To: Board of Supervisors
From: Diana Becton, District Attorney
Report Title: Proclaiming January 2024 as Human Trafficking Prevention Month in Contra Costa County
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
ADOPT Resolution proclaiming January 2024 as Human Trafficking Prevention Month in Contra Costa County, as recommended by the District Attorney.
FISCAL IMPACT:
None.
BACKGROUND:
See Resolution for further information.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
N/A
The Board of Supervisors of Contra Costa County, California
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IN THE MATTER OF, proclaiming January 2024 as Human Trafficking Prevention Month in Contra Costa County:
WHEREAS, human trafficking is a form of interpersonal violence and a crime in which force, fraud or coercion is used to compel victims into commercial sexual and labor exploitation, affecting individuals of all genders, citizenship status, ages and backgrounds;
WHEREAS, human trafficking can happen to anyone, certain populations are disproportionately at risk, including people affected by prior abuse or sexual violence, poverty, and unstable living situations or homelessness, as well as those systemically marginalized and underserved;
WHEREAS, human trafficking remains underreported, in 2021, the National Human Trafficking Resource Center identified 10,360 cases of human trafficking nationwide, with California leading all other states, accounting for nearly 13% of all such cases;
WHEREAS, human trafficking requires a coordinated, community-wide response engaging diverse stakeholders including survivors, advocates, prosecutors, case managers, civil legal attorneys, police officers, educators, social workers, community-based organizations, community members, and governmental agencies, among others;
WHEREAS, the Contra Costa Human Trafficking Task Force, in partnership with 40 multidisciplinary partners, strives to identify and provide services to survivors, investigate and prosecute all forms of human trafficking, and build capacity within the Task Force and community to respond to and prevent human trafficking;
WHEREAS, in 2023, Community Violence Solutions, the lead victim services provider in the Contra Costa Human Trafficking Task Force, provided comprehensive, trauma-informed services to 132 victims of human trafficking. This included crisis intervention, on-going case management, medical and legal accompaniment, personal and criminal justice advocacy, emergency housing and rental assistance, and linkages to resources;
WHEREAS, since 2018, county law enforcement agencies have worked closely with Task Force partners to investigate 229 cases of sex and labor trafficking and identify 342 potential victims of human trafficking and connect them to services. The District Attorney has filed 57 human trafficking cases and another 39 cases on human trafficking-related charges; and
WHEREAS, the Contra Costa Alliance to End Abuse recognizes human trafficking as a public health issue that is preventable by building individual, community, and societal understanding and resilience, eliminating social and historical inequities, and improving the environmental conditions where people are born, learn, live, work, play, age, and worship.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that Contra Costa County does hereby proclaim January 2024 as Human Trafficking Prevention Month, and urges all residents to actively participate in the efforts to both raise awareness and prevent all forms of human trafficking. During this month, we recognize the survivors of human trafficking, and commit to building a future in which no person is deprived of human dignity or denied their inherent human rights of liberty, security and access to justice. Let us make it known that human trafficking has no place in this city, this county, this nation or this world.