The Triangle

Issue date: 2/6/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Aaron Walizer

Drexel's Violence Information and Education for Women hosted "Human Trafficking: A Conversation," where students learned about human trafficking in Philadelphia and worldwide Feb. 5.

Korrine Diggs, who works with the Philadelphia Anti-Tracking Coalition and founded the Philadelphia Stop Modern Slavery Group in June 2008, spoke specifically about the types of trafficking and victim identification in the United States.

"Human trafficking is modern day slavery," Diggs said. "It is alive and well in Philadelphia, as well as the rest of the world, in many forms, and one person can make a difference, no matter what the act."

Diggs also spoke about the current policies concerning human trafficking, saying as trafficking is more publicized, people will become increasingly involved in the "anti-trafficking movement."

"The laws regarding trafficking are not as effective as they should be, so the more people know, the more they will push lawmakers into making effective policy," Diggs said. "In my experience at awareness-raising events, a staggering number of people didn't even know that human trafficking existed, especially not in the U.S."

Bridget Rooney, who works with the Special Immigrant Populations Project of Catholic Social Services, was originally scheduled to speak but had to cancel last minute.

"I wanted to focus on the global view, as well as what happens here in Philly," Rooney said. "We work with victims in this area and want to provide people with an understanding of what our agency does."

As part of her job with Catholic Social Services, Rooney has spoken before on the topic of human trafficking. She said the majority of the agency's work involves helping victims of human trafficking.

Rooney said she thinks the topic needs to be publicized more and that people need to be aware of the problem in Philadelphia. The difficulty in finding statistics about the issue has kept coverage of the issue limited. However, she said the prime time media has helped to show the severity of the issue.

"I think up to this point, the coverage has not been as widespread as it needs to be because it is such a hidden crime," Rooney said. "However, fictional shows such as 'Law and Order' have included this issue, and Lifetime Television even produced a movie called 'Human Trafficking.' This is a start, and I think the general awareness level is growing as people begin to realize that it is a local as well as a global problem."

Continued...

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