L.A. County supervisors and Metro board members Mark Ridley-Thomas, Don Knabe and Hilda Solis and Sheriff Jim McDonnell, along with advocacy group Peace Over Violence, joined others in asking the public to speak out against human sex trafficking May 22.
The group reiterated their collective efforts to crack down on the demand-side of the illicit child sex trafficking industry and announce the launch of an updated countywide Metro and billboard awareness campaign.
Metro’s updated campaign includes 3,000 ads placed on buses and rail cars across L.A. County. In addition, 85,000 brochures containing resources on how to help victims of human trafficking will be placed in Metro’s customer centers, stations, buses and trains.
All ads and brochures contain a QR code that directs to the L.A. Transit Watch mobile app, a free app that allows anyone to report suspicious activity safely and anonymously.
“Human trafficking impacts the most vulnerable members of our community. Often the soliciting and selling of children for sex happens in public places such as train stations, Metro stations and bus depots,” Sheriff McDonnell said.
“The launch of this awareness campaign will help educate the public and encourage the community to work with us as we seek to address this criminal activity. We encourage the public to contact us and speak up about any suspicious activity they may observe,” he said.
“My department will also continue to work with our county partners on new strategies to crackdown on not only those who make a living in sex trafficking, but also the buyers who create the demand that perpetuates the ongoing victimization of children in our community.”
