January is Human Trafficking Awareness month, and the Justice Committee is hosting a presentation sponsored by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its law enforcement unit Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Here’s some information about Brittany Portez, who’ll be speaking at this month’s meating:
Brittany Portez began her career in federal law enforcement in January 2011. She entered on duty as a Special Agent with Homeland Security Investigations in San Francisco, California in June of 2016. In her capacity as a Special Agent, Brittany has investigated organized crime, child exploitation, and human trafficking. Brittany presently works closely with the United States Marshals Service to find missing sex-trafficked children and works to find justice for those children in the federal court system. Brittany is the lead defensive tactics instructor for her office, is a certified crisis negotiator, and deploys with her agency’s Special Response Team. Brittany is impassioned by working victim-centered crimes and is devoted to disrupting and dismantling criminal organizations involved in the exploitation of others for financial gain.
Brittany holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications, a Master of Arts in Education, and has served as both a mental health counselor and a teacher prior to her career in law enforcement.
Human trafficking, the second-fastest growing crime globally, is not just a problem in third-world countries, but here in the United States and in the Bay Area.
Human trafficking earns global profits of roughly $150 billion a year for traffickers, $99 billion of which comes from commercial sexual exploitation.
Explore what Human Trafficking is? You can’t stop trafficking unless you know what it looks like.
There are many forms of human trafficking that can include sex trafficking, labor trafficking (including both forced labor and domestic servitude), organ trafficking, forced marriage, and exploitation of children for labor, sex, and warfare.
Learn about the HSI initiated Blue Campaign to stop the spread of human trafficking and provide support for survivors.
JOIN US ON JANUARY 6 for an interesting and thought provoking program!
This is an in-person event and members are encouraged to attend and invite friends.