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2024 State Legislative Update

2024 State Legislative Update

The Shared Hope policy team has been working tirelessly this year, tracking 3,558 bills and providing technical assistance in 22 states to combat child and youth sex trafficking. Legislative measures at the state level are crucial in protecting vulnerable youth and prosecuting perpetrators. As state legislatures wrap up their sessions, staying informed about the latest updates is essential.

Our advocacy priorities have focused on victim-offender intersectionality and preventing the unjust criminalization of trafficking survivors. We have been collaborating with stakeholders and engaging on legislation related to Safe Harbor, Affirmative Defense, and Vacatur. Our Report Card framework includes 40 policy goals across 6 issue areas, and this blog reflects our efforts in these key areas.

As we continue to advocate for important bills, it is important to recognize the impact of state legislation in shaping policies and practices to protect vulnerable youth. Stay informed and join us in the fight against child and youth sex trafficking. Together, we can make a difference in the lives of survivors and work towards a safer future for all.

Safe Harbor Efforts

“Safe Harbor” refers to laws and responses that insulate victims from a punitive response and direct them to restorative and protective services. Comprehensive Safe Harbor laws should prohibit arresting, detaining, charging, and prosecuting allminors for prostitution offenses, regardless of whether a finding of trafficking victimization is made, and instead, connect child and youth survivors to specialized services and care. This non-criminalization recognizes that child and youth sex trafficking victims should not be penalized for a crime that was committed against them and should not be involved in the juvenile or criminal justice system as a result. This includes not using punitive approaches to require participation in services, such as diversion or discretionary referrals. Additionally, victims deserve access to physical, mental, and psychological support and services to help them heal and set a firm foundation for their future lives. Thus, effective Safe Harbor responses emphasize the need of victims to receive trauma-informed care, and hinges on ensuring comprehensive access to specialized services.

This year, Idaho will join the other 29 states and DC who have made it clear that children engaged in commercial sex are victims of sex trafficking, not prostitution offenders, with the passing of H 494, introduced by Rep. Lakey (R). This lawprohibits minors under 18 from being arrested and referred to the juvenile justice system on suspicion of or known engagement in commercial sex. Amending the prostitution statute to be inapplicable to minors recognizes that children never engage in commercial sex by choice; rather, a child does so out of coercion, force, fraud, fear, or survival. This is not consensual sex; money does not sanitize rape and treating the child as a consensual actor not only misplaces criminality, it directly re-victimizes the child. Children living in such circumstances deserve, at a minimum, specialized services, and long-term care, not the traumatizing impact of an arrest, detention and prosecution, or juvenile records that carry devastating collateral consequences far beyond the childhood years.

A few other states have passed laws related to Safe Harbor, too. Appropriate identification and access to services are vital aspects of creating a just response for victims of child and youth sex trafficking.

Pennsylvania passed legislation, SB 44 introduced by Sen. Dush (R), that amended the definition of trafficking to ensure that all minors engaged in commercial sex are recognized as trafficking victims by eliminating the third-party control requirement. A third-party control element in a trafficking law requires a commercially sexually exploited child to have a trafficker or controller to be recognized as a victim of trafficking. When state child sex trafficking laws only criminalize the conduct of a third party who provides, maintains, or facilitates the exchange of sex between the child victim and the buyer, children who are solicited and exploited by buyers do not fall under the protection of the child sex trafficking law. With this barrier now eliminated in Pennsylvania, any minor engaged in commercial sex now qualifies for a Safe Harbor response, as well as other protections afforded to trafficking victims.

Virginia also passed two bills that will support future Safe Harbor responses. House Bill 581, introduced by Del. Simmonds (D), requires the establishment of multidisciplinary human trafficking response teams. Collaborative, multidisciplinary groups (“MDTs”) addressing human trafficking have become essential in the national fight against human trafficking and the provision of necessary services and resources to survivors. This response model, which includes various disciplines working collaboratively, is encouraged by the U.S. Department of Justice and is recognized worldwide as a best practice in the anti-trafficking field. Through MDTs, law enforcement, child welfare, service providers, advocates, other professionals, as well as the child and their family can work collaboratively to prioritize the wellbeing of the survivor and provide trauma-informed support and services. The creation of these MDT’s will support future implementation of a Safe Harbor response.

