Murkowski, Smith Introduce Bill to Protect Children from Human Trafficking

Statement

According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), every two minutes a child is being victimized for sexual exploitation. U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Tina Smith (D-MN) introduced the Human Trafficking and Exploitation Prevention Training Act of 2020, which would prevent the human trafficking and exploitation of children by providing grants critical for training students, parents, teachers, and school personnel to understand, recognize, prevent, and respond to signs of human trafficking.

Specifically, the bill would issue grants to non-profit organizations and schools to develop and implement age-appropriate, culturally competent, and gender-responsive curriculum, all while prioritizing geographic areas with the highest prevalence of human trafficking.

"The thought of anyone, let alone a child, falling victim to the sick and inhumane crime of human trafficking is unthinkable. Locations such as group homes, bus stops, playgrounds, and local malls have become stalking grounds for predators to prey on youth. They are disappearing in plain sight, but with the right tools and resources in place, we can fight back. By better equipping school faculty members, teachers, and even the kids themselves, we can help ensure children are not imprisoned in these traps," said Senator Murkowski, a member of both the Senate Indian Affairs and Health Committees, "I'm encouraged by the legislation that Senator Smith and I have worked together to introduce and hope it will continue to gain bipartisan momentum. If there's anything we should all be able to get behind--it's protecting our children."

"Human trafficking is a serious issue in Minnesota--particularly for Native communities--and my office heard from survivors, advocates, and law enforcement about the need for additional resources to combat this egregious crime," said Senator Smith, a member of both the Senate Indian Affairs and Health Committees. "Our bipartisan bill would set up a pilot program to train students, teachers, and school personnel to recognize, prevent, and respond to signs of human trafficking and child exploitation. Our hope is that through this program, we will increase community awareness about this issue and improve operations to combat trafficking nationwide."

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