Anna Shavers and Dwayne Ball, associate professor of marketing in the College of Business Administration, co-chaired the Interdisciplinary Conference on Human Trafficking at Embassy Suites in Lincoln.
The conference was formatted for those who have research results or ideas in the area of human trafficking as well as those who wish to inform peers of non-governmental or governmental organizations or who desire to fund anti-trafficking efforts and research.
The keynote was delivered by Victor Malarek, author of "The Natashas: Inside the Global Sex Trade," and "The Johns: Sex for Sale and the Men Who Buy It." Malarek also gave a free, public lecture on sex trafficking at the Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center. Malarek has been a journalist for four decades and is senior investigative reporter for the Canadian television network CTV.
In addition, Shavers presented "Legal Advocacy for Trafficking Victims” at the Law College with panelists Robin Haarr, a professor of justice studies at Eastern Kentucky University who conducts research on women and children’s issues; Amber Schlote, an Omaha Police officer who investigates child exploitation; and Stephen O’Meara, a former assistant United States attorney who helped found the FBI-led Omaha Child Exploitation Task Force.