Trafficking of humans continues to be a serious problem in California.
A recent statewide conference organized by former LAPD Vice Sgt. Stephany Powell underscored the issue and the need to strengthen legislation addressing human trafficking legislation not only in California, but across the nation.
The conference, which was attended by dozens of human trafficking activists, was an acknowledgement that some state legislation has forced traffickers to change their tactics. As a result, more comprehensive efforts to combat human trafficking are in various stages of development in California and across the country.
The conference was attended by dozens of human trafficking activists. Powell told the group the conference was to “help us understand and support specific legislation.”
The meeting was co-sponsored by Washington, D.C.-based attorney Yasmin Vafa, co-founder of Rights4Girls, a national anti-violence organization advocating in a number of states for victims of trafficking and actively opposing national efforts to legalize sex work. Staff members from the offices of Democratic Assm. Maggie Krell and Republican Sen. Shannon Grove were in attendance, thanking the nonprofits for their “valuable support” in the past and asking for support of new legislation in the works.
One proposed law targets several issues, among them rolling back legislation that decriminalized loitering for prostitution, which led to an explosion of street prostitution.
That 2022 bill, sponsored by Bay Area Democratic Sen. Scott Wiener, made it difficult to investigate sex trafficking cases and, according to both police and prosecutors statewide, it turned traffickers and pimps loose on California streets.
A proposed fix, AB379, seeks to criminalize loitering with the intent to purchase sex acts and impose a $1,000 fine on sex buyers, which would finance services for victims.
The prior legislation also was said to have had an adverse effect on nonprofit community-based organizations in San Diego and elsewhere by dramatically increasing the number of trafficked victims on the streets. These groups, according to the language in the proposed legislation, are “overworked and under-resourced.”
The bill establishes a fund for these nonprofits, using the fines collected from offenders.
Vafa of Rights4Girls described it as important legislation.
Krell, a former federal prosecutor who has handled major sex trafficking cases, proposed the legislation with support on the Senate side from Grove, who is responsible for previous successful anti-trafficking legislation efforts.
All the elements of AB379 address “misses” in prior legislative efforts to derail trafficking in the state, the authors say.One element in the bill would increase punishment for buying sex from anyone under the age of 18; the previous legislation had a cutoff age of 16. The bill would also offer diversion programs for sex workers. This would be available for the first two initial arrests, with no criminal charges being filed.
“This bill doesn’t just provide funding for victim support — it ensures that there are stronger legal tools to target the predators who keep this violent industry thriving by buying women and girls like me,” said Marjorie Saylor, a survivor and San Diego District Attorney’s Care Coordinator & Director of Human Trafficking Services and Awareness, who supports the bill.
Vafa told attendees that efforts to legalize prostitution are well-funded and well-organized across the United States, and provided examples of some of her organization’s efforts in different states.
In Illinois, the group is sponsoring HB3626, which is up against a bill from proponents of decriminalizing sex work — HB3518. The Rights4Girls bill repeals the criminal offense for only prostituted people and allows for expungement of past prostitution records.
The rival bill also repeals criminal offenses, but gives buyers the same protections. This bill would also amend what is defined as pimping, which in effect becomes legal unless prosecutors can prove force was involved, which is often difficult to show.
What HB3518 effectively does is to legalize prostitution in Illinois, Vafa says. “Their bill also seeks to provide liquor licenses to brothels.”
She acknowledges that the dueling bills are “definitely confusing, and often deliberately so by proponents of sex work.”
New York also has rival bills with both a victim-centered “Survivor Model” version and a full decriminalization bill pending before the state legislature.In Vermont, Vara’s group is opposing a bill that would fully decriminalize prostitution. She pointed out that the language can be so confusing that an earlier supporter of the bill, Vermont Republican Sen. Larry Hart, had signed what he thought was an anti-human trafficking bill.
After the bill was introduced, he learned it was to legalize prostitution and had his name withdrawn.
In New Hampshire, legislation has been proposed to impose a mandatory $500 fine for sex buyers with the money going into a survivors’ fund, seen as a crucial step toward deterring demand.
And finally, both Maryland and Hawaii both have bills that take into account the trauma faced by child sexual abuse victims who defend themselves against their adult abusers. That would allow them to access services in the juvenile system, instead of being tried as adults and routed into adult prison.
“For too long, people in the sex trade have been seen as criminals and punished for their own exploitation,” said Vara. “But today, most states around the country have begun to embrace victim-centered reforms that offer survivors services and support instead of handcuffs and incarceration.”
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