Photo courtesy of the Zonta Club of Birmingham

The Zonta Club of Birmingham recently put up this billboard on I-65 South at Exit 250 to draw attention to the problem of human trafficking, especially in the run up to The World Games 2022 in Birmingham in July.
Birmingham has a reputation as a major center for human trafficking, according to law enforcement and other officials.

This is true in part because the city is at the center of several major transportation routes — I-20, I-59 and I-65.

I-20 has often been dubbed a sort of “superhighway” for human trafficking.

Now a women’s group in the area with a long history of concern over trafficking and women’s issues has put up a billboard on I-65 to draw attention to the problem.

The Zonta Club of Birmingham put up the billboard on I-65 South at exit 250 on Dec. 4, and it will remain up until Jan. 2, club member Jean Bouler told Iron City Ink. 

The billboard contains the message, “See something. Say something,” meaning that citizens should report what they consider suspicious activity, and has a phone number, 888-373-7888.

“The billboard is in response to the The World Games 2022 in Birmingham,” Bouler said.

The World Games will take place in the Birmingham area July 7-17 this year and is expected to draw about 100,000 visitors to the city from all over the world.

Club members are concerned that The World Games could cause a uptick in demand for sexual trafficking.
Other officials have expressed a similar concern, including Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin.

“An increase in tourists seeking entertainments, including commercial sex, increases the potential risks for exploitation and human trafficking,” Woodfin said in December 2019, according to a report at Birmingham Watch.

The Zonta Club of Birmingham will also host a virtual program about the issue, “Human Trafficking: An American Problem,” on Jan. 11, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.   

The program will be led by Amy Wagar, a human trafficking survivor advocate and trainer in Birmingham.
To register, go to Eventbrite.

The Zonta Club of Birmingham was started in 1940 by professional women who were not allowed to join the then male-only Kiwanis and Rotary clubs. The goal is to empower women through service and advocacy.

Zonta of Birmingham has long been aware of human trafficking because it is a major issue with Zonta International, Bouler said.

The international organization has chapters in 63 countries and works with the United Nations to provide financial support and technical assistance to women and children in developing countries.

The local club has about 35 members and taken on the issue of human trafficking in the past, sponsoring programs, speakers and posters in restaurant restrooms, Bouler said.

For several years, the club has funded billboards in Birmingham with the message, “Say No to Violence Against Women.”  “We also support the YWCA women’s shelter and are hopeful that the billboard message helps,” Bouler said.  

The club also promotes women’s issues online, said club member Alison Smith.

https://ironcity.ink/neck-of-the-woods/birmingham-women%E2%80%99s-group-seeks-to-fight-human-trafficking/

Every November, the Zonta Club of Key West, USA, goes orange to support the Zonta Says NO campaign to end gender-based violence. The club decked out palm trees with orange ribbons along North Roosevelt Blvd, Key West, to commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on 25 November.

The ribbons included information cards about the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women initiative to get more people not to look away but to speak up and take action, and get involved in their community. The club hung the orange ribbons during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence from 25 November to 10 December, International Human Rights Day.

Residents and visitors of Key West were encouraged to support the campaign by wearing orange during the 16 Days.

The club strived to raise awareness and promote open discussions to help end violence against women and eliminate the detrimental consequences this violence has on the well-being of their community, including women, partners, children – One Family.

The Key West Commission presented the annual proclamation to the club in recognition of 16 Days of Activism, permitting the display of the orange ribbons.

To kick off the 2021 Orange The World campaign, the Zonta Club of Bad Bergzabern, Germany, lit up the Bad Bergzabern castle in orange on 25 November. 

Club members positioned themselves in front of the castle, dressed in orange and holding orange umbrellas. Club president Susanne Faber opened the event with a minute silence in memory of the 139 women who had been killed by their current or former partners in Germany this year, followed by a short speech in which she addressed the many existing forms of violence against women. 

Several local officials joined Susanne in speaking up against violence against women. They later talked with the interested visitors, who were also dressed up in orange, showing their solidarity gathered around. Many other prominent buildings in the area lit up in orange that same evening to show their support for the campaign: The German Wine Gate (Schweigen-Rechtenbach), Dionysius Chapel (Gleisweiler) and the Museum of Annweiler, for example, as well as Landeck Castle, Town Hall and St. Nicholas Chapel (Klingenmünster). 

“Our dream for the future is to have the complete Southern part of the German Wine Street illuminated in orange someday,” Susanne said when closing her speech.

Starting in September, the Zonta Club of Mannheim, Germany, began organizing their Orange the World activities. More than 40 buildings and organizations participated in the event on 25 November by illuminating the buildings, hanging up posters and distributing information against violence against women. 

Visit the club’s website to see pictures and a short movie about the illuminated buildings.