Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, a member of the Humanities Washington Speakers Bureau, will lead a conversation about human trafficking from 7-9 p.m. Wednesday at the Phinney Neighborhood Association, 6532 Phinney Ave. N. The free discussion is called “Human Trafficking in Washington: From the Historic Mercer Maids to Sexual Exploitation in Internet Ads.”
The conversation will be led by State Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles and offers historical, cultural, socioeconomic and public-policy perspectives on human trafficking. The event will explore complex questions related to the ethics and policy around this issue, past and present. It will address misconceptions about human trafficking, confronting the fact that human trafficking is a billion-dollar, global industry. Its focus will be primarily on sex trafficking and how and why it happens in this area. Historical accounts, films and current events will be used to provide context. Finally, the event will examine what is being done to intervene and prevent human trafficking, including new laws, innovative law enforcement approaches and actions being taken by human-rights groups.
