Blog 10: States Toughen Laws Against Child Sex Trafficking

In Khadaroo's article, she stresses the fact that many states have begun to crack down on their human trafficking awareness and their laws. She states that over 186 bills have been recently enacted over the past year, which is an overwhelming amount of progress. Many of these laws involve a federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act, sometimes referred to as a Safe Harbor Law. This Act changes the way that victims are viewed and treated. In the past, if an individual was found involved in prostitution, they were immediately prosecuted and treated as a criminal. These new laws, however, offer protection as it has been recognized that many of these girls and women are in fact victims. In regards to minors, they no longer have to prove force or coercion. In response to these new laws, many states have improved their standings within the Protected Innocence Challenge. While this program is making progress, there is limited space for the victims that have been rescued and entered into the Protected Innocence program.Progress has also been made through increasing the fines associated with human trafficking. As this is a for profit business, hefty fines become a huge deterrent to traffickers.

The introduction of the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act is great news. Now that minors no longer have to prove force, they are able to be rescued and immediately enter into rehabilitation centers. There is no need for victims to be treated like criminals, and this step forward is one that will have a huge impact across the globe. Since trafficking is strictly a for profit business, the tacking on of heavy fines for offenders is a major deterrent for traffickers. If we can cause this industry to no longer be one of the top money producing industries, then we will see a huge decline in the amount of trafficking occurring across the world. While raising awareness for the issue is an important thing to do, it must also be paired with action. The past few years have been focused on raising awareness and making this issue known to the average citizen. It is great to see that now, as more and more people are learning about this issue, action is being taken in huge ways.

Caroline Califf

November 13th, 2013

1:34 pm

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2013/1108/States-toughen-laws-against-child-sex-trafficking-video