Insights to Action - Sex-trafficked children & the evolving legal landscape - Part 1

Did you know that over half of U.S. states currently arrest - and even prosecute - sex-trafficked children for prostitution? An increasing number of states are passing legislation preventing this from happening for everyone under the age of 18, but it is a lengthy process and can be a real uphill battle. Given the challenges, what can be done? Studying state-level legislation is an important step, as local and state law enforcement and service providers interact with sexually exploited youth more often than federal officials. State-level statutes often determine if children are treated as criminals or victims. Law enforcement and prosecutors often cite the need to be able to control “non-compliant” sexually-exploited children with threats of arrest and argue that detention protects child victims by separating them from traffickers and sex buyers. This rationale, however, fails to consider that incarceration can re-traumatize sex-trafficked children. And it does not take into account histories of sexual abuse and neglect prior to exploitation. On June 5th, 2018, ICRW hosted an Insights to Action event featuring our 2017 Mariam K. Chamberlain Dissertation Award Winner Kate Price, Shared Hope International's Senior Director of Public Policy Christine Raino & Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Massachusetts Boston Keith Gunnar Bentele. We had a discussion about current trends in state legislation to decriminalize child sex trafficking victims. This is the recording from that event.