Rita Hernandez, PhD, has worked for 12 years on issues related to human trafficking for sexual exploitation and violence against women and girls. Much of her work has been focused on providing care and services for prostituted women in the “Zone of Tolerance” of Tijuana, Baja California. She has organized awareness campaigns, conferences, law enforcement and legislator trainings to communicate the interconnectedness of prostitution and human trafficking, and its connection to transnational crime. Rita has dedicated much of her work to working with states to address the demand of human trafficking. Today Rita is the Director of Public Policy and Advocacy for Atlas Free, she is a member of the board of directors of the International Coalition for the Abolition of Prostitution and is the president of “Mujer Libre” NG organization in Tijuana. She was the winner of the 2017 Human Rights award granted by the State Human Rights Commission of the state of Baja California in Mexico.