International Anti-Human Trafficking Conference Held at St. Thomas Law

Jaco Booyens: Filmmaker and activist 

On Friday, September 18, St. Thomas University School of Law welcomed leaders and advocates from local, national and international legal communities and social entities for a substantive and timely anti-human trafficking conference. The conference, now in its fourth year and presented by the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA), sought to highlight the growing problem of human trafficking, identify domestic and international legal frameworks,  and address the challenges that lie ahead in the fight to end human trafficking.

The keynote speaker was Jaco Booyens, director of 8 Days, a film inspired by actual events that tells the story of the harrowing journey of a sixteen year old girl who was forced into the world of sex trafficking. 

Booyens also recounted the emotive story of his family's experience with human trafficking. His sister, a recording artist in South Africa at the time, was trafficked for six years by her record label. The process of her rescue and recovery led him to anti-trafficking activism. He now travels the world and advocates for stronger laws and harsher penalties not only for traffickers but also for other players that benefit from the trade, i.e. "Johns" or "buyers."  He passionately shared his experience meeting victims and perpetrators of human trafficking and expressed his frustration at the lack of public discourse against human trafficking in the higher echelons of local and federal government. 

Conference panelist, Norma Ramos, Esq. pointedly spoke about the links between prostitution and sex trafficking including her own efforts to change the practice of sex slaves being labeled by the term "prostitute." She spoke out against the legalization of prostitution in some states and called it the world's oldest form of oppression.  Ramos applauded the signing of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act that creates a new funding stream to finance services for U.S. trafficking victims. According to the U.S Congress, up to $30 million of the funding will come from $5,000 fines on perpetrators of crimes ranging from human trafficking to child pornography. The legislation also redefines federal law to clarify that sex buyers of children and human trafficking victims can be prosecuted as traffickers.

The domestic and international legal framework of protections and corresponding jurisprudence against human trafficking was outlined by St. Thomas Law professor, Dr. Roza Pati. Dr. Pati is one of the pioneer experts in the field of human trafficking in the United States, and an internationally recognized scholar.   She is also director of the Human Trafficking Academy at St. Thomas Law, a program designed to conduct research and education in the field of human trafficking. In particular, it offers specialized training and technical assistance to law enforcement, lawyers, healthcare providers, teachers, students, religious institutions and the community at large on issues relating to the crime of trafficking in persons. Her presentation added the essential international perspective to the conference and brought to light the continuing efforts to create laws that are transnational since human trafficking is itself a transnational crime. 

Dr. Roza Pati: Professor and Director of the Human Trafficking Academy at St. Thomas Law

Other panelists included Eleventh Circuit Court Judges, Maria I. Sampedro-Iglesia (Juvenile Division) and Rosa C. Figarola (Family Division) who discussed human trafficking evidentiary issues, myths and facts, how to identify a victim, and the correlation to domestic violence.  The attendees also heard from Dr. Ivon Mesa and Dr. Kateriina Rosenblatt representing Miami-Dade County. They  discussed the Services for Victims of Human Trafficking Grant awarded to Miami-Dade County Community Action and Human Services Department. The county will use the $400,000 award to provide coordinated advocacy services to victims of human trafficking. 

Elba Lumbi, a St.Thomas Law graduate and immigration attorney with Revilla Law Firm, P.A., spoke on immigration relief available to human trafficking victims. The T Non-immigrant Status (T Visa) that is set aside for those who are or have been victims of human trafficking, protects victims of human trafficking and allows them to remain in the United States to assist in an investigation or prosecution of human traffickers.  She also noted that even though the federal government limits the number of those visas that are granted annually, the quota is very rarely ever met.  

Lourdes Fernandez: Board member at
The Porch Light and St. Thomas Law
Career Counselor/Outreach Coordinator

A turning point of the conference was the story told by Dr. Rosenblatt, a St. Thomas Law alumna and herself a victim of human trafficking. Her book, Stolen, tells her story. It recounts a less-than-desirable childhood, being deceptively befriended by an older woman, and these circumstances leading her to drug-addiction and being a sex slave by the age of thirteen.  Her story brought home the reality that sex trafficking is not a foreign concept that happens in the back streets of third world countries, but an epidemic in our own backyards.  

The proceedings were made all the more substantive by two additional presentations: one by St. Thomas Law's Outreach Coordinator & Career Counselor, Lourdes Fernandez. Mrs. Fernandez is a board member of The Porch Light; a non-governmental, faith-based non-profit that serves as a safe home for girls who have been victims of sex trafficking. They provide shelter, counseling, and a place to begin a new life.  The other presentation was by Sherry Thompson Giordano of PACE Center for Girls. PACE provides girls and young women an opportunity for a better future through education, counseling, training and advocacy. It provides social services, academics and a focus on the future. These two organizations show the difference that can be made when girls are given a safe, place, educational opportunities and a second chance.