Waco Reporter

WACO – As human trafficking crimes continue to plague the United States and other countries across the globe, one of the many Texas anti-trafficking activist groups utilizes local businesses to spread awareness in several communities.

Unbound Global Director Susan Peters’ “Not in My City” campaign reels in volunteers and provides them with 30-minute basic human trafficking training before helping them design awareness posters which are then established in businesses in the city.

Peters said the businesses are chosen based on locations where human trafficking victims are often targeted.

“We just really wanted to spread awareness in our local community and we just thought that was a good way to go to businesses, particularly truck stops, restaurants along the highways, hotels, frequent places where trafficking victims would often be seen at the stop as they’re being transported,” Peters said to Texas Business Coalition.

The campaign primarily holds these sessions every January to coincide with National Human Trafficking Month. They will occasionally assist fraternities or other organizations if they are interested in participating during the year.

Most recently, Peters organized the “Not My City Outreach” event on Jan. 25 with training events in several locations such as Bosque and Hill Counties. An estimated 60 volunteers attended for training at Antioch Community Church.

“We wanted to educate the community and businesses on what to see and then also post the information up so that if a potential victim saw and read, because a lot of times they don’t identify as a victim, that they could see it and have a hotline number to call,” Peters said.

The “Not in My City Campaign” was founded five years ago and has since expanded to spread awareness in several countries, including Greece, South Africa, Mongolia, and Germany.

In each training session, volunteers learn the basic signs in a victim potentially being trafficked, such as being restricted on where to go, perform sexual activities such as stripping or pornography before turning 18-years-old, no control over identity or funds, or forced to engage in commercial sex with others.

Then the volunteers receive a packet containing a list of businesses to approach along with a script, posters, tape, and notes to the manager if needed that are used to design the signs being placed with the business owner’s permission.

Peters has been surprised with the large success of the campaign following its inception. She said store owners or managers hardly turn her volunteers down.

“No matter where we go or what city…people want to do it because they are hearing bits and pieces about human trafficking, but they don’t really understand it,” Peters said. “They want to do something, but they don’t know what they can do, so this gives them a very practical thing that they can do.”

Human trafficking activity is heavy in many Texas areas, with the National Human Trafficking Hotline concluding there were 561 reported cases and 1,217 contacts in 2019.

“Unfortunately, human trafficking is happening everywhere globally, but in the U.S., it’s very prevalent, and Texas has among the highest rates of human trafficking,” Peters said. “It’s critically important that the average citizen understands what human trafficking is and understands what signs to look for because they can literally save a life if they call and report suspicious behavior.”