U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., appeared before the Civil and Criminal Proceedings House committee on Tuesday to testify in support of a bill outlawing the advertisement of the sex trafficking of children and child pornography.
Wagner sponsored a similar bill at the federal level. Titled, Stop Advertising Victims of Exploitation Act, or SAVE act, the bill has passed the House and is currently in the Senate.
The difference between the federal and state bill is the state bill only addresses children, while Wagner's bill is for any individual held against their will and forced into sex trafficking, she said.
"It is important that we bring this to light and also legislatively act to try and shut some of these advertisements down," Wagner said. "It is not illegal to advertise this kind of activity. It is a huge industry. In fact, the overall industry in the U.S. is about a $9.5 billion business."
She added that the latest and best estimates she has seen say more than $45 million come from online advertisements alone, and 47 attorneys general have requested for Congress to move on legislation regarding sex trafficking and the advertisement thereof.
"It is not just websites," said Rep. Elijah Haahr, R-Greene, who sponsored the state bill. "There are apps that are being used. ... There are billboards, bulletin boards at truck stops and flyers they hand out to people. There is a lot of low-tech ways to do it as well as online."
Haahr explained legislation targeting sex traffickers was passed more than four years ago, but the area of advertisement was overlooked and now he is rectifying that situation. At his committee meeting, lobbyists from faith-based communities, social service groups and law enforcement organizations spoke in favor of his bill, as well as survivors of the sex trade.
Nanette Ward, of the Central Missouri Stop Human Trafficking Coalition, also testified. The coalition started around 2008 and raises awareness of human trafficking as well as operates outreach and support programs for victims.
"We have had the privilege of learning from them and their life experiences of being a victim of human trafficking," she said. "Across the board we are hearing that people who work with vulnerable populations or might know of someone who had a life experience of actually being sold and didn't realize that was the crime of sex trafficking, whether it was by a parent or a grandparent or family member or a stranger. People are telling us "Yes, this is happening.' ... there is no question about it, it is happening."
She shared with the committee two stories. The first was a young girl who ran away from her foster home only to be picked up by a couple while she was sleeping in a public park. They offered her a place to live in exchange for babysitting services, only to steal all her belongings and then prostitute her three days later.
"Basically they were a residential brothel and selling this young girl for sex out of their home," Ward said. "She was actually a part of a ring. So there were other individuals in the community, but she was disconnected with that and simply knew that she was a sex slave out of a home in one of our Mid-Missouri towns."
The second story was of a young woman who went to a private residence to record her music but was then forced to stay. Her captors moved her from hotel to hotel, selling her body and often denying her food or a chance to leave. When Ward's coalition attempted to provide housing for her, they had to skip several hotels because they were the same ones where she was forced to have sex with strangers, Ward said.
"This (the bills) is a way to choke the incentive that human traffickers have," Ward said. "But we have to remember that there are buyers, and we have to figure out how to tackle that end as well."