At a subcommittee hearing on combating global violence against women, Klobuchar called for action to crack down on sex trafficking and shared the story of a young victim she met at a shelter in Mexico 

Klobuchar has authored anti-trafficking legislation modeled after Minnesota’s “Safe Harbor” laws, which would ensure that children who are sold for sex are treated as victims rather than prosecuted as criminals 

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) today testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about her work to fight sex trafficking and the exploitation of women around the world. At a subcommittee hearing on combating global violence against women, Klobuchar called for action to crack down on sex trafficking and shared the story of a young victim she met at a shelter in Mexico. Klobuchar recently led a delegation to Mexico and met with government and non-profit leaders to push for coordinated efforts to combat sex trafficking in Mexico and the United States, and has authored anti-trafficking legislation modeled after Minnesota’s “Safe Harbor” laws, which would ensure that children who are sold for sex are treated as victims rather than prosecuted as criminals.  

“Human trafficking is now the third largest criminal enterprise in the world, and the average age of girls when they first become victims is just 13 years old – not even old enough to drive a car or go to her high school prom. They’re girls like Paloma – a teenage victim I recently met at a victims’ shelter in Mexico City whose story I think of whenever I hear about women and girls being forced into prostitution, marriage, and servitude,” Klobuchar said. “America must lead the world in cracking down on these heinous crimes and making the fight against sex trafficking a top priority in our foreign policy. How we respond to sex trafficking – both in our own country and around the world – will send a clear message about the commitment of our nation to elevate the status of women and girls.”

Klobuchar has been a leader in the fight to combat sex trafficking both in the U.S. and around the world. She recently introduced bipartisan legislation that would give prosecutors tools to crack down on domestic minor sex trafficking and ensure victims of these horrific crimes receive the support they need. The Stop Exploitation Through Trafficking Act is modeled after Minnesota’s “Safe Harbor” laws that help ensure minors sold for sex aren’t prosecuted as criminals but are instead treated as victims. The bill also allows victims of sex trafficking to participate in the Job Corps program to help them get back on their feet, and would create a National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking to encourage cooperation among all the federal, state, and local agencies that work on this problem.

In the wake of Boko Haram’s abduction of the Nigerian schoolgirls, Klobuchar has also urged the Administration to bolster its support for anti-human trafficking programs in Nigeria and surrounding countries.

Broadcast-quality video of Klobuchar’s remarks is available here.