ENID, OK - The Commission on the Status of Women is partnering with Northern College Enid to host a Community Conversation on Stop Human Trafficking.
The event is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 30, at 9:30 a.m. in the Gantz Center, located at 2200 East Maine Street, in Enid. The event is free and open to the public.
Each year, an estimated several thousand Oklahomans seek help from human trafficking situations. The Oklahoma Commission on the Status of Women is partnering with local communities to provide an educational initiative on stopping human trafficking — a series of Community Conversations to Stop Human Trafficking at schools.
“Human trafficking is modern-day slavery,” said Commission State Chair Brenda Jones Barwick. “It’s a
$150 billion a year industry, and Oklahoma is not immune to it. Most human trafficking in Oklahoma is not happening by people passing through on highways, but by members in their circle of trust, such as family members, friends, or acquaintances, who entrap them into involuntary servitude through labor, sex, or drugs.”
The series of Community Conversations to Stop Human Trafficking are held at high schools, colleges, universities, and tribal centers statewide to educate Oklahoma teens, young adults, teachers, and parents on how to recognize early signs of a person being targeted for human trafficking servitude.
NOC President Diana Morris Watkins is pleased to partner with the Oklahoma Commission on the Status of Women on the event.
“I learned about the work being done by the Oklahoma Commission on the Status of Women while conducting research for one of my doctoral courses, so when I was approached last spring by Adeline Yerkes, the co-chair of their Anti-Human Trafficking Committee, about partnering for this event I was eager to take the idea to NOC’s Executive Council,” Watkins said. “We all agreed that bringing in programming to improve the safety and security of our campus communities is always a good idea. I’m grateful to our Dean of Students, Ryan Paul, and NOC Enid Vice President, Jeremy Hise, for doing the logistical work to make this happen.”
A panel of Oklahoma professionals and experts will provide a full spectrum of several aspects of human trafficking in Oklahoma. Panelists include non-profit organizations that are providing healing and recovery services and resources to people entrapped into human trafficking. The discussion will highlight tribal and ethnic groups whose populations have experienced a high level of people forced into involuntary slavery; and law enforcement and drug interdiction officers who have been trained to recognize the signs of a bondage situation.
For the first time, the Commission is focusing on prevention of human trafficking. Barwick stated, “The focus has been on dealing with human trafficking after the crime has occurred.
Many are unaware they are being trafficked because it is typically a slow, methodical recruitment process by a trusted relationship. The Commission is educating Oklahomans to recognize the first, second and third phase by traffickers and empowering Oklahomans to stand strong and say, ‘Not Me, Not My Community’ to the trafficker.”
The Commission began its work on human trafficking in 2014 when it partnered with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics to host Solutions, Initiatives, Strategies on Human Trafficking Summit. For the last three years, First Lady Sarah Stitt has hosted an annual summit on this topic at the Governor’s Mansion with a panel of experts. In 2022, the Commission formed a Stop Human Trafficking subcommittee led by Commissioner Dr. Nyla Khan to plan and implement the educational events.
Additional information about the Commission’s work on human trafficking, including a White Paper published in 2021, can be found at https://oklahoma.gov/ocsw/human-trafficking.html. For more information to schedule a Community Conversation or obtain Not Me Not My Community materials, contact the Commission at ocswadmin@omes.ok.gov or call 405-401- 6970.
