Human trafficking expected during solar eclipse; ‘Freedom Stickers’ with hotline info are available for public restrooms
Advocates for victims of human trafficking are urging Central Oregon businesses to post information about how to escape in their bathroom stalls before the total solar eclipse later this month. The eclipse, which is expected to bring hundreds of thousands of people to Central Oregon , could result in more cases of people being bought or sold for sex, said Nita Belles, executive director of the anti- trafficking organization In Our Backyard. “We know with the increase in population and the party atmosphere surrounding the eclipse, there will be an increase in human trafficking,” Belles said. Her organization produces “ Freedom Stickers ,” which contain instructions for how to contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline and say, in both English and Spanish, “People are not property. There is freedom from those who are hurting you.” More than 60,000 of these stickers can be found in public bathrooms throughout the country. Belles took the idea for the stickers from “shoe card