As you may know, January is the month where we focus on International Human Trafficking Awareness, and January 11th is selected for International Human Trafficking Awareness Day. Senator Cris Dush works with many international and state renown organizations that have been fighting Human Trafficking for years. His recently enacted legislation, Pennsylvania Act 39, depicts his desire to improve victim support and provide the legislation necessary for law enforcement and social services to better assist those who have been trafficked. Furthermore, Senator Dush’s background in law enforcement has allowed him to effectively fight those who are responsible for trafficking innocent children throughout the years. Act 39, signed into law by Governor Shapiro in December 2023, allows victims to now receive social services without having to identify (for whatever reason) their traffickers, protecting victims and helping them to receive assistance and move away from this deadly environment.
In recognition of this important month, Senator Dush will be presenting short synopses of interviews he recently completed with not only victims of Human Trafficking, but also benchmark organizations that are currently fighting Human Trafficking in Pennsylvania and around the world.
Below is his schedule of interviews for January 2024:
Today, Senator Dush will be interviewing:
Caitlin Colesar
Executive Assistant
The Asservo Project
theasseveroproject.org
Caitlin had her first exposure to human trafficking at college in a book studies course. Once she learned of the issue she became passionate and driven to learn more about the epidemic of human trafficking and child exploitation. She has always had a desire to be a part of the solution and to be involved with an organization that combats human trafficking and child exploitation. Caitlin’s passion is to educate and empower others about the realities of human trafficking and child exploitation in hopes to aid in preventing more people being added to the outrageous number of victims and to recognize potential warning signs. Along with her passion to help educate, Caitlin utilizes her strengths of organizing to raise awareness through coordinating events for The Asservo Project. Caitlin holds a Bachelors Degree in Psychology.
For more information, the complete interviews can be viewed here.