MELROSE—The NCJW/LA honored Human Trafficking Awareness Day on Saturday, January 11 by creating a coalition consisting of six organizations. The Coalition created by the National Council of Jewish Women/ Los Angeles (NCJW/LA) consists of the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking/ Los Angeles (CAST); T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights; Jewish Labor Committee; Gibson, Dunn, & Crutcher LLP; and OASISUSA.

The purpose of the Coalition is to help implement Section 52.6 of Senate Bill 1193 which, according to the press release provided by the NCJW/LA, “requires specified businesses and other establishments, as of April 1, 2013, to post a notice informing the public and victims of human trafficking of telephone hotline numbers to seek help or report unlawful human trafficking activity.”

Chair of the Legislative Action Sub-Committee of NCJW/LA, Jerilyn Stapleton, remarked, “Legislators and advocates worked tirelessly in 2012 to pass SB1193 to help victims of human trafficking in California seek help, but it will all be in vain if we do not find a way to implement the law and raise awareness about human trafficking to those who may not even know they are victims or that they have a right to get help and where to get it.”

The NCJW/LA hopes to spread awareness with a two-phase project. The first phase consists of a youth poster contest for Los Angeles County participants between the ages of 14 and 25. The winner of the poster contest’s artwork will be used to help implement SB 1193.

The second phase will be an outreach campaign where volunteers from Los Angeles County will reach out to businesses and provide them with the posters to help stop human trafficking by spreading the word. The NCJW/LA will be holding several workshops on human trafficking including survival stories and Human Trafficking 101 for volunteers on February 9, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at 543 N. Fairfax Avenue.

A press conference will be held to discuss the implementation of SB 1193 on February 10. The time and location has not yet been announced.