Lake State lecture aims to shed light on human trafficking

NEWS RELEASE
LAKE SUPERIOR STATE UNIVERSITY
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SAULT STE. MARIE, MICH. - Lake Superior State University is hosting a human trafficking awareness and prevention lecture on May 10. The presentation and discussion runs 7-9:30 p.m. in the Cisler Center’s Superior Room. The visit by two human trafficking activists and a survivor is being coordinated by the Huron District of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Michigan and St. James Episcopal Church of Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. There is no charge for the event, but donations are welcome.

Due to the nature of the discussion, recommended ages to attend are 14 and older.

Topics include possible indicators of sex trafficking and recruitment, labor trafficking, the dangers of sex trafficking on the internet, as well as reasons for the high rate of human sex trafficking activity.

In Michigan alone, the National Human Traffic Hotline has received since 2007 4,609 calls that have helped 3,160 victims. The national victim count is much higher, at 107,653. These statistics are through June 30, 2018.

Speakers for the event are Celine Goessl, Kathy Lange, and human-trafficking survivor Morgan Meadows. Goessl and Lange were members of the Sisters of Mercy of the Holy Cross, an international religious community based in Switzerland. Both retired from the Catholic order to pursue a full-time cause against human trafficking.

Goessel has given more than 100 human trafficking awareness presentations over the past few years. Lange began helping Gossel in 2017.

Meadows was trafficked from the age of three to 23 and forced to marry an older man against her will. She is currently working on a doctoral dissertation related to the human trafficking problem. She plans to develop a safe house and educational campus for trafficking victims in Door County, Wisconsin. The evening’s donations will support her efforts in creating the center.

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