Dottie Sheriff Adrian Jenna Laster Garcia Clark

Co-Host Jack Girardi

"Modern slavery – be it bonded labor, involuntary servitude, or sexual slavery – is a crime and cannot be tolerated in any culture, community, or country … It is an affront to our values and our commitment to human rights." – Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State.

Human trafficking is a crime and a human rights abuse involving commercial sexual exploitation of a child or the use of force, coercion or fraud to compel someone into labor servitude or commercial sexual exploitation. Thousands of men, women, and children are trafficked in the United States every year.

Dottie Laster and Sherriff Adrian Garcia, are some of America's many heroes today, who seek to identify and rescue Victims of Human Trafficking, and put an end to this form of modern slavery.

Dottie and Sheriff Garcia are committed to combating the crime of human trafficking right in their home city of Houston, TX. Through public outreach, victim protection, and law enforcement training, their organizations work diligently to prevent human trafficking before it occurs, to protect victims when it has occurred, and to minimize reoccurrence by conducting investigations to bring traffickers to justice.

Dottie Laster was appointed as an original member of the U. S. Attorney's Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance, a task force consisting of F.B.I., Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. State Department's Diplomatic Security Service, Texas Rangers, Houston Police Department, Department of Labor, and YMCA.

As a part of this task force, she trained over 5,000 police officers on the issue of Human Trafficking. She was selected by the US Attorney's Office to be certified by the Department of Justice to train law enforcement and others on human trafficking.

She is the co founder of San Antonio's Coalition Against Human Trafficking and the past Administrator of the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force.

She is currently the Executive Director of Million Kids. A group dedicated to ending child slavery and the commercial exploitation of children. Dottie is a recipient of CYH Magazine's Heritage Humanitarian Award.

Over the past 15 years, "trafficking in persons" and "human trafficking" have been used as umbrella terms for activities involved when someone obtains or holds a person in compelled service.

The United States' Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) describes this compelled service using a number of different terms: involuntary servitude, slavery, debt bondage, and forced labor. Under the TVPA, individuals may be trafficking victims regardless of whether they once consented, participated in a crime as a direct result of being trafficked, were transported into the exploitative situation, or were simply born into a state of servitude. At the heart of this phenomenon are the myriad forms of enslavement – not the activities involved in international transportation.

Listen to the remarkable story of Jenna Clark, a true life heroine and victim of Human Trafficking, who at the young age of 18 years saw the problem of Human Trafficking and went "undercover" as her way of trying to help other victims - by joining a forced labor crew and reporting on their activities.

Unfortunately she became trapped and a victim herself.

She quickly discovered that the process of the exploitation was just as she researched except she was surprised by how quick the grooming was over and how constant the violence was.

Fortunately she was rescued. She is so lucky to have escaped and to be able to tell her story today. Many of the organizations that are combating human trafficking are not equipped or have a mission to rescue victims- Jenna was directed to a wonderful group adequately trained who would not stop and they rescued her and the others-

She is currently going to college for journalism and social work.

Recent studies show the majority of human trafficking in the world takes the form of forced labor. Also known as involuntary servitude, forced labor may result when unscrupulous employers exploit workers made more vulnerable by high rates of unemployment, poverty, crime, discrimination, corruption, political conflict, or cultural acceptance of the practice. Immigrants are particularly vulnerable, but individuals also may be forced into labor in their own countries. Female victims of forced or bonded labor, especially women and girls in domestic servitude, are often sexually exploited as well.

Websites:
http://sites.google.com/site/lasterglobalconsulting/Home/training-1/dottie-laster
http://www.hcso.hctx.net

Jack Girardi, Partner at Girardi & Keese, one of America's Finest Law Firms, and lawyers, as always, brings out the most important key elements to the success of today's guests. He and his firm have been dedicated to working hard and getting the best possible recovery for its clients.

Girardi & Keese's mission is to provide aggressive representation of individuals and businesses who have been injured in some way, whether by physical harm, property damage, damage to business, or damage to economic interests. Girardi & Keese has two offices in California: Downtown Los Angeles and San Bernardino.

www.girardikeese.com

Hosted by Steve Murphy.

Brought to you by "America's Premier Lawyers"

Contact:

Jack Girardi
213-977-0211
www.girardikeese.net

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER & HOST:
STEVE MURPHY

www.lbishow.com