Ever Expanding List of Human Trafficking Ads
1-8663472423 is the number for ICE. The National Human Trafficking Hotline is just Polaris (a nonprofit anti-trafficking org) that works with DHS/ICE. They also do the “be free” texting service. They don’t actually provide any services, they just take phone calls and text messages and look up nearby already available services. A lot of their phone calls wind up being referrals to actual sex work organizations that DO provide services/housing. They gather up any info gathers and make “facts” and statistics from it. They can’t follow up on any phone calls or text messages, and anyone can lie without any way for them to verify or find out anything. This is the basis of a lot of policy against sex work in the US.
Yet again, the number to call for “help” is ICE.
The warning signs are vague, it’s basically “if something doesn’t feel right”. And the number to call is DHS/ICE
Because “Modern Day Slavery “ Can happen to anyone, it’s now a color blind oppression. It’s no longer systemic either, because the system (from the government, to police/borders/ICE, to corporate America) are now the “slave liberators and protectors”. The new “slave masters” are individual evil entities that need to be taken down by companies, police, and the state cracking down on them. It’s up to the public (though “public education” aka advertisements and public service announcement to report “suspicious activity” to police/DHS, and often it just leads to racial profiling. This justifies mostly putting white people in these ads as “the new modern day slaves”. I would argue it’s because it’s subconsciously (whether they know it or not) appealing to the idea of white victimhood, but also encouraging a presumed white audience to report and round up outsiders. After all, it is made by the Department of Homeland Security…to protect “the homeland”.
Objectivity it looks weird.
I’m doing research on the organizations involved in these ad campaigns in Seattle (Washington) and so far I found this: https://deptofcommerce.app.box.com/s/ci1zkrwff8h88i9jf6i2988m74h90bco/file/297746449112
Whenever I find campaigns like this to crackdown on “human trafficking”, at some point the subject of homelessness comes up. Because the truth is most of the issues around human trafficking wouldn’t exist if people had access to housing. However, these people have NEVER proposed making housing a human right, or even funding more public housing, or giving victims homes or money. This one is no different, this is their solution to the housing and resources issue:
The solution to a lack of access to housing and resources is to create a few $100,000 positions to help sex trafficking survivors navigate the shitty housing market. Similar to for example homeless organizations being created with $60k + salaries to help homeless people learn how to make resumes. It actually doesn’t make sense and doesn’t address the root cause of the issues at hand.
Based on various sites, they seem to operating on the assumption that prostitution is slavery
http://www.warn-trafficking.org/resources/community-mobilization/