TORONTO, Oct. 13, 2011 – Slavery survivors, researchers and activists aim to put the issue of modern slavery on the map with a conference at York University on Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011.
The second annual conference, organized by the Alliance Against Modern Slavery, seeks to illuminate lesser known forms of contemporary slavery that are thriving at home and abroad. These include domestic slavery, debt bondage, child soldiery, hereditary slavery, forced servile marriage and human trafficking for forced labour.
Conference speakers will discuss ways to prevent slavery and human trafficking, as well as issues such as sex tourism and post-enslavement rehabilitation.
Speakers will include survivors of slavery and human trafficking, The Honourable Jean Augustine, Ontario’s Fairness Commissioner; MPs Judy Sgro (Liberal), Malcolm Allen (NDP), and Terence Young (Conservative); Diane Redsky, Canadian Women’s Foundation; Carleen McGuinty, World Vision; York University professor Kyle Killian and members of York’s Harriet Tubman Institute; Jolene Stowell, Human Trafficking Coordinator for the Women’s Support Network of York Region; Shae Invidiata, Free-Them; Will Postma, Save the Children, and law enforcement officials.
“Contemporary slavery has moved from being a marginal, underpublicized human rights issue to one that is now being acknowledged, particularly in the last decade,” says event organizer Karlee Sapoznik, a PhD candidate at York.
She notes that while trafficking in persons for the purposes of forced prostitution has been the primary focal point, it is important to illuminate and place less publicized forms of slavery in Canada on the agenda. These include forced servile marriage and human trafficking in the form of forced labour, as well as bonded labour and child labour, “classical” slavery and descent-based discrimination, forced labour for the state, wartime enslavement and servile marriage, as well as the severe exploitation of migrants and domestic workers.
“At the conference, we’ll be calling on federal, provincial and municipal governments to support the creation of an Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force steering committee in Ontario, the destination province for the majority of foreign trafficking victims and the locus of most trafficking prosecutions in Canada,” Sapoznik says.
The conference will be followed by a concert featuring Kate Todd, actress, singer and songwriter; Janelle Belgrave, and Jeff Gunn of Peace Concept.
“We’re all connected to slavery through the consumer goods we purchase and consume on a daily basis. There’s an urgent need to look into partnerships and avenues to counter this,” Sapoznik says.
The AAMS is incorporated and registered as a not-for-profit charitable organization. It was founded by students in the university’s Graduate Program in History, with a mission to end slavery through research, education and aid, in partnership with other organizations. AAMS has strong ties to York: Many of its executive members are York graduate students and Paul Lovejoy, director of York’s Harriet Tubman Institute, is a board member.
For more information, visit: http://allianceagainstmodernslavery.org .
What: Alliance Against Modern Slavery Second Annual Conference
When: October 15, 9am-5pm (confernce), 5-7:30pm (concert)
Where: Founders Assembly Hall, 152 Founders College, 99 Ottawa Road, York University, Keele Campus
Contact: Karlee Sapoznik, AAMS, (416) 736-2100 x44544 Karlee@allianceagainstmodernslavery.org
York University is the leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto – Canada’s most international city. The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 55,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 240,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 10 faculties and 28 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries. This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges. York University is an autonomous, not-for-profit corporation.
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