News Release
For Immediate Release
April 20, 2010
Contact: Aaron Zappia
(215) 657-7700

Senate Adopts Greenleaf Resolution to Combat Human Trafficking 

Today, the Pennsylvania State Senate unanimously voted to adopt Senate Resolution 253 introduced by Senator Stewart J. Greenleaf directing the Joint State Government Commission to establish an advisory committee to study the problem of human trafficking and to make a report to the Senate that includes a proposed state plan for the prevention of human trafficking and any recommendations for changes in State law, policies and procedures.   

Human trafficking is the modern day practice of slavery and is one of the fastest growing criminal industries in the world generating billions of dollars by using force, fraud and coercion to subject United States citizens and foreign nationals – minors and adults – to sexual or labor exploitation.   

Human trafficking does not always involve the movement of victims but may encompass both trans-national trafficking that crosses borders and domestic or internal trafficking that occurs within a country or a state.  According to Pennsylvania law enforcement, prosecutors and numerous advocacy organizations at the national, state and local level, there is both sex trafficking and labor trafficking in Pennsylvania.  Examples of sex trafficking include runaway teenage girls who are preyed upon by pimps, adult women who are held against their will and forced into prostitution, or women and girls from other countries who are promised jobs as waitresses but instead are trafficked for prostitution.  Victims of labor trafficking are typically found in domestic servitude, agriculture, service industries and other low-wage labor industries, where they are threatened, beaten, raped, starved, chained or locked up, isolated and manipulated, or psychologically tortured.                       

While there are existing coalitions to combat human trafficking in Philadelphia, York and Pittsburgh, there is a need to create a comprehensive statewide approach to ending this brutal crime through the prosecution of traffickers, the identification of victims, providing services, and significantly enhancing community awareness.  The advisory committee will be comprised of approximately 30 members and include  representatives of governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations, especially those specializing in human trafficking, those representing communities disproportionately affected by human trafficking, agencies devoted to child services and runaway services, and academic researchers dedicated to the subject of human trafficking.  The advisory committee will report to the Senate no later than two years from the date that this resolution is adopted.

"Today marks an important step in the fight against human trafficking," said Senator Greenleaf.  "This is a serious problem that is often overlooked because many people are unaware that it is happening.  We need to raise awareness so that more people can identify the victims of trafficking and aid law enforcement in the fight against this horrible practice."