January 25, 2024 - Introduced by Representatives Billings, Kitchens, Duchow, Penterman, Krug, Murphy, Joers, Bare, Drake, Emerson, Magnafici, Stubbs, Vining, Ratcliff, Allen, Binsfeld, Gundrum, Sinicki, Moore Omokunde, Conley, Green, C. Anderson, Tittl, Mursau, Madison, O’Connor, Schraa, Palmeri, S. Johnson and Shankland, cosponsored by Senators L. Johnson, James, Wirch, Carpenter, Smith, Ballweg, Agard and Testin. Referred to Committee on Rules.
AJR108,,22Relating to: proclaiming January 2024 as Human Trafficking Awareness and Prevention Month in the state of Wisconsin. AJR108,,33Whereas, human trafficking occurs when a person is recruited, harbored, obtained, or transported through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of sexual exploitation, commercial sex acts, or labor exploitation; and AJR108,,44Whereas, 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 AJR108,,55Whereas, since 2007, more than 82,000 total cases of human trafficking have been reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline; and AJR108,,66Whereas, the average age a trafficking victim enters the sex trade in the United States is between 12 and 14 years old; and AJR108,,77Whereas, in 2022, an estimated one-out-of-six endangered runaways reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children were likely child sex trafficking victims; and AJR108,,88Whereas, a 2019 U.S. Department of State report found that advocates reported a growing trend of traffickers targeting individuals with disabilities and an increase in the use of social media platforms to recruit and advertise victims of human trafficking; and AJR108,,99Whereas, human trafficking has been reported in all 72 counties in this state, and it is a crime found in rural, urban, and suburban communities; and AJR108,,1010Whereas, 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 AJR108,,1111Whereas, 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 AJR108,,1212Whereas, a resolution passed by the U.S. Senate on June 22, 2007, has forever marked January 11 as a day of awareness and vigilance for the countless victims and survivors of human trafficking around the world; and AJR108,,1313Whereas, 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 AJR108,,1414Resolved by the assembly, the senate concurring, That the members of the Wisconsin Legislature proclaim January 2024 as Human Trafficking Awareness and Prevention Month in the state of Wisconsin.
