Palm Beach and Chicago North Shore Sections of NCJW have created a project that the Jewish Journal has called “striking and innovative” (Jewish Journal, Palm Beach South, July 9, 2014).
The goal is to spread awareness about the growing problem of child sex trafficking and provide tools to the public to help them prevent and/or report potential incidents of sex trafficking.
An estimated 100,000 children are trafficked in the US each year
Average age at which a child is trafficked : 13
Both girls and boys are trafficked
Florida is among the top 3 states for trafficking
Children are forced into prostitution, pornography, working in strip clubs
The project consists of 4 life-sized, free-standing figures of teens and pre-teens (3 girls, 1 boy), each with a story of how the child became a victim of sex trafficking. There is an accompanying palm-card hand-out that provides some facts on sex trafficking, a list of “red flags” that suggest that a child may be at risk or is currently being trafficked, and the National Trafficking Hotline number to call.
The display has been taken to community health fairs, school nurses conferences, women’s groups events, workshops at FAU, a local church, -- any event where there might be educators, parents, social activists, elected officials – and the general public. We want to expand our reach by going to libraries, sporting events, malls, etc. At least one or two NCJW trained volunteers accompany the display to set it up, distribute the cards and talk to the public.
We have prepared the Trafficked Teens™ display as a “turn-key” project, with a full Toolkit, so that other NCJW sections can replicate it fairly easily
If you would like to volunteer to accompany the Teens to an event, if you have suggestions for locations to take the Teens, or if would like more information about replicating this project in your area, please contact Judy Traub jftraub@aol.com or Linda Geller-Schwartz lndgellerschwartz@gmail.com
