Cedar Rapids, Iowa — What’s billed as a global anti-human trafficking symposium will be held in eastern Iowa tomorrow (Tuesday).
The event is being organized by Teresa Davidson, co-founder and CEO of Chains Interrupted, an Iowa-based non-profit that fights human trafficking. Davidson says the conference will be carried live on Zoom and in-person at Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids.
Davidson calls human trafficking an “underground crime” that’s widely underreported.
Davidson is the anti-human trafficking coordinator at Mercy, the first Iowa hospital to create a hospital-based position to address human trafficking. Advocates say there are indications Iowa is an attractive state for traffickers, given the wide open spaces and the intersection of major interstates.
Davidson encourages Iowans to look within their circle for people who may be vulnerable to this crime.
The Tuesday event is free and runs from 9 a.m. to noon. It’s being co-hosted by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation. It’s open to the public but registration is encouraged. The Zoom call will be capped at 1,000 participants. Go to mercycare.org/aht-barriers to register.
