New York University dc Center Hosted this event it is an hour and ten minutes. Thank you for hosting this important discussion today and thank you to senator heitkamp and mrs. Mccain for taking time out to provide insights on how to address the problem. I have worked on trafficking issues for 20 years now without but as alawyer and academic andt time ive witnessed tremendous changes in the fields where as much efforts almost and tiger lever on the trafficking of women and girls into this sector. We finally reached now come to understand trafficking as a phenomenon that affects men, women and children in a wide range of sectors that affect our daily lives. We recognize trafficking can take place on farms that produce foods and factories along the supply chain and produced trafficking can occur in homes in the Domestic Workers who care for our children, our elderly and or disabled and even in the public schools, in the deceptive and abusive recruitment from abroad. The nature of the problem has evolved in response is trafficking is no longer viewed as the replicated fully through prosecutorial efforts were increasingly understanding we must also attend to the problem. These include where the traffic people originate, the lack of Educational Opportunities compelling individuals to migrate under the precarious conditions in hopes of finding a means for the economic survival or the countries like the United States that the lack of protections against the retaliatory termination and deportation and even undocumented workers to report these conditions or in the case the failure to provide adequate care and shelter. Its contributed to the Current Situation where 2. 9 Million People around the world are trafficked. On the part of the government for international organizations, ngos, corporations, philanthropies and individuals like yourselves to take part in the global efforts to eradicate Human Trafficking. I had a great privilege today of moderating a discussion with two of the leading voices in the movement, senator Heidi Heitkamp and senator mccain. The format for today i will briefly introduce the speakers and then spend about 30 minutes in discussion prompted by a series of questions i prepared in advance and shared with the speakers and then we will open up to questions from the audience after which we will conclude with closing statemen statements. So, to introduce senator heitkamp, the first female senator elected from north dakota in her first term has quickly become a leader among her colleagues in the fight against Human Trafficking bursts sounding the alarm on Human Trafficking as a lawenforcement issue and a Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and 2013 where she now serves as the Ranking Member on the subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and federal management. Federal management. She cosponsored and helped pass the justice for victims of the Human Trafficking act president obama signed into law which helped to secure a strict punishments for traffickers and including the bill for the safe harbor law nationwide to make sure victims of the crime are treated. Working to hold traffickers to buy and sell victims accountable for refusing to testify on the companys failure to disclose the safeguards against trafficking for civil contempt of congress the third time the senate has done so in 20 years. [applause] senator heitkamp challenged the leadership in the facilitation of Human Trafficking on its site. The Governmental Affairs is the permanent subcommittee on investigations which she served released a report finding the company knowingly facilitated online sex trafficking. She recently reintroduced the bipartisan act to make sure Health Workers had the training they need to identify and help protect victims and will keep fighting to make sure they dont fall prey to these crimes. Senator heitkamp continues to work to build a Strong Network of support against these crimes traveling to mexico, Central America and across the country as well as engaging north Dakota Community leaders and Law Enforcement in the fight against the crimes of multiple state department of Homeland Security training. A strong leader in the fight against Human Trafficking she worked seamlessly along the political, private and public lines and engaged with the football league, the center for sports that you become about the democratic Republic National committees, Polaris National center for missing and exploited children, google and many other organizations to work to eradicate Human Trafficking. Shes advised members in the fight against trafficking in london, cambodia she is dedicated in the efforts to reduce Human Trafficking in arizona throughout the United States and around the world as well as working to improve the lives of the victims of Human Trafficking a different link back. And is of number of the board of Education Board of counselors. Mrs. Mccain passionately fights Human Trafficking talking to Corporation Officials in Technology Experts to stop the crime against committee. [applause] so we will start off with a question to both of you so how did you first get involved in this field complex. What you start you have a fantastic story. First of all, i am so glad to be here in the hope inhabit good discussion tonight for the first time and i ever saw him and trafficking i did not know what was done was traveling in india we have a of an