At Breaking Free Breakfast to benefit local sex trafficking victims, Klobuchar outlined legislation she plans to introduce giving prosecutors the needed tools to crack down on domestic minor sex trafficking and ensuring victims of these horrific crimes receive the support they need

Minneapolis, MN – On Saturday, November 2^nd, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar announced major legislation to combat sex trafficking at the Breaking Free Breakfast to benefit local sex trafficking victims. Klobuchar outlined legislation she plans to introduce giving prosecutors the needed tools to crack down on domestic minor sex trafficking. The bill will take Minnesota’s “safe harbor” law national to make sure minors sold for sex aren’t prosecuted as defendants, but are instead treated as victims. It will also ensure victims of these horrific crimes receive the support they need.

“As a former prosecutor, I know the horror and violence women and children experience as victims of crimes like human trafficking,” said Klobuchar. “Today I announced a brand new, comprehensive bill that will tackle sex trafficking head-on and take our Minnesota model national to make sure that these children aren’t treated as criminals and receive the support they need. With girls being exploited every day across our country and state, we need to pass this law and fight back against this heinous crime.”

There are more than 27 million people around the world victimized by trafficking each year. Reports on the number of our kids in the U.S. who are sold for sex range anywhere from 1,400 to 2.4 million. In Minnesota, recent reports indicate that on any given night dozens of underage girls are sold for sex online. The average age of a child when she first becomes a victim is just 13 years old.

Senator Klobuchar will introduce legislation modeled after the Safe Harbor laws recently passed in Minnesota. Safe harbor laws recognize that kids sold for sex are not criminals and should not be arrested, charged, or convicted under criminal law. The bill will help ensure all states have safe harbor laws similar to the Minnesota model.

Klobuchar’s legislation will also take steps to protect immigrant communities often exploited by sex trafficking. The bill will increase the number of U-Visas given to immigrants that are victims of crimes like sex trafficking.

Klobuchar has also introduced the End Sex Trafficking Act with Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas. This bipartisan legislation would help eliminate human trafficking rings by targeting the criminals who purchase sexual acts from these organizations and ensuring that they are prosecuted as human traffickers.

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