Kupchick & Fawcett join forces to fight human trafficking

Fairfield state representatives Kim Fawcett (D-133rd) and Brenda Kupchick (R-132nd) praised the unanimous passage of bill they have both championed this session.

All 55 female legislators in the General Assembly signed on as co-sponsors to House Bill 5666, a first-in-the-nation bi-partisan bill that cracks down on human and sex trafficking in Connecticut. The bill will now be sent to the Senate for action before the end of the legislative session on June 5.

“What many Fairfielders may forget is that this issue hit home a few years back when a sex trafficking operation was uncovered right here in our town,” Fawcett said in a press release, “Women being held as captives in second story rooms above a retail store on the Post Road. We all think this is an issue that third world countries deal with, so it seemed incomprehensible at the time. Yet the safety of women is threatened in a middle class community like Fairfield, Conn.”

One section of the bill describes how money or property will be forfeited if it is found that they have been used in one of these crimes.

The bill also brings awareness to how and when the trafficking of children occurs. Today, there are more than 100 children in the custody of the state Department of Children & Families who have been victims of human trafficking. If this bill is signed by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, the penalties for trafficking a child would become much stronger, according to a joint statement from Fawcett and Kupchick.

“Protecting young girls and women is not a partisan issue,” Kupchick said. “We have a responsibility to stand together in defense of the victims of these despicable acts. This legislation will set an example for other states and raise awareness of human trafficking.”