In recognition of National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, EDGE will host a webinar entitled Keeping Black Girls Out of Traffick: A Discussion on Sex Trafficking and Carceral Public Systems, on Tuesday, January 17th from 11:30 am -12:30 pm. According to the U.S. Department of State, “more than 27.6 million people — adults and children — [are] subjected to human trafficking around the world.” However, racial and ethnic minorities are at greater risk overall, and the majority of children who are sex trafficked are Black and Latinx. Internationally recognized for her research on and advocacy for the abolition of sex trafficking, Dr. Jacquelyn C. A. Meshelemiah will share her insights on the complex realities of sex trafficking and its disparate impact on Black girls during the virtual event.
Dr. Meshelemiah is a Licensed Social Worker (LSW) and three-time alum of The Ohio State University. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Social Work (BSSW), Master of Social Work (MSW), and Doctorate (PhD) from the College of Social Work. As an Assistant Professor and later as an Associate Professor in Social Work, she has taught courses across the curricula at the BSSW, MSW, and PhD levels. She teaches courses on Assessments and Diagnoses in Clinical Social Work as well as Human Trafficking. In 2013, she taught an interactive Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Human Trafficking for a global audience of 30,200 students from 187 nations. She is the former Chair of the Board of Rahab’s Hideaway, a safehaven for at-risk and/or survivors of human trafficking. She is the author and co-author of numerous publications and presentations at the local, national, and international levels. Her current research publications focus on human trafficking, oppression, and human rights. Professional travels have taken her to over half of the United States as well as to Africa, Europe, Asia, and Central America in her capacity as a visiting scholar, presenter, and researcher.
Dr. Meshelemiah has served in a number of leadership roles that include Graduate Studies Chair (2004-2006), BSSW Program Director (2006-2009), MSW Program Director (2014-2015), President and Provost’s Council on Women (PPCW) Chair/Past Chair/Member (2014-2019), Office of Academic Affairs Faculty Fellow (2018 | Jan-Dec), Office of Diversity and Inclusion Faculty Fellow (2019-2020), Director of Leadership Initiatives for Women of Color (2019-2022), and Associate Vice Provost for Diversity and Inclusion (2020-2022).
