Published on February 11, 2019

Mayor Janice S. Mironov, joined by Womanspace Executive Director Patricia Hart, issued a Mayoral Proclamation recognizing January as Human Trafficking Awareness Month.  Womanspace, the lead non-profit organization in Mercer County that provides crisis intervention and support for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, offers support and services for survivors of human trafficking.

Mayor Mironov said “we live in a great progressive state, but the fact of the matter is this is an issue that continues in our nation and our state as well as many countries throughout the world.  Recent statistics on the significant number of incidents that have been reported in New Jersey in recent years demonstrate that this is an issue that is not far from us.  In order to bring awareness to this barbaric and hateful practice, we express our unity and solidarity in working together to combat these terrible acts, alongside our partner Womanspace, an effective organization involved in raising awareness and working to put an end to this terrible practice of human trafficking.”  
Mayor Mironov presented a Proclamation to Womanspace, and a poster featuring a photograph she took of an anti-human trafficking public service billboard at the Thailand and Myanmar border in Southeast Asia. Mayor Mironov stated that human trafficking is a major issue in that part of the world and shows the global nature of the problem and the importance that organizations such as Womanspace combat it here at home.

Womanspace Executive Director Patricia Hart stated, ““A lot of people don’t think that human trafficking happens here in their own backyard, but the truth is it happens here every day, more than we would like to acknowledge.  Several years ago we formed a coalition in Mercer County to address the issue and raise awareness and we were also one of the first shelters to accept human trafficking victims.  We have also partnered with Polaris, which is a state wide organization that assists victims in finding a local shelter with an open bed.  Thank you to Mayor Mironov and the East Windsor Township Council in continuing to raise awareness so we don’t forget that this is continuing to happen everywhere.”

The Mayoral Proclamation recognizes that “human trafficking is a borderless horrific crime against especially vulnerable children and woman that violates the most basic human rights and deprives victims of every shred of personal freedom.  The United Nations’ International Labour Organization has estimated that nearly 24.9 million people are trapped in forced labor including 4.8 million people are in forced sexual exploitation.”  Mayor Mironov’s Proclamation states that the, “Township of East Windsor is resolved to support the goals and ideals by observing annually a Month of Human Trafficking Awareness to support all efforts by individuals, businesses, organizations and governing bodies to raise awareness of and opposition to human trafficking.”

East Windsor Township Mayor Janice S. Mironov issues Mayoral Proclamation recognizing January as Human Trafficking Awareness Month to Womanspace Executive Director Patricia Hart (right), and presents Womanspace with a sign featuring a photograph of an anti-human trafficking billboard she saw at the Thailand-Myanmar border during a recent trip to Southeast Asia.