Las Vegas, Nev. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) delivered remarks at the Nevada Attorney General Office’s Law Enforcement Summit, which focused on the prosecution and prevention of human trafficking. The Senator spoke about her efforts in the Senate to make it harder for human traffickers to do business online, and the need to support law enforcement and empower survivors.
“I’m proud to be here today with Nevada’s law enforcement community who are on the ground every day working to crack down on human trafficking rings, support survivors and hold traffickers accountable. I’ll continue to bring their voices to the Senate to ensure that Nevada’s law enforcement has the tools, data and funding they need to do their jobs. Together, we can strengthen laws to combat human trafficking and bring justice to survivors.”
BACKGROUND:
Last March, Senator Cortez Masto helped pass the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act, which gives state law enforcement the power to seek justice and crack down on websites that knowingly facilitate sex trafficking.
This Congress, she is a cosponsor of a number of bills to provide law enforcement with the tools they need to end human trafficking and support survivors. She’s introduced the Interdiction for the Protection of Child Victims of Exploitation and Human Trafficking Act to train law enforcement officers to identify the signs of human trafficking and child exploitation and the bipartisan FIND Trafficking Act, which would require the Government Accountability Office to study how virtual currencies and online marketplaces are used to facilitate sex trafficking and make recommendations on how to fight, detect and deter these illegal activities. She has also introduced two bipartisan bills, the Not Invisible Act and Savanna’s Act, to address violent crime and sex trafficking specifically against Native American women.
In addition, she is fighting for the renewal of the Violence Against Women Act, which includes provisions to fight human and sex trafficking and protect survivors. It would give tribal law enforcement additional jurisdiction to go after non-tribal domestic violence offenders and human traffickers on tribal land.
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