Human Trafficking Research Lab @Millikin

My Human Trafficking Research Lab student Rhys and I were invited to present our research on adjudication in Central Illinois to judges and lawyers all over Illinois at the Human and Civil Rights Council of the Illinois State Bar Association this week. The talk was online and we spoke to about 2o people. It's great that so many people are learning about the lab and our work throughout Illinois since we are the only research lab on human trafficking in the state. It was also nice for Rhys to speak to lawyers and judges because he hopes to go to law school after graduation so he was able to receive feedback and field questions from legal experts in his field about charging trafficking related offenses. 

I was invited to speak with the Golden K Kiwanis Club of Decatur about the Human Trafficking Research Lab, our student faculty collaborative research, and trafficking due to Russia's war in Ukraine. Their focus is on children and I discussed the different types of trafficking vulnerabilities that we see in child trafficking cases, how US human trafficking law has special caveats for child trafficking, and then the different types of trafficking that are found in Ukraine. It was a lot to cover in 20 mins but the audience asked some interesting questions and I was able to meet a few retired Millikin professors. The speaker each week gets a reserved parking spot and certificate which was nice and a kind member gave me this keychain which supports trafficking survivor services in our community.