BY TRACY RYAN – The public is invited to an informational briefing and press conference on the human trafficking issue on Tuesday the 18th from 10:00 to 11:30 AM in room 307 at the Richards Street YWCA at 1040 Richards St, in downtown Honolulu. Experts will discuss the problems stemming from the anti-trafficking rhetoric.
Speakers include:
Nandita Sharma is an Associate Professor of the Sociology Department at the University of Hawai’i. Her 2005 paper “Anti-Trafficking Rhetoric in the Making of Global Apartheid,” National Women’s Studies Association Journal, based on groundbreaking research illuminated the sharp contrast between stories of trafficking in the public media and the true stories told by alleged victims.
Pam Vessels is an ordained minister with years of experience working with people in the sex industry. Her work included more than a decade of public health outreach to Waikiki and Chinatown prostitutes. She was the Executive Director and founder of Hale Ho’omaka Na Wahine, the Home for the Rebirth of Women. This was a residential transitional facility for persons exiting sex work.