Today at the legislative hearing, human trafficking researchers and victims say the reason trafficking is such a huge problem in Nebraska is because penalties aren't high enough.
"I'm here to introduce LB 289 so we can better protect victims of human trafficking and bring justice to those who engage in this abhorrent practice," said Senator Patty Pansing Brooks.
Senator Brooks and Women's Fund of Omaha came to the capital today, presenting ways to stop the demand of human trafficking to lawmakers with LB 289.
"It increases penalties for tracking of individuals and trafficking of children."
Meghan Malik with the Women's Fund of Omaha says in order to stop the demand, stiffer penalties need to be put in place for buyers and sellers of human trafficking.
"Right now solicitation of a trafficked individual is a $250 fine in our state, which is often plead down to a $99 fine so we have to have higher penalties for that."
Currently the minimum penalty for someone found guilty of trafficking an adult is a fine and trafficking a child a person may only get probation.
"Can you imagine that? Someone trafficking a minor and being penalized with probation when you consider the horrors of this crime probation is nothing but a slap on the risk," said Sen. Pansing Brooks.
Malik also says studies prove traffickers are constantly looking to sell young new faces and without harsher penalties children will continue to be at risk.
"There are victims of sex trafficking across the state and they are in our backyards we have to start speaking up and saying that this is not ok," said Malik.
