Leaders in Combatting Child Sexual Abuse and Trafficking at Home and Abroad
The 2021 annual Wilbanks Child Endangerment and Sexual Exploitation (CEASE) Clinic conference will be held virtually April 16th, 2021 from 8:30am until 3:00pm! Please join us by registering here. You can find more information about the conference here on our conference website. Registration is free, and we hope you join us! Discussions will range from Georgia policy on child endangerment and exploitation to University of Georgia’s international efforts to address child exploitation. Representatives from many Georgia organizations, including the GBI, Baptist Mission Board, and child service agencies, as well as national organizations, such as USAdvocacy, and an international justice from Sierra Leone will be present. Our keynote speaker, Sarah Klein, has dedicated her life to helping other survivors after her own experiences with USA Gymnastics and lobbying for access to justice after the Larry Nassar revelation. Brief agenda is listed below:
8:30am – 10:15am
Welcome Remarks and Georgia’s Response to the Commercial and Sexual Exploitation of Children: Building a National Model
Welcome remarks will be given by Marlan Wilbanks, partner at Wilbanks & Gouinlock, Professor Emma Hetherington, director of the CEASE Clinic, and Dean Peter “Bo” Rutledge, University of Georgia School of Law dean.
The panel will be moderated by Erica Mortonson, the Human Trafficking Unit Supervisor for the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council.
Panelists are Amy Boney, director of the Children’s Advocacy Center of Georgia’s CSEC Response Team, Naeshia McDowell, coordinator of Children’s Advocacy Centers of Georgia’s CSEC Response Team, and Honorable Roxanne Formey, juvenile judge of the Chatham County Juvenile and H.O.P.E. Court, and Debbie Garner, special agent in charge of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit.
10:30am – 11:45am
How Georgia is Working to End International Child Sex Trafficking
The panel will be moderated by Camila Zolfaghari, executive director of Georgia, Street Grace.
The panelists will be Dr. David Okech, associate professor at the University of Georgia School of Social Work and director of African Programming and Research Initiative to End Slavery (APRIES), Dr. Claire Bolton, Sierra Leone program manager of APRIES, and Honorable Justice Adrian J. Fisher, Justice of the High Court, Judiciary of the Republic of Sierra Leone.
12:30pm – 1:15pm
Keynote Speaker
Our keynote speaker this year is Sarah Klein, an attorney and advocate for victims of sexual abuse and a former competitive gymnast. Sarah believes that the time has come for the law to impose upon abusers and their enablers, both institutions and individuals, the legal consequences they deserve. Read more about Sarah’s amazing work on our conference page.
1:30pm – 3:00pm
Legislative Reforms for Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation and Closing Remarks
The panel will be moderated by Professor Emma Hetherington, director of the Wilbanks CEASE Clinic and assistant clinical professor at the University of Georgia School of Law.
The panelists will be Kathryn Robb, executive director of Child USAdvocacy, and Mike Griffin, public affairs representative for Georgia Baptist Mission Board.