On the recordJanuary 12, 2016
January is Human Trafficking Month, and I rise today to continue to be a voice for the countless victims of human trafficking in the United States. If we, as Members of Congress, want to truly address the sex trafficking epidemic, we must face the facts. We must acknowledge and address the direct link between children in the foster care system and children who become victims of sex trafficking. For far too many children, the foster care system is an unwitting gateway to sex trafficking. This is a nationwide issue that requires a Federal response. In 2010, 59 percent of the children arrested on prostitution-related charges in L.A. County were in the foster care system. A 2007 report from the U.S. Department of Justice found that 85 percent of identified child sex trafficking victims in New York State also had contact with the child welfare system. Further, according to the FBI, an estimated 70 percent of child sex trafficking victims in Florida had histories with the child welfare system. Children in the foster care system are our children. When they fall victim to trafficking, it means that all of us have failed. To help all victims of trafficking, including foster youth, we must change our mindset on how we address this horrific crime. A child who cannot consent to sex should never be called a prostitute. The men who prey on them are not johns; they are child molesters.…
