United States.

Comments

Author Posting. This report is posted here by permission of Center for the Human Rights of Children for personal use, not for redistribution.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

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