Upcoming Event: The Villanova Law CSE Institute Survivor Symposium on March 9th and 10th

The Villanova Law Institute to Address Commercial Sexual Exploitation (CSE Institute) is pleased to announce that it is hosting a Survivor Symposium entitled “Engaging the Survivor Community in Advocacy, Healing, and Criminal Justice.” The Symposium will feature workshops taught by national survivor leaders and other human trafficking experts from across the United States, including:

Jane Anderson, Attorney Advisor — AEquitas
Rebecca Bender, Founder — Rebecca Bender Initiative
Alisa Bernard, Writer and Activist — Organization for Prostitution Survivors
Autumn Burris, Founder — Survivors for Solutions
Marlene Carson, Founder — The SWITCH
Vednita Carter, Founder — Breaking Free
Jerome Elam, President & CEO — Trafficking in America Task Force
Marian Hatcher, Senior Project Manager — Cook County Sheriff’s Office
Shamere McKenzie, CEO — Sun Gate Foundation
Kathleen Mitchell, Founder — DIGNITY House
Audrey Morrisey, Associate Director — My Life My Choice

The workshops over the two days cover a variety of different topics geared towards many different professional audiences. These topics include presentations on engaging the survivor community in policy and legislative advocacy, law enforcement tactics for demand reduction, prosecuting trafficking cases using survivor expert testimony, and survivor empowerment and opportunity.

The survivor leaders running each workshop will present for one hour and thereafter lead an interactive discussion with participants in the audience. The goal of this format is to allow audience members an opportunity to work with the survivor leader in a manner that is most beneficial to them. Thus, the professional participants will be able to take away the most possible relevant information from their work groups and have an action plan in place.

This unique event allows the professional community to closely engage with the survivor community. By receiving input from survivors and collaborating with survivor leaders, the professional allies of survivors — specifically, law enforcement, attorneys, social workers, judges, and legislators — will be able to effectively combat commercial sexual exploitation.

The event will be hosted at Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law on March 9th and 10th. In addition, on the evening of March 9th, there will be a celebratory event hosted by Julie Uebler and Steve Wall during which we will present our annual “Justice Done” Award.

We are proud to offer free tickets to the Symposium for all survivors and students. CLE credits are available. Click here to register today! #ListenToSurvivors