Bill Text: CA SR76 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Relative to Human Trafficking Awareness Month

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-2)

Status: (Passed) 2018-01-29 - Read. Adopted. (Ayes 39. Noes 0. Page 4109.) [SR76 Detail]

Download: California-2017-SR76-Introduced.html

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CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Resolution

No. 76

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Introduced by Senators Skinner, Atkins, Bates, Fuller, Galgiani, and Mitchell

January 24, 2018

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Relative to Human Trafficking Awareness Month.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SR 76, as introduced, Skinner.

Digest Key

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Bill Text

WHEREAS, Beginning in 2010, each January has been designated by presidential proclamation to be National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month; and

WHEREAS, The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that there are 20.9 million victims of human trafficking globally; and

WHEREAS, Sixty-eight percent of human trafficking victims are trapped in forced labor, twenty-six percent are children, and fifty-five percent are women and girls; and

WHEREAS, The ILO estimates that forced labor and human trafficking is a $150 billion a year industry worldwide. Nine billion dollars of that is estimated to be in agriculture, including forestry and fishing; and

WHEREAS, In 2016, an estimated one out of every six endangered runaways reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children were likely to be child sex trafficking victims. Of those, eighty-six percent were in the care of social services or the foster system when they ran away; and

WHEREAS, More than two-thirds of sex trafficked children suffer additional abuse at the hands of their traffickers; and

WHEREAS, Women and children who have been trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation experience a significantly higher rate of infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other sexually transmitted diseases, as well as tuberculosis and permanent damage to the reproductive system; and

WHEREAS, California has one of the highest incidences of human trafficking in the nation. It is a top destination for traffickers because of its major harbors, airports, coastlines, international borders, economy, and immigrant population; and

WHEREAS, The Federal Bureau of Investigation crime analysis lists California and Nevada as having the highest rates of child prostitution in the western region of the United States; and

WHEREAS, More than 31,600 total cases of human trafficking have been reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline in the last eight years, with the hotline receiving more than 100 calls per day; and

WHEREAS, There were 13,897 calls to the National Human Trafficking Hotline in 2017. Seven hundred and five of those were from California, which was the highest of any state; and

WHEREAS, The number of cases of human trafficking reported to the Polaris BeFree Textline, an SMS-based hotline for victims and survivors of human trafficking and at-risk populations, increases every year; and

WHEREAS, Human trafficking affects men, women, and children of all ages. It is necessary to remain aware of this constant modern form of slavery that is happening all around us and for California to take an active stance on preventing and eliminating human trafficking once and for all; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, That the Senate proclaims January 2018 as Human Trafficking Awareness Month in California in order to encourage greater awareness of human trafficking within the State of California, the United States of America, and internationally; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.