daughter from there so i was trying to buy some material for her and calcutta is a very vibrant with all the noise is everything going on outside but as i went to go pay the gentleman fight could kind of here cluttering below with things being new ways he said that is just my family they but live below. That is possible. But when it went to lay that money on the counter i looked down i can see below the floorboards i looked at 50 sets of allies at least but what i did was they didnt say anything. I didnt know what i was looking at so i walked out god on my airplane and went home and went back to my family but it spurred me to find out what it was. This is the long quest not only to understand that issue complete legal so to stop this. Is horrible. So for me it turned something bad into something good ironclad i had the experience so ive able to do something now. Of the former attorney general for north dakota one of the reasons i rein in in 1982 is that the time across the country this lot a criminaljustice issue if you think about it in 1992 we were attacking this as if it was a family problem. If there was ongoing tension between lawenforcement and the advocates at that time. If you never want to see people get along then you should look at the work that lawenforcement in many states and Domestic Violence advocates are doing today to combat Domestic Violence. That is by reference so when iran United States senate in 2012 i visited all my Law Enforcement friends because of was a time of tremendous growth in the lot of people say we have never seen this level of prostitution before we dont have time to investigate it is in bars or murderers or fast we are now time to investigate prostitution but we see it everywhere. I got to thinking about this in north dakota what that actually meant so then you start to rethink what that means in my state and why that was a really started to learn what goes on when people buy other human beings to resell them to other human beings and then with the imprisoned others so they can resell them. Now with terms of Public Policy getting the word prostitution out of the of language as we arrest the minors what we do with people who purchased children if we treat them as those that we treat them as the john verses a pedophile so we have a whole language that doesnt fit with what is going on in with the crime but to give you an idea had difficulty is to have that discussion but how we as a society we began this discussion what does the law say in how should be changing it . And honestly the results of what i was seeing was Indigenous Women native american women like place like minneapolis has a Recovery Center that is incredible those that are exposed by their cousins are sold by their families and literally thrown away. If you look at the dynamics of Domestic Violence and crack the one thing that is a constant is the devaluing of that person. If you want to get someone in the position to abuse them in a family relationship you devalue them first. If you take a child who already is successful you devalue them so that really goes to the Runaway Program writing there is a lot of people out there involved with think this is like laura in goals while. Bening and some dark stranger picks rupp to carry her way i am not saying that doesnt happen and there are some that fit the profile but fundamentally their kids who have been thrown away, runaway are vulnerable on the streets probably engaging with survival sex at some point in a minute just takes the next up. So we just have to start looking at this issue differently. It goes from a family problem of Public Health with the Domestic Violence we have to start being very serious as a society to address the of victimization that happens. And when we talk about miners miners all the people i have met they have all began as minors that begins you are 18 in a longterm have the protections that we want for other women or four girls that is harsh so we have a lot of work to do in terms of the cultural change that has to begin with changing the dynamics like Domestic Violence and begin to be very honest about how complacent we are as a society of how willing we are to stray away from the overall problem of human slavery and particularly in human sex trafficking. Picking up on this plan one of the most troubling statistics have come across it concerns the restitution to victims. , there was a report put out that found enormous research enormous Research Found in only 36 percent of trafficking prosecution did prosecutors ask for restitution. That is a mandatory requirement in restitution is important to find after care dealing with the trauma and the other needs of the victims but yet only 36 percent that the request is even made. So could deaf why that is and what could we do about the problem . Also the least likely to receive restitution or the child victims of sex trafficking. There is a number that first of all, getting a child into court to testify is a monumental feat. Once they get them are they allowed to video testify . That is an issue in arizona right now our number of factors getting to restitution that is a long long road it is the lot and i completely agree but until we can actually educate our prosecutors on the difficulty we will not get anywhere in be will continue to see low numbers and continue to see kids that disappear. When i was the attorney general yesterday unit in my