STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-SIX
_____
JOINT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING JANUARY 2026 AS
HUMAN TRAFFICKING PREVENTION MONTH
WHEREAS, human trafficking is a public health issue and a crime that harms the health
and well-being of individuals, families and communities, often across generations; and
WHEREAS, twenty-five years after passage of the federal Trafficking Victims Protection
Act of 2000, an estimated 27,600,000 people are subjected to human trafficking globally, with
cases reported in every United States state and territory; and
WHEREAS, human trafficking can happen to anyone, but certain populations are at
greater risk, including people affected by abuse, violence, poverty, unstable living situations or
social disconnection; and
WHEREAS, human trafficking is connected to many other forms of violence and
exploitation and often shares common risk factors such as lack of resources and unsafe
environments; and
WHEREAS, services provided to those affected by human trafficking must be trauma-
informed and responsive to individual needs; and
WHEREAS, there is a need to understand how human trafficking relates to other forms of
violence and how we can prevent it by strengthening protective factors at the individual,
relational, community and societal levels; and
WHEREAS, strengthening communities requires collective action to reduce the
conditions that contribute to exploitation, build resilience and create environments where
people are protected from human trafficking and other forms of violence; and
WHEREAS, successful response to human trafficking requires a coordinated, community-
wide effort that includes collaboration across sectors and with those who have experienced
human trafficking firsthand to ensure that services and programs are effective and meet the
needs of all survivors; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED: That We, the Members of the One Hundred and Thirty-second Legislature
now assembled in the Second Regular Session, on behalf of the people we represent, take this
opportunity to recognize January 2026 as Human Trafficking Prevention Month and to express
our support for increasing awareness of and improving education on human trafficking, making
resources available for individuals and communities affected by human trafficking and building
diverse public-private partnerships to support a more coordinated, comprehensive response to
prevent and combat human trafficking.
Page 1 - 132LR2987(01)