January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. During the month of January, governments, anti-trafficking organizations, law enforcement, survivor advocates, community leaders, and community members come together to raise awareness about human trafficking, to educate the public on how to identify and prevent human trafficking, and to protect and empower survivors of all forms of human trafficking.
Around the world, including the United States, it is estimated that 27.6 million people, adults and children, are subjected to human trafficking. Individuals facing barriers to living stable lives, including securing housing, accessing physical and mental health services, legal representation, having social connections to their community, job training, and employment opportunities, can put people at risk of being trafficked. Everyone has a role in preventing human trafficking and its impact on our communities. Take action in your community by being there for people at risk of being trafficked. You could be the friend or mentor needed now by a young person, a new immigrant, or someone else in your community, helping individuals at risk of trafficking and survivors of human trafficking to build necessary social connections and access to supportive resources.
Making investments in human trafficking prevention in King County
Countywide Gender-Based Violence and Trafficking Prevention, an investment that will be made by the renewed Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services Levy (VSHSL), will fund community-based entities to develop and implement programming and initiatives designed to prevent all forms of gender-based violence and human trafficking including but not limited to domestic violence, sexual assault, and commercial sexual exploitation.
Programs funded through this strategy will strengthen prevention efforts that are designed to build community bridges through responsive care networks. This investment seeks a unified effort to develop and implement prevention and community engagement strategies tailored to geographically and culturally diverse communities across King County.
This investment builds upon the learnings from the Countywide Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Commercial Sexual Exploitation Prevention Pilot program funded through the previous VSHSL to serve communities impacted by human trafficking, and domestic and sexual violence. The pilot program recommended investing in gender-based violence prevention to further address root causes of violence and change the conditions that lead to violence and abuse in the first place.
While survivor services remain essential, they do not address the root causes of gender-based violence. Prevention efforts focus on building communities free from violence by addressing the underlying causes of sexual assault and harassment, domestic violence, commercial sexual exploitation, and other forms of gender-based violence. They are grounded in the understanding that gender-based violence will end when individuals, institutions, and communities act to make it unacceptable.
The Countywide Gender-Based Violence and Trafficking Prevention funding opportunity will open for applications in March 2024. Sign up to receive email updates when funding opportunities become available at http://www.kingcounty.gov/vshsl.
National Human Trafficking Hotline and local resources
Visit watraffickinghelp.org for a list of services that are available to human trafficking survivors in King County and Washington.
The National Human Trafficking Hotline has toll-free phone and SMS text lines and live online chat function are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Help is available in English, Spanish, and in more than 200 additional languages through an on-call interpreter.
