Bill Text: DE HCR4 | 2025-2026 | 153rd General Assembly | Draft

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Bill Title: Recognizing The Month Of January 2025 As "human Trafficking Awareness Month" In Delaware.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Engrossed) 2025-01-23 - Passed By Senate. Votes: 18 YES 1 ABSENT 2 VACANT [HCR4 Detail]

Download: Delaware-2025-HCR4-Draft.html

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SPONSOR:

Rep. K. Williams & Rep. Michael Smith on behalf of all Representatives & Sen. Poore & Sen. Richardson on behalf of all Senators

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 4

RECOGNIZING THE MONTH OF JANUARY 2025 AS "HUMAN TRAFFICKING AWARENESS MONTH" IN DELAWARE.

WHEREAS, human trafficking is a heinous crime that exploits individuals through forced labor, sexual exploitation, and other forms of coercion, robbing them of their dignity and freedom; and 

WHEREAS, h uman trafficking is the second largest and fastest-growing criminal industry in the world, generating more than $150 billion annually, with an estimated 27.6 million victims globally, including 1.1 million in the United States; and

WHEREAS, approximately 41% of child trafficking situations globally involved a family member as the perpetrator; and

WHEREAS, since 2020, there has been a 125% increase of recruitment into human trafficking through Facebook and a 95% increase of recruitment on Instagram; and 

WHEREAS, boys represent the fastest-growing segment of identified human trafficking victims. The Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, 2022 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, released in January 2023, notes that the percentage of boys identified as victims of human trafficking more than quintupled between 2004 and 2020—a much larger increase than for men, women, or girls; and

WHEREAS, every two minutes, a child in the United States is trafficked, and over 300,000 children nationwide are at high risk of being trafficked daily, with 60% of trafficked children having been in the foster care system; and 

WHEREAS, in familial trafficking cases, the average age of initial exploitation is 4 years old, while 13 years old is the average age of recruitment for the other types of child trafficking; and

WHEREAS, in the United States, kidnapping of children occurs in only an estimated 0.45 percent of trafficking cases; which means that, while it does happen, it is rare; and

WHEREAS, in FY 24, the Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families screened 114 youth at the report line. Of those screenings, 60 youth were determined to have clear concern for juvenile trafficking and 30 youth were determined to have possible concern for juvenile trafficking; and

WHEREAS T he National Human Trafficking Hotline received 865 signals from Delaware, leading to the identification of 269 human trafficking cases and 611 victims, highlighting the ongoing and pervasive nature of this crime in our communities; and 

WHEREAS, the United States Department of Labor has identified 148 goods from 76 countries made by forced and child labor; and

WHEREAS, the Delaware Anti-Trafficking Action Council (DATAC) has played a pivotal role in uniting stakeholders, including law enforcement, social service agencies, non-profits, survivors, and policymakers, to create a coordinated statewide response to human trafficking; and 

WHEREAS, Delaware Anti Trafficking Action Council, continues to work diligently to develop and enhance a comprehensive, statewide response plan to ensure offenders are held accountable and survivors have equitable access to care, resources, and justice; and 

WHEREAS public awareness is essential to educating people about the signs and consequences of human trafficking and DATAC has disseminated over 6,000 public awareness signs throughout the state; and

WHEREAS Delaware must remain committed to seeking new funding opportunities to enhance its capacity to combat human trafficking and provide critical support for survivors and prevention efforts.

NOW, THEREFORE:

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the 153 ^rd General Assembly of the State of Delaware, the Senate concurring therein, that the members of the Delaware General Assembly hereby recognize the month of January 2025 as "Human Trafficking Awareness Month" in order to bring awareness to the crime of human trafficking in this State.

SYNOPSIS

This Concurrent Resolution recognizes January 2025 as Human Trafficking Awareness Month in Delaware.