[tor-reports] Trip Report: White House Forum to Combat Human Trafficking 09 April 2013

[Andrew Lewman]

I was invited to attend the [White House Forum to Combat Human
Trafficking][0]. I've been part of a task force to look at the role of
technology in human trafficking. Secretary of State John Kerry sent [a
video][1] since he was in another country at the time. A local Tor
volunteer from Cambridge, Massachusetts has White House Press
credentials and was able to [cover the event][2]. This article is a
better writeup and interview, with video, than anything else I've seen
covering the event. Interestingly, no other press showed up to cover
the event. It seems http://cctvcambridge.org/ was the only press
covering this White House initiative.

The room was full of a mix of people from law enforcement, human rights
organizations, legal firms, and commercial companies. Eric Holder,
Attorney General of US, Janet Napolitano, Secretary of DHS, and Cecilia
Munoz, Director of Domestic Policy Council, all gave speeches about
what their respective organizations are doing to fight trafficking. The
US Dept of Health and Human Services is the main organization behind
all of this. Their [end trafficking][3] site is a fine starting point.

As far as my role, it's been to think about how technology is being
used by traffickers and how victims could get help in their situations.
[Thorn][4], [FAIR Girls][5], and [Polaris][6] are all working on
solutions and gathering raw data to support decisions.

I then spent some time talking to various organizations in DC and
helping to explain Tor to more law enforcement.

Overall, it was a good day trip to DC.

[0]:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/04/10/working-together-combat-human-trafficking
[1]: http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2013/04/207232.htm
[2]: http://cctvcambridge.org/WhiteHouseTor
[3]: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/endtrafficking
[4]: http://wearethorn.org/aboutus/
[5]: http://www.fairgirls.org/
[6]:
http://www.polarisproject.org/media-center/press-releases/757-texting-increases-human-trafficking-victims-access-to-help

-- 
Andrew
http://tpo.is/contact
pgp 0x6B4D6475