The Assembly Judiciary Committee on Monday will hold a hearing on sweeping, bipartisan legislation (A-3352) to crack down on human trafficking, which is estimated to claim up to 20 million victims worldwide.
The hearing will take place on Monday, October 15, at 10 a.m. in committee room 12 on the fourth floor of the Statehouse Annex in Trenton. The hearing will also be streamed live online at: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/media/live_audio.asp .
Among those who will testify are:
– Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen), the lead sponsor who drafted the legislation after spending the better part of this year researching the issue, consulting with experts and meeting with victims and advocates;
– Ingrid Johnson, of Irvington, whose daughter was 13 when she became a victim of human trafficking. Johnson struggled for two years, largely on her own, to find her daughter and was eventually successful in locating her at age 15. Her daughter is now a junior in college, but her story underscores the need for a strong, coordinated law enforcement network; and
– Representatives from the New Jersey Human Trafficking Coalition, the League of Women Voters and the Junior League’s State Public Affairs Committee.
The Polaris Project, the nation’s leading anti-human trafficking non-profit organization will also be on hand and available for comment.