Human trafficking and modern day slavery look very different than the Transatlantic Slave Trade and slavery 200 years ago. But not only are they different generally, slavery in Europe, Southeast Asia, and Africa, look different than slavery here in Connecticut.
If you are interested in learning about slavery today in Connecticut, you should consider attending an upcoming event at The Harriet Beecher Stowe Center in Hartford.
On February 9, from 5-7pm at the Stowe Center, they are holding an event titled “Slavery’s Face in Connecticut Circa 2012.” The guests are people who often go as unsung heroes in the fight against human trafficking: local police and child services providers.
First is Officer Debora Scates from the Hartford Police Department. Somewhat of a celebrity in Connecticut’s anti-trafficking fight, Officer Scates was an investigator on the first high-profile human trafficking case in Connecticut involving Dennis Parris. She appeared in a popular article in Vanity Fair titled Sex Trafficking of Americans: The Girl Next Door. This article is a must-read to learn about trafficking in Connecticut – the whole article profiles this very investigation.
To learn more about this case, and to get an understanding of what anti-trafficking activities look like here in the US, you can read the review of the Dennis Paris case. So often we hear of organizations working oversees to provide housing and therapeutic and life-skills assistance to victims of human trafficking. But the reality in the US is that people we take for granted, who don’t work for “anti-trafficking” organizations, are the very people who are fighting human trafficking on a daily basis. This review gives you a sense of the departments and people that are involved with cases involving domestic victims.
The other guest is Polly Marston from the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF). If you read the 2010 Annual Report published by the Connecticut Trafficking in Persons Council, you’ll notice that 49 children were identified and assisted between 2009-2010. Not all victims of trafficking are within the DCF system, nor are all victims in the system always identified. You can read this post to learn more about laws and stats related to human trafficking in Connecticut.
I am extremely excited for this event, and hope that if you want to learn more about human trafficking in Connecticut, you will mark your calendars!








