At the Capitol, findings and recommendations from the Speaker’s Task Force on Human Trafficking were released on Wednesday. Task force chair, Representative Jerry O’Connor (R-Fond du Lac) said they’re proposing 11 bills to address human trafficking on a variety of fronts.
“At the end of the day we want to know that we made a difference, and we just didn’t take up space here in the capitol for four months,” O’Connor said.
Vice-chair, Representative Jody Emerson (D-Eau Claire) said there’s a need for urgency. “We cannot simply have a task force do a report and then keep it on the shelf. I’ve seen this happen far too frequently.”
Reps O’Connor & Emerson hold press conference to present findings & recommendations from Speaker’s Task Force On Human Trafficking. pic.twitter.com/g4w3HVPa5B
— Bob Hague (@BobHague5) January 10, 2024
More training for K-12 teachers is among the recommendations. “We’re not trying to create an additional burden, we’re just trying to increase the awareness factor,” O’Connor said. “Teachers are a very special piece of this because they’re the ones that are watching and looking for the vulnerable children asking the question ‘so what’s going on in that life.’”
Representative Sheila Stubbs (D-Madison), said the task force learned that certain businesses attract traffickers – and their victims. “This is how they were grooming them because they wanted to make sure they look the best. So the tattoo parlors, so beauty salons and making sure that those individuals there receive the best training that they can get around human trafficking.” One of the bills calls for instruction in licensed schools of barbering and cosmetology and other specialty schools.
“We need to empower people in the community to know what it looks like, because it doesn’t look like it does on Law and Order, and to be able to say ‘something seems off here’ and so we try to have that intersection of where people might encounter victims” Emerson said
With only about a month remaining in the current session it’s not clear whether any of the bills will pass both chambers of the Legislature and get to the governor.