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Dear John,
Action Alert
TELL YOUR SENATORS TO PASS THE TVPRA AND END LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE FOR CHILDREN IN THE FEDERAL SYSTEM
On April 27th, the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security will be holding a hearing on Federal Efforts to Combat Human Trafficking at 10:00 a.m. ET.
Last month, Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced the Abolish Trafficking Reauthorization Act of 2022 (S. 3946) in the U.S. Senate.
Now is the time to contact your Senators and urge them to pass this crucial piece of legislation, which provides the legal framework for the U.S. to combat, monitor, and prosecute human trafficking crimes, and simultaneously addresses the way children who have experienced severe trauma are treated in the criminal legal system.
It protects child sex crime victims from unfair treatment when they commit offenses against their abusers; requires judges to consider at sentencing the diminished culpability of children relative to adults; and would end life without parole sentences for children prosecuted in the federal system by creating judicial sentencing review after 20 years of incarceration.
Please take a moment to write your Senators.
Here is a template script you can use when calling and/or emailing your Senator, but feel free to adjust the language to make it your own:
“My name is (your name) and I am (calling/emailing) to express my support for the Abolish Trafficking Reauthorization Act of 2022. It is imperative that we allow courts to deviate from harsh sentences for child sex trafficking and sex crime victims who commit serious offenses against their abusers. This legislation is vital to ensuring that we treat children who come into our criminal legal system as children, hold them accountable in age-appropriate ways that focus on rehabilitation, and finally end the shameful practice of sentencing children to die in prison. Children are different from adults, with increased capacity for change and growth, and therefore extreme sentences such as life without parole should never be imposed. Please make the TVPRA a priority in 2022. Thank you for your time and consideration.”
Note: The Abolish Trafficking Reauthorization Act of 2022 is also known as the Trafficking Victim Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA).
You can also engage on social media to help spread awareness of this important legislation. Thank you for your continued support as we fight for legislative reform across the country. Onward!
These criminal justice reform measures on behalf of youth are supported by a broad coalition of victim and child advocacy groups, including: The Anti-Recidivism Coalition, Boys Town, the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, Campaign Zero, the Coalition for Juvenile Justice, ECPAT-USA, First Focus Campaign for Children, Human Rights for Kids, Human Rights Watch, the National Juvenile Justice Network, Rights 4 Girls, RISE for Youth, R Street Institute, Represent Justice, Karana Rising, the National Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention Coalition, and World Without Exploitation.
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