SIUE hosted several members of Congress for a seminar on Human Trafficking in the United States, specifically in the Metro East, on Monday, July 14, at B. Barnard Birger Hall. Dr. Denise Degarmo, associate professor and chair of the SIUE Department of Political Science and Dr. Erin Heil, associate professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice Studies, were joined by Illinois Congressmen Rodney Davis and John Shimkus and Missouri Congresswoman Ann Wagner.
The panel was convened to promote awareness of the issue in the St. Louis area. St. Louis is ranked in the top 20 jurisdictions for human trafficking.
Heil has been researching human trafficking since 2008 and is working on her second book, which will focus on labor and sex trafficking in the Metro East. During her presentation, she equated human trafficking to modern day slavery and urged attendees to see this issue as a concern to everyone.
“As society changes, as legislation changes, as trafficking in and of itself changes, we have to keep moving forward and consider what is the next step,” said Heil.
Shimkus, Davis and Wagner all spoke and encouraged others to get involved in the fight against what Wagner called “a horrid evil”. Wagner has also written and campaigned for the Stop Advertising Victims of Exploitation (SAVE) Act, which passed the House vote in May. The Act will add advertising to the types of conduct that constitute sex trafficking. The SAVE Act is part of a group of bills passed this spring that will increase penalties for human trafficking offenses in the United States.
Several advocates for survivors of human trafficking and an FBI analyst also spoke at the summit. “Things like this are so beneficial, because we finally have a voice,” said Lindsey Ellis, director of operations for The Covering House, a facility that provides services to victims rescued from sex trafficking.
For more information, contact Heil at erconle@siue.edu.
Photo: Dr. Erin Heil, associate professor in the SIUE Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice Studies.