At any given time in Texas, there are an estimated 313,000 victims of labor and sex trafficking, with 79,000 of those being victims of minor sex trafficking.

Human trafficking often occurs right under our noses whether you are in a rural or urban part of the state. In fact, human trafficking is among the world’s fastestgrowing enterprises. It is a form of modern-day slavery that profits from the exploitation of our most vulnerable populations.

Great strides have been made over the last several years in Texas to put an end to all forms of human trafficking. This includes campaigns that help regular citizens identify victims of human trafficking, increased training for certain professions to recognize and help save victims, as well as increased penalties for certain human-trafficking related offenses.

It is important that we, as citizens of this great state, educate ourselves and raise awareness in order to protect and save victims of this terrible crime.

During the 87th Legislative Session, I had the privilege to introduce and pass legislation that amended several areas of the Code of Criminal Procedure to increase protections for human trafficking victims, as well as provide law enforcement with the critical information they need to identify traffickers. House Bill 1005 went into effect Sept. 1, 2021, and I am honored to have authored this very important legislation. This law offers protections to victims of labor and sex trafficking and I hope it will bring us one step closer to putting an end to the horrific practice that is human trafficking.

Texas may be the secondworst in the nation for the number of human trafficking cases, but we are a national leader in the fight to end human trafficking. By learning to recognize and report suspected trafficking, you can help by becoming one of the most powerful tools we have – Texans helping Texans.

If you would like to learn more about what you can do to join the fight against human trafficking, you can visit texasattorneygeneral.gov/humantrafficking-section. Here you will find a variety of resources including how to recognize human trafficking as well as how you can report suspected human trafficking.

Representative Ben Leman is the State Representative of House District 13 which includes Austin, Burleson, Colorado, Fayette, Grimes, Lavaca, and Washington counties.