Register Now for upcoming RRCAHT webinar!
"The Weaponization of Child Trafficking"
with Presenter Melanie Blow
Date: Thursday, April 22, 2021
Time: 7:00 pm
One day you’re struggling to make people believe that human trafficking actually happens in their own neighborhood. The next day, half of your Facebook friends think a furniture retailer is trafficking kidnapped children. References to child trafficking and legalizing pedophilia are everywhere, and you keep hearing all about it on QAnon.
What’s really going on?! Why have human trafficking and child sexual abuse been weaponized over night? What does it say about us as a society? And what opportunities and obligations does it represent for the anti-human trafficking community?
RRCAHT founding member and board member Melanie Blow will answer these questions and more during this webinar. Melanie is active in legislative advocacy, the anti-human trafficking community, the sex abuse survivor community, and has a passion for cultural history and sociology.
Click here to register.
Emergency Contacts
If you need help or you think you have come into contact with a victim of human trafficking...
National Human Trafficking
Resource Center
call 1.888.373.7888 / Text HELP or
INFO to BeFree (233733)
Center For Youth
905 Monroe Ave
Rochester, NY 14620
(585) 271-7670 24 hrs
Emergency Contacts
If you need help or you think you have come into contact with a victim of human trafficking...
National Human Trafficking
Resource Center
call 1.888.373.7888 / Text HELP or
INFO to BeFree (233733)
Center For Youth
905 Monroe Ave
Rochester, NY 14620
(585) 271-7670 24 hrs
Willow Domestic Violence Center
24/7 HOTLINE: (585) 222-SAFE
24/7 TEXT LINE: (585) 348-SAFE
Your help is needed now!
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Angels of Mercy Butterfly Boutique has been serving more women than ever with clothing from our Butterfly Boutique.
As we continue to meet our women's needs, Angels of Mercy is reaching out to ask your help. Click here to see the items that they need.
RRCAHT 5th Human Trafficking Proclamation Event and Roundtable Discussion
The Proclamation Event and Roundtable took place on January 11, 2021, National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. The topic of the Roundtable was "Legislative concerns facing the anti-trafficking movement".
Click here to view proclamations presented to RRCAHT at the event, names of elected officials who participated, Roundtable members and videos submitted by officials who were unable to be with us.
RRCAHT in the News
A Neurology Nurse Practitioner By Day, An Advocate Against Human Trafficking After Hours (an article featuring Celia McIntosh, President of RRCAHT)
Neurology Today, October 8, 2020
The Chains of Trafficking (an interview with Celia McIntosh, President of RRCAHT)
The Reporter (RIT) - June 25, 2020
Yes, Here!
Registered sex offender from Rochester indicted on sex trafficking, child porn charges
WHAM, February 2, 2021
WENY News, December 18, 2020
Man who preyed on homeless teens pleads guilty to sex trafficking
Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, December 18, 2020
Sex trafficker who stabbed girl with screwdiver sentenced to 14 years in federal prison
Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, December 17, 2020
Human Trafficking and COVID 19 news stories
12 trafficking victims, including three minors, rescued in past three months - The Anti-human Trafficking Bureau of Nepal Police says there’s a risk of traffickers targeting the people who have become financially vulnerable due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown.
The Kathmandu Post - June 24, 2020
Reports Of Child Exploitation, Trafficking Increase During Pandemic - Law enforcement in San Diego was reporting yet another side effect of the coronavirus pandemic, a spike in child exploitation on the internet.
KPBS, San Diego - June 23, 2020
Fight child labour amid Covid - Uganda Commemorated World Day Against Child Labour under the theme "Covid-19: Protect children from child labour, now more than ever!"
She Escaped Sex Work for College. Now the Virus Threatens Her New Life.
New York Times - May 15, 2020
Coronavirus Threat isn’t stopping sex trafficking in Jacksonville
News4, Jacksonville - April 8, 2020
Sex trafficking poses the risk of spreading COVID-19 to thousands of people
Dallas Morning News - March 28, 2020
Click here to view RRCAHT's accomplishments in 2020.
What Is Human Trafficking?
Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery where people profit from the control and exploitation of others. As defined under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA)
Sex Trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age; or
Labor Trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.
For comprehensive information about Human Trafficking, including links to videos, refer to the Human Trafficking Awareness Manual of the Sisters of Charity of New York.
The March RRCAHT Newsletter is now available.
You can read it here and you can join the mailing list for future editions by clicking here.
RRCAHT has T-shirts for sale at $12.
Thank you to the Vignelli Center for Design Studies at RIT for your sponsorship and contributions to our branding and Yes, Here. marketing campaign.
RRCAHT Speaks Out about George Floyd
The Rochester Regional Coalition Against Human Trafficking stands in solidarity with activists around the world who are outraged by the killing of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, Eric Garner, and so many others.
Although this tragic incident occurred hundreds of miles away from Rochester, the impact is felt all over the world. Systemic racism perpetuates violence and exploitation, including trafficking. Human trafficking similar to racism is a public health problem. Human trafficking always involves vulnerability. Ingrained systems that make communities of color more vulnerable will always hinder the movement to end human trafficking.
Additionally, law enforcement professionals play a very significant role in fighting against human trafficking by ensuring that the rights and freedoms of those living in the United States are protected. Unfortunately, incidents similar to what we saw in Minneapolis further challenge credibility and exacerbate mistrust amongst human trafficking victims who have been taught to distrust law enforcement officers by traffickers. Law enforcement officers cannot be allies for trafficking victims if they cannot display compassion, patience, empathy and restraint with victims who are perceived as uncooperative.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” April 16, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Today, and everyday, we recommit ourselves to liberating, educating and advocating for trafficking victims and the vulnerable in our community and world. Additionally, we endorse the recent declaration by the Greater Rochester NY Black Agenda Group recognizing racism as a public health crisis.