Room 175 in Lillis was standing room only Tuesday evening as University of Oregon students and community members came to listen to a panel about human trafficking.
The event was hosted by the Carnegie Global Oregon Ethics Program and a panel of three speakers.
Nancy O’Malley, Alameda county’s district attorney, Diana Janz, president of Hope Ranch Ministries in Springfield and local survivor advocate Rebecca Purkey comprised the panel.
O’Malley spoke about her work toward human trafficking prevention and awareness in California, including her progress in law making and the creation of the Human Exploitation and Trafficking Watch.
The purpose of HEAT Watch is to educate communities and partner with others to help prevent human trafficking and provide support for survivors.
“These are our children,” O’Malley said. “We all have a role to play.”
Janz spoke about her creation of the nonprofit Hope Ranch Ministries, which she started in 2011 in Springfield, Oregon. Her program’s purpose is to reach out to and lend support and recovery for survivors of human trafficking.
“I could just stand here and weep,” Janz said, speaking about the stories she has heard from survivors. “It’s so complicated…we all have to lookout for each other.”
Purkey told her personal life story, riddled with abuse both sexual and physical. Purkey is now 24, happily married and living locally.
“I personally do not feel sorry,” Purkey said. “Don’t feel sorry for me.”
O’Malley and Purkey both addressed their displeasure for the use of the term “pimp”.
“Pimp is not that bad of a word anymore,” O’Malley said. “I call them slave owners because that’s what they are.”