Governor, KU to host Kansas Conference on Slavery and Human Trafficking


LAWRENCE – Gov. Sam Brownback and the University of Kansas will host the Kansas Conference on Slavery and Human Trafficking on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 in the Kansas Union.

The two-day conference will examine existing research on slavery and human trafficking and identify gaps in educational and research programs that could be best filled in Kansas. The conference will culminate in research, legal advocacy and graduate education initiatives to be developed by KU and regional partners.

Gov. Sam Brownback
Gov. Sam Brownback

“Governor Brownback has called on Kansas to become a national leader in research on slavery and human trafficking,” said Hannah Britton, associate professor of political science and women, gender and sexuality studies, as well as the director of the Center for International Political Analysis at the Institute for Policy & Social Research at KU.

“KU is the perfect place to develop gap-filling educational and research programs on this issue, given the university’s strengths in immigration, inequality, international studies, peace and conflict studies, and gender studies. We appreciate Governor Brownback’s longstanding commitment to this critical human rights issue.”

The conference begins at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 31, in Woodruff Auditorium with remarks from Brownback, followed by a presentation by Kevin Bales, a widely known author, professor of sociology and expert on slavery. The session is free and open to the public.

The conference continues from 8:15 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 1, on Level 5 of the Kansas Union, with presentations from various university researchers, as well as a keynote address by Alison Kiehl Friedman, the deputy director of the U.S. Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. The session is free and open to the public, but attendees must register beforehand.

View a complete conference brochure.

As a U.S. senator, Brownback teamed with the late U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone in 2000 to enact the groundbreaking federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act. On Jan. 18, Brownback and Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced they will ask the 2013 Kansas Legislature to strengthen the state’s human trafficking statutes, with an emphasis on protecting children from commercial sexual exploitation.

"World-class research is essential if we are going to more effectively fight modern-day slavery, and, with our state's proud free-state heritage, the University of Kansas is ideally positioned to contribute unique expertise and research talent in this area,” Brownback said. “I salute Dr. Hannah Britton and other KU researchers who are working together to inform and accelerate the movement to end human trafficking.”

The conference is co-sponsored by KU and the Office of Governor Sam Brownback. KU entities involved in the conference include the Institute for Policy & Social Research; the Office of the Chancellor; the School of Law; the Office of Graduate Military Programs; the Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies Department; the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies; the Emily Taylor Center for Women and Gender Equality; the Kansas African Studies Center; and KU Libraries.

Thu, 01/24/2013

author

Joe Monaco

Media Contacts

Joe Monaco

KU Office of Public Affairs

785-864-7100