Leebertarians to host “Prostitution = Sex Trafficking?” discussion
Source: Leebertarians Facebook page
Lee University’s Leebertarians will present a discussion during their bi-monthly meeting on Thursday, March 23 titled “Prostitution = Sex Trafficking?” The event will take place at 8 p.m. in room 250 in the Science and Math Complex.
Guest speaker Sierra Smith, president of the Cleveland Against Sex Trafficking (C.A.S.T.) organization on campus, will give a brief overview of the similarities and differences between sex trafficking and prostitution, according to Shelly Harris, the treasurer of Leebertarians.
“We are hoping to kind of go into the legal side of it a little bit,“ Harris said. “[Some questions will be] if we make prostitution legal, what are the ramifications? Should we legalize it? Should it be fully criminalized?”
As the Leebertarians differentiate between prostitution and sex trafficking, they will allow people to expand and question their preconceived notions by presenting more than one view, according to Christian Dawson, the public relations officer for Leebertarians.
“Generally [the speaker] will speak for roughly the first 10 minutes to get us thinking about the topic in different ways, then we will spend the remaining time discussing various areas of the subject at hand,” Dawson said.
Leebertarians Chair Raquel Moskowitz recalled how the issues of prostitution and sex trafficking turned up during “Operation Temptation," a 2017 police sting that resulted in the arrest of a Lee basketball player.
“Prostitution and sex trafficking are relevant issues,” Moskowitz said. “It is happening right next to you, even on campus, in lucrative undercover lifestyles.”
For more information about the discussion and future meetings, follow the Leebertarians on Facebook and Twitter.
