Asa Hutchinson: “I rise in support of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and I want to commend my colleagues Senator Brownback and…”

“I rise in support of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and I want to commend my colleagues Senator Brownback and Senator Wellstone for their hard work on this legislation. Inge had hoped for a better life when she left her home in Veracruz, Mexico--for legitimate work that would pay her well. She was hoping to earn money in a restaurant or a store and earn money to bring back to her family. She never expected a smuggling debt of $2,200. She never expected to be beaten and raped until she agreed to have sex with 30 men a day. She never expected to be a slave--especially not in the United States--not in Florida. So she got drunk before the men arrived. And when her shift was done, she drank some more. Inge would soak herself in a bathtub filled with hot water--drinking, crying, smoking one cigarette after another--trying any way she could to dull the pain. And she would go to sleep drunk or pass out--until the next day when she had to do it all again. Unfortunately, Inge's case is not unique. It is a horrific story played out every day in countries all over the world. In fact, at least 50,000 women and children are trafficked into the U.S. each year and at least 700,000 women and children are trafficked worldwide. These women and children are forced into the sex industry or forced into harsh labor, often by well organized criminal networks. Traffickers disproportionately target the poor, preying on people in desperate economic situations.”