North Dakota AG Drew Wrigley supports increase in funds to prevent human trafficking, assist survivors
Feb. 10—EDITOR'S NOTE — If you or someone you know is experiencing interpersonal violence, visit CVIC's website at https://www.cviconline.org/ or call the 24-hour crisis line at (701) 746-8900.
GRAND FORKS — Attorney General Drew Wrigley recently was moved to make a late addition to his budget proposal that would provide additional funding for human trafficking awareness, prevention and support for survivors after speaking with advocates from Youthworks, 31:8 Project and YWCA.
"They came in and asked for a meeting, and advocated strongly for additional resources and what they could leverage — both in federal resources, but also the good that they can do in the communities across the state," Wrigley said during a recent meeting with the Grand Forks Herald. "We were moved to say, 'We're going to back that.'"
His office's budgetary bill, HB 1003, originally asked that $1,110,614 be appropriated from the general fund to human trafficking victims grants — the same amount appropriated during the last legislative session. As of Wednesday, Feb. 5, an additional $656,900 was being considered, which would bring the total to $1,767,514.
"We're definitely excited that the Legislature is looking at increasing the funding for the human trafficking victims grant program," Sheila Morris, vice president of advocacy at CVIC — a Grand Forks-based nonprofit that has benefited from this funding since 2017 — told the Herald.
Claire Ness, chief deputy attorney general, said recipients of these grants may use them for anything that assists survivors of human trafficking, from personal needs like housing and medical care to expanding the organization's services and staff.
There are six pieces of legislation this session that address human trafficking, whether to provide guidelines for training law enforcement to deal with crimes of exploitation (which failed) or setting mandatory minimum sentences for human trafficking offenders (which passed in the House 70-23 and has now been handed over to the Senate).
There are a number of bills related to this issue each session, Wrigley said; this year's number is not necessarily indicative of a worsening issue. Instead, he believes it's because people have broadened their understanding of what trafficking looks like.
"It's bad enough when people think of it as simply the trafficking of human beings for sexual purposes," he said. "There's work, there's immigration — there are a whole bunch of different components that combine to human beings being forced to conduct beyond what they would do by people leveraging them for dollars, for threats, for drugs, you name it. So I think we've got a really strong advocate community in the state of North Dakota, and they've got some good, strong legislative backing, too."
Morris agreed that there are misconceptions of what trafficking looks like; it isn't always someone being abducted off the street and sold through a large, organized network.
"Human trafficking can also occur when a loved one convinces you, or grooms you, into a servitude where the individual is maybe using online platforms to sell sexual services, and then they're giving the money to their partner," Morris said. "There's a wide range of what human trafficking can look like for survivors."
Sometimes, survivors don't realize what they're going through until they encounter a resource like CVIC, she said.
Putting additional funding forward is a way to help get these people out of very difficult circumstances, and help them move on with their lives, Wrigley said. It can also prevent more victims, according to CVIC's CEO and President Coiya Tompkins Inman.
She testified in support of the budget increase, noting that, within the last biennium, CVIC has been able to assist nine survivors and 10 people who were able to flee from a potential human trafficking situation.
The work CVIC staff does with human trafficking survivors is very similar to the work they do with other types of survivors, but it can often be more complex, Morris said. Due to their significant trauma, they may require more time and resources.
Regardless of what type of trafficking they were subjected to, CVIC offers resources for all trafficking survivors, including safe housing at its 36-bed shelter and advocacy as they learn how to move forward.
"We try to provide them that emotional support, the resources and the information," Morris said. "We try to meet the survivors where they're at, and just one step at a time."
For anyone in the Grand Forks area experiencing domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking or any other form of interpersonal violence — or aware of someone who is — Morris reminds them CVIC is here. The nonprofit accepts walk-ins 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday, at 211 S. Fourth St. Its crisis line is open 24/7.
"We are available to help," Morris said.
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