Rebecca Bender of the Rebecca Bender Initiative is scheduled to give the keynote address at the Southern Oregon Human Trafficking Disruptors Summit March 22-23 in Ashland.

Organizers of a two-day event in Ashland on Friday and Saturday seek to educate the public about the problem of sex and labor trafficking.

The Southern Oregon Human Trafficking Disruptors Summit seeks to raise awareness that trafficking is a global problem with Southern Oregon as a “major hotspot in the nation,” according to a release from event organizers the Architects of the New Paradigm Conference Series, Ride My Road, and Rogue Valley Metaphysical Library Community Resource Center.

“Shockingly, human trafficking extends beyond sexual exploitation to labor trafficking in the illegal cannabis operations in Southern Oregon, where migrant workers are treated as slaves,” organizers say.

The summit will take place 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 22-23, at the Ashland Hills Hotel and will feature speakers and tables from local organizations to raise awareness and focus on topics such as the scope of human trafficking, familial trafficking, labor trafficking, sex trafficking, online exploitation, avenues of victimization, demand reduction, and presentations by local agencies providing services.

The summit will feature 12 presenters, including Rebecca Bender, local trafficking survivor activist; Christine Cesa of You Belong; Lauren Trantham of Ride My Road; Alhena Herrera Martin of the Oregon Department of Justice; and Detective Steve Bohn and Sarah Jagger of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department’s Child Exploitation Team.

Local organizations such as Family Solutions Oregon, Hearts With a Mission/Safe Families for Children, Jackson County SART, Keeping All Women Safe (KAWS), My Friends Are Not for Sale (Teen Prevention) and Ride My Road will table at the event, according to the event announcement.

Two-day tickets cost $75 in advance and include lunch Friday and Saturday. Tickets and more information can be found at ANPconference.com.