Every day, our job at Polaris is to tell you more about human trafficking and provide you with new steps and ideas to end it. But there is one particular day of the year where people pay a bit more attention to what we have to say: January 11 or Human Trafficking Awareness Day.
If you’re reading this blog, chances are you already know something about human trafficking. But how much do you know? Do your friends and family know that people are likely trapped in your own community right now? How can you encourage them to learn more and get involved?
This year, we set out to help you answer these questions with our new online feature Not the Same Story.
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Take the Quiz! Do you know which type of sex trafficking has been reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline more often than any other? (So far, only about 30% of our quiz-takers do.) Or what the difference is between human trafficking and human smuggling?
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Share the Quiz! We’ve made it easy to post this on Facebook and Twitter. Or you can even send an email to your friends.
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Take action! You can be part of the solution to help survivors and stop trafficking. Right now, we need your help to tell Congress to reauthorize the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and continue the broad bipartisan support they have shown for anti-human trafficking programs. (And then tell your friends to take action, too!)
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Read the stories! It’s important to understand the unique types of trafficking that exist in the U.S. We’re sharing the stories of 12 survivors to spotlight the differences in their individual experiences.
Freedom is a value that we all share. We are appalled when we hear of the young woman who fell in love with a man who romanced her—and then sold her for sex online. We are heartbroken when we hear of the father who thought he had been recruited for a high-paying job, only to be forced to live in squalor and paid a tiny fraction of the wages he was promised.
This Human Trafficking Awareness Day, let’s channel those emotions into action. Join us in raising awareness of the stories that are happening all around us. Take the time to learn just a little bit more, and then help us make freedom happen now.
