SAGE Project Launches Reclaim your Rights (R&R) Anti-Human Trafficking Campaign November 16th, 2007 SAN FRANCISCO, California

The SAGE (Standing Against Global Exploitation) Project held a press conference today to launch the Reclaim Your Rights (R&R) Anti-Human Trafficking Campaign in San Francisco. This is an outreach campaign for San Francisco Bay Area victims of human trafficking and forced labor.

A labor trafficking survivor panel from the U.S. EEOC v. Trans Bay Steel case bravely shared their story. Recruited from Thailand, they were made to pay an exorbitant “fee” to come to the U.S. While their passports were withheld and they were forced to live in inhumane conditions, the men were coerced into involuntary servitude as welders on the San Francisco Bay Bridge. Currently, the Thai men are anxiously awaiting reunification with their families on U.S. soil. One survivor expressed “When we met our case managers from SAGE it felt like we were stranded in the middle of the ocean and they were the ship that came to rescue us.” SAGE is humbled to have played a part in helping these men to reclaim their human rights.

The Reclaim your Rights Campaign (R&R) coincides and expands on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement’s (ORR) recent efforts to combat U.S. (domestic) and international human trafficking and forced labor.

The R&R Campaign promotes 2-1-1 as the primary phone number for human trafficking victims and advocates who need help. Operated by United Way of the Bay Area, 2-1-1 is a free, confidential, 24-hour, multilingual information line that connects people in need with health and human services. 2-1-1 is staffed by trained Information & Referral Specialists, who assess the needs of each caller and link them to the best available information and services.

R&R notifies trafficked victims about their rights and ability to receive safe and confidential help in San Francisco. R&R campaign materials include radio and newspaper public service announcements, pole banners and informative materials distributed and posted in potential points of intervention (taxis, nail salons, bus stops, money-transfer businesses). Campaign materials are provided in 10 languages: Thai, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Tagalog, Russian, Spanish and English. Campaign materials include: palm information cards, pole banners, pocket mirrors and chapsticks.

The survivor panel reiterated to the audience that “It’s essential that the social service agencies advertise the rights and services that are available to victims, so that the victims are aware of the help that they can get and that the information is shared with as many people as possible. The organizations that have helped us along the way have become like our family here in the U.S. and that has encouraged our spirits and given us the strength to go on. We want that for as many others as possible.”

During the press conference, San Francisco Supervisor Carmen Chu and Catalina Hayes-Bautista, a representative for State Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, both expressed the need for the R&R campaign and continued persistence with AB22 and AB1278, California bills which heavily criminalize traffickers and work to eliminate the risk of deportation for human trafficking victims.

Other guest speakers included:

• Attorney Michael Rubin: Lead Civil Prosecutor in the Berkeley, California human trafficking Lakireddy Bali Reddy case;

• Helen Rosen: Vice President of United Way of the Bay Area HELPLINK/2-1-1;

• Tom Lorentzen: Regional Director of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS);

• Sharon Fujii: Regional Administrator of Administration for Children and Families (ACF);

• George Friday, Jr. : Regional Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division at the Department of Labor (DOL)

R&R is designed to assure that trafficked victims are able to seek safe and confidential support without the risk of deportation, as outlined in the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 (TVPRA of 2005, H.R. 972).

For media inquiries or other information please contact: Yasmin Kaderali; 415.358.2736; yasmink@sagesf.org or Donna Sinar; 415.554-0492; donnas@sagesf.org

SAGE History

SAGE was founded in 1992 and incorporated as a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization in 1995. It is the leading local advocate for and provider of comprehensive trauma and substance abuse services for women and girls recruited into prostitution, victims of international and domestic trafficking, and women and girls with histories of sexual exploitation and violence.


The mission of the SAGE Project is to improve the lives of individuals victimized by, or at risk for sexual exploitation, violence and prostitution through trauma recovery services, substance abuse treatment, vocational training, housing assistance and legal advocacy.

SAGE’s success has been propelled by awards such as the Innovations in American Government Award, sponsored by the Ford Foundation and John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University; the Oprah’s Angel Network Use Your Life Award; the prestigious Peter F. Drucker Award for Non-Profit Management. This recognition has helped spur the replication of SAGE’s service delivery system worldwide, and positioned the agency as a leader in the struggle for dignity among survivors of sexual exploitation, trauma, human trafficking and violence.