Catholic Charities of Louisville’s anti-trafficking program, Bakhita Empowerment Initiative, will host a national conference on labor trafficking virtually Oct. 13-15.
The event is the only national conference on labor trafficking in the nation, according to Catholic Charities.
During the three-day event, participants will hear from some of the country’s leading labor trafficking experts on how to “increase their capacity to identify and respond to labor trafficking, discuss emerging trends specific to labor trafficking and problem-solve challenges and gaps in addressing labor trafficking,” according to a press release from Catholic Charities.
Marissa Castellanos, the Bakhita initiative’s director, said in the release that labor trafficking is far more prevalent than most realize. She said 19 of the 26 recognized human trafficking classifications involve labor trafficking. These include:
- People forced to peddle or beg and whose contributions are confiscated;
- Domestic workers who live in homes where their passports and identification are taken by their employer;
- Members of sales teams who are threatened with harm if they don’t meet a quota;
- And restaurant workers forced to work long hours without regular wages or any pay at all.
The conference will include presentations on breaking labor supply chains, best practices for serving survivors and ensuring access to services for foreign national youth survivors among others.
The cost of the conference is $300 per person. To register, visit www.cclou.org/labor.
The event will be hosted in collaboration with the Southeast Regional Human Trafficking Advisory Group and New Frameworks.
