January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month

January 15, 2021

January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. In 2020, the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office, the nation’s top law enforcement agency, and K&L Gates, one of the nation’s premiere law firms, teamed up to establish the first-of-its-kind partnership aimed at combatting human trafficking to accomplish the following goals:

1. Identify members of the LGBTQ community in Western Pennsylvania who may be victims of human trafficking, including adolescents, and
2. Connect victims (or potential victims and/or individuals who know of victims) to law enforcement (i.e., the FBI) to help human trafficking victims.

The partners are focusing on assisting LGBTQ victims of human trafficking – a historically underserved community.

The website for the Anti-Human Trafficking Initiative has an online intake form where victims or reporters of human trafficking may report known or suspected instances of human trafficking.

In 2021, combatting human trafficking will be a priority of the Citizens Academy Alumni Association (CAAA), which will work with K&L Gates and the FBI, to eradicate this atrocity.

If you would like additional information about the Anti-Human Trafficking Initiative and/or have questions, please visit our Anti-Human Trafficking Initiative website and/or contact Michael Komo (michael.komo@klgates.com) (412-355-7440) (an alumnus of the 2020 FBI Pittsburgh Division Citizens Academy), Max Gelernter (max.gelernter@klgates.com) (412-355-8930), Walter Bunt (walter.bunt@klgates.com) (412-355-8906), Amanda Cashman (amanda.cashman@klgates.com) (412-355-6331), and Nicole Stockey (nicole.stockey@klgates.com) (412-355-8270).