Additionally, HB 268 introduced by Del. Watts (D), directs thejuvenile court to retain jurisdiction of a juvenile defendant if, during a transfer hearing, the court receives evidence that such juvenile was trafficked, sexually abused, or raped by alleged victim of the conduct for which they’ve been charged. Additionally, the bill states that the provisions shall be construed to prioritize the successful treatment and rehabilitation of juvenile victims of human trafficking and sex crimes who commit acts of violence against their abusers. While ideally, we would like to see these victims kept out of any punitive system and met with a protective—rather than punitive—response, Shared Hope supported this bill as a step toward more just responses to criminalized child trafficking survivors. The passage of this bill demonstrates an understanding that child victims who defend themselves against their abusers should be afforded the protections and rehabilitation that juvenile courtswere designed to provide.

Vacatur and Affirmative Defense Efforts

Vacatur and affirmative defense are crucial legal mechanisms designed to provide protection and justice to victims of trafficking. Vacatur refers to the legal process of nullifying convictions or judgments obtained against trafficking victims for offenses they committed as a direct result of being trafficked. It recognizes that individuals coerced or deceived into criminal activity should not be held accountable for actions taken under duress. Affirmative defense, on the other hand, allows trafficking victims to present evidence of their victimization to mitigate or excuse their criminal liability. These legal provisions acknowledge the complex dynamics of trafficking, where victims often endure manipulation, coercion, and exploitation, making it unjust to hold them fully responsible for their actions. By granting vacatur and affirmative defense, the legal system aims to empower victims, facilitate their recovery, and hold perpetrators accountable for their crimes. These mechanismsacknowledge the coercive circumstances that often compel victims to engage in criminal activities, offering them a legal recourse to escape punishment. Without such provisions, victims may face further victimization through the criminal justice system, exacerbating their trauma and hindering their ability to break free from the cycle of exploitation.

Pennsylvania’s legislature is currently considering a bill that would allow trafficking survivors to assert an affirmative defense for crimes directly related to their victimization. Importantly, this bill allows a survivor to assert the defense for any alleged offense. This is critical as we know that traffickers often force their victims to commit a variety of crimes for a variety of reasons. Traffickers may force a child victim to commit a crime knowing that the punishment for the child is likely to be lower if they are caught due to the child’s age or that, once a victim has committed a crime, they are less likely to seek help for fear of being punished for the afore mentioned crime(s). Additionally, victims may commit crimes to protect themselves in self-defense, to avoid abuse by their exploiter, or to escape or avoid their own sexual exploitation.

Arizona amended its vacatur statute to remove an arbitrary barrier to qualifying for the relief by passing HB 2623, introduced by Matt Gres (R). Previously, survivors could only petition for relief if the alleged conduct was committed before 2014. Now survivors can petition for vacatur regardless of when the conviction occurred. However, relief is very limited—only prostitution convictions may be vacated under this law, leaving many survivors with other convictions without legal recourse.

Omnibus Efforts

While our advocacy efforts predominantly focus on preventing unjust criminalization, there are a few states who are working on omnibus bills that impact several State Report Card policy goalsand are worth highlighting as broad efforts to shift the state-level response to child trafficking survivors.

Washington

Washington passed SB 6006, a bill that provides a number of critical supports and protections for victims of trafficking. First,this bill makes clear that trafficking victims have the ability to gain civil orders of protection from their traffickers. This is an essential resource for survivors because, in some circumstances, civil orders of protection (CPOs) can provide more comprehensive relief than the criminal justice system. Some survivors are able to petition for custody, child support, counseling, and eviction of the abuser within the context of a CPO.

Moreover, this legislation provides robust protection and support for minor victims of sex trafficking through multiple additions to how victims are cared for and supported during trial. Victim-witness testimony by sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation victims provided during a trial of their alleged exploiter can serve a key role in a successful conviction. However, the delivery of victim testimony can be a severely traumatic process for CSE minors regardless of their age at the time of testifying. SB 6006 allows for out-of-court statementsthat is otherwise inadmissible to be admitted as evidence to lighten to the burden that victims have in testifying. Further, victims would be able to testify via CCTV, which would decrease their re- traumatization of having to testify in front of their abusers.

