Human trafficking is often thought of as only sex slaves of foreign women. However, human trafficking is not limited to foreign sex slaves.Thursday, March 15, Point Park University is hosting a panel of discussion in honor of International Women’s Day to raise awareness of the severity of the issue of human trafficking.Bradley Orsini, a supervisory special agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said there is human trafficking in our area. “Keep in mind human trafficking is three industries, sex, forced labor and domestic servitude,” Orsini said on a phone interview last Thursday morning. “They involve victims forced into prostitution and labor. Another case that is Human Trafficking is the prostitution of minors.”Speaking at the panel on Thursday, along with Dr. Mary Burke and Dr. Muge Kokten Finkel, Orsini hopes to raise awareness as to what human trafficking is and the FBI’s involvement with the issue.The FBI, the Young Women’s Christian Association, and the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh have combined officials and skills to work on this project. “Human trafficking seemed like something that had a global connection,” Tiffany Tupper, program officer at World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh said on a phone interview Wednesday afternoon.This is the second year the YWCA and the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh have come together for International Women’s Day, and it is the first year Point Park will be a part of the event. “It is a great opportunity for us to be able to work together again addressing women’s issues and international affairs issues,” Tupper said.Although many are unaware, human trafficking is an issue everyone should be concerned about.“I’ve had opportunities to travel abroad and I am interested in women’s issues, so I definitely am concerned about learning more,” Tupper said. “No women, child, or man, wants to be a victim of human trafficking. We want people to recognize that it is not just sex trafficking. One of the goals of our event is just to try and raise consciousness about the issue.” “Human trafficking is a new issue for us but it is something we are interested in learning about. Essentially that is why we chose that as a topic; it is not on people’s radars, people do not really realize what it is, and that it is happening,” Maggie Jensen, chief executive officer of YWCA Pittsburgh said. “I had the privilege of seeing Dr. Mary Burke do a presentation on human trafficking,” Jensen said over a phone interview Friday afternoon.  “It was interesting, shocking, and eye opening. I really learned a lot. It was quite illuminating to see her overview of the issue.”“We work to empower women, and globally, human trafficking is growing, even in the state of Pennsylvania. It is not just ‘foreign countries,’” Mell Steven Cosnek, Center for Race and Gender Equity Facilitator at the YWCA Pittsburgh said.Burke is an expert on human trafficking in general; she will be giving an overview of where the victims of human trafficking come from and where they end up. Finkel will be talking about some of the social and political aspects relating to human trafficking, Steven Cosnek said.The discussion on Thursday will be held in the University Center in the GRW from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday is the final day to register to attend. Register now at www.worldpittsburgh.org. For questions call the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh at 412-281-7970 or email [email protected] find out more information, visit www.endhumantrafficking.org. Also, The Trafficking Information and Referral Hotline, 1-888-373-7888, can help with understanding more about human trafficking and determine if someone is a victim, and how to help.