This spring, the Center for Global Justice at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law partnered with four student organizations to coordinate a bra drive to benefit victims of human trafficking and sexual slavery. Led by Michelle Kennedy (Law Students for Reproductive Justice), Alexandra McCallum (Women’s Law Caucus), Oriene Shin (Minority Law Caucus), and Lauren Hansen (International Law Society), the S.J. Quinney College of Law collected over 100 bras to donate to Free The Girls, a non-profit organization that ships bras to Mozambique to provide opportunities for women rescued from sex trafficking to earn money by selling second-hand clothing.
Free The Girls, which launched in 2010, was established to create a system of financial sustainability for rescued women to transition back into society. By partnering with local safe houses and after-care facilities, Free The Girls helps women through their recovery by providing an opportunity to earn a living while going to school, getting healthy, and caring for their families. The organization has collected and shipped 130,000 bras to date and is expanding to Kenya, Uganda, Mexico, and El Salvador in the coming year.
The Center for Global Justice at the S.J. Quinney College of Law is committed to promoting dialog and encouraging action to protect victims of human trafficking, a global problem with local impacts. The Center recently hosted a panel discussion on the repercussions of human trafficking in the state of Utah. This coming year, the Center and is planning a large roundtable event to address broader legal mechanisms for combating modern day slavery around the world.