Matt Petronzio2013-03-29 17:21:49 UTCHuman trafficking victims and concerned citizens across the United States can now send quick and discreet text messages for help, thanks to a new joint initiative to end modern slavery.
Polaris Project and Thorn: Digital Defenders of Children — formerly known as the Demi and Ashton (DNA) Foundation — have teamed up with communication API service Twilio and Salesforce Foundation, providing an SMS-based program that instantly connects people to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) hotline.
As of Thursday, the new system is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, through which victims or people with knowledge of a trafficking situation can text "BeFree" (233733), and NHTRC call specialists will respond via text to address each individual’s needs. This could include immediate crisis response, referrals to nearby shelters and emotional support.
Twilio provides the BeFree shortcode and the delivery of the SMS messages for the system, while the Salesforce Service Cloud, a social customer service application, powers the NHTRC’s hotline database. The confidential hotline, operated by Polaris Project, has a network of 2,700 service providers nationwide.
Since the hotline began in 2007, the NHTRC has received more than 70,000 calls, connected more than 8,300 victims to assistance and support, and reported more than 3,000 cases to law enforcement. This new initiative furthers the hotline's influence by tapping into a form of communication that many victims already use — texting.
"Based on our experience working directly with survivors of human trafficking, we know that many of them regularly communicate via text," Sarah Jakiel, deputy director of Polaris Project, told Mashable. "Victims are heavily controlled by their exploiters — what they wear, where they go, how much they work, what they eat — but they may be able to send a quick, discreet text message."
It's also much easier for someone in need in help to remember the shortcode rather than memorizing a 10-digit phone number to dial.
With an estimated profit of $32 billion a year, human trafficking is the third largest criminal industry in the world (the first and second being illegal drugs and arms trafficking, respectively). The International Labor Organization estimates that there are 20.9 million victims of human trafficking worldwide, with hundreds of thousands of victims in the United States. The integration of text messages in crisis response has the potential to increase thousands of victims' chances of escaping from exploitation.
"When Thorn explained the problem and how important it would be to have texting capability with Polaris's hotline, we didn't hesitate in offering our support," Jeff Lawson, co-founder and CEO of Twilio, said. "This is a problem that affects every level of society — whether it's men or women, adults or children, foreign nationals or U.S. citizens. Anyone from any background can become a victim of trafficking. We are very pleased that we are able to make a difference against this often unmentioned problem facing our society."
Image via iStockphoto, DougSchneiderPhoto
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