“Complex Crime: Policies and Techniques to Break Criminal Networks” was the topic of discussion  between Professor Roza Pati, Director of The John J. Brunetti Human Trafficking Academy and a delegation from Brazil, comprised of prosecutors, federal judges, police officers, legislative consultants and counselors, on June 28, 2018. Their visit was part of a U.S. tour program aimed to learn about methods that the United States uses to combat organized crime in light of Brazil’s current rise in criminal violence in areas such as criminal gangs, human trafficking, and cyber-crime, due to a downfall in the economy and state security budgets.

The delegation visited the Human Trafficking Academy at the request of the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program to have a better understanding about the Academy’s work in combatting human trafficking in South Florida and beyond. The group was joined by St. Thomas Law’s J.S.D candidate of the Intercultural Human Rights Program Ms. Marina Rakopyan and J.D. students Yudilennis Caneda, Cristy N. Gerdts, Allison R. Rapetti, Michelle Landrian, and Aleksei Voiskovich, who were studying human rights law in Professor Pati’s Human Trafficking Law & Policy course. Students asked informed questions and voiced their opinion on the ways to prevent and combat human trafficking.

The delegates engaged in an interactive roundtable discussion on the human trafficking law and its implementation in the United States and in Brazil and the guests shared their concerns on the growing epidemic of trafficking in persons in Brazil.  During her remarks, Professor Pati commended the partnership between the public and private sectors as well as the civil society in combatting human trafficking in the United States and highlighted some of the ways the Academy confronts human trafficking through its three core dimensions—research, outreach, and education—in particular, the specialized trainings offered annually to professionals of various disciplines.

“It was such an enlightening experience to engage in dialogue and exchange views with legal professionals from Brazil and it is humbling to get to know about the difficulties and limitations that they face in combatting organized crimes such as human trafficking. Exploring avenues of cooperation with our colleagues across borders remains a priority of our Human Trafficking Academy,” said Professor Roza Pati.