Millikin University to host Panel Discussion for Human Trafficking Awareness Month January 29

[January 23, 2018] 

DECATUR

Millikin University will host a film and panel discussion titled "From Exploitation to Prison: The Human Trafficking Pipeline" on Monday, Jan. 29, 2018 at 7 p.m. in Pilling Chapel on Millikin University's campus. The event, cohosted with the Set Free Movement, will round out events held around the United States for Human Trafficking Awareness Month 2018. The film and panel discussion is free and open to the public.

The event will feature excerpts from the PBS documentary "Me Facing Life: Cyntoia's Story" followed by a panel discussion with anti-trafficking experts from central Illinois.

The panel will feature Crystal Correa, Assistant United States Attorney, Central District of Illinois; Michael Mitchell, Resident Agent in Charge, Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Aaron Kustermann, Chief Intelligence Officer, Illinois State Police; and Dana Pfeiffer, Executive Director, Grounds of Grace.

The film "Me Facing Life" is the story of Cyntoia Brown, a 16-year-old girl sentenced to life in prison after killing a man who picked her up for sex. Although this incident occurred in 2004, Cyntoia's case has garnered media attention recently as human trafficking and legal advocates argue that she is not a murderer but a victim of human trafficking.

During the discussion, panel members will discuss the intersections of human trafficking law and the criminal justice system in America, how this case relates to Illinois, and the implications for human trafficking victims in the United States.

Attendees can also support the anti-trafficking movement by bringing a donation for Grounds of Grace, a local non-profit working with trafficking victims in the Macon County community. If you would like to donate, please bring any of the following items: toilet paper, trash bags, cleaning supplies, laundry detergent, cosmetics, shampoo, lotion, and/or nail polish.

The event is sponsored by the Set Free Movement-Macon County, and the Departments of Sociology and Organizational Leadership and History and Political Science at Millikin University.

For more information about the event, visit the Facebook event page From Exploitation To Prison: The Human Trafficking Pipeline, or contact Dr. Laura Dean, assistant professor of political science at Millikin University, by e-mail at [e-mail].

[Millikin University Media Relations Coordinator Dane Lisser]