VERSION 1
It is a $32 billion a year industry worldwide, and human trafficker's target the most vulnerable populations, including an estimated 100,000 U.S. citizen children, kidnapped and then exploited in the commercial sex industry annually:
KIDS1.wav :11 “...very, very hard to track.”
KIDS1.mp3 :11 “...very, very hard to track.”
Venita Benitez is a north Texas woman who is among those leading the fight against human trafficking. She also tells us Polaris Project has released its 2011 ratings of state level human trafficking laws, featuring the “Nine Lagging Behind” – nine states that have failed to enact basic human trafficking provisions in their laws or have provisions that fail to adequately address this growing crime.
OPTIONAL ADDITIONAL COPY (interviewee contact info below): Polaris Project’s state ratings map, the only one of its kind, tracks the presence or absence of 10 categories of laws on the books that Polaris Project believes are critical to a comprehensive anti-trafficking legal framework at the state level. The ratings serve as a resource for lawmakers on what specific provisions should be enacted to improve each state’s approach to combating the issue. For more information, visit
www.PolarisProject.org.
VERSION 2
An estimated 100,000 U.S. citizen children are kidnapped each year and forced into a $32 billion a year industry worldwide, in which human traffickers target the most vulnerable populations, and these American kids are exploited in the commercial sex industry. Total numbers are even more staggering:
KIDS2.wav :09 “...in the United States.”
KIDS2.mp3 :09 “...in the United States.”
That's Venita Benitez --- a north Texas woman who is among the leaders of the fight against human trafficking. Benitez also directs our attention to the Polaris Project. They've released their 2011 ratings of human trafficking laws, state by state, around the U.S. The rankings put Vermont among the best in making the most significant progress from last year’s 2010 ratings.. But Polaris Project also feature the “Nine Lagging Behind” – nine states have not enacted even basic human trafficking laws.
OPTIONAL ADDITIONAL INFO: The
three states with the lowest rankings of their anti-trafficking laws
are Massachusetts, West Virginia, and Wyoming. The remaining six
states (Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Montana, South Carolina, and
South Dakota) have laws that only meet 0 to 2 conditions tracked by
the ratings. Other states that also improved include Virginia,
Hawaii, and Ohio – all three moved up from the bottom tier.
Here's the link to this new study on states and how they rank as far as human trafficking laws are concerned:
http://www.polarisproject.org/media-center/press-releases/479-polaris-project-releases-the-nine-lagging-behindannual-ratings-on-all-50-states-human-trafficking-laws-
And, here are the rankings:
http://www.polarisproject.org/what-we-do/policy-advocacy/state-policy/current-laws
***TO GET YOUR OWN INTERVIEW***
Venita Benitez
Fighting against human trafficking
(cell) 214-425-6732
venitabenitez@tx.rr.com
www.globalslaveryremembranceday.com
Benitez is a client of RealNewsPR.