The act, signed on Jan. 5, essentially re-establishes programs and funding put in place by the initial Abolish Human Trafficking Act.
DALLAS — Just days after the start of the new year, the Abolish Human Trafficking Reauthorization Act was signed into law.
The act, signed on Jan. 5, essentially re-establishes programs and funding put in place by the initial Abolish Human Trafficking Act which was introduced in 2017 by Sen. John Cornyn and signed into law the next year.
The legislation aims to provide funding and resources for advocates and law enforcement who are working to both stop the crime and serve the people who have already fallen victim. The initiatives also aim to target traffickers, rather than criminalizing victims and providing education to help address the problem before it starts.
“Texas is number two in the nation, believe it or not, and it’s especially prevalent in Dallas because we sit at the crossroads of so many major freeways,” Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot said.
Creuzot was one of many stakeholders who participated in a roundtable, hosted by Sen. Cornyn Wednesday, to commemorate National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. He said his office has one full-time staff member dedicated to serving survivors and an investigator who serves on the North Texas Trafficking Task Force to rescue victims and help build their cases to pursue justice.
He said, just last year, the task force made 127 arrests and identified 78 victims.
“One of the most troubling things about human trafficking to me is the victims don’t necessarily, at least initially, don’t identify as victims,” Sen. Cornyn said. “They maybe runaway from home. They may think someone kind has befriended them, only to be found trapped in a destructive relationship.”
When asked about the “runaway” label and the impact that it has on efforts to search for potential trafficking victims, especially in the era of social media, Cornyn acknowledged that the current climate is tough and said parents need to be proactive and aware of what their children are doing on social media.
Bianca Davis, CEO of New Friends New Life, said the organization focuses on recovering and rebuilding with women and teen survivors as well as attacking the issue at the root.
“If you’re going to look at the issue of sex trafficking, you also have to look at homelessness, domestic violence, poverty, lack of access to education,” Davis said. “The typical woman who shows up to our doors…she’s in her early 30s, she may have multiple children. 70% of the time, she has a criminal record because of all the things she was forced to do.”
Davis said her organization also works to be proactive when it comes to accountability, pointing out that activities that may seem harmless like going to a strip club or watching a video online typically involve a victim.
“If men are the ones who are mainly the buyers and men are the ones who are mainly the traffickers, we have to bring our good guys to the table,” Davis said. “If we’re ever going to end it, we have to shift our conversation with our men.”
Dr. Tonya Stafford, CEO of It’s Going to Be Ok!, said her work focuses on finding and rescuing Black girls who’ve gone missing. She survived being trafficked after her mother sold her to a man when she was 13.
“A lot of times, we are undetected in the system,” Stafford said.
Other survivors spoke of their recovery and victories in sobriety, furthering education and reaching back to help other survivors.
The resounding message in the room was that it will take a layered, collaborative effort to address and end and a very layered, difficult issue.