FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Las Vegas, Nev., April 1, 2019 — Church LV in Las Vegas, Nevada, has issued a proclamation declaring itself a TraffickingFree Zone in collaboration with the U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking (USIAHT).
Church LV is a non-denominational church with about 3,800 active members.
“We believe it’s the calling of the church to respond to the injustice of sex trafficking in America, and around the world,” said Pastor Benny Perez of Church LV. “It’s too easy to turn a blind eye to an issue as underground as sex trafficking, and Church LV refuses to do this. We look forward to partnering with the U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking in combatting the demand and restoring victims.”
The TraffickingFree Zone program is an integrated approach to ending sex trafficking in a city or community through multi-sector partnership involving law enforcement, government, businesses, schools and community-based organizations.
“We are grateful for Church LV’s commitment and support in the fight to end sex trafficking in America,” said Kevin Malone, president and co-founder of the U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking. “We believe the church plays a critical role in influencing the world to stop the demand for purchased sex and in providing resources to restore victims of this injustice. Church LV is modeling what it looks like to care and fight for the most vulnerable, and we hope other local churches follow their lead.”
County-by-county, the TraffickingFree Zone program focuses on arresting and prosecuting sex buyers instead of those who are being sold, educating community members on sex trafficking and implementing numerous other demand-reduction techniques.
The State of Nevada is ranked seventh on the National Human Trafficking Hotline’s 2018 list of reported human trafficking cases.
To learn more about USIAHT and its work to end sex trafficking in the United States, visit https://usiaht.org. To learn more about the TraffickingFree Zone program and how you can bring it to your community, visit https://traffickingfreezone.com.
