2023 - 2024 LEGISLATURE
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2023 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 9
January 27, 2023 - Introduced by Senators L. JOHNSON, JAMES, ROYS, TAYLOR,
CARPENTER, CABRAL-GUEVARA, JACQUE, HESSELBEIN, LARSON, AGARD,
SPREITZER, BALLWEG, MARKLEIN and WIRCH, cosponsored by Representatives
BILLINGS, KITCHENS, DRAKE, PENTERMAN, SPIROS, EMERSON, BALDEH, SCHUTT,
TITTL, CONLEY, MURSAU, VINING, HAYWOOD, DITTRICH, ARMSTRONG, MURPHY,
NOVAK, BEHNKE, O'CONNOR, SHANKLAND, MOORE OMOKUNDE, RIEMER, SHELTON,
CONSIDINE, JOERS, TUSLER, SUBECK, STUBBS, HONG, ROZAR, MADISON, CLANCY,
ANDRACA, ALLEN, C. ANDERSON, ORTIZ-VELEZ and DONOVAN. Referred to
Committee on Senate Organization.
1 Relating to: proclaiming January 2023 as human trafficking awareness and
2 prevention month.
3 Whereas, human trafficking occurs when a person is recruited, harbored,
4 obtained, or transported through force, fraud, or coercion for the purposes of sexual
5 exploitation, commercial sex acts, or labor exploitation; and
6 Whereas, human traffickers disproportionately target at-risk populations,
7 including individuals who have experienced or been exposed to other violence, such
8 as child abuse and maltreatment and community violence, and those who are
9 disconnected from support networks, such as runaway and homeless youth,
10 unaccompanied minors, and persons displaced by natural disasters; and
11 Whereas, since 2007 more than 82,000 total cases of human trafficking have
12 been reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, including 796 in
13 Wisconsin; and
14 Whereas, the average age a trafficking victim enters the sex trade in the United
15 States is from 12 to 14 years old; and
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1 Whereas, in 2021, an estimated one out of six endangered runaways reported
2 to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children were likely child sex
3 trafficking victims, 70 percent of all trafficking victims are female, and 50 percent
4 of victims are children; and
5 Whereas, a 2019 U.S. State Department report found that advocates reported
6 a growing trend of traffickers targeting people with disabilities and an increase in
7 the use of social media platforms to recruit and advertise victims of human
8 trafficking; and
9 Whereas, human trafficking has been reported in all 72 counties in the state,
10 and it is a crime found in rural, urban, and suburban communities; and
11 Whereas, human trafficking is modern-day slavery, a practice that is in direct
12 opposition to the fundamental principles of liberty and human rights upon which our
13 nation was founded; and
14 Whereas, to combat human trafficking in our state, our citizens must be aware
15 of the realities of human trafficking, educated to recognize victims of human
16 trafficking, and dedicated to stopping it; and
17 Whereas, a resolution passed by the U.S. Senate on June 22, 2007, has forever
18 marked January 11 as a day of awareness and vigilance for the countless victims and
19 survivors of human trafficking around the world; and
20 Whereas, Wisconsin has zero tolerance for human trafficking, and eliminating
21 human trafficking is a goal shared by all Americans who believe in freedom and
22 liberty for all people; now, therefore, be it
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1 Resolved by the senate, the assembly concurring, That the members of the
2 Wisconsin Legislature proclaim January 2023 as Human Trafficking Awareness and
3 Prevention Month in the State of Wisconsin.
4 (END)