On Tuesday, the Texas Restaurant Association launched a resource center for restaurants to take immediate action against human trafficking.
Texas has the second highest human trafficking rate, and Houston is ranked the worst city in the nation for human trafficking.
restaurantsrespond-freedom.com provides downloadable signage for restaurant businesses to place in their restrooms and training for the 1.3 million employees to recognize and report the warning signs of trafficking activity. The placards include information on how victims can get help immediately and the website curates existing training opportunities for teams and managers.
"Sex and labor trafficking have no place in our communities, and Texas will not stand for these heinous acts," said Secretary of State Ruth R. Hughs. "With more than 50,000 restaurants across the state, the Texas Restaurant Association and its members are uniquely positioned as leaders in the fight against trafficking. By working collaboratively, we will eliminate human trafficking in the Lone Star State, and I thank TRA for their role in uniting the restaurant community around efforts to address this critical issue."
The association says that training employees at restaurants would make a huge impact.
"The impact, scale, and reach of the Texas Restaurant Association makes it a natural choice to lead the efforts against trafficking," said Emily Williams Knight, Ed.D., CEO of the Texas Restaurant Association. "Many victims will enter a restaurant at some point and having support for them in a private place like a restroom could be the catalyst to get them the assistance they need."
