BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - The March Against Child Trafficking is being held in Downtown Bakersfield Saturday evening.
23abc's Austin Westfall looked into the event and said it has garnered a lot of attention on social media in the past few days. One Facebook group dedicated to the event has over 5,000 members. It has a large interest because it is a large problem in Kern County.
The route being taken starts at 928 17th street. From there, marchers will make their way to Truxton Avenue then head west, stopping at the Kern County Superior Court, the Liberty Bell, and finally, the Fox Theater. Then the marchers will head back where they came from. Things are slated to start at 6 p.m.
Prostitution and sex trafficking continue to be a problem in Kern County and around the country. Magdalene Hope, a local non-profit that rescues women from human trafficking, shelters them, and reintegrates them back into society, is helping to host the event.
They say trafficking has not been slowed at all by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although there appears to be thousands of people interested in the event on Facebook, it's unknown how many people will actually be turning out to march. One thing is certain though organizers want everyone to be wearing a mask. They also discourage people from bringing kids to the march.
We've heard no official word from law enforcement, but it's entirely possible traffic may be impacted by the event later if the march grows large enough, similar to what was seen during the George Floyd protests.
