CNN International highlighted the anti-trafficking work of Abolition Ohio at the University of Dayton in a feature posted March 10 to promote CNN #MyFreedom Day. #MyFreedomDay — this year on March 16 — is a day-long student-driven event to raise awareness of modern slavery, also known as human trafficking. The segment also will air on CNN International.

Click here to view the segment.

The CNN International crew, which visited campus Feb. 23, interviewed Tony Talbott, the UD Human Rights Center director of advocacy and director of Abolition Ohio at the University of Dayton, and shot video of a School Trafficking Outreach Program (STOP) certification training for about 15 UD students. 

Using a near-peer educator model, UD students take STOP to local schools to teach middle- and high-school students about human trafficking and ways to prevent and abolish it. 

"Statistics show, if a child becomes a victim of human trafficking, it's likely to be around 12-14-years-old," Talbott said. "So it's important middle- and high-school students are equipped with the knowledge to identify signs of human trafficking, how to put a stop to it and where to find help."

After filming the training in the Human Rights Center, the CNN International crew traveled to the Dayton Regional STEM School where Leticia De Leon, graduate assistant for programs in the UD Human Rights Center, and Ahmi' Moore, a student intern in the center, presented STOP to students in Nick Pant's ninth-grade social studies class. CNN International also interviewed Pant about why he felt it was important for his class to hear the STOP presentation.

CNN International also interviewed Talbott and student Bradley Petrella in 2017 about an interactive life-sized board game Abolition Ohio created to show what life is like for human trafficking victims. Last year, University of Dayton students participated in a #MyFreedomDay Global Forum with students from North, South and Central America.

Visit https://www.cnn.com/specials/world/myfreedomday for more information on how you can be involved in CNN #MyFreedomDay.