office there is only 1400 officers and all of north dakota to give the example of the population base prosecutors and fargo and tran4 works for those that are willing to handle that prosecution but with these counties letter very sparsely populated it is really difficult to develop that expertise and with child Sexual Assault cases to say that is not trafficking absolutely it is. It is a worst trauma than Sexual Assault that does not involve repeated behavior but if you look at it mean need to have a whole different book on how we address prosecution and victimization in the courtroom. It will require the ongoing training for prosecutors and judges because frequently judges will not grant leniency in terms of videotape to see a right to confront your accuser. This is any type of child Sexual Assault prosecution also people the want to live through this again so we need highly trained prosecutors in states like mine that are equipped and trained to handle these investigations and prosecutions because you have the best prosecutor but if it is botched it will be hard to move up the assault this is where the bill that requires prior training in hospitals comes into focus so recently on the back page hearing weve heard from a number of mothers whose children who were trafficked and the challenges that they had so what would you like to see done that would have changed the outcome . And both of them said better training in emergency rooms. That was the point of intervention but then when they actually showed up for the investigation for the forensic exam, and nobody knew how to do with forensic exam that involves a traffic become become it was much more complicated than a Sexual Assault case. We need to get the resources to develop fast best practices like Domestic Violence prosecutions we go ahead without the victims testimony frequently prosecutions have been because the victim will recant because of that power relationship. We have to have trained units and and tell we do they will not question that formula but it would be interesting how much of the restitution is paid actually . To have the judgment is one thing but the ability to execute on that is another challenge but this will take specialized units like states like mine because those most decks successful have these minneapolis is a great example Ramsey County has a great prosecutor you dont have to reinvent the wheel we should be doing more to build that capacity within the prosecutorial world because it will go a long way. I want to continue on that line with that disparity in the number of prosecutions pursued with sex trafficking verses labor trafficking. This is both globally and here in the United States only nine out of 957 prosecutions initiative were of labor trafficking but added 18,930 prosecutions 857 were labor trafficking. So could you speak to her we can be a more proactive investigation with labor trafficking cases around the world and in the United States . You ask a good question. This is a problem i see all across the country. Labor trafficking is grossly under reported for many reasons rarely barely they use the labor they will not report anything they will not report to the supply chain what is going on. But the Mccain Institute has a project that is just beginning in texas on this issue to work with prosecutors to educate them on the issue. Is convoluted many times not all labor trafficking is illegal. Many are legal within the United States. Thought so to make the prosecutors understand the depth of what it is, what to do what you and i know sitting here but many prosecutors dont know or dont believe it is even going on and to make scheerer with larger perspective to make sure that companies that source those fruits and vessels or textiles are doing Due Diligence on the supply chain. This is something of a bite to see the United States take on officially and to hold the countys Companies Accountable what is going on in their supply chain with those problems that they cannot find or will not find everybody has to play a part i no longer accept the fact they just did not know there is too many resources. From that aspect think it is very important. In texas the prosecutors simply said it does not existed is not a problem here. Texas. So we are starting at ground zero on this issue in many places. A do give credit to d. H. Us who began a campaign it is in the early stages but when the trainers go out to talk to local prosecutors did not restrict to sex trafficking but they talk about labor trafficking and what to look for and how to spot it i think the beginning stage this to build an awareness. We have modernday slavery in our country. There are people who are enslaved and marginalized and code to work every day so it is like sex trafficking when we began this discussion i remember going to a meeting in little town we got around the table talking about this problem and there were Community Leaders you can see them roll their eyes. For sea you could see they thought we were exaggerating and then the chief of police said on back page there is 20 advertisements for commercial sex and then there was dead silence because the reality of that had to be recognized for think about this we had a massive labor shortage in my state during the oil boom. If any of you thinks there was not modernday slavery were labor trafficking there was not one report. So frequently it is done the guy is ru