Nonprofits call on Trump HHS, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to reform the “failed” national human trafficking hotline
A group of anti-human trafficking advocates known as the “Safe Home Project” are urging the Trump administration and Health and Public Services (HHS) secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to reform the national human trafficking hotline.
Operated by HHS, the hotline was established in 2007 to provide 24/7 assistance to victims of human trafficking.
According to the Safe House project, a range of services are provided to victims, including the shelter network, and the hotline has “lost all credibility” and simply cannot achieve the goal of ending human trafficking.
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Community members listen to Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price before raising awareness of human trafficking in Oakland, California on January 24, 2023. (Jane Tyska/Digital First Media/East Bay Times)
After Kennedy cleared the committee vote on Tuesday, bringing him closer to confirmation, the nonprofit issued a statement saying that it celebrates the step, “Our country desperately needs leadership to restore it [the hotline] To fulfill its purpose of identifying victims of trafficking, support victims of fleeing traffickers and help those who are abused and victimized to achieve justice quickly. ”
In line with the ministry of government efficiency cuts government waste, the Security Home project said HHS could reform the hotline to save its tax money and save more lives at the same time.
“The U.S. taxpayers have funded the national human trafficking hotline, and the reality is a failure,” Kristi Wells, CEO of the Safe House program, told Fox News Digital.
Wells claims that people calling the hotline usually have to wait more than 45 minutes, causing many to hang up, even before reporting incidents of trafficking. She also said that in many cases, hotline staff cannot call back or share tips with law enforcement.
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Jason Mendez/Getty Images)
Wells said if he gets confirmed by the Senate, Kennedy would have a “amazing opportunity” to save thousands of lives by taking quick action to make the hotline more efficient.
““Again, the national trafficking hotline has the potential to save thousands, even hundreds of thousands of lives,” she continued. [since] The Ministry of Health and Human Services is a kind of monitoring hotline effectiveness. ”
In place of the current hotline, Wells urged HHS to leverage modern technologies such as mobile applications and AI to create a new system that is “fast, operational and easy to use”.
After extensive research with law enforcement entities and related NGOs, Wells said she believes that it is possible to create a new system using modern technology that will further develop the taxes the government spends on this and achieve greater success .
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“When you leverage technology, you are really creating scale efficiency and really increasing scale efficiency. “So, I don’t think it’s a solution to more government funding,” she said. I think this will allow them to use the dollar they are currently spending on the national hotline more effectively and see more effective results. ”
Wells said the Trump administration “has shown an encouraging willingness to deal with human trafficking, but noted: “We want to do everything we can to make sure that this is their top priority and that it is taken right.” Action to bring victims. Stand out of the shadows, increase reporting and increase enforcement and prosecutions for traffickers and buyers. ”
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“Trafficking is happening around us, and we as community members have the opportunity to identify and respond to trafficking, and new tools are really critical to us to make sure that this happens,” she continued. “Whenever we have the appropriate reporting mechanisms , and when we see something and say something, ‘Well, trafficking and undiscovered ideas are no longer a reality.”
“The reality is that we will be able to see it more, and as we start seeing it more, we can use more effective data to empower legislators. A stronger reporting mechanism can achieve the goal of eliminating trafficking in the United States .”