Finally, SB 6006 provides for victim compensation without any time limitations and can file for these benefits at any time. SB 6006 also eliminates the statute of limitations for sex traffickingprosecutions.

Illinois

Illinois is currently considering a bill, SB 3697 introduced by Dale Fowler (R), that would improve the state’s response in a number of different ways. Critically, this bill improves victim identification, specifically for child welfare employees. It is imperative that child welfare is prepared to complement community-based service responses to provide specialized care, services, and, when appropriate, placement to children who enter the system on a report of child sex trafficking. Additionally, SB 3697 extends foster care related services to the age of 23. Youth who age out of foster care at the age of 18 often enter the world with little support. Research shows the lack of stability and opportunity during these pivotal years can damage the youth’s healthy development, positive long–term decision-making, and skill-building. This bill, if passed, will ensure continuity of support during a critical transitional period.

Finally, this bill requires the Illinois State Police to develop and deliver a course of instruction designed for departments, agencies, or associations that are likely to come in contact with human trafficking victims in the course of delivering services. Training agencies to identify human trafficking is crucial for several reasons. Firstly, it equips personnel with the knowledge and skills to recognize the signs and indicators of trafficking, allowing for timely intervention and assistance to victims. Secondly, it helps prevent misidentification of trafficking situations as other crimes or social issues, ensuring that victims receive appropriate support and services. Thirdly, training enhances collaboration and coordination among different agencies, enabling a more effective and comprehensive response to trafficking cases. Ultimately, such training empowers frontline responders to act as advocates for victims, disrupt trafficking networks, and contribute to the broader efforts to combat trafficking.

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Wisconsin Senate Bill 245 Testimony

Shared Hope International has been working in Wisconsin, across the country, and internationally for over 20 years to guide and support appropriate responses to protect survivors, hold offenders to account, and ultimately prevent the crime entirely. 11 years ago we launched the Protected Innocence Challenge project (i.e. State Report Cards) to assess the status of state’s laws and to drive legislative progress. Since 2011, we have called on states to recognize any minor engaged in commercial sex as a victim of a sex trafficking, not a “prostitute” or “delinquent youth.” We know that survivors of child sex trafficking have the best outcomes when they are met with protection, trauma-informed services, and a response that is appropriate for the horrific experiences they have endured—such a response cannot be rooted in juvenile justice practices and systems.

Amending the prostitution statute to be inapplicable to minors recognizes that children never engage in commercial sex by choice; rather, a child does so out of coercion, force, fraud, fear, or survival. This is not consensual sex; money does not sanitize rape and treating the child as consensual actor not only misplaces criminality, it directly re-victimizes the child. Oftentimes, children entangled in a life that includes commercial sex carry years of trauma, generational vulnerabilities, and abuse on their backs. Other times, such children have trusted the wrong adult, been fed a false promise, or have fallen for an exploiter who later sold the child to someone all too willing to pay for the chance to rape him or her. Children with unsafe or unstable home environments may find the streets safer and, resultantly, sell their bodies in exchange for something to eat or someplace to sleep. These are not choices; children living in such circumstances deserve, at a minimum, specialized services and long-term care, not the traumatizing impact of an arrest, detention and prosecution, or juvenile records that carrying devastating collateral consequences far beyond childhood years.

In 2014, four years after releasing the first State Report Cards, we graded Wisconsin a “B” state for having a set of strong, comprehensive laws that address child sex trafficking; for the last 8 years, Wisconsin has consistently scored higher than the national average in developing robust policies and practices related to child sex trafficking. However, despite holding a position of leadership, the state has lagged seriously behind a majority of the country in designing and prioritizing protective responses for survivors. 31 states and D.C. have made clear that children engaged in commercial sex are victims of sex trafficking, no prostitution offenders. While Wisconsin state law clearly defines children who are bought and sold for sex as victims of sex trafficking, those same minors can be and are arrested and prosecuted for prostitution. SB 245 is not only critical for remedying this legal paradox; this legislation embraces a nationally-regarded promising practice for protecting children and preventing harm.

