Presenter
Presented by Ms. Carlisle
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Whereas, human trafficking is the movement of people across or within national and state borders for the purpose of using the people for slavery, forced labor, or servitude; actions which deny some their liberty for the financial gain of others and is agreed to be one of the most unjust and inhumane endeavors a person can undertake; and
Whereas, The United States Department of State estimates that between 20,000 and 50,000 people are trafficked into the United States annually, and the number that are then further trafficked within the country is inestimable; and
Whereas, the Federal Government recognized the pressing need for action and found it necessary to pass the Trafficking Victims Protection Act in 2000, which is aggressive anti-trafficking legislation designed to target the problem and improve the rights of victims. However, nearly all who study the problem agree that state governments and local police are far better equipped than the federal government to stop trafficking; and
Whereas, the victims of worldwide human trafficking are disproportionately young women and children, who are very often forced into sexual servitude. In various countries, these people are not given adequate protection under the law, a situation which demands that we, as people who are able to do so, aid the disempowered victims; and
Whereas, the human trafficking occurs in all states in all forms, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is in absolutely no way immune or less susceptible to the occurrence of human trafficking, as can be seen by the ongoing investigations of such cases across the state.
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NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does most strongly urge the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to pass an act amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offense) of the Pennsylvania Statutes that relates specifically to human trafficking and involuntary servitude so that the state is better a...
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