Let's Talk about Sex (Trafficking): National Human Trafficking Prevention Month

Amelia Stansell a member of the Rotary Club of Warrenton, Virginia where she serves as the club Programs Chair, she also serves on the District 7610 Senior Leadership Team as an Area Governor and is a Paul Harris Society Member, PHF+8.  She is also a wife, a mother of two young daughters, ages 6 and 8 and a commercial banker with a credit union in Warrenton, VA.

In 2017 Amelia attended the Atlanta Rotary International Convention where Human Trafficking was a major topic.  She was introduced to Just Ask Prevention, by Past District Governor, Steve Cook, in the House of Friendship and he connected her to Just Ask Prevention.  Upon returning to her club, she hosted Just Ask as a club program in August 2017.   In summer 2018, with the support of her Rotary Club, she formed the Fauquier County Human Trafficking Prevention Project which she co-chairs with Fauquier County Sheriff, Bob Mosier (now a Rotarian).  The FCHTPP’s mission is “to safeguard (their) community though education and prevention by building strategic partnerships.”  Through this group, she worked with Just Ask Prevention, Northern Virginia Human Trafficking Initiative, Sheriff Mosier, and the FBI to organize Community Conversations in held in middle schools during 2018-19, plus several churches and service groups since then to start the conversation about sex trafficking in communities like theirs.

This group has also held several stakeholder meetings which includes representatives from the town, county, schools, social services, NGO’s and other organizations who work in the sphere of human trafficking prevention.  This has resulted in more awareness of resources and a more coordinated effort for her community.  She is working closely with the public and private schools in her county, as well as the community college to implement anti-trafficking curriculum in their schools. 

Amelia was honored to represent her club and District at the 2019 Rotary International Convention in Hamburg, serving on a panel of speakers from the Netherlands, Nigeria, and the USA to share about how local clubs can tackle human trafficking prevention in their own communities through building partnerships, using her club’s project a repeatable model for Rotary’s local efforts worldwide.  This session was attended by over 400 Rotarians.  Since then, Amelia joined the Rotary Action Group Against Slavery and serves as the Virginia RAGAS Coordinator and contributed to the RAGAS strategic plan submitted to Rotary International in 2019, and is leading the “education and awareness as a means to prevention” strategic planning taskforce for RAGAS. She helps spread awareness to Rotary clubs around her state and beyond through programs and calls to action as we will see today! 

So in honor of January being recognized as National Slavery & Human Trafficking Prevention Month, let’s wrap it up with:  “Let’s Talk About Sex (Trafficking)”!