Wednesday, January 11th has been proclaimed as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Awareness Day.

Human trafficking is one of the most egregious human rights violations we see. It is a heinous crime of exploitation that involves forcing people to work for others for profit, whether through traditional types of labor or sexual exploitation.  Victims are men, women, and children from our state, our country, and across the globe.  Experts estimate that world-wide, 27 million people are trafficked annually bringing in $32 billion dollars. It is the fastest growing and second largest black market.

This past year, our office worked with legislators to enact a law that makes human trafficking a felony in our state and creates services for victims. The passage of this law has given us some important tools to combat trafficking, but more work needs to be done. To that end, we are beginning the work of our state wide task force made up of government and non-profit agencies to examine and address all aspects of trafficking.

Everyone has something to offer in the fight against human trafficking. Hospital, hotel, and transportation staff are in a unique position to identify victims.  Educators and parents can encourage prevention and internet safety education. Today, everyone can take a moment to learn about the signs and consequences of human trafficking and all that we can do to prevent this exploitation.

To learn more about human trafficking and what you can do, visit the Attorney General’s website.

We’ve worked over the past several years to enhance and expand the Attorney General’s Office website to be an increasingly transparent, helpful resource for the Commonwealth’s residents.  On October 27th, the Attorney General’s Office launched a fully reorganized and redesigned website. 

If you visit other state government websites, you may notice similar design changes on many other pages that are part of the Mass.gov portal. Throughout this fall and winter, more websites will continue to transition to the new design.  

The Attorney General’s Office used this opportunity to expand and reorganize our existing site content.  Our goal was simple: all changes should make the customer experience simpler and easier. We believe these updates will result in fewer clicks, easier navigation, and will help the public have a clearer understanding of what we do, and how we can help. 

Here are some of the bigger changes:

• Navigation of the site has been reorganized and moved to a row of tabs with dropdowns across the top of the page. 
• We’ve added a left-hand navigation tool on many pages, to help you retrace your steps when searching for content.
• We’ve added a description of the office’s organization, with information about each Bureau and Division across the office.
• Our layout has become more streamlined, with one or two columns on each page instead of three. We hope this makes pages more readable and easier to scan.

We will continue to improve, revise, and enhance the website over the next several months, and we welcome the public’s feedback about the design and navigation.  Please feel free to contact us at Agoweb@state.ma.us with feedback or concerns.  If you experience difficulties accessing or finding a specific page, please feel free to e-mail us at this address and we’ll work to assist. 

We’ve worked over the past several years to enhance and expand the Attorney General’s Office website, striving to make information more transparent and accessible at every opportunity. Towards that goal, later this week, the Attorney General’s Office will launch a reorganized and redesigned website. 

If you visit other state government websites, you may notice similar design changes on many other pages that are part of the Mass.gov portal.  The Attorney General’s Office used this opportunity to expand and reorganize our existing site content.  The goal was simple: all changes should make the customer experience simpler, and make more content accessible to the public. We believe these updates will result in fewer clicks, easier navigation, and will help the public have a clearer understanding of what we do and how we can help. 

Once the site launches, we’ll welcome the public’s feedback about the design and navigation.  Please feel free to contact us at agoweb@state.ma.us with feedback or concerns.  If you experience difficulties accessing or finding a specific page, please feel free to e-mail us at this address and we’ll work to assist. 

Stay tuned!

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. This abuse can happen to anyone, regardless of race, sexual orientation, or gender and the effects can impact many aspects of someone’s well-being. The consequences of this violence bring forth concerns for victims with regards to their health, homes, and financial security when they try to leave their abuser.

Help is available. Our office can provide assistance for victims with many of these issues.   For general concerns please contact our Office at (617) 727-2200.

For specific health insurance concerns, the Insurance & Health Care Consumer Helpline is (888) 830-6277

To receive assistance with consumer issues, our Public Inquiry & Assistance Center Hotline number is (617) 727-8400. Operators are available from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Alternatively you may file consumer complaints via email any day at any time by completing our Consumer Complaint form 

For information about our Victim Compensation and Assistance Division please click here or call (617) 727-2200 ext.2160

From September 2010 through August 2011 our Office responded to 206 domestic violence victim compensation claims and provided over $658,410.71 in compensation to victims.

If you or someone you know needs immediate help, please contact SafeLink at 1-877-785-2020. SafeLink is a 24-hour, free and multi-lingual hotline for programs in Massachusetts. An advocate can talk with you about your needs and help you identify appropriate resources.