Excerpt taken from The Polaris Project:
“In March 2013, Polaris launched a texting shortcode to help victims of human trafficking find safety. When victims text to BeFree (233733) they reach one of our call specialists, who assist them in planning their escapes and/or connecting them to services in the area.
An analysis of data from these texts from March 2013 to October 2014 shows that texting is a vital way for victims of human trafficking to reach out for help:
1. Victims are reaching out for help by text message at a higher percentage than by phone call.
In our first eighteen months, 18% of texting conversations on Polaris’s BeFree Texting Helpline were from victims of human trafficking compared to 9% of phone calls on the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline. Victims of human trafficking are closely monitored by their traffickers and for many, a text message can be a more discreet way for them to reach out for help. Through these conversations, victims were freed from their traffickers and/or connected to local service providers.”
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HUMAN RIGHTS SOCIETY 