USM Graduate to Speak on Human Trafficking in Online Presentation Feb. 4

Mon, 02/01/2021 - 10:17am | By: David Tisdale

Attorney Brittney Eakins, a 2014 alumna of The University of Southern Mississippi (USM), will give an online presentation on human trafficking via Zoom Thursday, Feb. 4 from 5:30 – 6:15 p.m. This free event is sponsored by the USM Center for Human Rights and Civil Liberties and is open to the public. 

A native of Kiln, Miss., Eakins graduated magna cum laude from USM with a bachelor’s degree in political science before earning a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law, receiving a concentration Certificate in Criminal Law. She serves on the board of directors of Mississippians Against Trafficking, a non-profit organization formed to facilitate collaboration with regional task forces, law enforcement, victim service providers, and state agencies actively engaged in the fight against human trafficking.  

Eakins is a Special Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Appeals Division of the State Office of the Attorney General, but will be speaking on her own behalf for this event. 

"Human trafficking is a form of modern slavery that occurs in every state in the nation, including Mississippi," Eakins said.  

According to the state Human Trafficking Unit, between July 1, 2019 and August 31, 2020, there were 235 human trafficking reports filed with the state. Almost all were minors, and almost all cases were for sex trafficking, said State Human Trafficking Coordinator Ashlee Lucas.  

But instead of the popular image of snatch-and-drive away, the most common cases are vulnerable children willing to meet a stranger on social media than in person. Other cases involve family members knowingly allowing their children to be sexually trafficked/used by another family member or other known adult, according to Lucas. 

Eakins will be talking with students in USM Associate Professor Dr. Bob Press’s political science class “Women and Human Rights,” part of the School of Social Science and Global Studies. 

Access information for this event is as follows: 

 

Zoom invitation:  

Topic: Human Trafficking in Mississippi 

Time: Feb. 4, 2021 05:30 PM Central Time (US and Canada) 

 

Join Zoom Meeting 

https://usm-edu.zoom.us/j/92297072422  

 

Meeting ID: 922 9707 2422 

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Mississippi law requires anyone who suspects human trafficking is taking place involving a victim under the age of 18 to contact the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services Child Abuse Hotline at 1.800.222.8000 or visit https://reportabuse.mdcps.gov/. The National Human Trafficking Hotline is 1.888.373.7888, or text BEFREE (233733).  
 
For more information on this event, contact Dr. Press at bob.pressFREEMississippi.