Concerns have previously been raised that, without the ability to arrest child sex trafficking victims, law enforcement are limited in their ability to keep vulnerable youth safe. We wholeheartedly share the desire to ensure survivor safety; however, arrest is not the only and certainly not the appropriate mechanism for doing so. Alternatively, many states that have enacted and successfully implemented Safe Harbor responses have abandoned the use of arrest and adopted more child-friendly and appropriate tools for taking children into custody, including the use of temporary protective custody provisions. Fortunately, Wisconsin has already developed this mechanism under Wis. Stat. § 48.19(d).

SB 245 not only aligns with promising and child-centered responses to sex trafficking but amplifies survivors’ calls for justice. Our decades of research and collaborative work with trafficking survivors has illuminated the harms of punitive responses to victims; survivors continue to reiterate the additional trauma and harm that is caused during arrest, detention, and prosecution, even if such responses are well-intended and designed break the cycle of exploitation, including

Wisconsin’s current diversion response to child sex trafficking victims. Conversely, responses outside of punitive systems are proven to be more effective, cost-efficient, and impactful in addressing survivors comprehensive needs and goals, and preventing the predictable cycle of vulnerabilities, exploitation, criminalization, and increased vulnerabilities to reexploitation.

We commend the Sponsor’s leadership on this issue and are grateful for the Committee’s interest in supporting an alternative, more survivor-centered and justice-oriented response.

 

If you live in Wisconsin, urge your legislators to support Senate Bill 245 and end the criminalization of children with prostitution.

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Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act (Fact Sheet)

On September 3rd, 2021, the “Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act” (H.R.5150) was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. This legislation most notably reauthorizes the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), which provides critical tools needed to combat human trafficking in the U.S. and abroad.  Without Congressional action, the TVPA is set to expire in September, 2021.  H.R.5150 also addresses several other issues related to human trafficking, including: implementing prevention education training requirements throughout Federal agencies, encouraging all states and territories to eliminate the requirement for third-party control, and expending legal protections for convicted survivors.

Shared Hope International supports this bill because it is trauma-informed, survivor-centered, and proactive. It is bipartisan legislation with broad support from at least 17 different national and state-based organizations. The passage of this legislation would have a direct impact on victims and survivors, whose needs would be addressed through the allocation of necessary funding and the implementation of training and educational programs in schools and healthcare settings.  Overall, this bill ensures the continuation of existing programs, while also increasing transparency and awareness for human trafficking in the U.S. and abroad, and preventing harm to future victims.

Key Problems Addressed  in This Bill

  • Lack of Victim Identification and Reporting: Understanding the dynamics of human trafficking is required for affected communities and non-profits to properly identify and address the needs of survivors;
  • Insufficient Prevention Education and Training Programs: Public and private sector entities can better prevent the exploitation of future victims and prevent re-exploitation of survivors through preventative training programs for various stakeholders and needed services for survivors and those at risk of exploitation;
  • Lack of long-term solutions for survivors: Human trafficking is a complex issue that requires long-term solutions to truly address the needs of survivors, including addressing the financial impacts of victimization and promoting survivors’ access to justice.

The “Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2021” (H.R.5150) accomplishes these goals by:

  • Reauthorizing and extending funding for several critical acts, including the “Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000” (TVPA). This would ensure critical programs supporting enforcement of trafficking laws and protections for survivors are funded until September 26th, 2026.
  • Awarding ‘Human Trafficking Education Grants’, with priority given to local education agencies serving in high intensity trafficking areas and partnering with non-profit organizations specializing in human trafficking prevention education. Additional criteria for selecting includes the ability for engage local partners, provide “culturally responsive, age-appropriate, and trauma informed” training, and create scalable, repeatable programs using “proven and tested best practices.”
  • Encouraging the adoption of prevention education training requirements in elementary and secondary schools, amongst healthcare professionals and social service providers, and within federal government agencies.
  • Providing legal protections for victims of exploitation by preventing civil retaliation against those who bring a civil case against a perpetrator.
  • Setting exceptions for youthful victim offenders to the minimum sentences for violations of the forced labor statute, with extra consideration taken for the effect of trauma on the victim-offender’s conduct.
  • Implementing Anti-Trafficking policies throughout Federal Agencies and the Executive branch, including labor and sex trafficking prevention and identification training.
  • Encouraging all states and territories to “eliminate the requirement for third-party control to properly qualify a child as a victim of sex trafficking, to aid in the identification and prevention of child sex trafficking, protect children, and appropriately prosecute perpetrators to the fullest extent of the law” and provides and updated definition of a child sex trafficking victim.
  • Amends the language in the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act and the Social Security Act to include labor trafficking victims in addition to sex trafficking victims and promote the needs of child victims.

