DASH, CapMetro join PACT campaign to help stop human trafficking on transit
Protect All Children from Trafficking (PACT) has expanded its research-based and behavioral change campaign aimed at disrupting child sex trafficking. The campaign initially launched with two transit partners - Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) in the Albany region of New York and Rio Metro Regional Transit District in the Albuquerque-Santa Fe region of New Mexico - and is expanding to Austin, Texas, and Alexandria, Va.
The campaign, Transit Against Child Trafficking(TACT), which was created in collaboration with survivors of child sex trafficking, provides practical resources to educate public transportation staff and riders about how to identify potential instances of child sex trafficking and how to safely report.
In partnership with Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (CapMetro) in Austin, Texas, and Alexandria Transit Company (DASH) in Alexandria, Va., the campaign will be amplified through social media channels, advertisements in and around public transit locations and signage in buses and trains. CapMetro, DASH and PACT are signatories of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Transportation Leaders Against Human Trafficking (TLAHT) Pledge, which serves as a commitment to staff education, raising public awareness and measuring their collective impact on human trafficking by collecting and sharing key data points.
“TACT is a public awareness and prevention behavioral change campaign that is not only informed by research but, significantly, drawn from the lived experiences of child sex trafficking survivors,” said Lori L. Cohen, PACT CEO. “We are committed to partnering with local public transit agencies to help public transit staff and riders recognize signs of child sex trafficking and safely report them. With Austin being one of the fastest-growing cities based on population and migration patterns, TACT is an effort to increase public awareness. We are partnering with CapMetro to ensure public transit staff and riders have credible information and access to education and tools on how to identify signs of trafficking, safely report and help to prevent child sex trafficking.”
"CapMetro plays an incredibly large role in our community," said Andy Skabowski, executive vice president and COO at CapMetro. "We are stewards of public trust and safety and we take that seriously. Awareness, collaboration and education are key in the fight against human trafficking. Through these efforts, the community and our staff know the signs to look for and how to report potential incidents effectively. Together, we can help create a safer environment for everyone in our community.”
"Moving people safely and reliably is vital to any community's wellbeing, but traffickers take advantage of the connectivity transit provides to target the most vulnerable of our neighbors,” said Josh Baker, CEO and general manager of DASH. “We welcome this opportunity to raise awareness of human trafficking, protect our community and help keep transit safe for everyone."
