Tackling Human Trafficking & Supporting Survivors for Women’s History Month
We're fortunate to have leaders like you at ALEC as we celebrate Women's History Month, and frankly beyond.
During Women’s History Month, ALEC honors women taking leadership roles to tackle critical issues across the states. This week, ALEC Federalism & International Relations Senior Task Force Director Karla Jones and ALEC Health & Human Services Senior Task Force Director Brooklyn Roberts speak with Kansas State Representatives Rebecca Schmoe and Carrie Barth about their work addressing human trafficking in their state. Reps. Schmoe and Barth emphasized the need for legislative action and education among law enforcement and policymakers along with the need to build relationships with victim support organizations to provide resources for victims.
When we started having this conversation with people from across the board, it didn’t seem to matter what side of the spectrum you were on. Everyone was shocked to discover you could be arrested for smuggling drugs, but there was nothing illegal about smuggling human beings. It was not against the law. These people were simply caught and released without any process.
Unfortunately, politics does play a role in our jobs so even though it passed the Kansas House overwhelmingly, and then passed the Senate, our governor vetoed the bill citing concern about decimating our agriculture businesses. During the veto override, you saw it split along party lines which was disappointing at best, but we still were able to pull off the veto override and implement this law.