Slavery is a topic that is not brought up often enough,
and is usually regarded to as an aspect of the past, but the fact is slavery
still exist, and it is growing closer to home each year as a result of unawareness and lack of knowledge on human
trafficking. Human trafficking is a horrible crime that involves many innocent
and vulnerable individuals, for the purpose of exploitation into cheap labor,
and commercial sex, also known as modern day slavery. As a college student I have done countless research papers, and none of them have stood out as much as my research on the rise of human trafficking in Oregon, so while driving down I-5, I was content to see a billboard that read, "NOT FOR SALE! END HUMAN TRAFFICKING" this is an indication that Oregon continues to enlighten its residents on human trafficking.
Description
This billboard features a black and white picture of an unfamiliar young girl's face, focusing on her eyes to depict the the pain and sorrow human trafficking victims go thru. Next to the young girl's face reads in capital red letters"NOT FOR" below it, in white letters reads, "SALE! END HUMAN TRAFFICKING" with a logo of two human figures next to it. I have seen these billboards all over the I-5, but I am more than certain they are featured in other cities and freeways as well, such as the I-84. This billboard is part of the Oregonians Against Trafficking Humans (OATH) awareness organization. As I did further research on the billboard tittled BillBoard_t750x550 I could not find its origin, but it began on being used in 2015 both in San Francisco and Oregon, as well as mentioned in articles against human trafficking.
Analyze
The persuasive technique that is used in this billboard is emotional appeal. When I first saw this billboard, it took a few moments to settle in, I was content about the fact that Oregon is informing its citizens, but at the same time it made me sad, and angry, because people actually go thru that kind of torture and pain daily and most can't escape the physical and emotional violence of modern day slavery. The image of the young girl's face is a single representation of victims who are either being commercially trafficked or sexually trafficked. This billboard definitely makes a statement saying human trafficking is here in Oregon so be aware and act on it "END HUMAN TRAFFICKING".
Interpret
I have seen similar billboards in California and others in Oregon, although the images might be different the message is the same one "STOP HUMAN TRAFFICKING!".
Other examples of billboards will read, "HE PROMISED ME A PLACE TO STAY, THEN FORCED ME TO WORK AS A PROSTITUTE", "HUMAN TRAFFICKING WAS REPORTED IN ALL 50 STATES LAST YEAR", and "PEOPLE ARE NOT PROPERTY! STOP HUMAN TRAFFICKING" these are just a few examples of other billboards around the United States that contain different images, but the message being sated is the same. The targeted audiences for this billboard are young women and children because research
has shown that the average age of a victim who is being trafficked in the
United States is between the ages of 11 and 14 with an average lifespan of 7
years. These victims are bought, sold, and traded for the purpose of
exploitation, and 80% of these victims are woman and children who are held
captive in the “underground sex service industry”(thearkofhopeforchildren.org). There is nothing about this billboard that I feel is offensive, I believe that everyone should fully understand what human trafficking is, the dangers of human trafficking and how not to become a victim, I also believe their should be further advertisement on this topic.
Evaluate
The strengths of this billboard were; a straightforward message, the picture focused on the eyes which was intended to portray the pain of a tortured victim. The weaknesses of this add were, lack of color, I believe if it had color it would attract more attention, no statistics for further proof, and it lacked a number to call in case someone finds themselves in that sort of situation and are looking to escape. This image is definitely memorable because of the sadness the victim's eyes portray in the billboard, one can't help but to sympathize with the your girl portrayed in the image it also depicts a sadness and the need to help and make a change. Although the targeted audience for the ad and human trafficking are children and young woman, I am sure this ad reaches the eyes and touches the hearts of many people who feel the need to act upon this horrible crime, no matter what age or gender they might be, knowledge is power and the more people know about human trafficking the less victims there will be, the silence must be stopped.
Engage
I could not find any comments on the ad I used, this ad has been used in two different occasions one being used in an article in the Oregon State Sheriffs' Association website and the other on the Franciscans for Justice website. The specific organization logo used next to the image in the billboard was Rescue and Restore Victims of Human Trafficking. Other organizations that are using billboard's against human trafficking are programs such as; The Guardian Group, Polaris, Oregonians Against Trafficking Humans, and the National Human Trafficking Hotline. These organizations purpose is to educate individuals on human trafficking, help those who are being trafficked, and help victims after being freed.
The first website I seen this image on was on the Oregon State Sheriffs' Association website, on an article titled, "Human Trafficking". There are no further comments on this billboard, while searching the image online only two articles with the image can up, these articles were related to human trafficking and its effects on its surrounding and victims. In the article “Human Trafficking”, Sheriff Staton made
known that community outreach and education is important, and that law
enforcement can’t fight human trafficking alone; therefore, community
participation, and support is encouraged (oregonsherrifs.org). Although there
are programs such as OATH Oregonians Against Trafficking Humans; which is an
outreach program to help victims of trafficking, and the U-Visa; a program that
helps undocumented immigrant victims of trafficking, this is still not enough. If
we continuously fall short of educating everyone on human trafficking, it will
grow and expand rapidly, due to the supply and demand mechanisms of this
unfortunate crime. Therefore, our generation must do more, “The eye doesn’t see
what the mind doesn’t know, doesn’t exist” (D.H. Lawrence).
Based on the billboard alone I would definitely check out further statistics on human trafficking in Oregon. I would definitely recommend other be vigilant and aware to look for these billboards as further proof of human trafficking existing beyond major cities such as Las Vegas and San Francisco that it indeed happens in Oregon cities such as, Portland and Beaverton as well.
Conclusion
While doing research on this specific billboard I learned that there are many different sorts of organizations that support human trafficking advertising, and not all organizations are the same in all states. The thing that surprised me the most was that I was only able to find the organization represented next to the image and two articles that contained this image, in addition, there were no additional comments on the image. Maybe if ads like these were shared and advertised more often in social media such as Facebook or Instagram, they would be more widely known, therefore, have more comments and information on them.
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