CapMetro Partners with PACT to Expand A National Anti-Child Trafficking Safety & Awareness Campaign
Austin, TX — Today, Protect All Children from Trafficking (PACT), the nation’s leading anti-child trafficking organization, announced the expansion of their research-based and behavioral change campaign aimed at disrupting child sex trafficking in Austin, Texas, and Alexandria, Virginia.
The campaign Transit Against Child Trafficking (TACT) was created in collaboration with survivors of child sex trafficking and provides resources to educate public transportation staff and riders about how to identify potential instances of child sex trafficking and how to safely report.
“With Austin being one of the fastest-growing cities based on population and migration patterns, TACT is an effort to increase public awareness,” said Lori L. Cohen, Chief Executive Officer at PACT. “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.”
Many child sex trafficking victims have a touchpoint through public transportation. Public transit staff and riders are in a unique position to be alert, identify, and safely report potential instances of child sex trafficking.
In partnership with Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (CapMetro) in Austin, Texas, and Alexandria Transit Company (DASH) in Alexandria, Virginia, 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 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.
"CapMetro plays an incredibly large role in our community," said Andy Skabowski, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer 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.”
According to Polaris, roughly eight people per day are being trafficked through some form of public transportation. “Traffickers can be right in your face,” said a member of PACT Survivors’ Council. “They’re so bold about it that people get blinded.” Within the federally-funded project, PACT — together with a team of researchers and in collaboration with the public transit agency partners — is leading ongoing conversations with essential frontline transit staff, management teams, and survivors of child sex trafficking to learn from their experiences. Based on these findings, TACT is creating educational material that empowers public transit staff and riders on how to respond safely, increase the chances of identifying potential instances of child sex trafficking, and developing recommendations for training modules and reporting protocols that are specifically designed for transit staff.
To learn more about the TACT Campaign, visit wearepact.org/tact-campaign.
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ABOUT PACT
PACT, formerly ECPAT-USA, is the leading anti-child trafficking organization in the United States seeking to end child sexual exploitation and trafficking through education, partnerships, and legislative advocacy. PACT is a member of ECPAT International, a global network with one common mission: to eliminate the sexual exploitation and trafficking of children around the world. For more information, visit WeArePACT.org.
ABOUT CAPMETRO
CapMetro is Austin's regional public transportation provider. We've been around since 1985 and work every day to give residents, commuters and visitors the best possible transit options available to match their busy everyday lives. Created in accordance with Chapter 451 of the Texas Transportation Code, CapMetro was established by a voter referendum on Jan. 19, 1985 and now has more than 31 million boardings each year. For more information, visit capmetro.org.