{"id":1653,"date":"2012-04-03T07:19:23","date_gmt":"2012-04-03T11:19:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/activistfaith\/?p=1653"},"modified":"2012-04-03T07:19:23","modified_gmt":"2012-04-03T11:19:23","slug":"3-ways-you-can-help-stop-human-trafficking-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/activistfaith\/2012\/04\/3-ways-you-can-help-stop-human-trafficking-3.html","title":{"rendered":"3 Ways You Can Help Stop Human Trafficking"},"content":{"rendered":"

[Guest post from my friend Charles Powell, founder of Mercy Movement<\/a> and coauthor of Not in My Town<\/em><\/a>.]<\/p>\n

In your town you might have spas or massage parlors that promise hours like 10 a. m. to 2 a. m. \u00a0Or they advertise the women that work there using their body measurements.\u00a0 Or they tout their services are for men only. Or they promote the fact that every month or so they have a completely new female staff. If you didn\u2019t know already, these establishments are not legitimate<\/a> day spas or massage establishments. They are fronts for exploitation.\u00a0When you start to look around<\/a>, you\u2019ll probably be surprised how many of these places there are in your town and how boldly they advertise.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what you can do now where you live:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Start a petition<\/a> asking any publication these nefarious operations use for advertising to cease publishing their ads. It\u2019s not a First Amendment issue; it is a human rights issue. Demand <\/strong>that they stop.<\/li>\n
  2. Protest <\/a>against any billboard company that sells their advertising space for these illicit establishments.<\/li>\n
  3. Ask local real estate companies who lease commercial property throughout your city to sign a pledge not to lease property to such illicit businesses. Ask those who currently do so to seek to cancel the leases of these operations as soon as possible.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Obey the law in all your efforts and get started.<\/a><\/p>\n