| Written by Taylor Rubright |
| Friday, 24 February 2012 03:36 |
| Western club to give presentation and screen documentary to educate people on the issue Bellingham police are currently training to better handle the problem of sex trafficking in Whatcom County, said Shawn Aiumu, Bellingham Police Department's sergeant of family crimes.  “In Seattle alone, there’s between 300 and 500 youth who are being sexually exploited,” said Kali Rasmussen, an Access Freedom intern and member of Western's Students Against Slavery club. “If we took all of them off the streets at one time there’s no way we could get them into foster care or safe housing, because there’s not enough resources.” Bellingham police officers recently had a training session on human trafficking so they can better identify signs and know what to look for, Aiumu said. Follow-up care for human trafficking victims is where Whatcom County is falling a bit short, he said. “We’re trying to work on that and find partners to deal with that, because it’s very intensive trying to break them away, especially when they’ve been separated from their family,” Aiumu said. Whatcom County could be a hot spot for human trafficking, due to its close proximity to Seattle and the Canadian border, Aiumu said. “In the Northwest, especially in the Seattle metro area, there’s been quite a bit of it popping up,” he said. “I’m sure there’s groups that are probably swinging through.” Access Freedom and Western's Student's Against Slavery club will host a presentation, Monday, Feb. 27, and a viewing of “Sex + Money,” a documentary on sex trafficking in the United States. Access Freedom is an organization based in Whatcom County that provides an education on domestic minor sex trafficking. The documentary emphasizes how there is not enough safe housing for sexually exploited people, Rasmussen said. Rasmussen thought of the presentation when she contacted the Engedi Refuge Ministries in Vancouver, British Columbia. Engedi Refuge’s goal is to provide safe houses for sexually exploited people. The organization currently has plans to open up a safe house in Whatcom County within the next year and a half, Rasmussen said. After the documentary, there will be a Q&A session with members of Access Freedom, including Executive Director Anya Milton and Awareness Coordinator Robin Meyer. “It’s a pretty powerful documentary,” said Stephanie Hawney, an Access Freedom intern and Students Against Slavery member. “We feel like people are going to really be moved by watching it and probably have questions.” Raising awareness of human trafficking in Whatcom County is a major goal of the presentation, Hawney said. “I think a lot of people don’t realize that this happens right here in our own homes,” Hawney said. “They think it happens abroad in Third World countries and poor villages, but that’s not always the case.” The film will be shown at 6:30 p.m. on the day of the presentation, at Fraser Hall room 4. Admission is free. “I started talking with [Engedi Refuge] and found out they had the rights to this documentary, and I said, ‘Well why don’t we show that on campus?’” Rasmussen said. Aaron and Lea Newcomb, the founders of the Engedi Refuge, will also be at the Q&A session. Hawney and Rasmussen hope the documentary and Q&A session get community members involved. “We want people to feel like they can be a part of this, but we want people to work collectively,” Rasmussen said. “We can’t really support someone who wants to go out on the street and try to rescue children. We want people to do this in a way that is strategic and safe for everybody involved.” The documentary “Sex + Money” will be shown Monday, Feb. 27 in Fraser Hall room 4. Admission is free. http://westernfrontonline.net/news/14356-bellingham-police-working-to-combat-sex-trafficking Related articles: |
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