CITY OF RICHMOND, CALIFORNIA
P R O C L A M A T I O N
Proclaiming January 2023 as Human Trafficking Prevention Month in the City of Richmond
WHEREAS, human trafficking is a form of interpersonal violence in which force, fraud or coercion is used to control victims for the purpose of commercial sexual and labor exploitation; that occurs in many industries and affects individuals of all genders, ages, and backgrounds; and
WHEREAS, human trafficking is a lucrative and fast-growing criminal industry which relies upon exploitive and sometimes violent tactics to target vulnerable members of our communities; and
WHEREAS, the crime of human trafficking violates an individual's privacy, dignity, security, and humanity due to the systematic use of physical, emotional, sexual, psychological, and economic exploitation, control, and abuse; and
WHEREAS, the impact of human trafficking is wide-ranging, affecting foreign nationals as well as U.S. citizens, and society as a whole; and though awareness and concern around this industry has grown in recent years, human trafficking is consistently underreported; and
WHEREAS, in 2020, 16,658 human trafficking victims were identified nationwide through reports to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center, and California led all other states in reported cases of human trafficking, accounting for nearly 13% of all such reported cases; and
WHEREAS, the County’s Alliance to End Abuse convened the Contra Costa Human Trafficking Coalition with the aim of strengthening the County’s comprehensive response to human trafficking initiated by county departments, law enforcement agencies, and numerous community- based organizations; and
WHEREAS, the Contra Costa Human Trafficking Task Force, jointly led by Community Violence Solutions and the District Attorney’s Office, strives to proactively identify and provide services to survivors, investigate and prosecute all forms of human trafficking, and build capacity within the Task Force and the communities it serves to respond to and prevent human trafficking using a collaborative approach involving its more than 35 multidisciplinary partners; and
WHEREAS, in Contra Costa County between 2019 and 2021, 108 cases of sex and labor trafficking were investigated, 207 suspected victims of human trafficking were identified, and the District Attorney filed 42 human trafficking cases through the collaborative efforts of partners to the Contra Costa Human Trafficking Task Force; and
WHEREAS, the County of Contra Costa is working to raise awareness of human trafficking with the belief that a more informed public will better understand how their behavior contributes to a patriarchal culture that facilitates and tolerates the systemic abuse of vulnerable populations; and will take action to combat and prevent human trafficking.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Richmond does hereby proclaim January 2023 as HUMAN TRAFFICKING PREVENTION MONTH, and urges all residents to actively participate in the efforts to both raise awareness of and prevent all forms of human trafficking.
During this month, let us recognize the survivors of trafficking, and let us commit ourselves to building a future in which no person is denied their inherent human rights of freedom and dignity.
Let us make it known that human trafficking has no place in this city, this county, this nation, or this world.
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Mayor Eduardo Martinez
City of Richmond, California
January 24, 2023