In the very near future, we will be introducing legislation which would provide for the annual designation and holiday observance of January 11th as a “Human Trafficking Awareness Day” in Pennsylvania.  Human Trafficking Awareness Day is already recognized by the U.S. Government and was officially declared on January 11th, 2007, by the U.S. Senate. It is part of National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, which was first proclaimed by President Obama in January 2010 and has been upheld by every president since. 
 
Human trafficking is a very real threat to our Commonwealth and our nation.  Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery that involves the exploitation of individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purposes of forced labor, sexual exploitation, or other forms of involuntary servitude. 
 
There are tens of thousands of adults and children subjected to human trafficking around the world, including in the United States.  According to the U.S. Department of State and the National Human Trafficking Hotline, thousands of cases of human trafficking are reported in the United States each year, with Pennsylvania ranking ninth among the states with the highest number of reported cases and fourth in the nation for the number of active criminal human trafficking cases.
 
Unfortunately, our local governments, cities, townships, boroughs and rural communities are often not trained to recognize and respond to many situations of human trafficking.     
 
Increased public awareness and education are vital in the effort to identify, prevent, and eliminate human trafficking in all its forms. By designating and observing  January 11th as Human Trafficking Awareness Day, it is our hope that we can all make an effort to be vigilant and support efforts to curb and fight this tragic crime.
 
We hope that you will join us in co-sponsoring this legislation.