Senator Hassan Cosponsors Bill to Protect Children from Human Trafficking

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan cosponsored bipartisan legislation, introduced by U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), to help students, parents, teachers, and school personnel to understand, recognize, prevent, and respond to signs of human trafficking. The Human Trafficking and Exploitation Prevention Training Act of 2021 would provide grants to nonprofit organizations and schools to develop and implement age-appropriate, culturally competent, and gender-responsive curriculums, all while prioritizing geographic areas with the highest prevalence of human trafficking.

“It takes a whole school community—students, parents, teachers, and school personnel—to work together and keep children safe from human trafficking and abuse. Yet many times, school personnel don’t know how to recognize the warning signs of human trafficking,” said Senator Hassan. “This bill would help schools develop curriculums to recognize those signs, and I will continue working across the aisle to protect students.”

National organizations endorsing the bill: Afterschool Alliance, Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking (ATEST), Covenant House International, ECPAT-USA, National Center on Sexual Exploitation, National Crittenton, National Network for Youth (NN4Y), Rights4Girls, SchoolHouse Connection, Selah Way Foundation, Shared Hope International, and YMCA of the USA.

The legislation builds on Senator Hassan’s previous bipartisan efforts to address human trafficking. Earlier this month, the President signed into law bipartisan legislation cosponsored by Senator Hassan to strengthen support to survivors of violent crimes, including human trafficking.

Click here for the legislative text. Click here for a one-pager on the bill.

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