Katie Hollcraft: Colleges should join efforts to end sex trafficking

Benedictine College has announced a spring 2016 initiative to reduce the incidence of sexual harassment on campus. The plan is praiseworthy but will remain incomplete without attention to the growing epidemic of sex trafficking. It’s not too late for the college to amend its plans.

Last year, Benedictine hosted enthusiastic speakers fighting in the trenches against the sex trafficking industry. Their words were long on facts and shock but short on specific measures the campus can take to thwart sexual slaveholders. The campus newspaper, The Circuit, recently reported a partnership between the Student International Business Council and the Starfish Project, a nonprofit in Asia established to empower exploited women by teaching them to make and sell jewelry. During last spring’s “Social Justice Week,” sponsored annually by many campus organizations, sociology students hosted a guest lecture on sex trafficking and how it relates to prostitution.

The attention Benedictine has given to this issue is a good start, but more can be done. Students and faculty need more specific information about how to recognize and rescue victims of sex trafficking.

Under federal law, anyone under age 18 induced into commercial sex is a victim of sex trafficking, regardless of whether the trafficker uses force, fraud or coercion. It is estimated 100,000 to 300,000 U.S. children, most ages 12 to 14, are exploited annually by sex traffickers. The problem is particularly severe in St. Louis, Chicago, Atlanta, and Dallas. Kansas City, a 45-minute drive from the Benedictine campus, is also considered a sex trafficking hub.

Sadly, the threat of trafficking often raises more questions than answers. Emily Luxem, Student International Business Council’s chief executive, urges college campuses to do more than simply create awareness and fear. She says students should know how to recognize and report signs oftrafficking. A few of these prevention tools can be found in a recent report by the U.S. Department of State. Among them:

▪ Anyone with suspicions of sex trafficking should contact their local FBI office or call 888-373-7888.

▪ School administrators must work in partnership with students and faculty. Discussions of sex trafficking can easily be included in a wide variety of established courses and classes.

▪ Students must initiate on-campus action: Take action on your campus. Join or establish a university club to raise awareness about human trafficking and initiate action throughout the local community. Consider a research paper on the topic.

▪ Administrators and senior faculty can expand knowledge about sex trafficking by including it among the topics considered for scholarly papers and dissertations.

A college campus is obligated to take reasonable, effective measures to protect students from clear and present dangers, none more clear and present than the expanding numbers of sex traffickers.

Our university’s upcoming Title IX initiative requires students and faculty to attend classes on sexual harassment, which remains a problem within the walls of many institutions. There’s plenty of time to expand the program and join the war against those who traffic in human slavery just beyond our walls.

Benedictine College has long been a proud voice for the voiceless. Let the tradition continue.

This story was originally published December 18, 2015 at 6:43 PM with the headline "Katie Hollcraft: Colleges should join efforts to end sex trafficking."