Res 0561-2018

By Council Members Adams, Rosenthal, Lander, Ampry-Samuel, Moya, Levine, Holden, Cumbo, Maisel, Gibson, Chin, Dinowitz, Brooks-Powers, Kallos, Louis and Rose Whereas, Human trafficking, which the Department of Homeland Security defines as "the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act," is a significant concern for governments around the world; and Whereas, According to the United Nations Human Rights Commission, the three primary forms of human trafficking are involuntary prostitution, forced labor, and debt bondage; and Whereas, A report released by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), found that roughly 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders each year; and Whereas, HHS and DOJ have also noted that 80 percent of these individuals are women and 50 percent are minors; and Whereas, The State Department has estimated that approximately 17,000 individuals are trafficked into the U.S. each year; and Whereas, During Fiscal Year (FY) 2017, DOJ secured convictions against 499 traffickers, an increase of 13.7 percent from the 439 convictions it secured in FY 2016; and Whereas, The New York City Department of Education is the largest K-12 public school system in the United States, with more than 1.1 million students and over 1,800 schools; and Whereas, In order to combat human trafficking, the Department of Education should provide basic training in recognizing the warning signs and risk factors of human trafficking to its administrators, teachers, and staff; and Whereas, This training would allow the adults who work at public schools to develop a more effective skillset as instructors and advocates for their students; and Whereas, It would also ensure that New York City remains at the forefront of best practices in public education, alongside the states of California, Virginia, and North Carolina, all of which have passed laws that mandated training in trafficking prevention; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the Department of Education to provide human trafficking prevention training to public school administrators, teachers, and staff. LS 7093 MK 9/4/18 1