Dr. Esohe Aghatise, an international lawyer, began working to help women who had been trafficked in 1998 when she founded her organization: IROKO.
Dr. Aghatise founded the organization with one goal in mind: to combat violence against women, and to assist women who had been trafficked, specifically from Nigeria to Italy, for prostitution. The organization provides aftercare, counseling, legal services, housing, vocational training, and even helps women to find employment.
Our team had the honor of hosting a Google Hangout with Esohe where we had a conversation about Italy, sex trafficking, proposed legislation, and how we can continue to combat the scourge of human trafficking in our world. Modern-day slavery is a problem that concerns us all.
Caleb Benadum was previously the Program Manager for the Trafficking in Persons Report Global Heroes Network. He graduated from Capital University with a degree in Philosophy, and the University of Cincinnati Law School with a Juris Doctor degree. Having spent much of his life overseas, he is committed to modern-day abolitionism and the promotion of human rights around the world.
Today is a day to honor those whose lives were lost due to anti-transgender violence. The fact that many transgender and gender-nonconforming people are forced to turn to sex work to survive makes them particularly vulnerable to trafficking, assault, and other tragedies.
While talking about the inner workings of a trafficking case, she brought up that it is incredibly difficult to get a trafficking conviction; so, most prosecutors will avoid it. This challenge has major implications for the victims.
Barbara Amaya is a human trafficking survivor who became an anti-trafficking advocate. Watch her Tedx talk to learn how she survived abuse to become a leader in the fight against modern day enslavement.