Of course I cannot testify that this is the same Mary Katherine Burke, but here are some excerpts from her linkedin profile. She is a human right attorney in washington DC.
Court Advocacy Coordinator & Senior Case Manager
FAIR Girls
– (2 years 3 months)Washington, DC
Developed organization’s Strategic Advocacy Agenda to advance anti-trafficking initiatives on national and local levels. Developed and delivered policy positions through testimony on behalf of FG before D.C. Council and county boards as subject matter expert. Collaborated with Sen. Kirsten Gilibrand’s office to draft federal post-conviction relief statute for trafficking survivors.
Developed and delivered peer-to-peer trainings on sex trafficking, and provided technical assistance to public defender offices, the D.C. Women’s Bar Association, and community-based service providers.
Law and Policy Fellow
FAIR Girls
– (6 months)Washington, D.C.
Provide legal analysis, policy development, case management, and advocacy for organization that supports girls and transgender youth who are survivors of human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation in the Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland area.
Member of newly formed Prince George County Human Trafficking Task Force.
Legal Research/Policy Intern
Equality Now
– (4 months)New York, New York
- Undertook research project to analyze effectiveness and best practices of Cambodian domestic and international NGO-led anti-human trafficking efforts.
- Attended and briefed court hearings in the “Big Apple Tours” sex trafficking prosecution in Kings County, New York.
Trafficking Project Summer Student Fellow
The University of Hong Kong, Centre for Comparative and Public Law
– (4 months)Hong Kong
Reviewed and developed report of 30 interviews conducted with Filipina nightclub hostesses to identify trends in human rights and labor violations within Hong Kong’s nightclub and hostess system.
- Created survey and interview questionnaire for Hong Kong law enforcement reviewing policies and procedures in human trafficking investigations.
Grassroots Network Intern and Volunteer, Community Speakers Bureau Member
Polaris
– (1 year 10 months)Washington, D.C.
Researched and drafted report on status of domestic and international sex trafficking in the states of New Jersey and New York.
Researched domestic human trafficking law and conducted public education lectures on human trafficking for local government entities as well as academic settings.
Developed legal citation guide for volunteers.
Burke points out that police can be part of the problem as well in countries where prostitution and solicitation is a crime, often tied to illegal drug use and sale. Victims are wrongly arrested and incarcerated because the signs of trafficking are not recognized, according to Burke. For instance, Burke says the Washington, D.C. Metro Police Department told her it will “continue to arrest minors who are engaged in commercial sex” despite the new Safe Harbor legislation in place that recognizes these minors as victims.
Maybe it's just another concidence and perhaps these are two different Mary Katherine Burke, I don't know. But I think it deserves further investigation.
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Millennial_Falcon ago
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