WHEREAS, Beginning in 2010, each January has been designated by presidential proclamation to be National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month; and

WHEREAS, The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that there are 40.3 million victims of human trafficking globally; and

WHEREAS, Eighty-one percent of human trafficking victims are trapped in forced labor, 25 percent are children, and 75 percent are women and girls; and

WHEREAS, The ILO estimates that forced labor and human trafficking are a $150-billion-a-year industry worldwide. Nine billion dollars of that are estimated to be in agriculture, including forestry and fishing; and

WHEREAS, In 2017, an estimated one out of every seven endangered runaways reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children were likely to be child sex trafficking victims. Of those, 88 percent were in the care of social services or the foster system when they ran away; and

WHEREAS, Women and children who have been trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation experience a significantly higher rate of infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other sexually transmitted diseases, as well as tuberculosis and permanent damage to the reproductive system; and

WHEREAS, California has one of the highest incidences of human trafficking in the nation. It is a top destination for traffickers because of its major harbors, airports, coastlines, international borders, economy, and immigrant population; and

WHEREAS, In 2017, California, Texas, and Florida received the highest numbers of reported cases of human trafficking, at 1,305, 792, and 604 cases, respectively, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline; and

WHEREAS, More than 49,000 total cases of human trafficking have been reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline in the last 10 years, with the hotline receiving more than 150 calls per day; and

WHEREAS, There were 26,557 calls to the National Human Trafficking Hotline in 2017. Of those calls, 3,998 were from California, which was the highest of any state; and

WHEREAS, The number of cases of human trafficking reported to the Polaris BeFree Textline, an SMS-based hotline for victims and survivors of human trafficking and at-risk populations, increases every year; and

WHEREAS, Human trafficking affects men, women, and children of all ages. It is necessary to remain aware of this constant modern form of slavery that is happening all around us and for California to take an active stance on preventing and eliminating human trafficking once and for all; now, therefore, be it