Six women were charged with
prostitution after working sixteen to twenty hour days with no pay. The women
were just her age. They were both born in South Korea. The brothel was located
just near the Brown University apartments where Katherine found rest each
evening. A newspaper article described
horrific conditions. All too close to home she felt pulled to the issue and
wanted to find a way to make a difference.
This was an introduction into a
world of human trafficking that Katherine never realized existed. In 2002 she
co-founded the Polaris Project in the United States along with Derek Ellerman.
They packed up a U-Haul and moved to Washington, D.C. to open their first
office to combat human slavery with holistic strategies. And what were they?
Change individual lives, strengthen laws, and build a movement to transform community’s
response to slavery in their own neighborhoods.
Katherine has initiated a goal with
Polaris Project to create long term solutions to change underlying systems. Her
goal in combating local needs rather than working as a lobbyist has sent her
group into once unreachable places. Federal law has made resources limited. She
has found that when states get on board they become the real workhorse of the
criminal justice system.
Human trafficking in the United
States has been understood as one faceted to many sex trafficking issues
sensationalized by the media. Katherine ensures that smuggled immigrants are
forced to labor for little or no wages in sweatshops, domestic situations or on
farms. Who are these people; enslaved by debt they will never be able to repay?
Globally the Polaris Project is
networking. With Katherine’s work the 24-hour National Human Trafficking
Resource Center hotline has helped over 88 survivors of trafficking in 2012
alone. The program has helped in passing over 100 anti-trafficking laws at
state level. Landmark bills are being passed. Katherine has spoken to Congress
numerous times, with much anticipation and great reception.
Inspired by the Underground
Railroad Katherine has won numerous awards for her work including a 2005 Do
Something Brick Award for Social Entrepreneurship presented by Bill Clinton and
Named one of the 50 most influential women in the world by Woman’s Day Magazine
in 2010. She’s made an impact with bold strategies. She will fundamentally
change the criminal markets for slavery. She is determined to win the war of
people. Slave free.
Works Cited
Successes | Polaris Project | Combating Human Trafficking
and Modern-day Slavery. (n.d.). Successes | Polaris Project | Combating
Human Trafficking and Modern-day Slavery. Retrieved , from http://www.polarisproject.org/about-us/successes
Founding Story | Polaris Project | Combating Human
Trafficking and Modern-day Slavery. (n.d.). Founding Story | Polaris Project
| Combating Human Trafficking and Modern-day Slavery. Retrieved , from http://www.polarisproject.org/about-us/overview/founding-story
2002-2012 Ten Years of Impact Report | Polaris Project | Combating Human Trafficking and
Modern-day Slavery. (n.d.). 2002-2012 Ten
Years of Impact Report | Polaris Project | Combating Human Trafficking and
Modern-day Slavery. Retrieved , from http://www.polarisproject.org/about-us/financial-information/2002-2012-report
Bunch, W., & Harvey, C. B. (2006, January /February).
Brown Alumni Magazine - Against Their Will. Brown Alumni Magazine - Against
Their Will. Retrieved April 15, 2014, from http://www.brownalumnimagazine.com/content/view/351/40/
Katherine Chon. (2013, April 8). Wikipedia. Retrieved
April 15, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Chon
Caroline,
ReplyDeleteI like how you begin your biography with a recap of the moment/situation that caused Chon to become an activist. You help us to see how someone can be interested in an issue, even represent it, without necessarily experiencing it. That being said, a little more information about her life would be helpful. Your discussion of her advocacy is very thorough, and you point out the critical distinction between grassroots activism and legislative lobbying. The fact that she finds sites within affected communities to work directly with victims reveals that, even though she is not a victim of human trafficking, she has enough experience working with people who are to represent the issue. Good job!
Richard,
DeleteThank you for the comments! I looked and looked for more background info on her to no avail. I would be interested to know more of her personal story too. I will let you know if I find more!
Caroline,
ReplyDeleteI like how you start off with a recap of a situation describing your main point before introducing your chosen person. I think that Katherine's choice to make a stand against trafficking was an incredibly selfless and kind thing to do. The fact that she works so hard to help others going through such horrific situations speaks miles about her. I do enjoy all the plethora of info about her acts against sex trafficking, but I do think a little more is needed on her own thoughts of the issue, it would help in getting an understanding of why she is doing what she does. However, I still think you did an excellent job on relating the issue of sex trafficking through Katherine Chon.