The Abolition Task Force, an organization dedicated to human trafficking awareness, will hold a “human trafficking 101” event on Monday, Oct. 24 in Lindsay Auditorium. The event will provide information about international and local human trafficking.

The Abolition Task Force broke off at the end of last year from DU’s Human Trafficking Clinic to “start over fresh,” said Tessa Powell, an M.A. graduate student in international human rights who runs the organization.

“We decided to break off from the Clinic in order to streamline our efforts in the field,” said Powell. “We are very close partners with the Human Trafficking Clinic but we have a distinct set of goals and objectives.”

The aim of the new Abolition Task Force is to raise awareness of modern slavery and to use the research to educate the public about what can be done to effectively combat trafficking.

The Human Trafficking clinic is part of the Joseph Korbel School of International Studies. It aims to provide research to combat human trafficking and slavery.

Inspiration to break off from the clinic came from the Conference on Religion, Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery that was held in last March and April.

“We wanted Abolition to break off and strive to engage a much broader group of people,” said Powell.

She said the group wants to include undergraduate students of any discipline and graduate students who may not be focusing on human trafficking.

“We also wanted to reach people beyond the classroom, including faculty, staff and members of the community,” she said.

The Task Force has approximately 15 members, including first-year members of the international and social justice living and learning communities, graduate students and professors.

The organization intends to hold one event per month.

“We hope to have film nights, discussion nights and to actively participate in Human Trafficking Awareness Week, which is April 1-7,” said Powell.

“By understanding a little more about the extent of slavery and where and how it occurs, we can be more effective at addressing the problem,” said Powell.

Students interested in attending the Abolition Task Force meetings should contact Tessa Powell at tessa_powell@hotmail.com.