Politics & Government
Buchanan to co-chair meeting on human trafficking
Two U.S. representatives will chair a bipartisan meeting in Washington, D.C., Wednesday to discuss a persistent problem in Florida: human trafficking.
According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, the third largest volume of calls in the country came from Florida. Out of the 550 potential trafficking cases in 2016, 73 percent were sex trafficking, according to the hotline.
The suncoast region of Florida had the second-highest number of trafficking victims in the federal fiscal year in 2014 to 2015, just behind central Florida, according to the Florida Department of Children and Families.
Reps. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., and Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., will lead the state’s 29-member congressional delegation in the discussion along with a panel of experts: Elizabeth Fisher, president and chief executive officer of Selah Freedom; Dr. Suzanne Harrison, professor and education director for the Florida State University College of Medicine; Kimberly Grabert, statewide human trafficking prevention director at the Florida Department of Children and Families; Special Agent Jose Ramirez with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement; and Michelle Guelbart, director for private sector engagement of the anti-child sex trafficking ECPAT-USA.
The purpose of the meeting, which will be held at 8:30 a.m. at 2020 Rayburn House Office Building, is to discuss how to prevent human trafficking, how to best treat survivors and how law enforcement is working to eliminate trafficking.
“Human trafficking is a vile and monstrous crime against women and children,” Buchanan said in a press release. “Unfortunately, Florida is a hub for human trafficking and that’s why our delegation needs to work together.”
Hannah Morse: 941-745-7055, @mannahhorse
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