January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month
President Obama has proclaimed January 2014 as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, noting that "millions remain in bondage" because of trafficking.
In conjunction, UNICEF USA's End Trafficking Project is launching its second annual campaign, Learn the Signs. A new video highlights its aims — raising awareness of children's vulnerability and providing concrete steps people can take to protect them:
End Trafficking is calling on supporters to urge passage of the Strengthening the Child Welfare Response to Trafficking Act (H.R. 1732). This bipartisan bill introduced by Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA) and Rep. Tom Marino (R-PA) will improve state child welfare systems — a key trafficking-prevention strategy.
The majority of child trafficking victims have had multiple contacts with these systems, and passage of the bill, along with its Senate companion (S.1823), will move us closer to the day when ZERO children are trafficked in the United States. Keep up with all End Trafficking's Human Trafficking Awareness Month activities:
- follow @endtraffick on Twitter
- join the End Trafficking Google+ Group
- join tomorrow's Google+ Hangout online with Nicholas Kristof and UNICEF's Chief of Child Protection Susan Bissell
- check back on FieldNotes for our upcoming series of child trafficking posts
- explore our new End Trafficking magazine on Flipboard
