4759-19 Human Trafficking Prevention Awareness Month

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H J BILL NO. 19-06 RESOLUTION NO. 4759-19 A RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND,INDIANA WARNING AREA RESIDENTS OF THE DANGERS AND PREVALENCE OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN THIS AREA members of the public are generally aware of, and are sympathetic to, those who face the dangers of human trafficking; and the true nature and extent of this crime against helpless individuals is nothing less than staggering; and 4fismai, The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 defines sex trafficking as, "a commercial sex act that is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age." Labor trafficking is defined as, "the recruitment, harboring, transportation,provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude,peonage, debt bondage, or slavery"; and human trafficking is the fastest growing and second largest criminal enterprise in the world today, generating an estimated $150 billion dollars annually; and 4fmmii, throughout the world over 27 million people are exploited through human trafficking with an estimated 300,000 American youths at risk of becoming victims of commercial sexual exploitation with an additional 14,500-17,500 humans trafficked into the United States annually; and G these numbers are just the tip of the iceberg due to underreporting and with the number of cases increasing exponentially each year through the use of social media and the internet; and South Bend and the surrounding areas are not safe from these dangers as shown by the recent discovery and rescue of five victims in southwest Michigan and the arrests of traffickers in South Bend and Ft. Wayne in late 2017 as part of an FBI nationwide operation, which in a four-day period, rescued 84 minors and arrested 120 traffickers; and 61 , the youngest victim recovered in the FBI operation was 3 months old and the average age of the victims being 15.; and 4fl« the children and young adult victims are not just nameless and faceless unknowns, but include our sons, daughters, grandchildren, nieces, nephews and the children playing outside next door; and cl it is no longer enough to know"of'the problem,but now necessary to know"about"the problem by independently seeking out information and, more importantly, when seeing anything that raises suspicion, doing something to inform the proper authorities or agencies. auh g/z x xa 6e it xt,so/ed G dee aS.rnian ` uneil?de (? - i (endJndiana, a6J: Section I. Human trafficking in any form is morally reprehensible and contrary to our cherished freedoms. Section II. Everyone has a duty to do what is in their ability to end human trafficking and protect the victims. Section III. In addition to local and regional First Responders, the following are some of the resources available to learn more or to take action: National Human Trafficking Hotline: 1-888-373-7888; (TTY: 711); Text 233733;