Anti-human trafficking mural unveiled in Tampa

TAMPA (FOX 13) - A mural unveiled on the side of Tampa's Greyhound bus station Tuesday is aimed at helping human trafficking victims find a way out.

The mural, which was part of an initiative funded by the Junior League of Tampa, reads 'I am not for sale, I am priceless.' The painting includes the number for the Human Trafficking Hotline, which was called more than 1,600 times last year in Florida.

"Today is so important, again, because it's bringing awareness to this problem because they're not in the shadows," said Attorney General Pam Bondi, who joined local law enforcement during the event. "These traffickers are living among us. They're taking these victims out in public and that's what's so very frightening."

Bondi and Tampa Police Chief Eric Ward pointed out how important it was to have the mural on the wall of the bus terminal, through which a lot of victims often pass.

Several human trafficking survivors attended the unveiling including Connie Rose, whose father forced her into prostitution when she was a teenager.

"He said, 'you'll be a prostitute.' I said 'okay,'" Rose told FOX 13. "I ended up being a prostitute for four years of my life right here, literally, on Morgan Street, Cass Street."

Rose said she hopes the mural urges other victims to call for help.

"Being a survivor that was raised in Tampa, lived in Tampa for a very, very, very long time it's empowering," she said. "It makes a statement of who Tampa is, how progressive Tampa is and that we are not going to stand by and just let things happen to our children."

The National Human Trafficking Hotline is 888-373-7888.