"Can you see" deep into the young, frightened child's weary eyes? Could you be the one to reach into his dark world and help him come back to the light?
The latest anti-human trafficking campaign in southeast Texas is asking residents and visitors to pay more attention to their surroundings and spot signs and victims of human trafficking. "Can You See Me?" was organized by anti-human trafficking group A21, which partnered with Texas first lady Cecilia Abbott, the Southeast Texas Alliance Against Trafficking and other organizations. The billboards, featuring a child's face peeking between the words "Can You See Me?" also give the number to the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
KFDM reports that Houston is one of the largest hubs for human trafficking in the nation. Many of the billboards are placed along Interstate 10, which is a highly trafficked route. The campaign will continue through October of this year.
The Office of Homeland Security defines human trafficking as "the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act." It can happen in any community, and victims can be any age, race, gender or nationality. Human trafficking can look like domestic servitude, agricultural work, janitorial and hotel services, construction or work in hair and nail salons.
Some common signs of trafficking: a person is not free to come and go at his or her own will; or a person works long and unusual hours or is working for little to no wages to pay off an incredible debt. The National Human Trafficking Hotline said that the victim may be anxious, depressed, submissive, tense or paranoid. That person also may be malnourished or show signs of abuse.
To report suspected human trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or text "HELP" or "INFO" to 233733.
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