Canyon ISD’s debate team will launch a trafficking awareness campaign on Wednesday, March 27 at Canyon High School. They will be working with a non-profit organization called Traffic 911 in order to raise awareness for trafficking and slavery awareness.  Traffic 911 works through Abolition International, a larger organization, which specializes in training first responders, awareness, and a home that will be located in Dallas, Texas.

“Human trafficking has not been identified as a problem here in Amarillo,” Stefanie Suto, speech and debate coach for C.I.S.D., said. “However, it is naïve to think that it is not happening here.”

According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, Texas sends in more calls about human trafficking than any other state and, according to the US State Department, at least 15,000 are trafficked annually.  The average age into prostitution in the United States is 12 to 13 years old. Globally, there are approximately 2 million children who are subjected to forced prostitution, and 98 percent of all victims of sexual slavery/sex trafficking worldwide are women and girls, according to International Labour Organisations 2012.

Jayden Beatty, senior debater at Canyon High School, started looking into trafficking awareness after Suto brought up that it could be an issue.  “Money only goes so far,” Beatty said.  “Awareness is the key, and communication is [the debate team’s] forte.”

The team decided to launch an awareness campaign because there are 27 million people who are forced into human trafficking and slavery, according to Beatty.

“Young children go missing as well as adolescents here in the United States,” Suto said.

The team has come together with WT’s KWTS to broadcast the launch of the campaign from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. The students have created posters and t-shirts in order to educate their peers.  The t-shirts read “End It,” according to Beatty.  She hopes the shirts peek her peers’ interests so that those who are wearing them can spread awareness.

“We will be using word by mouth and school to promote awareness,” Beatty said.

On Wednesday, the teachers have an opportunity to show a short video about a girl in Georgia who was abducted from her bedroom window and forced into trafficking, Suto said.

The team was also contacted by Raul Rodarte who will be hosting a conversation on April 6, 2013 at The 806 Coffee and Lounge in Amarillo titled “Missing” in order to help promote awareness.

Joy Tucker, banker in Canyon, went on a mission trip to Thailand and worked with organizations to help prevent trafficking from happening.

“To prevent it from happening starting with kids whether it was an after school program or educating parents about being aware,” Tucker said.