YORK, Pa. — The York City Council has designated the month of January as Human Trafficking Awareness Month.
They also made Jan. 11 "Wear Blue Day," where participants can wear the color blue to show support of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Blue Campaign.
This program helps educate the public and law enforcement to recognize human trafficking and how to respond. According to DHS, Human trafficking involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act. The agency also said that every year, millions of men, women and children are trafficked worldwide.
Even right here in Pennsylvania.
In the past five years, 800 human trafficking offenses were filed in the Pennsylvania Court System. According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, there were 221 human trafficking cases reported and 254 calls from victims and survivors here in Pennsylvania in 2020.
York City Council hopes through their multiple campaigns this month, they can remind the community of the horrific impact of human trafficking.
"It's important that we recognize the indicators of human trafficking and take immediate action to address it to help combat further exploitation," said Edquina Washington, Vice-President of York City Council. "I encourage the community to join in this important awareness campaign and show solidarity by wearing the color blue on January 11."