Quinnipiac Law School to Present Human Trafficking Awareness Programs

NORTH HAVEN – Quinnipiac University’s School of Law will host a series of events to raise awareness about human trafficking.

The law school’s Human Trafficking Prevention Project (HTPP) will present its fourth annual Human Trafficking Awareness Week, Feb.7-10 and 16.

The activities, which are free and open to the public, will be available on Zoom or in person at the School of Law on the North Haven Campus, 370 Bassett Road.

This year, Awareness Week features two panel discussions on Zoom. The first panel scrutinizes consent, specifically how consent is defined in the Title IX context. The second panel focuses on child migrants crossing the border and their vulnerability to human trafficking.

“This year, both panels touch on topics that anti-trafficking experts routinely grapple with, especially in cases involving young people. Given our focus, we hope that teachers, parents, and young people themselves will tune in to learn more about these highly contentious, but also largely misunderstood, issues,” said Sheila Hayre, clinical professor of law.

The first, “Sexual Assault on Campus & Title IX: Balancing the Interests of the Victim and the Accused,” will take place from 6-8 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 8.

Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in higher education. Today, Title IX has become the focus of fierce debates as to how to protect students from sexual violence, while providing due process protections for those who have been accused.

To explore these debates, and to identify areas of possible consensus, the panel will begin by explaining the basics of how Title IX works: the actors, the process and procedures, and concepts like “affirmative consent” and “restorative justice.” Panelists will then be asked to identify areas where the Title IX framework is working effectively and highlight areas ripe for reform.

The second panel discussion, “Children Crossing Borders: Migrant Children’s Vulnerability to Trafficking,” will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 16.

With images of the separation of migrant kids seemingly in our rearview mirror, many Americans are no longer focused on the children who continue to arrive at our border. We know little about who they are, why they come, what they encounter as they head north, how they are “processed” when they arrive, and the struggles they face as they are resettled in cities and towns across the United States.

To examine the trafficking risks faced by Central American migrants, this panel will follow these children on their journeys to the U.S.—first, exploring why they leave their homes and what they experience on their journeys; next, focusing on their experiences at the border; and, finally, highlighting their struggles to resettle here in the U.S.

Third-year law student Olivia Hally, who serves as executive director of HTPP, said: “Our hope is that by taking a deep dive into these topics, participants will come away with a more nuanced understanding of human trafficking.”

Click here for the full schedule of events and to register.