The Student Government Association unanimously approved the first steps toward the creation of a yearly human trafficking training and awareness event on the UA campus.

“It’s a great way for us to reduce the number of human trafficking events in Alabama and to provide some awareness among students,” said Sen. Justin McCleskey, co-author of the resolution.

Partnering with the West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force, a coalition of law enforcement officials from the greater Tuscaloosa community, the SGA will host the event to teach students how to recognize human trafficking and intervene effectively. 

The event will feature representatives from the Tuscaloosa Police Department and the University of Alabama Police Department, as well as other human trafficking awareness groups from West Alabama. 

The event will be held annually in January to coincide with National Human Trafficking Awareness Month.

Between 2018 and 2020, there were over 200 cases of human trafficking in Alabama, which is a fraction of the nearly 21 million cases of human trafficking worldwide every year. More than 70% of victims are women. Half are between the ages of 19 and 33. 

“The SGA supports any initiative aimed to promote safety for our campus community.” SGA press secretary Olivia Davis said in a statement. “We are very excited for this partnership and are looking forward to educating students on the dangers of human trafficking.”