Organizer:

Liz Williamson is a field trainer for Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT) and a survivor of human trafficking. Located in northern California, Williamson handles trucking relationships for TAT in Canada. A survivor-advocate, she has done direct service work with survivors at the local, regional and national level. For the past decade, she has trained and spoken nationally to audiences regarding her survival of familial trafficking to help dispel the myths surrounding this topic and to empower individuals to help make a difference.  Williamson has also trained medical professionals with Dignity Health to identify victims seeking to receive medical services, with special attention given to what the medical community missed or was unable to assist her with during her trafficking experience. She is a member of the Survivor Leadership Institute through GEMS.  With a bachelor’s in English Literature and a flair for all things creative, Williamson enjoys communicating and creating. She passionately believes survivors deserve the opportunity to use their experiences to rewrite their stories and their futures.

Agenda:

1. Self Reflection
2. Defining human trafficking
3. Stages of exploitation
4. Risk and vulnerability factors
5. Gender-Based Violence
6. Warning signs for front desk staff, restaurant and bar staff, housekeeping, and security
7. Benefits for hotels
8. Reporting mechanisms
9. Real life scenarios

Organizers:

Jasminder Sekhon

Jasminder Sekhon is a specialist in gendered violence and human trafficking prevention through an intersectional, sex-positive, and trauma-informed lens. She is the Human Trafficking Prevention Facilitator at Victim Services of Durham Region and consults as a subject matter expert on Human Trafficking at Sault College. Jasminder has extensive experience leading and assisting research and policy analysis, through work experience at Blue J Legal, the Special Investigations Unit, and Community Legal Education Ontario, to name a few. She is a graduate of the University of Oxford's MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice and has an HBA in Political Science and Criminology from the University of Toronto.

Samantha Banducci

Samantha Banducci is a human trafficking survivor, anti-trafficking advocate, and public speaker. She is the Human Trafficking Prevention Advocate at Victim Services of Durham Region and has trained hundreds of youth, parents, and service providers. Samantha leverages her lived experience, as well as her knowledge and passion, to raise awareness on domestic sex trafficking. Her work has been featured by the likes of the Toronto Star and Global News.