Modern Slavery is a critical moral and legal issue of the 21^st Century with more people enslaved today than any previous time in world history.  Combatting contemporary slavery requires all sectors of the public to marshal their strengths and work in an interdisciplinary manner to defeat the very strong forces fueling modern slavery. 

Named for St. Josephine Bakhita, the patron saint of human trafficking victims, the Bakhita Initiative for the Study and Disruption of Modern Day Slavery engages in legal research and education to effectively combat modern slavery.  The Initiative’s two broad goals include research and educating the next generation of attorneys to be equipped to advocate on behalf of trafficking victims in the courtrooms and boardrooms across the country. 

Regarding research, the Initiative focuses on the development of impactful applied research which produces gold standard blueprints for comprehensive regimes to disrupt modern slavery. The Bakhita Initiative works with its global partners to become an authoritative voice for applied research of human trafficking systems and the most comprehensive blueprints to disrupt them. By utilizing student fellows under the direction of Professor Mary Graw Leary, the initiative produces research products that are needed by front line advocates and policy makers.

Educationally, the Initiative works on developing courses, programming, and conferences to expose law students to issues of forced labor and sex trafficking on both the domestic and international levels.  Students have the opportunity through these programs to develop skills necessary to address human trafficking issues in their practice area.