‘Freedom stickers’ in C.O. to fight human trafficking

It’s the second-largest and fastest-growing crime in the world. It’s happening around the world and right here on U.S. soil. The crime cuts across all racial lines, age brackets, and socio-economic levels. Human trafficking is here, what will you do to stop it?

“It starts by linking arms across America,” says Nita Belles, founder of the Central Oregon-based nonprofit In Our Backyard and author of a book by the same title.

Belles adds, “I realize what an uncomfortable question that is. And, frankly, many people do not even understand the extent of human trafficking in the United States. I want you to know, that it is happening right here on U.S. soil, and it is most definitely happening right in your back yard.”

Belles explains that citizens are not going to be the ones to kick down brothel doors and save those being forced into human trafficking, citing, “I will not be the one saving victims from the clutches of their captors. That’s a job for the authorities, and is not our role as citizens. But by linking arms across America we can learn the signs of human trafficking, educate people in our surrounding communities, call authorities when we see something that looks suspiciously like human trafficking, and work to improve legislation.”

That is exactly what Belles has done in her home state of Oregon, where legislators have passed a bill in partnership with In Our Backyard and the Freedom Sticker Program. The stickers, placed on the inside of restroom stalls in restaurants, bars, and clubs, share a number for victims to call or text for help so that the authorities can rescue them.

Belles explains, “We have learned that one of the only places a human trafficking victim can ask for help is in a restroom. Outside of there, eyes are always on them—they are constantly watched and regularly strip searched, so to give them something with the hotline on it to take with them could endanger their safety or even their life.

That’s why we devised the Freedom Stickers. The sticker provides a number for them to call or text right then, sharing who they are and where they are staying, which is relayed to authorities. The victims can delete the message as they leave the restroom stall so there is no trace of their cry for help when they walk outside the restroom. They can walk away knowing they have been heard and that help is on the way.”

In June, with the help of Oregon State Rep. Gail Whitsett, House Bill 3143 passed through the Legislature and was signed in to law by Gov. Kate Brown. The bill says that any business renewing their OLCC liquor license will receive the stickers and be asked to place them in the stalls in their restrooms.

Now, legislators join Belles in asking our country to join in their efforts.

The Freedom Sticker Release event will be held the next Legislative Day, Monday, November 16th, at 3pm at the Oregon State Capitol Building, Room 50. Belles, the OLCC Executive Director and the legislators who passed the bill will be speaking to other legislators, law enforcement officials, nonprofits, and volunteers.

They will issue a challenge to citizens for people to become aware and when they are in a business with a liquor license, to start asking businesses “Where are the Freedom Stickers?”

Belles concludes by saying, “Here’s what traffickers want — they want us to be quiet. If we do not talk about it – if we pretend it doesn’t exist, then they get to keep doing what they want. And, while we would like to think it won’t happen in our small towns, it can, it will, and it does. It’s time to rise up. You can help put a stop to it in your backyard.”

Belles is currently on the East Coast, where she has spoken to communities in West Virginia and Maryland. On Tuesday, she was the guest speaker at a Brown Bag Luncheon with the National Center on Sexual Exploitation in Washington DC, and will be at the State Department on Thursday, speaking to legislators there. You will also be able to see her featured during the Super Bowl, where In Our Backyard worked in anti-human trafficking efforts for the past seven years..

To join in the efforts and to learn more, visit www.InOurBackyard.org.