AJR9,,112023 ASSEMBLY JOINT RESOLUTION 9 February 6, 2023 - Introduced by Representatives Billings, Kitchens, Drake, Penterman, Spiros, Emerson, Baldeh, Schutt, Tittl, Conley, Mursau, Vining, Haywood, Dittrich, Armstrong, Murphy, Novak, Behnke, O’Connor, Shankland, Moore Omokunde, Riemer, Shelton, Considine, Joers, Tusler, Subeck, Stubbs, Hong, Rozar, Madison, Clancy, Andraca, Allen, C. Anderson, Ortiz-Velez, Sinicki and Donovan, cosponsored by Senators L. Johnson, James, Roys, Taylor, Carpenter, Cabral-Guevara, Jacque, Hesselbein, Larson, Agard, Spreitzer, Ballweg and Marklein. Referred to Committee on Rules.
AJR9,,22Relating to: proclaiming January 2023 as human trafficking awareness and prevention month. AJR9,,33Whereas, 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 AJR9,,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 AJR9,,55Whereas, since 2007 more than 82,000 total cases of human trafficking have been reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, including 796 in Wisconsin; and AJR9,,66Whereas, the average age a trafficking victim enters the sex trade in the United States is from 12 to 14 years old; and AJR9,,77Whereas, in 2021, an estimated one out of six endangered runaways reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children were likely child sex trafficking victims, 70 percent of all trafficking victims are female, and 50 percent of victims are children; and AJR9,,88Whereas, 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 social media platforms to recruit and advertise victims of human trafficking; and AJR9,,99Whereas, 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 AJR9,,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 AJR9,,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 AJR9,,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 AJR9,,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 AJR9,,1414Resolved by the assembly, the senate concurring, That the members of the Wisconsin Legislature proclaim January 2023 as Human Trafficking Awareness and Prevention Month in the State of Wisconsin.
