Adjunct Professor Judith Paparozzi garners national attention for fight against human trafficking

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Judith Paparozzi
Judith Paparozzi

UNC Pembroke Adjunct Professor Judith Paparozzi was in attendance last week for the virtual release of the 2020 global Trafficking in Persons Report, after receiving a special invitation from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Paparozzi teaches criminal law, criminal justice and human trafficking courses and is regarded as an expert in human trafficking issues. She worked in the criminal justice system from 1972 until 2003 when she moved to North Carolina.

The Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report is the U.S. Government’s principal diplomatic tool to engage foreign governments on human trafficking. It is the world’s most comprehensive resource of governmental anti-trafficking efforts.

“It was an honor to be a part of something that I teach every semester, and I was literally seeing government in action,” Paparozzi said. “In my class, my students write a summary of 10 countries’ responses to human trafficking based on the annual Trafficking in Persons Report. They learn the ranking system and how it impacts nonhumanitarian funding, while learning about the three P's of protection, prevention, and prosecution.

“So to be there for the release of such an important document that aims to protect victims of trafficking around the world was so satisfying to see, especially that our country continues to be passionate and protective of victims around the world and here in the United States.”

The virtual release was attended by Ivanka Trump, advisor to the President, and John Cotton Richmond, who serves as the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.

Paparozzi’s invitation was arranged by Bill Woolf, director of Human Trafficking Programs at U.S. Department of Justice, who has spoken at each of the Human Trafficking conferences at UNCP since 2015. This year’s conference has been postponed to October 20.