On the evening of Thursday, November 13th, Hawthorn welcomed parents and friends to an important conversation in our Parent Speaker Series: Safeguarding Childhood: A Parent’s Role Against Human Trafficking. Our guest speaker was Richard Dunwoody, a retired banking professional and Founder of Project Recover, a self-funded non-profit organisation supporting survivors of human trafficking. Joining us via Zoom were two survivors of human trafficking, one of whom spent over fifteen years in the sex trade and now educates police agencies, service providers, schools, and the hospitality industry on prevention and intervention.
This important session aimed to demystify human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation in Canada. It gave insight into what human trafficking actually looks like, who is most at risk (note: it knows no social or economic identifier), and how families and schools can recognize red flags and respond safely.
Thank you to Mr. Dunwoody for helping us to understand the importance of being vigilant in our children’s lives, and for his work to free survivors of human trafficking from debt and find them a safe place to live while they rebuild their lives. And thank you to the two survivors who joined us; your insights into how a young person can be led down this path were eye-opening, and your preventative work to eradicate this crime all together are truly inspiring.
Stay tuned for the podcast sound bite of the night, coming soon!