Louisiana law now requires hotels and motels to post information about the National Human Trafficking Resource Center’s 24-hour hotline—888-373-7888, The American Press reports.
The provision, signed by Gov. John Bel Edwards in May, took effect Aug. 1.
State law already required that the hotline information be posted in sexually oriented businesses; massage parlors, spas and hotels known for prostitution; and outpatient abortion clinics.
Rusty Havens, founder of SWLA Abolitionists, a local group working to eliminate human trafficking, says the new provision “is a big step.”
“Human trafficking is such a large problem that one group of people can’t end it by themselves,” he tells the publication. “One of our main focuses has been to educate and spread awareness in our community so that there will be more eyes and ears out there. Posting of the hotline information will help educate all hotel workers.”
According to the NHTRC, the hotline had received 13,454 calls this year as of June 30, with 3,646 human-trafficking cases reported, including 53 in Louisiana.
