USF Students Host Human Trafficking Conference

On Friday, February 7, Triumph Over Trafficking (TOT), a student organization based at the University of South Florida, a conference on human trafficking to educate fellow students and indulge the curiosity of those wanting to learn more about the subject.

The event was emceed by Connie Rose, a TEDx veteran, human trafficking survivor and founder of Victims2Survivors, a nonprofit organization focused on ending human trafficking and supporting survivors through a community-based approach.

Guest speakers for the day took up the history of human trafficking, common indications that someone is being human trafficked, laws and policies on human trafficking and more.

Natalie Kehn, Director of Operations for the U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking, explained the three different types of traffickers, led by an interactive segment where the audience read case study exercises and identified the victims, traffickers and buyers and any signs of force, fraud or coercion.

Zubiya, a senior at USF and the co-founder and president of TOT says she first became interested in human trafficking during her freshman year when the subject was mentioned during a sociology class. “From that point on I was trying to join an anti-human trafficking organization, but I couldn’t find one,” says Zubiya, “so I decided to start one.” In January 2018, Zubiya and now USF graduate and vice-president of TOT, Naomi, started the student organization. Since then, students who attend the University of Central Florida and the University of Pennsylvania have started their own TOT chapters.

“When Zubiya brought the idea to me I wanted to bring a voice to the people that didn’t have one. Florida is the third worst state in the U.S. Tampa, one of the largest cities in the state, will host WrestleMania and the next Super Bowl so this is a topic that needs to be discussed and learned about,” says Naomi. For example, at the 2019 Super Bowl in Atlanta, Georgia, the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted an 11-day human trafficking sting operation—ending the day before the game—resulting in 169 arrests.

Daniela Carrion, an immigration and employment attorney at the Linesch Firm in Palm Harbor, Florida, who has taken on several human trafficking cases, says those wanting to get involved in combating it should, “First identify when you want to help the survivor. That could be transitioning back into society, representing them in court and so on. Do internships and find what is right for you.”