This week the House of Representatives voted on several bills focused on cracking down on child sex trafficking and child abuse.
“In Georgia, the number of human trafficking cases has more than doubled since 2012, from 94 cases in 2012 to 256 cases in 2016,” said Congressman David Scott. “Of those cases, 75% were for sex trafficking, and 30% of those trafficked were children. This is a crisis we cannot ignore. I was proud to vote for H.R. 1862, the Global Child Protection Act of 2017, and H.R. 1842, the Strengthening Children's Safety Act of 2017 this week that would expand the scope of illicit sexual conduct to include illicit conduct with a child younger than 12 in a foreign country, and expand the definition of ‘crime of violence’ to include crimes committed under state law. These changes close loopholes that bring offenders of these horrendous crimes to justice.”
Scott added, “I was also proud to vote for H.R. 1973, the “Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse Act of 2017.” This law expands the safety net that protects our young people by increasing the number of people required by law to report suspected abuse. Currently doctors, teachers, and social workers are required to report suspected abuse and, under H.R. 1973, that group will now include coaches and others who interact with child athletes.”
“These bills are a small step forward in protecting children from trafficking and abuse. More work remains to be done, however, as we must do all we can to ensure that abuse of children is prevented, reported, and investigated, and that justice is served.”
