Help Fight Human Trafficking
January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. DFPS makes fighting against human trafficking a priority, and strives to improve awareness, services, and prevention efforts to help eradicate trafficking in Texas.
Get the 2025 Participation Guide for ideas and activities that anyone can use to help fight human trafficking!
Visit our Social Media Toolkit for posts and graphics to help raise awareness in local communities!
2025 Highlights
A Week of Prayer to End Human Trafficking: January 6-10, 2025
Texas First Lady Cecilia Abbott announced that the Governor's Response Against Child Exploitation (GRACE) initiative will host the annual Week of Prayer to End Human Trafficking from January 6 through January 10, 2025. The statewide interfaith week of prayer coincides with Human Trafficking Prevention Month in the state of Texas and serves as a call to action to the faith-based community to unite in prayer, learn more about human trafficking, and discern opportunities to prevent exploitation and support survivors.
GRACE will launch the Week of Prayer to End Human Trafficking through a virtual interfaith kickoff event January 6th at 7:00 p.m. on Facebook. The event will include remarks from the First Lady and Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) Commissioner Stephanie Muth, prayer, and a panel discussion of faith leaders. Beginning Tuesday, January 7th, a new video will be posted on the Office of the Governor’s Facebook page to guide viewers through the day’s intention. Texans can use the hashtag #TXPraysToEndHT on social media to share their support for the Week of Prayer to End Human Trafficking.
Wear Blue Day: January 11, 2025
January 11 marks National Human Trafficking Awareness Day—a vital opportunity to shine a light on an important cause! Join us in wearing blue to show solidarity and raise awareness about the fight against human trafficking. Whether you're at work, home, or out with friends, snap some pictures of yourself and those around you donning blue attire. Let's flood our social media feeds with positivity and purpose! Share your photos using the hashtag #WearBlueDay, tag DFPS @TexasDFPS, and together, we can spread awareness and inspire change. Remember, every small action counts, and your support matters!
Email your photos to: HumanTrafficking@dfps.texas.gov
Human Trafficking Awareness Day: January 10, 2025
Texas Capitol Event
Join the Texas Human Trafficking Prevention Coordinating Council and Task Force members for Human Trafficking Awareness Day at the Texas Capitol South Steps. The event will start at 10:30 a.m. and will feature a variety of speakers.
Light the Way End Human Trafficking: Lunch and Learn Series 2025
Join us this January for our Light the Way End Human Trafficking Lunch and Learn series, dedicated to raising awareness about human trafficking. Stating on Thursday, January 9th, we will host informative sessions addressing this critical issue. These gatherings offer a chance to engage with experts, gain insights, and discuss prevention strategies while enjoying your lunch. Together, we can create a community informed about the signs of human trafficking and the resources available for those in need. Your participation can help foster change and promote a safer environment for everyone. Mark your calendars and join us in making a difference this January!
January 9, 2025
How to Activate Faith Communities to Protect Their Children
Speaker: Jo Lembo
During this 50-minute interview style presentation, Jo Lembo, retired Director of Faith Initiatives for Shared Hope International, talks about her experience training individuals and church communities how to recognize the signs of trafficking.
She found the conversation usually began with, “But what can I do about it?” when the topic of sex trafficking is introduced. With Ada McCloud hosting, they will take a brief look at what sex trafficking looks like in the USA, what makes a young person vulnerable, what are some of the tactics of predators, and then practical steps to prevent it.
Texas Department of Family Protection Services has an active program to train and support individuals and churches to help them understand this issue and to learn how to help keep children safe. Survivors who have seen the materials available through DFPS have responded, “If I had known this, it wouldn’t have happened to me.”
Our goal is to put tools into your hands so you’ll know too.
January 16, 2025
Child Exploitation: Parenting in the Digital Age
Speaker: Brandon Poor
This presentation gives a detailed overview of the dangers facing children on the internet today, and some of the scary realities that parents must grapple with having kids in the internet age. Trends in the child exploitation field, including the rising sextortion epidemic will be discussed, as well as the applications that are most used by online predators, and how to prepare to defend against their attacks. Approaches to online safety, and resources to learn more to equip yourself will also be given.
January 23, 2025
Groomed To Hide It: Challenges of Victim Identification in Sex Trafficking Cases
Panelists: Sgt. Jake Boyd, Yevette Christy, and Carrie Wright
Facilitator: Ada McCloud
Join us for an insightful panel discussion that delves into the deceptive tactics employed by human traffickers to exploit vulnerabilities in their victims. The panel features a survivor of sex trafficking who will shed light on the grooming processes that keep victims hidden and ashamed. In addition, our panel of experts will discuss efforts taken by law enforcement to effectively identify and recover those affected by trafficking. This essential conversation aims to equip anti-trafficking investigators, advocates, and professionals with the knowledge needed for better victim identification and support.
January 30, 2025
Caught in the System: The Intersection of Human Trafficking and Forced Criminality
Speaker: Bekah Charleston
The Human Trafficking Division of DFPS is excited to have Bekah Charleston, Founder of Bekah Speaks Out, for the last Lunch and Learn. After enduring a decade of abuse and exploitation, she built a career dedicated to the empowerment of Survivors and focused on community collaboration at all levels. Join us as Bekah explains the intersection of human trafficking and forced criminality.
This training session will provide a comprehensive exploration of forced criminality within the context of human trafficking, examining the intersection of exploitation, victimization, and the criminal justice system. Participants will gain an in-depth understanding of how trafficking victims may be coerced into committing crimes as part of their exploitation, and the legal complexities surrounding these situations. Attendees will be equipped with the knowledge to advocate for policies and practices that protect and support trafficking survivors, while holding traffickers accountable.
Office of the Governor Child Sex Trafficking Team
Webinar: January 28, 2025
An Empowering Solution to Human Trafficking Utilizing the Power of Youth Voice
Time: 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Please join the Child Sex Trafficking Team for the January installment of its Monthly Webinar Series. “An Empowering Solution to Human Trafficking Utilizing the Power of Youth Voice,” will explore how Project Protect Our Children, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, has created a Youth Action Board (YAB) to plan and implement human trafficking awareness events and activities. The YAB is youth-led, research-based, and survivor-informed.
Register: https://txgov-us.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_Qxxiio42T7ujpr4_XWJ-6Q#/registration
Human Trafficking Prevention Month History
President Obama proclaimed January as the Human Trafficking Prevention Month in 2010. Following the start of Human Trafficking Prevention Month, National Human Trafficking Day began and is observed annually on January 11.
During the Human Trafficking Prevention Month, the priority is to shine a light on every dark corner where human trafficking still threatens the basic rights and freedoms of others.
Victims of human trafficking are often invisible because we do not recognize indicators of human trafficking. Identifying signs of human trafficking and reporting a tip may save a life.
Together, every Texan can protect and help those who have been trafficked heal and bring offenders to justice. Be informed and attend an event!
Our fight against human trafficking is one of the great human rights causes of our time, and the United States will continue to lead it - in partnership with you. The change we seek will not come easy, but we can draw strength from the movements of the past. For we know that every life saved - in the words of that great Proclamation - is 'an act of justice' worthy of 'the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor of Almighty God.'
- President Barack Obama, September 25, 2012