TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Nearly 1,500 calls were made to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center last year from Florida -- the third most in the country. Lawmakers are continuing to clamp down on the human trade.
Sex trafficking leads the amount of Florida human trafficking cases by about 4 to 1.
Recommended Videos
Katarina Rosenblatt is a human trafficking survivor.
"In Miami at 13, I first was recruited at a hotel, and I escaped, and then I was recruited again at my middle school, because I still had the vulnerabilities of coming from an abusive home," said Rosenblatt.
Rosenblatt has gone on to earn her Ph.D. and has written a book about her human trafficking ordeal. She spoke before a House panel Wednesday about the need to put more safeguards for human trafficking in at the school level.
Lawmakers were receiving an update on a bill signed last year.
Rep. Gayle Harrell said there is still work to be done.
"These pimps are very ingenious in what they do. They go out there and recruit young, vulnerable kids, and we need to address that problem as well," said Harrell.
One proposal floating around the Capitol is imposing a "sin" tax on adult entertainment establishments.
Rep. Lori Berman is backing the idea. A $10 surcharge would be put on customers at strip clubs with funds being directed toward human trafficking programs.
"We have an obligation, and we have determined that we are going to help victims of human trafficking, and in terms of getting a source of funding for victims of human trafficking, it obviously makes more sense if you use something that has helped contribute to the problem," Berman said.
Berman said there is a connection between the clubs and human trafficking, but the legislature will look into it further before making any major moves.