The border with Canada, having an international port, and farm work make Washington State a hot spot for slavery and human trafficking. But Washington is also a leader in innovative anti-trafficking action. It was the first state to pass a law criminalizing human trafficking and has the most stringent law in the country.
Tough laws are important. But since traffickers typically chain their victims psychologically rather than physically, raising awareness amongst victims that they have a way out is the biggest challenge. In response to this challenge, Seattle Against Slavery (SAS) has organized the poster campaign in Washington, as part of a larger campaign occurring in several states. Posters that aim to speak directly to trafficking victims have been installed in 21 highway rest stops in Washington.
“This is really targeted on people who need help,” said Robert Beiser, interim executive director of SAS. “People who are in a situation they don’t want to be in, who are forced to work or forced into prostitution and want to find a way out, and this will help them connect with the services they need.”
Rest stops offer a strategic location to display trafficking related information. “Because rest stops are along the highways and they’re not staffed by a particular people, they are a place where a trafficker may stop and allow his victims to use the restroom, if they’re being transported across the state or into the state,” said Kathleen Morris, program manager of the Washington Anti-trafficking Response Network (WARN).
Learn more at Sean Duncan’s The Seattle Globalist article: Poster campaign targets human trafficking along I-5.
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