LAKEPORT, Calif. – Soroptimist member Tina Scott was on hand to receive a proclamation from the Lakeport City Council last week declaring April 14 as Human Trafficking Awareness Day.

On Tuesday and on Thursday, the Board of Supervisors and the Clearlake City Council, respectively, issued their own proclamations recognizing the local observance of Human Trafficking Awareness Day.

Considered a modern day form of slavery, human trafficking is a signature project of Soroptimist International of the Americas who are working with their community leaders to raise awareness about the horrors of this type of trafficking through proclamations calling attention to the problem.

Community forums and trainings, such as those held last summer here in Lake County, are also being used in Northern California and throughout the State to help prevent human trafficking from taking hold in our communities.

The date, April 14, was chosen as Human Trafficking Awareness Day in recognition of the anti-trafficking play, “Jane Doe in Wonderland,” being presented at the Soper Reese Theatre in Lakeport on April 14 at 7 p.m.

The play’s Soper Reese debut is sponsored by the Soroptimist International of Clear Lake in partnership with Jane Doe in Wonderland, Theatre Against Sex Trafficking.

The play is a collaboration of Game Over, an anti-sex trafficking nonprofit organization founded by survivor/educator Elle Snow, and MFA playwrights Grace Booth, Kate Tobie and Erin Johnson.

Jane Doe is written for a high school audience in a manner that is nonviolent or explicit and draws parallels between the well-known story of Alice In Wonderland and how young women and men are lured into the world of sex trafficking.

It follows the most common case: that of a “Romeo Pimp” targeting a rural high school girl by pretending to be her boyfriend before bringing her to an unfamiliar city and trafficking her.

In the “red flags” of this type of trafficker but also the most commonly asked question, “Why don’t victims run?”

The hour-long performance will be followed by a survivor talk-back where audience members can ask questions and learn directly from a survivor’s experience.

Tickets are free for youth under 18 and $15 for adults.

You can purchase tickets at the Soper Reese Theatre Web site, http://www.soperreesetheatre.com/. For more information about the show please visit: www.janedoeinwonderland.com.

This project is one of many sponsored by Soroptimist International of Clear Lake, a nonprofit organization that works to benefit women and girls in the community. To join or for more information about the Club call 707-350-9869.