Susan B. Anthony Center donation drive to help victims of human trafficking

From left: Organizer Kirsten Buscetto, responsible for programming and community engagement at the Susan B. Anthony Center; Isabella Leighton ’21, a biochemistry and psychology major from San Antonio, Texas; and Erin Campbell ’21, a public health major from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, are sorting items donated by 10 University departments and individual donors to benefit victims of human trafficking. Ranging from toiletries, sanitary items, and towels, to gently used clothes and food—the donations will be distributed among six local agencies. The drive is organized by the University’s Susan B. Anthony Center to aid the Rochester City Court’s Human Trafficking Intervention Court (HTIC). The court, which was established in 2013, oversees prostitution cases. Its guiding principle is that participants, most of them women, are themselves victims of abuse—rather than criminals—and in need of physical health care, mental health care, and other services, provided by community partners. Upon successful completion of the court’s obligations, a participating defendant’s prostitution charges will be dismissed. HTIC plays a vital role in helping victims of human trafficking as they look towards a future free from abuse.