Protect All Children from Trafficking (PACT) has announced the expansion of its anti-child trafficking campaign, Transit Against Child Trafficking (TACT), to Austin, Texas, and Alexandria, Virginia. The initiative is designed to educate public transportation staff and riders on how to identify and report potential instances of child sex trafficking.
The TACT campaign was developed in collaboration with survivors of child sex trafficking. It provides resources for public transit employees and passengers, focusing on recognizing signs of trafficking and safely reporting incidents. Lori L. Cohen, Chief Executive Officer at PACT, said, “With Austin being one of the fastest-growing cities based on population and migration patterns, TACT is an effort to increase public awareness. We are partnering with CapMetro to ensure public transit staff and riders have credible information and access to education and tools on how to identify signs of trafficking, safely report, and help to prevent child sex trafficking.”
Public transportation often serves as a contact point for victims of child sex trafficking. Staff members and passengers can play a key role in noticing suspicious activity and making reports.
In Austin, PACT is working with the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (CapMetro), while in Alexandria it is partnering with DASH. The campaign will use social media outreach, advertisements near transit locations, and signage inside buses and trains to raise awareness. CapMetro supports more than 31 million boardings each year across the Austin and Central Texas area according to its official website: https://www.capmetro.org/. The authority operates under a board-appointed structure that includes committees focused on finance, audit, administration, operations, planning, and safety.
Both CapMetro and DASH have signed the Department of Transportation’s Transportation Leaders Against Human Trafficking (TLAHT) Pledge. This pledge commits them to staff education about human trafficking risks as well as collecting data on their efforts.
Andy Skabowski, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at CapMetro stated: “CapMetro plays an incredibly large role in our community. We are stewards of public trust and safety, and we take that seriously. Awareness, collaboration, and education are key in the fight against human trafficking. Through these efforts, the community and our staff know the signs to look for and how to report potential incidents effectively. Together, we can help create a safer environment for everyone in our community.”
According to Polaris research cited by PACT officials during this announcement event, approximately eight people per day are trafficked using some form of public transportation nationwide. A member of PACT Survivors’ Council commented: “Traffickers can be right in your face,” adding that “They’re so bold about it that people get blinded.” As part of a federally funded project led by PACT alongside researchers from partner agencies such as CapMetro—whose president is Dottie Watkins according to https://www.capmetro.org/—the organization continues discussions with frontline transit workers as well as survivors themselves in order to inform educational materials tailored specifically for transit environments.
These resources aim not only at helping staff respond appropriately but also at developing training modules suited for those working within transit systems.
For more information about the TACT Campaign visit wearepact.org/tact-campaign.
###
ABOUT PACT
PACT is an anti-child trafficking organization previously known as ECPAT-USA that focuses on ending child sexual exploitation through education initiatives partnerships legislative advocacy programs both nationally globally via membership within ECPAT International’s network.
