Working from the basic biological fact that everyone has to use the bathroom sometime, and the basic philosophical theory that everyone needs something to read while they're in there, the Wisconsin United Methodist Human Trafficking Taskforce had a bathroom brainstorm as to how to get vital information out there to aid victims of human trafficking.
I can't actually say it was our brainstorm. We shamelessly stole it from a group who uses a similar technique to address domestic violence. Their signs are most commonly seen in bars, and in Wisconsin, that means a LOT of eyes will see them. Most importantly, people are reading them and calling the hotline number. We very much hope the same thing will happen with the Human Trafficking posters.
Eventually, they will be multi-lingual. And we hope to paper the bathroom stalls of every cooperative gas station, convenience store, grocery store, bar, club, laundry mat, and motel. Harnessing the power and presence of the United Methodist Women, we will try to get them into every community in Wisconsin. And if you don't think the UMW can make things happen, I have one word for you-Prohibition. Yeah...sorry for that one. Their hearts were in the right place. And their hearts remain in the right place. That is why we believe we have a formidable force to unleash.
We will be partnering with other advocacy groups, law enforcement and our elected representatives to move Wisconsin Forward in the fight against Human Trafficking. Yes, even our elected Republicans can do more than sit on their thumbs and spin-we intend to make them earn at least part of their paycheck. We have yet to pass a Safe Harbor Law. Our law enforcement training in the area of Human Trafficking is next to non existent. And our AG, J.B. Van Hollen, while rightly proud of the work done in a recent, multi-state investigation that freed 10 minors from sexual trafficking in WI, is still under the impression that this is primarily an organized crime issue. While it most certainly is, that is far from the extent of human trafficking, and law enforcement in WI are simply not trained to recognize it and respond effectively to it when it is happening in their own communties.
There is a great deal to be done in Wisconsin, and in the rest of the United States, to address modern day slavery in its international and its domestic forms. To learn how your own state is doing in these efforts, visit Polaris Project.
For now though, we're starting with the bathrooms.