WHEREAS, President Obama declared the month of January as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month; and
     WHEREAS, January 11th has been designated as the National Day of Human Trafficking Awareness by the United States Congress; and
     WHEREAS, Washington state has been in the forefront nationally in the fight against modern day slavery and exploitation; and
     WHEREAS, Human trafficking is one of the fastest growing criminal industries in the world, affecting women, men, children, and communities; and
     WHEREAS, In 2002, the Washington State Task Force Against the Trafficking of Persons was created, the first of its kind in the nation, and Washington became the first state in the nation to enact the international matchmaking organization regulation act, also known as the mail-order bride act, which requires international matchmaking agencies to provide, upon request, criminal and marital background information on Washington state residents using the agency to meet prospective spouses in other countries; and
     WHEREAS, In 2003, Washington became the first state to criminalize human trafficking and to extend protections to mail-order brides; and
     WHEREAS, In 2005, Washington again led all other states in establishing protocols for providing services to victims of trafficking, and in providing funds for legal aid to noncitizens who are victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, or human trafficking; and
     WHEREAS, In 2006, Washington became only the second state to place restrictions on sex tourism and provided funding for the Washington State Task Force Against the Trafficking of Persons to resume its work leading to the creation of a Comprehensive Response to Human Trafficking; and
     WHEREAS, In 2007, Washington passed groundbreaking legislation that created the new crime of commercial sex abuse of minors; and
     WHEREAS, In 2008, Washington enacted legislation that added victims of trafficking to the list of victims eligible for the address confidentiality program; and
     WHEREAS, In 2009, Washington passed legislation, the first of its kind in the nation, that requires international labor recruiters and domestic employers of foreign workers to disclose labor laws to employees and works to provide health care providers information to help identify human trafficking victims; and
     WHEREAS, In 2009, Washington began to allow prosecutors to divert cases where juveniles were alleged to have committed the offenses of prostitution, if the juvenile agrees to participate in a program to provide wraparound services, including mental health counseling; and
     WHEREAS, In 2010, Washington strengthened requirements for labor recruiters and domestic employers of foreign workers to disclose federal and state labor laws to nonimmigrant workers and added civil penalties, strengthened penalties on the commercial sexual abuse of a minor, required development of training for law enforcement officers, and allowed informational posters on domestic trafficking, including of juveniles, to be posted at rest stops throughout the state; and
     WHEREAS, In 2011, Washington authorized local governments to use affordable housing funds to provide housing assistance to victims of human trafficking and their families, allowed law enforcement to conduct surveillance on suspected human-trafficking and child-prostitution activities with the consent of the victim, amended the criminal definition of human trafficking to include the illegal harvesting or sale of human organs, and broadened the scope of the crime to hold criminals accountable caught transporting a person knowing the person would be forced into prostitution or manual labor; and
     WHEREAS, Victims of human trafficking need support in order to escape and recover from the physical, mental, emotional, economic, and spiritual trauma associated with their victimization; and
     WHEREAS, Human traffickers use many physical and psychological techniques to coerce and control their victims, including the use of violence or threats of violence against the victim or the victim's family, isolation from the public, isolation from the victim's family and religious or ethnic communities, language and cultural barriers, shame, control of the victim's possessions, confiscation of passports and other identification documents, and threats of arrest, deportation, or imprisonment if the victim attempts to reach out for assistance or leave;
     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Washington State Senate recognize those people and organizations that fight daily against the scourge of human trafficking, and encourage others to observe the National Slavery and Human Trafficking Awareness Prevention Month and the National Day of Trafficking Awareness with appropriate ceremonies and activities to combat human trafficking; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be immediately transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate to the API Safety Center & Chaya, the Center for Children and Youth Justice, Community Advocacy Partnership, Coordinated Response to Commercially Sexually Exploited Children, Esteem Outreach of Life Center in Tacoma, Genesis Project, the Intercommunity Peace and Justice Center, the International Rescue Committee, King County Council, New Horizons Ministries, Not for Sale Washington, NW Coalition against Trafficking, the Polaris Project, the Port of Seattle, Refugee Women's Alliance, Seattle Against Slavery, the Seattle City Council, the Seattle Police Department, Shared Hope International, Soroptimist Coalition to Stop Human Trafficking, The Tronie Foundation, United States Attorney General's Office Western Division, University of Washington's Anti-Trafficking Task Force, the Washington Advisory Committee on Trafficking, Washington Anti-Trafficking Response Network, Washington Attorney General's Office, Washington Engage, and Youth Care.