,,iii  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session 
,s4 ,,con4 ,,res4 #bi  ,,in ,,the       
,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states   
,november #ba1 #bjac,mr4 ,hatch 7for    
himself1 ,mr4 ,durbin1 ,mr4 ,baucus1    
,mr4 ,portman1 ,mr4 ,wyden1 ,mr4        
,cornyn1 ,mr4 ,blumenthal1 ,mr4 ,enzi1  
and ,mr4 ,crapo71 submitted the         
following concurrent resolution2 which  
was referred to the ,committee on the   
,judiciary  ,,concurrent ,,resolution   
,expressing the sense of the ,congress  
that children trafficked in the ,united 
,states be treated as victims of crime1 
and not as perpetrators4  ,whereas1     
according to the ,federal ,bureau of    
,investigation1 it is estimated that    
hundreds of thousands of ,american      
children are at risk for commercial     
sexual exploitation2 ,whereas this risk 
is even greater for the up to #cj1jjj   
young people who are emancipated from   
foster care each year2 ,whereas many of 
these children are girls previously or  
currently living in foster care or      

otherwise involved in the child welfare 
system2 ,whereas flaws in the child     
welfare system in the ,united ,states1  
such as an over-reliance on group homes 
and barriers to youth engaging in       
age-appropriate activities1 contribute  
to children's vulnerability to domestic 
sex trafficking2 ,whereas the average   
age of entry into sex trafficking for   
girls is between just #ab and #ad years 
old2 ,whereas many child sex trafficking
 victims have experienced previous      
physical and_/or sexual                 
abuse--vulnerabilities that traffickers 
exploit to lure them into a life of     
sexual slavery that exposes them to     
long-term abuse2 ,whereas many child sex
 trafficking victims are the lost girls1
 standing around bus stops1 in the      
runaway and homeless youth shelters1    
advertised online--hidden in plain view2
 and ,whereas many child sex trafficking
 victims who have not yet attained the  
age of consent are arrested and detained
 for juvenile prostitution or status    

offenses directly related to their      
exploitation3 ,now1 therefore1 be it    
,that the ,congress-- 7#a7 finds that   
law enforcement1 judges1 child welfare  
agencies1 and the public should treat   
children being trafficked for sex as    
victims of child abuse2  7#b7 finds that
 every effort should be made to arrest  
and hold accountable both traffickers   
and buyers of children for sex1 in      
accordance with ,federal laws to protect
 victims of trafficking and ,state child
 protection laws against abuse1 in order
 to take all necessary measures to      
protect our ,nation's children from     
harm2  7#c7 supports survivors of       
domestic sex trafficking1 including     
their efforts to raise awareness of this
 tragedy and the services they need to  
heal from the complex trauma of sexual  
violence and exploitation2  7#d7        
recognizes that most girls who are      
bought and sold for sex in the ,united  
,states have been involved in the child 
welfare system1 which has a             

responsibility to protect them and      
requires reform to better prevent       
domestic child sex trafficking and aid  
the victims of this tragedy2  7#e7      
believes that the child welfare system  
should identify1 assess1 and provide    
supportive services to children in its  
care who are victims of sex trafficking1
 or at risk of becoming such victims2   
and  7#f7 supports an end to demand for 
girls by declaring that our ,nation's   
daughters are not for sale and that any 
person who purchases a child for sex    
should be appropriately held accountable
 with the full force of law4