2019 Assembly Joint Resolution 116
ENROLLED JOINT RESOLUTION
Relating to: proclaiming January 2020 as human trafficking awareness and prevention month.
Whereas, human trafficking occurs when a person is recruited, harbored, obtained, or transported through force, fraud, or coercion for the purposes of sexual exploitation, commercial sex acts, or labor exploitation; and
Whereas, human traffickers disproportionately target at-risk populations, including individuals who have experienced or been exposed to other violence, such as child abuse and maltreatment and community violence, and those who are disconnected from support networks, such as runaway and homeless youth, unaccompanied minors, and persons displaced by natural disasters; and
Whereas, more than 49,000 total cases of human trafficking have been reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline in the last ten years, averaging 150 calls per day; and
Whereas, the average age a trafficking victim enters the sex trade in the U.S. is 12 to 14 years old; and
Whereas, in 2018, an estimated one out of seven endangered runaways reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children were likely child sex trafficking victims, 80 percent of all trafficking victims are female, and 50 percent of victims are children; and
Whereas, a 2019 U.S. State Department report found that advocates reported a growing trend of traffickers targeting people with disabilities and an increase in the use of online social media platforms to recruit and advertise victims of human trafficking; and
Whereas, human trafficking has been reported in all 72 counties in the state, and it is a crime found in rural, urban, and suburban communities; and
Whereas, human trafficking is modern-day slavery, a practice that is in direct opposition to the fundamental principles of liberty and human rights upon which our nation was founded; and
Whereas, to combat human trafficking in our state, our citizens must be aware of the realities of human trafficking, educated to recognize victims of human trafficking, and dedicated to stopping it; and
Whereas, a resolution passed by the U.S. Senate on June 22, 2007, has forever marked January 11th as a day of awareness and vigilance for the countless victims and survivors of human trafficking around the world; and
Whereas, Wisconsin has zero tolerance for human trafficking, and eliminating human trafficking is a goal shared by all Americans who believe in freedom and liberty for all people; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the
assembly, the senate concurring, That the members of the Wisconsin Legislature proclaim January 2020 as Human Trafficking Awareness and Prevention Month in the State of Wisconsin.
