Youth for Human Rights Hosts Awareness Training in Washington, DC, during Human Trafficking Awareness Month.

WASHINGTON , DC, USA, February 5, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Human trafficking is an issue that touches every community, including cities, suburbs, and rural towns. In January, Youth for Human Rights International held a training session on human trafficking awareness to teach attendees the skills necessary to save lives from this criminal enterprise.

Last week, President Trump signed a new Executive Order meant to combat human trafficking and online child exploitation, including adding a new position at the White House to solely focus on the issue.

Youth for Human Rights National Office Director Erica Rodgers began the training session by explaining how the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the basis of understanding human rights. She discussed how human trafficking is a violation of Human Right #4 “No Slavery” and went on to talk about how human rights education plays a crucial role in reducing trafficking worldwide.

“A solid understanding of human rights breeds confidence in youth. Pimps and recruiters don’t target confident youth. They look for the shy and insecure youth. The ones they can manipulate. By ensuring youth are confident and know how to protect their rights, we help prevent them from being the target of traffickers,” said Ms. Rodgers.

Andrea Powell, founder of two nonprofits, FAIR Girls and Karana Rising, delivered the training based on her many years of rescuing trafficked youth. Having rescued, housed and rehabilitated large quantities of survivors of trafficking over the years, Ms. Powell has great skill in spotting victims of trafficking and is able to teach others how to do the same.

In the training session attendees learned:

· What human trafficking is and how it classifies as modern-day slavery and a human rights abuse.
· How to recognize potential red flags and know the indicators of human trafficking.
· How to safely report victims, helping them find the assistance they need while keeping yourself safe.

“You have to remember that everyone has something that makes them vulnerable. Traffickers are looking to exploit that,” said Ms. Powell.

Ms. Powell also went over resources that anyone can use to gain familiarity with the signs of trafficking, such as polarisproject.org (https://polarisproject.org/recognizing-human-trafficking/) and the importance of calling the National Human Trafficking Hotline (1-888- 373-7888) if you suspect a potential instance of human trafficking. Ms. Powell urged people to call even if one isn’t sure. It is better to be wrong than to fail to report a real case.

Youth for Human Rights International has been working to prevent human trafficking on a national and international level for over a decade. Raising awareness of human rights is the necessary undercut to this and so many other human rights issues. Article four of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.” To read all of the human rights as listed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights go to: http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights

Later this spring, Youth for Human Rights will host its 3rd Annual U.S. National Human Rights Conference in Washington, DC, on March 26 -27, 2020. There advocates can help raise further awareness of youth, government officials and others about the problem of human trafficking or modern-day slavery, a type of crime which now affects an estimated 20 to 30 million people worldwide, mostly women and children. You can register to attend the U.S. National Human Rights Conference in Washington, DC, here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2020-annual-us-youth-for-human-rights-national-conference-tickets-89256981033

About FAIR Girls and Karana Rising:
FAIR Girls was co-founded in 2003 by Andrea Powell and Caroline Tower Morris to help provide long-term therapeutic interventions, including safe housing, for exploited and trafficked young women and girls. You can find out more at: https://www.fairgirls.org/
Andrea Powell is the founding President of Karana Rising, a nonprofit and social enterprise venture headquartered in Washington, DC, that supports youth survivors of human trafficking in reaching their fullest potential as individuals and young professionals. You can find out more at: https://karanarising.com/

About Youth for Human Rights:
Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to teach youth about human rights, specifically the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and to inspire them to become valuable advocates for tolerance and peace. YHRI advocates for human rights both in the classroom and in nontraditional educational settings such as through art series, concerts and other interactive community events, including regional and international human rights summits which bring youth together from across whole sectors of the world. Their most recent campaign has included #KnowYour30 with the deliberate purpose of increasing awareness of the 30 human rights every person has -- and how they are a part of everyday life. To learn more about human rights go to https://www.youthforhumanrights.org. For a documentary on Youth for Human Rights and its founder go to https://www.scientology.tv/series/voices-for-humanity/mary-shuttleworth.html.

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