Laura Coleman
Director of Education and Prevention Initiatives at Araminta Freedom Initiative - Baltimore, MD, US
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Baltimore,Maryland,United States
Araminta Freedom Initiative
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Araminta Freedom Initiative reduces the threat of child sex trafficking—the buying and selling of minors for the purpose of sexual exploitation—and restores the mind, body and spirit of those who have survived the trauma of modern slavery.A member of the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, we develop and implement educational initiatives and local prevention plans with churches, schools and communities, while providing individualized, restorative services to victims of child sex trafficking using trauma-informed, evidenced-based models.Children in Maryland are highly susceptible to trafficking. The intersection of a major seaport, international airports and interstate highways used to transport children, along with the concentration of gambling facilities and lack of public awareness about trafficking, are among the many reasons why the state is a national hotspot for the enslavement of minors.A report authored by the University of Maryland School of Social Work found that more than 670 reports of child sex trafficking were reported to local social services departments throughout Maryland between 2014 and 2019 alone. 93 percent of the alleged victims were female, 87 percent were between the ages of 14 and 17, and more than half were people of color.We take both our name and inspiration from Harriet Tubman, the American abolitionist and political activist whose birth name was Araminta. Born enslaved in Maryland, Tubman not only led scores of family members and other slaves to freedom as a "conductor" of the Underground Railroad, she helped them find work in order to build new and better lives for themselves. For more information, visit aramintafreedom.org.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AramintaFreedomFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/aramintafreedomFollow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/aramintafreedom