The State Attorney General’s office is forming a new Human Trafficking task force.
Attorney General Michael Delaney says the term human trafficking is a euphemism.
“Because what is occurring is slavery, and it is occurring in the state of New Hampshire.”
Delaney is forming a 33-member commission to provide better victim advocacy for child sex workers and increase prosecution of traffickers. But, Delaney says, the first step is realizing the problem exists.
“It exists for teenage girls that are recruited by pimps and sold over the internet for sex. It exists for migrant workers on farms, and it exists for men women and children that are being coerced for their labor.”
The announcement comes on the heels of a recent report by Shared Hope International and the American Center for Law and Justice.
New Hampshire is one of 17 states to receive a failing grade for its human trafficking laws. The report cites weak protections for child victims and soft penalties for solicitors and people who aid traffickers.
The state passed its first human trafficking law in 2009.