Director Kat Rohrer Presents Screening and Discussion

Human trafficking is alive and well right here in the United States, even in the New York metropolitan area Director Kat Rohrer told a crowd of students as she screened portions of her documentary Fatal Promises at an event hosted by the St. Francis College Women’s Studies Center on Monday, March 29. (Watch the full lecture)

Fatal Promises tells the stories of several people who were victim of human trafficking; from a young woman forced to become a stripper in the U.S. to Ukrainian men made to work in deadly conditions on an illegal fishing ship off the Russian coast. “Most of the survivors were so much younger than I was and they had gone through so much. How you survive that and go on living and try to build a life is beyond me,” said Rohrer. (Watch the full interview with Kat)

Deirdre Turner, a seniors Honors Program member at the College was instrumental in bringing the movie to campus through her role as Research Director of History Starts Now, a non-profit organization aiding in the fight against sex trafficking of minors in the United States.

“It is important that people in the United States become aware of this crime within their own country and not just internationally,” said Turner. “I hope to create a sense of awareness and raise consciousness of this crime and the possibilities available to fight human trafficking through involvement in organizations such as History Starts Now.

Fatal Promises tells the story of the estimated 800,000 human beings who are trafficked across international borders every year. It is a multibillion-dollar global criminal enterprise, third in size after drugs and arms smuggling. Through personal stories by victims of trafficking, and interviews with politicians, Non Governmental Organizations (NGO’s) representatives and activists, Fatal Promises provides an in depth look at the realities of human trafficking suffered by victims and struggled against by NGO’s and activists versus the rhetoric of politicians and pundits who claim to be making significant strides into combating this horrific crime against humanity.

In addition to seeing clips from the film, students also heard from Sister Colleen Colbert, OP, the Assistant Director of the St. Francis College Campus Ministry, who spoke about how her Sisters housed two victims of human trafficking. (Watch the video)

Attached photos: (From L-R: Co-Founder History Starts Now Kristina Lee, Kat Rohrer, Deirdre Turner, Psychology Professor Michele Hirsch)
(From L-R: Kat Rohrer, Deirdre Turner)

St. Francis College, founded in 1859 by the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn, is located in Brooklyn Heights, N.Y. Since its founding, the College has pursued its Franciscan mission to provide an affordable, high-quality education to students from New York City’s five boroughs and beyond.
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St. Francis College, 180 Remsen Street, Brooklyn Heights, NY 11201
www.sfc.edu