WHEREAS, Children and youth are uniquely vulnerable to kidnapping, abduction, runaways, “throwaways,” human trafficking, and other forms of abuse and exploitation; and
WHEREAS, According to the National Crime Information Center’s (NCIC's) Missing Person and Unidentified Person Files for 2017, over 441,165 juveniles were reported as missing persons in America. Many of these children will never be returned to their families; and
WHEREAS, While some children and youth are reported missing for benign reasons, such as miscommunication and scheduling errors, such reports have declined dramatically, likely due to technological advancements such as mobile phones. Consequently, a greater proportion of children reported missing are missing for non-benign reasons; and
WHEREAS, Children and youth face a disturbingly high rate of sexual victimization.
The National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence, conducted by the University of New Hampshire in 2008, found that found that 1 in 16 (6.1%) surveyed children and youth were sexually victimized in the past year and nearly 1 in 10 (9.8%) were sexually victimized at some point over their lifetimes; and
WHEREAS, Adolescent girls are at the greatest risk of both sexual victimization and of non-family kidnapping or abduction, and therefore merit particular attention and protective efforts; and
WHEREAS, The Internet, social media, and other newer communication tools have provided new tools for predators to reach juveniles, it is critically important that efforts to protect children and youth evolve in response; and
WHEREAS, Reports suggest that missing children and youth is a persistent problem in the City of Philadelphia; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Hereby authorizes the
Committee on Children and Youth to hold hearings to examine issues relating to missing and exploited children and youth in Philadelphia.
End