CBA Record

HUMAN TRAFFICKING AWARENESS WEEK 2017 YLS Initiative Puts Spotlight on Chicago By Clifford Gately, Editorial Board Member B y all reports, Chicago is a major national hub for human traf- ficking, including the pernicious

market for underage prostitutes. In Chi- cago, 16,000-25,000 women and girls are involved in the commercial sex trade annu- ally, with one-third of them first getting involved by the age of 15. Raphael, J., & Ashley, J (2008) Domestic sex trafficking of Chicago women and girls. Chicago: Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority & DePaul University College of Law Two individuals who are trying to make a difference by helping to rescue minor vic- tims of sex trafficking spoke at a program entitled “A Spotlight on Child Trafficking in Chicago,”--Rohit Chandra, senior attor- ney with the Juvenile Division of the Office of the Cook County Public Guardian, and Queona Whitfield, the Assistant Direc- tor of Salvation Army Promise Program’s Anne’s House. The program was put on by the CBA’s Young Lawyers Section as part of Human Trafficking Awareness Week. In 2005, the FBI designated Chicago as one of the nation’s “High Intensity Child Prostitution” locations. In his role as the Public Guardian Office’s Human Traffick- ing Coordinator, Chandra consults on all cases where a youth has been the subject of commercial sexual exploitation. His presentation focused on how the Public Guardian’s Office works to identify and protect victims of sex trafficking, and how

For more information on Anne’s House, go to http://salarmy.org/ promise. conducts at schools and elsewhere in the community that are aimed at prevention and intervention of sex trafficking.

such cases are handled in the Cook County legal system. Whitfield talked about the therapeutic and vocational programs that are provided to residents of Anne’s House–which was Illinois’ first long-term trauma-based resi- dential program for girls and young women who are victims of sex trafficking. She also discussed programs that Anne’s House

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