Pass HB 2526
By Linda Smith
Founder and President, Shared Hope International
Former U.S. Congresswoman, Washington’s 3rd District
One to two children every week. That’s how many Seattle Police pull from sex trafficking on Aurora Avenue North alone—while many more are recruited online. Detective Maurice Washington told state lawmakers the crisis has worsened; “the tools we currently have are not enough.” The Legislature has a chance to change that: making the purchase of sex a felony.
According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, among Washington sex trafficking victims who reported their age, 89 percent were children when first exploited—not adults making informed choices. Buyers are demanding younger and younger victims.
Following 15 years in elected office, I founded Shared Hope International in 1998 after witnessing children sold in brothels overseas. I thought that horror happened “over there.” It happens here, in our state, and now, in our children’s bedrooms, online.
Children are targeted on their mobile devices. I recently worked with a family in SW Washinton whose 12-year-old daughter was groomed online for months, talking with her trafficker nightly from 1-3 AM. Police arrested him in Florida with a ticket to Portland Oregon, just right across the river from her home.
House Bill 2526, sponsored by Rep. Chris Stearns, takes a comprehensive approach: holding buyers accountable while protecting those being exploited. The bill renames “patronizing a prostitute” to what it actually is: commercial sexual exploitation. Words matter.
HB 2526 makes purchasing sex a Class C felony on the third or subsequent offense, punishable by up to five years in prison, and raises fines to $3,000–$10,000 based on prior offenses. Critically, 98 percent of these fees fund community-based, survivor-led organizations providing housing, trauma therapy, job training, and legal assistance.
Just as important, the bill protects those being exploited. For first and second violations, law enforcement must refer individuals to services—trafficking support, crisis intervention, housing, legal aid, or treatment.
Right now, buying sex is a misdemeanor—carrying fewer penalties than shoplifting. When purchasing sex has minimal consequences, trafficking remains profitable and demand grows. HB 2526 addresses both: increasing accountability for buyers while ensuring those being sold aren’t punished when they seek help. Some worry that increasing buyer penalties will push exploitation underground. Law enforcement will tell you: it’s already there. Online classified sites, social media, encrypted apps—that’s where most trafficking happens today. HB 2526 applies to all commercial sexual exploitation, not just street-level transactions.
Washington has been a leader in anti-trafficking responses, but we have not held buyers accountable with penalties that match the harm they cause. HB 2526 closes that gap.
To legislators: Pass HB 2526. To law enforcement: You’ve asked for better tools—this gives you one. To community members: If you see something, report it to the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888. To survivors: We see you. You deserve safety, services, and support—not criminalization. Increased fees from HB 2526 help fund housing, medical care, trauma therapy, job training, and legal assistance.
The Legislature has a choice: maintain the status quo where buying another human being carries fewer penalties than shoplifting, or declare that in Washington, we protect the vulnerable and hold exploiters accountable.
Pass HB 2526. Do it now. Click here to add your voice.
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Linda Smith is founder and president of Shared Hope International, a nonprofit dedicated to preventing and eradicating sex trafficking. She represented the 18th Legislative District in the Washington State House and Senate (1983-1994) and Washington’s 3rd Congressional District in the U.S. House (1995-1999).
Research and publications: “Demand” and “Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: The Prostitution of America’s Children”
Member, Washington State Task Force Against Trafficking in Persons
Member, Youth Human Trafficking State Coordinating Committee
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