Current Cosponsors:

Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Karen Bass (D-CA).

Learn More and Take Action:

Additional Sources:

 

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NPR: States Do Better Cracking Down On Child Sex Trafficking, Report Says

Transcript: Lina Wertheimer, WUNC Interview for NPR

Now we bring you some good news coming from a nonprofit group that studies the problem of child sex trafficking. A new report being released today finds many U.S. states are doing a better job of halting this crime. NPR’s justice correspondent, Carrie Johnson, got an exclusive look at the report.

CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE: When the nonprofit group Shared Hope International started evaluating how well states cracked down on child sex trafficking back in 2011, the report card was ugly. Christine Raino directs public policy at Shared Hope.

CHRISTINE RAINO: We have really seen substantial change. That first year, more than half the states had failing grades. And now, five years later, we actually have half the states – more than half the states have A’s and B’s, and we no longer have any states with failing grades.

JOHNSON: The group tracks how many states have passed criminal laws against trafficking and whether the states punish those who pay for sex with people under age 18. Awareness is starting to grow, Raino says, in part because the FBI works with state and local partners to try to recover children every year in raids like this one in Michigan last month.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Big child sex trafficking sting taking place here in metro Detroit and across the nation.

JOHNSON: Authorities found 19 girls between the ages of 13 and 17 and an even bigger raid in Denver.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: A 14-year-old girl has been rescued from her pimp, a local gang member who was trafficking the girl along Colfax Avenue. She is one of 20 children rescued from sex trafficking operations along the Front Range.

JOHNSON: The federal system prohibits minors from being charged with prostitution or other crimes, but that’s not the case in many states. Fifteen states now officially treat minors as victims rather than exposing them to prosecution for prostitution. Raino says there’s still a long way to go.

RAINO: Looking at victims’ protections and victims’ access to services and really moving toward the recognition that child sex trafficking victims are not committing a crime, but they’re victims.

JOHNSON: The new report from Shared Hope points out that trafficking markets operate on the principle of supply and demand – case in point, the booming oil industry across North Dakota and Montana.

RAINO: What we’re hearing is an increasingly urgent problem of sex trafficking. With the oil boom have come many more people into the region and predominately men.

JOHNSON: And those men have had a lot of disposable income. This year, North Dakota boosted protections for survivors of child sex trafficking, and Shared Hope says Montana strengthened its laws, too. Carrie Johnson, NPR News, Washington. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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CBN News: Anti-Trafficking Laws Make Big Gains

By: Heather Sells, CBN News

A national report card that grades states on their anti-trafficking laws shows dramatic progress in the last few years.

Shared Hope International‘s 5th annual Protected Innocence Challenge report card, released Wednesday, reveals that half the states are earning an A or B on their report card, and none are failing.

When the anti-trafficking, non-profit organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., began grading the states in 2011, it failed 26 states.

Samantha Vardaman, senior director at Shared Hope told CBN News “a lot of that is due to grass roots activities. Public awareness has increased significantly over the years.”

North Dakota and Montana are two bright spots in this year’s report card. In recent years, the booming oil industry has drawn more than 100,000 workers, mainly men, away from home in search of high-paying jobs in the Bakken region, which overlaps with Montana. The surge threatened to fuel an emerging sex industry.

In 2011, Shared Hope failed both states. This year, it gave North Dakota a B and Montana an A for overhauling their laws.

Anti-trafficking laws vary from state to state. The core idea behind Shared Hope’s Protected Innocence Challenge is to penalize traffickers and buyers, identify victims and provide shelter and services for them.

“With improved laws and greater enforcement, buyers and traffickers become aware that this is a much riskier endeavor to engage in and it will deter demand and trafficking,” Vardaman explained.

Shared Hope says there’s still a great need to provide help for victims. It also wants all states to earn A’s and B’s so traffickers will not be able to simply move their operations to the most “trafficking-friendly” states.

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