As part of National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, Wichita State University's
Center for Combating Human Trafficking (CCHT) is hosting its sixth annual conference.
The theme is "Context Matters: Confronting a Culture of Exploitation."
The conference is from 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31, at the Hughes Metropolitan
Complex.
This year, CCHT is launching the campaign: "Be the Bombshell: Ignite Your Power."
Through the campaign, CCHT aims to encourage conversation and action by exploring
how we all contribute to the context in which harassment, abuse and exploitation occur.
How can we ensure those most marginalized in our communities are protected when women
and men are still not guaranteed safe and healthy work environments?
This year’s conference will feature a host of speakers from across the country to
explore the theme and help participants consider how we can all #BeTheBomshell.
Featured speakers include:
Marisa Kwiatkowski is an investigative reporter with USA Today who helped break the story of systemic
abuse by Larry Nassar within the USA Gymnastics organization.
Dan Dye is an assistant chief deputy attorney general for the state of Pennsylvania and led
a groundbreaking investigation into the Roman Catholic Church in Pennsylvania, which
uncovered 350 predatory priests and thousands of child abuse victims.
Rafael Bautista is one of the featured keynote speakers. He serves as an expert consultant for the
Office for Victims of Crime Training and Technical Assistance Center and the National
Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Center.
Gretchen Carlson is the headlining speaker. She made international news in 2016 when she sued Roger
Ailes, CEO of Fox News. Since that time, she has continued to shed light on the epidemic
of sexual harassment and to provide education and resources for victims and survivors.
Wichita State is distinctive for opening pathways to applied learning, applied research
and career opportunities, alongside unsurpassed classroom, laboratory and online education.
The university's beautiful 330-acre main campus is a supportive, rapidly expanding
learn-work-live-play environment, where students gain knowledge and credentials to
prepare for fulfilling lives and careers. Students enjoy a wide selection of day,
evening and summer courses in more than 200 areas of study at the main campus and
other locations throughout the metro area and online. WSU's approximately 16,000 students
come from every state in the U.S. and more than 100 other countries. Wichita State's
Innovation Campus is an interconnected community of partnership buildings, laboratories
and mixed-use areas where students, faculty, staff, entrepreneurs and businesses have
access to the university's vast resources and technology. For more information, follow
us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/wichitastate and Facebook at www.facebook.com/wichita.state.
