The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) follows a bimonthly theme for its events and activities according to the international UNICEF organization’s schedule. This month’s theme is human trafficking and, keeping in tune with the theme, UNICEF members will be watching a film in the library to raise awareness for the issue.
The film will show real life examples of human trafficking victims and their struggles, including things like the various types of forced labor they engage in as well as the tactics used by the human traffickers that trapped them in the first place.
According to club cofounder, Ashley Cain (’20), club members are watching the film to familiarize students with the topic and encourage them to take action against human trafficking themselves.
“As more people become aware of this issue, they are becoming more effective at putting an end to human trafficking,” Cain said. “Students, like those in UNICEF club, have the resources and passion to potentially take a big step in ending [human trafficking].”
And it’s issues like these that need to be featured the most. According to the Polaris Project, an organization dedicated to ending human trafficking, there are over 40.3 million victims of human trafficking worldwide. That’s over 6.67 times the amount of people in all of Maryland. It’s informing the community about little known issues like human trafficking that is UNICEF’s primary goal.
While showing members a documentary is only one of many ways that UNICEF club raises awareness for its social issues, officers won’t rule out showing students more documentaries in the future. According to club co-founder Gabriella Chaulker, next year similar film showings are being planned to increase community outreach.
“We found that this documentary was very powerful in discussing personal experiences of victims and serves as a unique way of learning about global issues that is impactful and resonates with the audience,” Chaulker said.