BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Legislation in the Massachusetts State House could create a new special alert system, called Ebony Alert, that would alert the public to missing women and girls of color, especially Black women and girls.
The system would work like the Amber Alert, and it is already in use in California. The Ebony Alert would notify the public specifically when Black women and girls go missing.
The proposed Massachusetts House Bill 3913 would also collect data on missing person and homicide cases involving Black women and girls.
A Boston-based nonprofit My Life My Choice, who work with survivors of human trafficking to prevent and educate people on commercial sexual exploitation, voiced their support of the bill.
My Life My Choice provides resources to survivors of human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. They also advocate for legislative policies that codify the “safety, rights, and resources for minors and adult survivors of commercial sexual exploitation.”
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Audrey Morrissey, co-executive director of My Life My Choice, said there is a disparity in media attention when white children go missing compared to children of color.
“The reason this bill has been brought to the attention of legislators is people feeling like the same effort to find white children is not the same effort in finding Black and brown children.”
Lisa Goldblatt Grace, co-founder and co-executive director of My Life My Choice, explained that the legislation in the State House could help address this racism, as well as help people breakdown the racial dynamics of human trafficking.
“This bill would require that we collectively name the systemic and institutional racism and the factors that result in Black and brown youth being missing from care so much more frequently. And then that we track those numbers. We need to be able to codify it in order to move forward and make things different,” she said.
Another bill in the State House this year is House Bill 2416, which would require certain hospitality workers to be trained to recognize signs of human trafficking.
Both bills have reporting due dates set for April 8, pending concurrence between the two branches.
WBZ NewsRadio’s Kim Tunnicliffe (@KimWBZ) reports.
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