Starting next year, January 11 would be known as Human Trafficking Awareness Day under a bill that passed out of the Senate on Tuesday.
Senate Bill 6376 received a unanimous vote.
Prime sponsor Sen. Karen Fraser, D-Olympia, said human trafficking is increasing in Washington and the bill will encourage more people to report suspected cases.
“I think we all know that laws alone don’t do it,” she said. “So we need more people to know it when they see it. The purpose of this bill is to provide more education and awareness.”
Sen. Maralyn Chase, D-Shoreline, said the bill brings attention to the fact that most women who are in prostitution “were abused as children and most of them have been recruited at age 12 to 14.”
“It also will go to serve to call attention to the law enforcement agencies around the state to the fact that women and children who have been trafficked are victims,” she said.
If the measure is also adopted by the House, it would be the fourteenth “recognized day” by the Legislature. Recognized days are not state legal holidays are not paid holidays for state employees.