IN THE COUNTY LEGISLATURE OF JACKSON COUNTY, MISSOURI
Title
A RESOLUTION supporting efforts in Jackson County and the state of Missouri to create awareness of and bring an end to human trafficking.
Intro
RESOLUTION NO. 20476, August 17, 2020
INTRODUCED BY Jeanie Lauer, Theresa Cass Galvin and Jalen Anderson County Legislators
Body
WHEREAS, human trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or service, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion, for the purpose of forced labor or sexual servitude; and,
WHEREAS, human trafficking is a $32 billion annual global criminal enterprise and is a crime as well as a civil and human rights violation; and,
WHEREAS, the United States is a major destination country for international trafficking victims, as approximately fourteen to seventeen hundred victims are trafficked into this country each year, not including domestically trafficked children and adults; and,
WHEREAS, human trafficking is a crime that impacts Jackson County; and,
WHEREAS, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, Missouri ranks sixteenth in the country in human trafficking with truck stops and illicit massage parlors, creating hubs for such illegal activity; and,
WHEREAS, disenfranchised adolescents are particularly vulnerable to human traffickers, who will prey upon vulnerable youth, frequently through internet chat channels, to recruit them into domestic servitude and sexual exploitation; and,
WHEREAS, more awareness and education are crucial to eradicating human trafficking in our community; and,
WHEREAS, stricter Missouri laws are needed to aid in the prosecution of trafficking-related crimes, such as money laundering, prostitution, kidnapping, child pornography, and fraud; and,
WHEREAS, the County Legislature of Jackson County has a strong commitment to social justice and supports efforts to end human trafficking in our community; now therefore,
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