Murkowski speaks out on human trafficking in Alaska
Synopsis: "S. Senator Lisa Murkowski joined her colleagues on the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs to attend an Oversight Hearing entitled "The G-A-O Reports on Human Trafficking of American Indian and Alaska Natives in the United States". The hearing focused on the impacts of human trafficking of American Indians and Alaska Natives, what the nation can do to prevent and combat human trafficking in all its forms, and how to better provide support for victims.
During her opening statement, Senator Murkowski cited a recent multi-city study on human-trafficking that 'Covenant House of Alaska' participated in, which demonstrated that 1 in 4 homeless youth in Anchorage were victims of human trafficking; and of those, 42 percent were Alaskan Natives.Murkowski emphasized the importance of taking preventative steps to end human trafficking and protect Alaska Native populations through collecting better data, developing victim assistance programs for those who have been trafficked, addressing the lack of training amongst health and law professionals, and ending youth homelessness.Sen. Lisa Murkowski; "(R) Alaska>> "Covenant House participated in a human trafficking study. It was a multi-city study, and out of that study, Alaska respondance reported more trafficking than both New Orleans and New York, coming out of Anchorage, Alaska. More human trafficking coming out of Anchorage, Alaska than you are seeing coming out of New York, out of New Orleans, out of Los Angeles, out of Detroit, out of Atlanta. Some of the most stories that they heard were from trafficking victims in my home town."
