Media Conference at UQ

So today was the big day - the media conference held for our final assignment in my Reporting subject.  I'd spent the past three days doing mega research into the topic, a really light reading experience of - Human Trafficking in Australia.

If I wasn't typing notes to save my life I probably would have really got into what Andrea Schloenhardt head of the UQ Human Trafficking Group had to say about the issue.  Basically he talked about the way legislation was formed leading up to the policies we have now.  He also interestingly pointed out the way media has focused on only the sex trafficking and that the whole picture isn't being painted clearly.

From here I have to write three stories about human trafficking, it's a really really complex issue and I've been trying to wrap my head around all the things that have happened and are happening at the moment in Australia.  No doubt I am going to be talking to some really interesting people over the next two weeks as I'm hoping to do one story on each issue (kind of, I'm going to mostly talk about what's being done to prevent trafficking instead of a particular story about sex trafficking).

In the meantime if you're at all interested in this issue here are some handy links I've dug up:
The UQ Human Trafficking Group
NY Times Blog Debate on Overseas Adoption 
Julia Rollings Blog - This is an Australian lady that adopted 5 children and it turned out that two of her children had been illegally taken from their mother.
Project Respect - support for women in the sex industry, they're also an NGO on sex trafficking
The Scarlet Alliance - a pro-prostitution website bringing up valid points about making the sex industry a  safer environment and the effects of legislation on migrant workers/the trafficking situation.  Also reveal a lot of the misconceptions of 'sex slaves' and sex trafficking.
Human Trafficking Org

And some books on the issue:
Love Our Way by Julia Rollings
The Johns by Victor Malarek - an interesting viewpoint of looking into the men that create the demand for prostitution.