Our Programs:

Educational Outreach: STOP the Traffick's educational outreach program is designed to foster awareness about human trafficking among our community's youth. Members of STOP will present a basic overview of the modern day slave trade to students at local middle schools and high schools, focusing on causes and conditions
of modern day slavery, similarities and differences to slavery in the Old South, and possible solutions to this urgent crisis. Our goal is to arm the youth of today with the most powerful weapon of all, knowledge, with the hope that they too will become active participants in the fight against human trafficking.

Words of Hope: To commemorate Domestic Violence Awareness Month, STOP the Traffick hosted “Words of Hope” to recognize survivors of sex trafficking in the Bay Area. Attendees were invited to participate in the letter writing activity at the event. All letters and cards were sent to Survivor's Quilt participants.

Panel & Discussion: To commemorate International Women’s Day, STOP the Traffick hosted its first panel titled, “Detecting the Undetected: Revealing Human Trafficking in California” on March 8th, 2007. The panel united directors of non-profit organizations that served sex trafficking survivors, the San Francisco Police Department, academic scholars, and survivors of sex trafficking to discuss the issue of human trafficking as a problem in California. We had a turn out of 170 attendees and brought together 12 Bay Area activists and UC Berkeley student organizations. Attendees included representatives from the National Pacific American Women’s Forum, Gabriela Network, Berkeley National Organization for Women and Standing Against Globalization and Exploitation. STOP the Traffick will host its second annual panel that will addresses the problem of human trafficking in the United States, which will take place on March 6th, 2008. The panel will raise awareness about the various anti-human trafficking measures that exist at both the state and domestic level. The panel would unite survivors of sex trafficking, activist groups, non-profit organizations, law enforcement and policy makers to discuss the cause of human trafficking, who performs trafficking, and what legislation has been passed to combat human trafficking.

Sex Trafficking Obliteration Petition: The Sex Trafficking Obliteration Petition, S.T.O.P. is an effort to create change in our current California legislation regarding human trafficking. The Department of Justice reports that California is the most vulnerable to the illegal selling of women and   children. San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles accounts for 80% of sex trafficking that occurs in California! Although Assembly Bill 22 was signed on September 21st 2005, making human trafficking a felony, trafficking has fallen under the radar and is still on the rise. Additionally, Senate Bill 180  requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards & Training to develop a course on human trafficking. However, the participation by peace officers is voluntary. Law enforcement must be trained to a level where they can keenly identify human trafficking cases. California succeeds in creating a trafficking Task Force and granting temporary recovery services for survivors, however we are still lacking a law enforcement training program - a critical component to the fight to end slavery. This petition brings attention to California legislators that there is a great need to mandate human trafficking programs for law enforcement. This is the next major step for California to adequately combat all human and sex trafficking activities. To learn more about the petition or to become a signatory go the web address below

http://www.petitiononline.com/stop3807/petition.html

Workshops & Activities: STOP the Traffick collaborates with various UC Berkeley student groups who support the anti-trafficking movement. We support other causes that relate to trafficking such as gender violence awareness programs, sexual health groups and domestic violence in the S.F./Bay Area and UC Berkeley. We also do workshop engagements with local elementary and high schools, doctors and other social service providers on the issue of domestic trafficking.

Local Collaboration: We also work with Berkeley’s Gender Equity Resource Center, Berkeley National Organization for Women, Prytanean Honors Society and Take Back the Night. STOP the Traffick has also partnered with Students and Artists Fighting to End Human Slavery (SAFEHS) and others to promote women’s empowerment projects. Our partnerships in the community are what allow us to effectively address the issues of modern day slavery.

Survivor’s Quilt (see next page)

STOP the Traffick is a student organization whose purpose is to raise awareness about human trafficking, both international and domestic, and empower people to take action to end modern day slavery.  Bringing together survivors of trafficking, Berkeley students, community members, media, policy makers, high profile individuals, and professionals working in the anti-trafficking field, we hope to form synergy in the movement. The ultimate goals are to expose the varied nature of modern-day slavery and engage every-day citizens in their capacity to become abolitionists. 

Care to join us?