Cyber-enabled Human Trafficking

Webinar Date: March 1, 2024

Webinar Time: 12pm-1pm (EST)

Location: Online via Demio

Webinar Level: Beginner/Introductory

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Human beings are recruited, advertised, traded, bought, sold, and even rented on websites, chat rooms, social media platforms, online classified advertisement sites, and communication platforms. This webinar introduces participants to cyber-enabled human trafficking, particularly sex trafficking, the online platforms used to facilitate cyber-enabled sex trafficking, and the methods traffickers use to lure and exploit trafficking victims.

At the end of the webinar, participants will be able to:

• Define human trafficking and differentiate between various forms of human trafficking.
• Identify characteristics of sex trafficking victims and defendants and identify victim vulnerabilities.
• Describe cyber-enabled human trafficking, specifically for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
• Identify cyber-enabled sex trafficking activities and the methods traffickers use to lure and exploit victims.

Marie-Helen Maras

Marie is a Full Professor and the Director of the Center for Cybercrime Studies at John Jay College. She holds a DPhil in Law and an MPhil and MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Oxford, a graduate degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from the University of New Haven, and undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Computer and Information Science from UMUC. Her academic background and research cover cybercrime, investigations, and the impact of digital technology. She is the author of numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and books and serves as a UNODC consultant and subject matter expert on cybercrime.

Jana Arsovska

Jana holds a PhD and an MA in International Criminology from University of Leuven (Belgium) where she studied Albanian/Balkan organized crime. Moreover, she has undergone training at INTERPOL in Lyon, France. She is the former director of the MA Degree program in International Crime and Justice and the Advanced Certificate in Transnational Organized Crime. Jana has also consulted for the World Bank, UNODC, Organization of American States, and DCAF and has conducted training for various law enforcement agencies in the past.

Johnna Bardell

Johnna is a Senior Intelligence Analyst at the NCFTA and leads the organization’s Human Trafficking Initiative. She received her B.A. in Studio Arts from the University of Pittsburgh and has more than 10 years of experience in cyber-enabled retail and financial crimes investigations. Johnna is also an investigations volunteer for the National Child Protection Task Force (NCPTF) and an industry working group co-chair for the International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators (IAFCI). She participated in the 2019 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Public-Private Analytic Exchange Program (AEP) on the topic of “Counterterrorism Futures.”

Register Here

This webinar is funded by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance. 

The webinar is only open to U.S. state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and judges.