Call and Live Campaign against human trafficking kicks off in Washington, D.C.

Ricky Martin, IDB president Luis Alberto Moreno and Ayuda Executive director Mauricio Vivero joined forces today , 29/04,to launch Call and Live in Washington DC, a campaign that promotes a free confidential hotline (1-888 NO-TRATA) to prevent human trafficking from Latin America and provide protection services to Latino victims. Other partners of the initiative include the DC Mayor’s Office on Latino Affairs, Telemundo, Univisión, Washington Hispanic, Radio Viva 900 and El Tiempo Latino.

According to the U.S. State Department, 20,000 individuals are trafficked into the United States every year and the D.C. area is one of the top ten locations where this occurs.

“There is a critical need to educate the Latino immigrant community about the dangers of human trafficking. Ayuda is pleased to partner with the IDB and the Ricky Martin Foundation in this campaign to reach Spanish-speaking victims directly and connect them to Ayuda’s legal and social services. Together, we will fight the crime of human trafficking and help victims build safe, new lives in America”, mentioned Mauricio Vivero, whose organization has served the Latino community in the D.C. area for the last 35 years.

Call and Live DC is modeled after the successful social marketing campaigns in Latin America and the Caribbean. Ricky Martin is featured as spokesperson in all of the public service announcements and other outreach materials.

“Call and Live is an unprecedented effort in our fight against human trafficking. We have received more than 55,000 phone calls through the national hotlines, fostered 60 police investigations and saved at least a dozen victims. These concrete results, which span across five countries in Latin America, have lead us to launch today a campaign in the D.C. region to prevent this horrendous crime in the Latino community”, said Ricky Martin, whose foundation advocates for children’s rights from its Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico headquarters.

The IDB is launching this initiative as part of the IDB-DC Solidarity Program, its local corporate responsibility initiative for over a decade. This year the Bank, the Ricky Martin Foundation and the Central American Office of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) will also expand the campaign to five more countries in Latin America.

“In the area of human trafficking, we are committed to supporting governments across the region with their prevention, protection and prosecution efforts. Today I am pleased to announce not only this launch in Washington, D.C., but also the expansion of Call and Live to other countries. In the next few months, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama and Paraguay will join this Pan-American effort, making our determination to fight against human trafficking even stronger,” pointed out IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno.