KENTUCKY — Drivers in Northern Kentucky might notice more billboards related to preventing human trafficking. They're the first phase of a University of Kentucky study aiming to bring awareness and educate people about child sex trafficking.
The billboards are up in more than two dozen randomly selected counties across Kentucky. In the fall, phase two will start. This involves training with middle school staff.
"What we're doing in both phases is really engaging bystanders," said Dr. Ann Coker, the director of the UK Center for Research on Violence Against Women. "We're working with middle school staff to identify those risk factors and do preventive work ... as well as intervention."
The training will help people learn the signs of child sex trafficking and the approach to screening for it. It'll also provide resources and strategies to prevent trafficking.
"The form of child sex trafficking that we see more often ... that we hope we can prevent is what we call familial sex trafficking," Coker said.
She said this often involves a family member who struggles with drug addiction trafficking another family member.
The study is taking place in Kentucky because in 2021, for the third year in a row, the commonwealth had the nation's highest child abuse and neglect rate, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Coker said Kentucky also tends to rank higher for drug addiction.
There are resources available in the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky region for trafficking survivors. One resource is the Salvation Army. They have a 24-hour hotline for survivors or community members to report possible trafficking situations. That number is 513-800-1863.
"We also provide comprehensive case management which means pretty much anything that that person might need, so anything from referrals to life skills building to emotional support," said Erin Meyer, program manager for the Salvation Army of Greater Cincinnati's Anti-Human Trafficking program.
There's also a 24/7 national human trafficking hotline at 1-888-373-7888.
