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This week is crime victims rights week at the state Capitol.

350 victims of crime were in the Capitol building asking for more victims recourses Tuesday, but part of the message they’re sending to lawmakers is a criminal justice system that focuses on rehabilitation over punishment.

One by one the members of the crowd shouted the names of loved ones who have been lost to violent crime.

Victims say untreated trauma leads many victims down dark paths.

“I had to reach a breaking point and almost lost my life to a suicide attempt before I was actually able to get that help,” said Deborah Ortiz, a survivor of sexual abuse and domestic violence.

Survivors of the Pulse Night Club Shooting and the Parkland shooing were among the crowd.

Patricia Oliver, whose son Joaquin lost his life in the Parkland shooting, echoed the call for more victims resources.

“We need to concentrate on this issue, that is trauma recovery,” said Oliver.

Victims are asking for lawmakers to extend the time a crime can be reported from 72 hours to five days.

They also want to extend the time they can apply for victim compensation funds from 1 to 5 years.

Part of the message victims are sending is the need for a more rehabilitative criminal justice system, arguing many criminals are victims themselves.

Dr. LaDonna Butler, a victim of sexual assault, who is now a mental health professional, says the two pronged approach could prevent victims from becoming perpetuators and put criminals back on the right track.

“We need to be able to stop that flow, so that people can get services in a way that is responsive to their needs before becoming perpetrators of violence themselves,” said Butler.

Agnes Furey’s daughter and grandson were both murdered in 1998.

She argues the best way to prevent future crime, is to break the cycle of violence through rehabilitation.

“If somebody cannot work, cannot function, cannot meet their Maslow’s needs, their going to do what they know how to do,” said Furey.

Victims are hopeful their message is getting through to lawmakers.

One thing is certain, they’ll be back each year until they get the change they’re looking for.

Governor Ron DeSantis along with a group of Florida lawmakers kicked off the ’42 Hours for 42 Million’ advocacy walk at the state Capitol Tuesday morning.

For the next 42 hours lawmakers, victims advocates and survivors of child sexual abuse will walk on a treadmill in the capitol rotunda.

State Senator Lauren Book, a survivor of child sexual abuse says the 42 hours of walking commemorates the 42 million survivors of child sexual abuse in the US.

“Horrifically, every 98 seconds, someone in the US becomes a victim of sexual abuse. Which means that over the course of the time that we’re walking, 1,542 incidences of sexual violence will occur,” said Book.

The walk-a-thon takes place during National Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Child Abuse Prevention Month.

Book says 95% of child sexual abuse can be prevented through education and awareness.

197 Florida Firefighters who have made the ultimate sacrifice were honored Tuesday morning at the state Capitol.

The annual ceremony was held in front of the newly completed firefighters memorial on the Capitol grounds.

Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis led the ceremony, in which a bell is rung nine times.

“With each ring we mark the ending of a final call for a brave soul on these walls. The ones who lost there lives courageously and with honor. Today marks their last call, the one that brought them home,” said Patronis.

CFO Patronis is supporting a legislative push this year to expand workers comp for firefighters to include cancer treatment benefits.

Governor Ron DeSantis has appointed Florida’s First Lady Casey DeSantis as Chair of the Children and Youth Cabinet.

The First Lady says she’s excited to take on the new position and hopes to increase the visibility of recourses available to children and families.\

“There are great programs out there for these kids to turn their lives around. It’s just, do these people know that they exist? Do they know those resources are there? Do parents know this? If they find their child going down the wrong road, how do we communicate that message to them? So this is really an exiting opportunity,” said Casey DeSantis.

The First Lady says her priority will be to focus on children impacted by the opioid epidemic.

Florida ranks third in the nation for the number of reported cases of human trafficking.

One of the many efforts to reduce trafficking in the state would require prevention be taught in schools.

The bill has now cleared two committees in the House and gets its first hearing in the Senate on Tuesday.

The National Human Trafficking Hotline’s website says in 2018 nearly one out of four human trafficking cases in Florida involved a victim under 18.

Representative Patricia Williams says, the illicit industry often targets children.

“Children are our vulnerable part and they’re our future. If we don’t keep them safe, we won’t be safe,” said Williams.

Williams is sponsoring the bill that would require health classes taught in Florida schools, include human trafficking prevention and awareness.

Currently 22 or Florida’s 67 districts already have the requirement.

“This course would actually give information of how people actually come up and try to solicit them,” said Williams. “They’ll know the signs of what to look for. They’ll know when people are actually trying to coerce them into doing other things that they are not aware of.”

The Senate bill differs slightly.

It a provision that would require the Department of legal affairs to develop human trafficking awareness campaigns.

It also would establish a human trafficking reporting hotline.

Unlike the Senate, the House version also requires child sex abuse awareness and prevention be included in health courses.

Fely Curva with The Society of Health and Physical Educators says it’s an important piece of the puzzle, pointing to 130,000 cases of abuse last year alone.

“Which in reality accounts to approximately 18 counties’ total student enrollment combined. So this is a real issue,” said Curva.

Under the legislation, students could opt out of the human trafficking or sex abuse instruction with parental consent.

Exactly one year from Monday, the 2020 census process will begin.

Some Democratic lawmakers in the Florida Legislature want to make sure Florida’s count is as accurate as possible.

The legislators are pushing a bill that would establish a Complete Count Committee made up of state and local lawmakers.

The committee would be tasked with reaching out to marginalized communities, which in the past have been under counted.

Getting the number is important, according to Senator Bobby Powell, because population factors into how much Federal funding communities are eligible to receive for things like schools and hospitals.

“Nowhere are the stakes higher than here in the state of Florida. Our state is home to a variety of cultures and lifestyles, all of which require a unique outreach strategy designed to make sure we get the most efficient and effective count,” said Powell.

Democrats also argued against the inclusion of a citizenship question on the 2020 census, asserting it would discourage some undocumented immigrants from participating.

8,000 signed petitions were derived to the President of the Florida Senate’s Office Monday afternoon.

The petition, spearheaded by Moms Demand Action Against Gun Violence, asks the Florida Legislature to consider passing universal criminal background checks in the state.

While the proposal has been criticized by the NRA and Republicans as being over burdensome, Kate Kile with Moms Demand Action disagrees.

“Background checks are not intrusive. They are generally instant for 90% of the people who go through them. We don’t feel that it’s an onerous burden and we know that it’s proven to keep our communities safer,” said Kile.

The legislation has been filed, but not received a single committee hearing.