On March 19, the Campbell Law School ACLU and Women in Law welcomed back alumnus Olga Vysotskaya, class of 2003, who spoke about her experience working for the International Association of Migration in Belarus. While working with the Association, Ms. Vysotskaya was primarily involved with investigating cases of human trafficking.
She reviewed the Palermo Protocol, which was drafted by the United Nations to prevent, suppress, and punish human trafficking and gave examples of men, women and children being lured from their homes into virtual slavery.
Ms. Vysotskaya also addressed the issue of human trafficking in the U.S. and, more specifically, North Carolina. She pointed out that the problem grows as the population expands showed how enticing the local farming industry is to those wanting to traffic workers into the state. North Carolina does recognize human trafficking as a crime but, as is the case in all countries, it is a difficult crime to uncover.
Perhaps the most striking statistics discussed were the fact that approximately 800,000 humans have been trafficked into the U.S. in the past ten years and that human trafficking is the third most profitable organized crime behind drugs and weapons.
On a more hopeful note, she discussed the three primary ways human trafficking is being addressed by the international community – prevention, prosecution and protection.
Prevention includes educating the public and law enforcement about the problem, risk factors and hotlines to call for help. This is done with ads, public service announcements and other outreach programs.
Prosecution efforts target at law enforcement and those involved with trafficking to ensure understanding of the penalties associated with the crime and the differences between human trafficking, illegal immigration and prostitution.
Protection involves counseling, medical help and other treatment needed by those who have returned to their home country.
While the problem continues to be widespread and much more must be done, acknowledgement of human trafficking as a crime in countries around the world and development of programs addressing the issue are having a positive impact.
About Campbell Law School: Since its founding in 1976, the Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law at Campbell University has developed lawyers who possess moral conviction, social compassion and professional competence, and who view the law as a calling to serve others and create a more just society. The School has been recognized by the American Bar Association (ABA) as having the nation’s top Professionalism Program and by the American Academy of Trial Lawyers for having the nation’s best Trial Advocacy Program. In 2008, the Law School’s Moot Court Program was ranked in the top ten nationally by the University of Houston’s Blakely Advocacy Institute among 196 ABA accredited law schools. Campbell Law boasts more than 3,000 alumni, including 2,000 who reside and work in North Carolina. For the past 20 years, Campbell Law’s record of success on the North Carolina bar exam is unsurpassed by any other North Carolina law school. In the fall of 2009, Campbell Law School will relocate from the main Campbell University campus to a new location in downtown Raleigh.