In November of 2015, the United States Attorney’s Office developed a public service announcement to raise awareness about sex and drug trafficking activities in the state. This public service announcement “U Can Stop Traffick" has recently been named a winner of a People’s Telly Award.
The Telly Award is the premier award honoring outstanding local, regional, and cable TV commercials and programs. This year, there were over 13,000 entries from all 50 states and numerous countries. The “U Can Stop Traffick" public service announcement, which has been airing on Vermont television stations and can be viewed on the campaign’s website, www.UCanStopTraffick.org, won the highest award, an honor bestowed on less than 10% of the entries. The Telly Award is given by a prestigious judging panel of over 500 accomplished industry professionals, each a past winner of a Silver Telly and a member of The Silver Telly Council, who seek to recognize distinction in creative work. In addition to recognition from the Silver Telly Council, the Internet community helps decide the People’s Telly Awards winners.
The “U Can Stop Traffick" public service announcement illustrates the intersection of drug trafficking and sex trafficking in Vermont. It brings to life how drug dealers are assisted by local individuals, some of whom are coerced by those same drug dealers into the commercial sex trade. The website also includes the powerful stories of women who have been trafficked, recorded in their own words and voices, along with resource lists for individuals in need of help.
The public service announcement was directed by Christian Clark and produced by Christian Clark, Tim Joy, and Justin Bunnell. Tim Joy did the cinematography. When asked to describe his experience in filming the PSA, Christian Clark stated: “It was a very humbling couple of weeks. The biggest challenge in tackling an issue of this magnitude is choosing what to say in thirty seconds. The PSA we crafted is a conversation starter. My hope is that the PSA will motivate people to want to learn more and get involved." Clark added: “I have the deepest respect for the women who have the courage to share their stories to help spread the word. Furthermore, I want to commend all the great people at the US Attorney’s Office who are working tirelessly day in and day out to put a stop to human trafficking in Vermont."
U.S. Attorney Miller congratulated the production team for its excellent work in developing the award-winning PSA. “In raising community awareness, the public service announcement is an important step in undermining the foundations of drug dealing in our state and connecting victims with the help and resources they need," said U.S. Attorney Miller.
A special two-part series on the human trafficking issues raised in the PSA will air tonight and tomorrow at 6:00 pm on WCAX.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
