The month of January serves as Human Trafficking Awareness Month. During this month, advocates, organizations, and individuals unite to raise awareness about this especially important issue. According to the Department of Homeland Security, human trafficking is “modern-day slavery and involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act.” Human trafficking is different from human smuggling, which involves illegal transportation of a person across a border. Victims of human trafficking are of all genders, ages, races, countries, and socioeconomic statuses. While human trafficking can happen to anyone, people who are already in vulnerable situations may be more likely to be targeted.
Human trafficking is often thought to be an international issue; however, this crime exists in all fifty states within the United States. Human trafficking has become the second largest criminal activity/industry in the US and generates billions of dollars in illegal profits annually. According to The National Human Trafficking Hotline, in 2020 over 10,538 human trafficking cases were reported in the U.S. In addition to this, approximately 987 of these cases were reported from within Texas. It is crucial to continue to be proactive and increase our partnerships and collaborations with organizations or governmental entities locally and throughout our nation to stop this activity and bring awareness to this issue.
To prevent human trafficking, we must expand our knowledge of the issue. It is essential to understand what human trafficking is and how to recognize it. Some resources to review are the Polaris Project, and the Blue Campaign. To research statistics and other facts about human trafficking in Texas, visit the Texas Human Trafficking Task Force Reports.
The Texas Legislature continues to work diligently to introduce legislation to combat this industry. For this reason, the current anti-human trafficking laws were reviewed and revised throughout the most recent Legislative Session to ensure the prosecution of these criminals continues and stops others from being involved in these activities. The goal is to create laws that stop, prevent, and end the human trafficking epidemic.
If you have questions regarding any of the information mentioned in this week’s article, please do not hesitate to call my Capitol or District Office. Please always feel free to contact my office if you have any questions or issues regarding a Texas state agency, or if you would like to contact my office regarding constituent services. As always, my offices are available at any time to assist with questions, concerns, or comments (Capitol Office, 512-463-0672; District Office, 361-949-4603).
– State Representative Todd Hunter, District 32
Rep. Hunter represents Aransas County and Nueces County (Part). He can be contacted at todd.hunter@house.texas.gov or at 512-463-0672
