NEW YORK CITY ANNOUNCES SECOND PHASE OF MULTI-MEDIA CAMPAIGN TO COMBAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING
New York City Deputy Mayor for Legal Affairs Carol Robles-Román, in observance of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, today announced the second phase of the City’s “Let’s Call an End to Human Trafficking” campaign, aimed at raising awareness and encouraging New Yorkers to report potential trafficking situations. The campaign, which encourages New Yorkers to “See it, Know it, Report it,” features public service announcements in print and video, including a new video narrated by Academy Award-winner Emma Thompson.
Human trafficking is a terrible crime that involves the recruiting, transporting, selling, or buying of people for the purpose of various forms of exploitation. In 2010, the City collaborated with the Somaly Mam Foundation and Grey New York to launch the Let’s Call an End to Human Trafficking campaign which aims to bring human trafficking out of the shadows and raise awareness amongst New Yorkers about this form of exploitation and slavery. The campaign featured bus shelter advertisements and an anti-trafficking website to provide more information on the plight of human trafficking.
The new multi-media public education campaign is a collaborative effort between private sector partners, non-governmental organizations, and City agencies. A Public Service Announcement created by NYC Media and narrated by Academy Award-winner Emma Thompson will air on NYC TV, in taxis, and on the City website at www.nyc.gov. The video will air for the next four weeks, with a new ad released each week in a new language. The videos will be available in Spanish, Chinese, and Russian. The campaign also features print advertisements and palm cards detailing the signs of human trafficking and how New Yorkers can get involved in ending this crime. The palm cards will be available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean and Russian, and distributed throughout the five boroughs in collaboration with City agencies.
“In addition to reaching victims of human trafficking, our campaign will inform New Yorkers about how they can help. Because traffickers too often hide in the shadows, we need to work together to identify and expose trafficking,” said John Feinblatt, the Mayor’s Chief Policy Advisor. “That is why we urge New Yorkers to call 311 to learn more and to contact law enforcement with any information about a possible crime. By speaking up, we can help those who might not be able to speak up for themselves.”
The campaign is supported through generous donations to the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City made by Estée Lauder, the Helen Bamber Foundation, and the Somaly Mam Foundation, and in-kind support of Grey Advertising. The Mayor’s Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to innovative public-private partnerships such as the anti-human trafficking campaign. Additional partners include: Equality Now, GEMS, Grey New York, New York Asian Women's Center, Safe Horizon, and Sanctuary for Families.
About Mayor Bloomberg’s Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force
In 2006, Mayor Bloomberg established the Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force to combat the growing problem of foreign and domestic human trafficking by coordinating the efforts of the different entities that work to fight human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children. The Task Force brings together experts from several disciplines – state and federal law enforcement, city and state government agencies, service providers, advocacy groups, and other community-based organizations – to meet around one table to discuss the challenges inherent in working to combat human trafficking. The efforts are overseen by the Mayor’s Criminal Justice Coordinator and Chief Advisor for Policy and Strategic Planning, John Feinblatt.
Contact: Evelyn Erskine
Phone: (212) 788-2958