New effort to help protect human trafficking, domestic violence survivors in Miami-Dade
MIAMI - There is a new effort underway to help survivors of human trafficking in Miami-Dade.
State Attorney General Ashley Moody has announced that Project Protect is expanding into the county. The program offers free doorbell cameras to survivors of human trafficking, domestic violence, and sexual violence.
"Survivors seek protection and this will give them protection outside of a simple piece of paper, an injunction. It will give them a better assurance that there are eyes on their doors. There are eyes at their home that they can use as they best as they proceed through the system," said Moody.
According to the Safe House Project, 80 percent of trafficking victims are revictimized after finding freedom. Project Protect aims to help survivors feel safer at home.
"Project Protect will give our Domestic Violence team members and local partners another tool to help victims feel more secure at home. In 2023 my office processed 8,313 injunction petitions and Project Protect will help stop the cycle of violence in our community," said Miami-Dade County Clerk of Court and Comptroller Juan Fernandez-Barquin
Moody also recognized Airbnb for providing a $100,000 contribution to the Florida Alliance to End Human Trafficking.
January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month.
An average of 24 people per minute become victims of physical violence, sexual assault, or stalking by an intimate partner in the U.S., according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Countless cases go unreported. In 2023, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement logged 3,389 arrests for violation of a domestic violence injunction.
