The Senate Judiciary Committee has advanced Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean’s legislation requiring new posters to be developed and posted in various places to raise awareness of human trafficking and the help available to victims.

“Human trafficking occurs today across New Jersey in places where many of us would never suspect it, including our own communities,” said Kean (R-21). “Victims are often lured with the prospect of a job, and then have their passports, money, and identification stolen by their handlers. They’re moved around and forced to work for the benefit of others. It’s imperative that victims and those who may have witnessed exploitation know that help is just a phone call away.”

Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery that exploits victims for sex, labor, or both.

This legislation, S-280, requires the New Jersey Commission on Human Trafficking to develop new signs and posters with directions for obtaining help and services to be displayed in places where the victims of human trafficking are most likely to see them.

The new public awareness sign would include the toll-free phone number for the National Human Trafficking Hotline, a 24-hour service.

Under the bill, the sign must be posted in every dressing room, restroom, and restroom stall at strip clubs, sexually oriented businesses, and massage parlors.

Additionally, the sign must be posted in those workplaces in a location that is clearly conspicuous and visible to both employees and the public.

The legislation also requires the sign to be posted by: bars; airports; passenger rail or light rail stations; welcome centers; truck stops; weigh stations; emergency rooms within acute care hospitals; urgent care centers; farm labor contractors and day haulers; privately operated job recruitment centers; service areas and safety rest areas along interstate highways; all forms of public transportation, including every passenger rail car; and hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, campsites, and similar places of public accommodation.

“The more we raise awareness of human trafficking, including what it looks like and where it happens, the harder it will be for traffickers to get away with their despicable crimes,” Kean concluded.