On the recordFebruary 7, 2019
Organizations like Courtney's House are working to improve the outcomes for sex trafficking survivors. Tina Frundt, the director of Courtney's House right here in D.C., asserts that African American and Latino communities are not immune to human trafficking. Her organization provides trauma-informed services to sex trafficking survivors between the ages of 12 and 19. Tina is also a child sex trafficking survivor. As a 9-year-old girl in foster care, she was sex trafficked. By the time Tina was 14, she became one of 2 million children who run away from home each year. Nearly 200,000 of them will be sex trafficked. In Tina's case, her adult abuser was more than twice her age, and forced her to become a child sex worker. It took her years to escape. Now Tina helps children like her recent client, a 12-year-old girl whose 25-year-old abuser called himself her boyfriend rather than her trafficker. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 507 supports efforts to stop human trafficking. We are making progress in protecting those who have been caught up in this horrific criminal activity, and this bill is a great example of what we can accomplish when we focus on helping the most vulnerable among us. We have an obligation not only to end human trafficking, but to support people who undergo horrific experiences like these. This bill is yet another step in the right direction.…
