Pass the Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Prevention Act!
Image: stophumantraffickingwv.org
NJ Lawmakers Face a Defining Vote on Child Exploitation
Human trafficking and child exploitation are happening in New Jersey—and the risks are growing. New Jersey is a portal state for human trafficking. Located between New York City and Philadelphia, with shipping ports, highways, and close to major and secondary airports, New Jersey is an optimal place to move human trafficked slaves up and down the East Coast and beyond. Children are prime targets.
Your child's smartphone, tablet, iPad, and any device connected to the Internet, etc., is a communication pathway for human trafficking and child exploitation.
Law enforcement has already warned that online exploitation and trafficking activity have increased in recent years (remember the massive influx of undocumented persons during the previous administration), with further concerns tied to major upcoming events and increased demand. New Jersey is about to host the World Cup FIFA soccer championship finals at the Meadowlands in June and July.
The Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Prevention Act (A1260/S352) represents a critical opportunity to strengthen how New Jersey prevents and responds to these crimes.
What This Legislation Does
While New Jersey already criminalizes human trafficking as a first-degree offense involving coercion, exploitation, or the use of minors, this legislation focuses on closing gaps in prevention and enforcement, including:
Strengthening prevention efforts to identify trafficking before it occurs
Expanding awareness and training so educators, healthcare workers, and community members can recognize warning signs
Improving coordination among law enforcement and agencies responding to trafficking cases
Addressing online exploitation risks, where much of today’s trafficking activity is initiated or facilitated
Supporting earlier intervention strategies to protect vulnerable children before they are victimized
New Jersey law already imposes severe penalties—including decades in prison—for trafficking offenses. But penalties alone are not enough.
Prevention is the missing piece.
Let us not forget that the Internet is the perfect place for your minor child to be introduced to pornography. Not just soft porn, but the worst of the worst of the graphic, violent exploitation of human beings. Porn is as addictive as heroin. The same neural pathways, the same biochemical reactions with heroin are the same as watching pornography. Pornography is addictive. The mechanism of this legislation is one way to keep your child from being exposed to material that their brains and development are not ready to handle.