As a university center we are committed to serving the educational needs of our students, staff, and faculty, but also the larger public, nationally and internationally. With our work we build and support a learning community of individuals from all walks of life who all believe in the same goal–ending human trafficking. Our educational initiatives give participants the ability to discover, evaluate, apply, and share knowledge to expand awareness and understanding of human trafficking across various disciplines and sectors.
The purpose of this research project is to increase our understanding of the role that libraries play or can play in preventing and addressing human trafficking. As the trend of library social work grows, libraries are increasingly serving patron’s needs not only as a learning resource, but through building community networks, crisis intervention, and meeting unmet social service needs where patrons are. This project aims to surveyi Public Libraries, K-12 Libraries in Schools, and University or College Based Libraries about their experience and interest in preventing and addressing human trafficking.
If you are a library staff member and are interested in getting involved, please contact Ali Boak, boaka@montclair.edu
In May 2022 the Global Center on Human Trafficking and Montclair’s Department of Justice Studies welcomed Dr. Nina Kaiser of the Hans Gross Centre for Interdisciplinary Criminal Sciences at the Institute of Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure Law and Criminology at the University of Graz, Austria for an exploratory weeklong visit. During her time on our campus, Dr. Kaiser and the GCHT team discussed plans for a collaboratively taught class on human trafficking in the fall of 2023 including a one-week visit of students from Graz at Montclair State University in October.
In June 2023, Dr. Peterka-Benton visited the University of Graz in Austria for an invited lecture on “Human Trafficking in the US – Current Trends and Issues in Identification, Investigation and Prosecution”. Dr. Peterka-Benton also connected with colleagues from the Institute of Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure Law and Criminology and the Hans Gross Centre for Interdisciplinary Criminal Sciences to discuss a Graz Summer School exchange program for Montclair students for the summer of 2025 and continued planning the weeklong visit of students from Graz to Montclair in October 2023.
One of the core missions of the Global Center on Human Trafficking is to raise awareness about human trafficking at home and around the world. We work to increase awareness and understanding of the issue on our campus, locally, nationally and internationally. GCHT is active on the Montclair campus and we participate regularly in campus events such as the MLK Day of Service, Accepted Students Day, Student Appreciation Week, and the Covenant House Sleep Out.
GCHT also creates awareness around human trafficking through events and initiatives that are organized by the GCHT, including: poster competitions, student-led events such as “Let’s Taco About it”, movie nights, or the Blue People Campaign.
Blue People display in Dickson HallStudent Ambassadors holding vision boarding workshop for campus students to discuss what safe spaces look like for individuals in our community.
If you would like more information about GCHT’s current initiatives or if you would like to partner with us on new educational programs, please contact: Daniela Peterka-Benton, peterkabentd@montclair.edu
