NYC Let's End Human Trafficking Campaign

Press Release: Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, along with Deputy Mayor Carol A. Robles-Roman and Chief Advisor for Policy and Strategic Planning John Feinblatt, has launched a new Let’s Call an End to Human Trafficking public education campaign encouraging New Yorkers to “See It. Know It. Report It.”

Print advertisements have been posted in both English and Spanish at bus stops throughout New York City’s five boroughs, featuring silhouettes and quotes from ordinary people who may be affected by human trafficking, emphasizing the fact that the crime does not discriminate based on age, race, gender or ethnicity. These ads are accompanied by a new Human Trafficking website, launched earlier this month, where concerned citizens can go to learn more about modern-day slavery and how to prevent it. . . All too often human trafficking is seen as a foreign problem, one that exists only in corrupt and impoverished countries whose commitment to human rights is wavering. This campaign exists to let you know that modern-day slavery is occurring right now in our own neighborhoods. Click here to read the full press release.

I am excited to see cities around the US launch campaigns to raise awareness about trafficking in their own communities, to mobilize action to address this exploitation, and to call attention to the fact that the US is far from exempt from trafficking problems. With the pending release of the 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report, the first report to evaluate the US, it is a useful time to reflect on the reality of trafficking throughout the US and to promote efforts to address it.