Citywide events run January 23-February 28 featuring photography exhibits, theatre, dance, film, speakers and art by survivors to raise awareness and help combat human trafficking
JACKSONVILLE, FL – January 13, 2014 – The Delores Barr Weaver Policy Center, in conjunction with Crystal Freed of The Freed Firm, P.A. and the Florida Coastal School of Law Foundation are sponsoring the work of artist Kay Chernush in ArtWorks for Freedom JAX, a multi-faceted awareness campaign harnessing the power of the arts to raise awareness of slavery and human trafficking.
A full slate of events free and open to the public, ranging from indoor and outdoor campus photography exhibits to a film series, lectures and participatory theatre, are scheduled throughout Jacksonville from January 23 – February 28. Specific event details and updates are available at usa.artworksforfreedom.org.
How big of a problem is human trafficking? Experts say 27 million people are trafficked globally as part of a $32 billion industry; 80 percent are women and children. Florida ranks third in the country in instances of human trafficking.
“Many people don’t realize that human trafficking exists right here in Jacksonville and cities all over the United States,” says Chernush, founder and director of ArtWorks for Freedom. “Our campaign is designed to stimulate community discussion to spur action. Knowing about this horrendous human rights abuse is the first step to doing something about it.”
In Jacksonville, the Sheriff’s Office and the FBI continue to work human trafficking cases daily, yielding over a dozen prosecutions and convictions, says Freed, a Jacksonville attorney dedicated to building awareness of slavery.
“These cases are not exclusively on Phillips Highway. In fact, cases of human trafficking have been discovered at I-95 and JTB, I-95 and Baymeadows Road, Atlantic and Kernan Boulevards, and the Beaches community,” says Freed. “The cases involving children are more pernicious. A Jacksonville Beach woman recently sold her young daughter to multiple men, while a trafficker sold a 15-year-old girl at a cost of $20 for 15 minutes of her innocence at each turn. That individual, Ian Sean Gordon, is now serving a life sentence.”
Though legal slavery ended, illegal slavery thrives and is now known as human trafficking, Freed says. “Awareness is the key to protection and prevention because the chains of slavery are invisible today. This makes the bondage easier to ignore and the victims easier to silence. But we cannot stop at awareness. That is why I am partnering with the Delores Barr Weaver Policy Center in the important work it has already undertaken.”
On a statewide level, the Delores Barr Weaver Policy Center is involved in protecting the Florida Safe Harbor Act, a law passed in 2012 that requires victims of child sex trafficking not to be treated as criminals, but instead receive quality therapeutic services in a non-detention setting.
Says Dr. Lawanda Ravoira, President and CEO of the Policy Center, “Passing the Safe Harbor Act was an important first step but without appropriated funding, critical services to this vulnerable population remain inaccessible. We have identified our community’s need for specialized training for those working directly with survivors and we are responding.”
On February 27 and 28, the Policy Center will offer a two-day workshop, “Psychology of Human Trafficking: Healing Community Responses and Action,” a low-cost continuing education opportunity for those working with survivors. (Registration at http://bit.ly/1cSipS6).
In addition, a continuing legal education seminar presented by the Jacksonville Bar Association and Florida Coastal School of Law to address the 2014 changes in Florida’s human trafficking laws will be held at FCSL on January 30. (Registration by email at ecurran@fcsl.edu or call (904) 680-7782.)
Through educational materials provided at each event site throughout the campaign, ArtWorks for Freedom JAX underscores four ways the public can take action against human trafficking. They include:
- Learn more about human trafficking and how to talk about it with your children.
- Attend awareness events. Find a complete listing at usa.artworksforfreedom.org.
- Become a grassroots activist by joining Voices for Florida, www.voicesforflorida.org
- Suspect human trafficking?.uspect human trafficking?akers, Call 1-888-373-7888 or text to 233-733 (BE FREE)
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The Delores Barr Weaver Policy Center was established with financial support from Delores Barr Weaver of Jacksonville, a lifelong advocate for girls and young women. The Policy Center is a national model for a gender-responsive, community-specific approach to girls in the juvenile justice and foster care systems, conducting research, developing model programming, providing training, and advocating for policies and practices that best support the complex needs of girls. For more information, visit www.seethegirl.org.
ArtWorks for Freedom (AWFF) is a 501 ©3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to use the power of art in the fight against modern slavery and human trafficking. It seeks to transform public attitudes, inspire anti-trafficking action and give voice to survivors. Through global partnerships with governments, human rights organizations and the private sector, AWFF deploys art in its many forms to catalyze popular movement against this crime against humanity, ultimately contributing to its eradication. For more information, visit www.artworksforfreedom.org.
Crystal Freed is managing partner of The Freed Firm, P.A. and uses her skill as an attorney to advocate for victims of human trafficking and to organize grassroots efforts to raise awareness. For more information, visit www.freedfirm.com.
