Noted Feminist Activist Catharine A. MacKinnon to Keynote Three-Day Conference

WHO: Captive Daughters, California’s first anti-sex-trafficking organization, and DePaul University’s International Human Rights Law Institute (IHRLI)

WHAT: Will sponsor a three-day conference titled: “Pornography: Driving the Demand for International Sex Trafficking,” to share new information about international sex trafficking, which has become a global crisis. The event also is designed to empower activists working to address pornography’s role in creating demand for sex trafficking, particularly in the United States.

World-renowned feminist activist Catharine A. MacKinnon, a professor of law at the University of Michigan, will be the keynote speaker. MacKinnon pioneered the legal claim for sexual harassment as sex discrimination and, with Andrea Dworkin, the recognition of the harms of pornography as civil rights violations.

Conference presentations will address such issues as the danger of false distinctions between pornography, prostitution and sex trafficking; racism in pornography; the harms of gay male pornography; children, pornography and sex trafficking; and legal strategies and regulation against pornography.

WHEN: The conference will open with a dinner and MacKinnon’s keynote speech at 7 p.m. on March 13 and will run from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. on March 14 and 15.

WHERE: Hilton Garden Inn/Downtown Magnificent Mile, 10 E. Grand Ave., Chicago Garden Room, first floor

Every year, thousands of women and children from around the world are trafficked into the sex trade. This multi-million-dollar industry could not exist without market demand for commercial sex—a demand intensified and normalized by use of pornography. This is the second conference in the Demand Dynamics series, which aims to promote public discussion and provide direct media education on the issue of demand in international sex trafficking.

Editor’s Note: Reporters wishing to cover the event or arrange interviews with conference participants should contact Kaethe Morris Hoffer, 773/636-0301, morrishoffer@ameritech.net or Carol King, 310-968-2635, demanddynamics@earthlink.net. A complete list of speakers and conference activities is available at http://www.captivedaughters.org/.