UofL will have two new January campus events and offer its 10th annual Human Trafficking Awareness Conference to focus on the issue and to help victims receive aid.

And recent research by UofL’s Human Trafficking Research Institute, announced Jan. 7 in a Capitol Rotunda news conference with Governor Andy Beshear and Attorney General Daniel Cameron, indicates human trafficking, particularly of children and vulnerable youth, occurs at high rates across Kentucky, according to Jennifer Middleton, institute director and associate social work professor.

“These findings serve as a call to action and highlight the need for improved community education and awareness. To respond to this call, we are joining Gov. Andy Beshear, trafficking survivors and our university partners to elevate the conversation here on campus,” she said. “UofL students, staff and faculty can play an important role in preventing and addressing human trafficking in our community.”

The Frankfort announcement included initial results of Project PIVOT (Prevention and Intervention for Victims of Trafficking), which UofL did in partnership with Kentucky’s Department of Community Based Services and the Attorney General’s Office with two-year grant funding of $100,000 from the Kentucky Children’s Justice Act Task Force.

Researchers reviewed 698 reported cases of child trafficking over a five-year period between 2013 and 2018. The review was done primarily to answer the question of what happened to those cases in the child welfare system. Among the findings:

• A majority of the cases involved family-controlled trafficking, meaning a family member (most often a parent or primary caretaker), gave offenders sexual access to the child in exchange for money, drugs or something else of value.
• Children trafficked by family members were younger and more likely to have multiple perpetrators than those trafficked by nonfamily.
• Younger children, rural children and children with previous child welfare involvement were more likely to have multiple perpetrators.
• The involvement of drugs in child trafficking cases increased significantly during the five-year period.

Project PIVOT results will be used to ascertain gaps, systemic issues and opportunities for enhanced education, training and policy development.

“What we are finding is that the majority of the time, the crime of child trafficking isn’t being carried out by strangers passing through our towns,” Middleton said. “This has implications for how we educate our communities about child trafficking as well as how we prepare child welfare workers and first responders to identify and respond to potential child victims. Community awareness and enhanced training for professionals are key to preventing and addressing child trafficking in our state.”

Beshear invited state leaders, advocates and survivors to help draw awareness to the issue.

“By coercing victims into and profiting from forced labor and commercial sex, human traffickers represent some of the worst of humanity,” the governor said. “As attorney general I was honored to work with so many passionate advocates and survivors to help combat trafficking and as governor I commit to do the same. We will not stop until we end trafficking, and we must all work together to do so.”

Campus events 

Here are details about the free, public campus events:

• A January 11 film screening and state premiere of “California’s Forgotten Children,” a documentary about child sex trafficking, and panel discussion afterward will be 5:30 p.m.-9 p.m. at Gheens Science Hall and Rauch Planetarium. Donations will be accepted to fight human trafficking in the community. . UofL’s Kent School of Social Work, UofL’s Women’s Center, Louisville Metro Human Trafficking Task Force and Louisville Metro Office for Women are sponsors.
• A January 14 Human Trafficking Awareness Resource Fair and discussion will be in the Student Activities Center Ballroom. Featuring numerous agencies, the fair will be 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; stickers and survivor-designed postcards will be provided as part of a national #EndIt campaign. The fair leads into a 1:30-2:30 p.m. Critical Cardinal Conversation on Trafficking and Missing Women of Color by panelists including a National Center for Missing and Exploited Children representative, a parent and former police officer. Sponsors are the Human Trafficking Research Initiative, Project STAAR, Women’s Center, Cultural Center, Office of Diversity łÉČËÖ±˛Ą and Inclusive Excellence and Women 4 Women Student Board.
• The 10th annual Human Trafficking Awareness Conference is 5:30-8 p.m. Feb. 11 in the Student Activities Center Ballroom. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. for a resource fair and light refreshments. Sponsors are the Women’s Center and the Women 4 Women Student Board.

Passionately Curious

Inspired by her uncle, who suffers from quadriplegia, Hendrick wanted to pursue a field of study that could help others like him to live better lives. Initially interested in pursuing medicine, Hendrick is uneasy with the sight of blood, but still wanted to do something that could positively impact the lives of others. No less committed to her vision, she has developed and pursued a passion in bioengineering.

“If doctor’s don’t have the tools that they need, they can’t do their job. That’s going back to the source of how I can make an impact. My uncle can’t even tie his own shoes. Seeing him, he loves technology. He’s one of the most technology advanced people in the household, so that he can write emails, and stay up with the news, even though he can barely use his hand. He uses his knuckle for the mouse. He has a lot of patience,” says Hendrick.

Her Story

Sponsored by the Tachau family, the contest encouraged students to consider the struggle of women in the workplace, and how those efforts continue to shape the world around us. Named for Dr. Mary K. Bonsteel Tachau, a chair in the History department, the first woman to hold the position of chair at the university, Hendrick’s essay attended to the difficulties posed to Tachau, and how she overcame them.

She says, “My essay talked about the work that she did. She wrote a ton of letters to different people in our state legislature at the time and worked with different groups to work mainly on gender equality as that related to higher education. Also looking at it as a more social issue across the board. It also talked about and how that relates to now. How the work that she did was really important, but not quite as intersectional as it could be.”

Intersectional feminism focuses on the experiences of women of all social stripe, regardless of race, ethnicity, or economic class, something that Hendrick focuses on in her time in Women 4 Women.

Part of the Women’s Center, she explains of the group that they are, “dedicated to increasing education mainly, awareness through different topics. We are affiliated with the Women’s Center. We utilize them for resources for different events.

Life After Graduation

Ideally, Hendrick hopes to work in a medical device, part of her continuing pursuit of helping others whenever possible. In the meantime, she stays especially busy in her various extracurricular activities.

“I don’t have a life. I do a lot. It’s not easy, but it’s been one of the most important things for me, because it gave me a community on campus that engaged with social justice issues. Not just for women, but for LGTBQ+, people of color… it’s been really useful to me. It was definitely something that I really wanted,” Hendrick said.