Xquisite staff members and volunteers on Wednesday hang a sign and blue bows marking January as National Human Trafficking Awareness Month.
Blue bows are lining Carson City’s light poles this month to remind the community that human trafficking is an issue in Nevada.
Xquisite, founded in 2012 to support victims of sexual assault and domestic violence, and its local partners are preparing for its annual National Human Trafficking Prevention Event on Jan. 31 at the Governor’s Mansion. The nonprofit works with local law enforcement and legal experts, including Reno Police Department Human Exploitation and Trafficking and the Nevada Attorney General’s Office, as well as advocates who provide various resources to help survivors with their trauma.
Pastor Samuel Inman of Lighthouse Church in Silver Springs ties a bow to a pillar of the Nevada Attorney General’s Office to signify National Human Trafficking Awareness Month.
“I think it's so great to have a tangible, visible thing for people to go, ‘What's that about, right?’” Brenda Sandquist, Xquisite’s executive director said Wednesday. “And so, the blue bows, people do ask us a lot of times, ‘Why are you hanging those? What are those for?’ … We are able to say we want everyone to have the opportunity to be free, to save a life.”
Volunteer Samuel Inman, pastor of Lighthouse Church in Silver Springs, who was helping to hang the bows for the first time Wednesday, has known Sandquist for several years. He said it’s important to understand that human trafficking happens in Nevada.
Xquisite staff members and volunteers, from left, Donna, Jeana, Melody and Darnette, hang blue bows on Carson Street’s light poles designating January as National Human Trafficking Awareness Month.
“We can help people who really are victims of their circumstances a lot of times,” Inman said.
The event on Jan. 31 will feature a panel of legislators who will address changing laws, practices and root causes for behaviors.
“Why are we okay that we have legal prostitution here?” Sandquist said. “We shouldn’t be okay with that. It’s a slow move of the dial, though. As people become more aware, they're going be willing to make a change in our laws or say, ‘We're not okay with how things are now.’ So, that's really what we'll focus on this year.”
National Human Trafficking Awareness Day is observed on Jan. 11, and also is considered #WearBlueDay.