Senator Hassan Joins Bipartisan Colleagues in Introducing Bill to Protect Children from Human Trafficking

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) joined Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Tina Smith (D-MN) in introducing the bipartisan Human Trafficking and Exploitation Prevention Training Act of 2020, which would help prevent the human trafficking and exploitation of children by providing grants to train students, parents, teachers, and school personnel to understand, recognize, prevent, and respond to signs of human trafficking.

“Teachers and school personnel must have robust training to recognize when students may be exploited and – in an age-appropriate way – teach students about human trafficking so that they can speak up and tell a teacher or a trusted adult if they suspect something might be wrong,” said Senator Hassan. “I’m glad to be working across the aisle on this important bill to protect children in our communities.”

The bipartisan bill would provide grants to nonprofit organizations and schools to develop and implement age-appropriate, culturally competent, and gender-responsive curriculum, prioritizing geographic areas with the highest prevalence of human trafficking. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), every two minutes a child is being victimized for sexual exploitation.

The legislation builds on Senator Hassan’s previous bipartisan efforts to address human trafficking. Last year, Senator Hassan joined the New Hampshire Congressional Delegation to announce $780,038 in federal funding to the New Hampshire Department of Justice in support of efforts to combat human trafficking. Senator Hassan also joined bipartisan Senators in introducing the Interdiction for the Protection of Child Victims of Exploitation and Human Trafficking Act, which would require the U.S. Attorney General to establish a pilot program to train federal, state, tribal and local law enforcement officers to recognize and rescue at-risk and exploited children. 

For more information on the new legislation that Senator Hassan introduced, click here.

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