Sexual Trafficking, continued

Old issues continue as we prepare for the new membership year. On June 3, 2008, some AAUW members (Diane Haney, Barbara Kaim, Julie Kleszczewski) attended a panel discussion at the United Nations on New York State’s “toughest anti-human trafficking law in the United States.” It was a proud day for New York and for all of the organization which worked so hard to pass the legislation especially Equality Now but including AAUW.
Things mentioned by the speakers:
One of the problems is the persistent belief that this is a victimless crime. There is a persistent belief that it does not happen in our neighborhoods—very much not true in New York which is a major gateway into the country. When they cleaned up Times Square, prostitution moved onto Long Island.
Progress can and has been made. For instance in a New York neighborhood, the residents wrote down the license plates of the John’s cars and drove the prostitutes out. In San Francisco first time customers are required to take instruction in how prostitution actually works and recidivism has declined.
Other countries with successful programs are Mexico with effective ads, Denmark and Madagascar which have effective programs targeting the customers. There is a need to empower women and reduce poverty which makes women vulnerable, but we also need to work to control the criminal element.
Many needs remain. We need to rehumanize those whose dignity has been compromised, Victims have been treated as less than human. We need to stigmatize the customer not the victim. Pimps should be held accountable. Civil society needs to work to change minds, stigmatize customers, punish criminal elements who recruit and enslave children.
Since the victims of this crime are not an organized group by their very nature (poor, sometimes not speaking English, often not citizens) the action of organized citizen’s groups is extremely important
We are asked to support The William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, H,R. 3887 which has passed the house (last December) and just been introduced into the Senate—no Senate number yet.
In New York there is no minimum age at which a child can be charged with prostitution. Thus a child can be a victim of statutory rape and also charge with prostitution.
Although we have an exemplary bill, there are some fixes needed. We are asked to support the legislation described below to give our citizen children protection.
It is the plight of American children under 17 who are coerced into prostitution in NYS. They are victims of sex trafficking. I ask you to create and support an Assembly Bill, like the already passed Senate Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Act (S6747). A Bill that would provide for these child prostitutes to be treated as victims of trafficking giving them those services that will enable them to reenter society, rather than treating them as Juvenile Delinquents. They need assistance not incarceration. For more information see www.aauw-nys.org and click on public policy.