JACKSON, Miss.- A bill that would address the national and statewide problem of child trafficking passed the MS Senate on Wednesday.
The bill would target three specific recommendations from the Human Trafficking Task Force assigned by Gov. Bryant.
It would change the definition of an “abused child” to include children who are also victims of human trafficking, regardless of their relationship with the trafficker. This would make all of the services provided through the Mississippi Department of Human Services available to them.
It would also require a person who is convicted of soliciting a prostitute to register as a sex offender if the prostitution involves a person under the age of 18.
They also clarified the language used around the definition of “coercion” in the Human Trafficking Act.
