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Human trafficking task force meets in Columbia

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Missouri Human Trafficking Task Force met in Columbia Thursday afternoon in their ongoing effort to combat forced prostitution and other forms of trafficking. The meeting was one of the last before the task force officially ends in January.

Rep. Elijah Haahr, the chair of the task force, said the task force’s meeting focused on ways to better connect state and federal agencies working to fight sex trafficking.

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Rep. Elijah Haahr (Photo courtesy of Marietta Rutledge)

Three subcommittees have also formed within the task force. One works on proposed legislation, another looks at a budget request, and the third is writing a code of “best practices” for organizations across the state that may not be equipped to respond to trafficking cases as readily as others.

Some of the legislation the task force is examining includes a bill that would expunge the records of trafficking victims if they had crimes like prostitution on their record. Haahr said that giving trafficking victims a clean slate allows them to reintegrate back into society easier when they are rescued.

Legislative proposals will be decided on at a meeting of the task force in December.

In June, Gov. Jay Nixon signed a bill produced by the task force that expanded the definition of sex trafficking to include the advertisement of minors and unconsenting adults for prostitution or pornography. Haahr authored the bill.

The task force has also served as a forum for victims and survivors to share their experiences to better illustrate the need for reforms and how to make reforms in a way mindful of the victims. Haahr said testimony from one woman Thursday who had been trafficked in a variety of different ways since she was a toddler was “the most gut-wrenching testimony we’ve heard on this committee.”

“I don’t think there was anybody that did not feel something from that testimony,” he said.

But Haahr added testimony like hers only served to show how important the work of the task force is.