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"The United States Congress enacted historic legislation eight years ago,the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, to combat the scourge of humantrafficking," said Legal Momentum's President Irasema Garza, "and thislegislation has helped thousands of victims escape slavery and receiveprotection, while their traffickers are prosecuted."
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But these gains are in jeopardy because of a House-passed bill that woulddistort the definition of human trafficking by expanding it to include adultprostitution.
Victims' advocates and survivors oppose equating adult prostitution withhuman trafficking. Under current law, human trafficking is defined as labor orcommercial sex performed under force, fraud or coercion or any commercial sexperformed by minors. The House legislation proposes a major change in thisdefinition. It removes the force, fraud or coercion requirement from adultcommercial sex cases. By doing so, it places under federal jurisdiction cases,which are traditionally the province of state and local authorities.
Changing the definition will not make trafficking cases easier toprosecute. In fact, by requiring federal authorities to expend resourcesinvestigating adult prostitution cases which are traditionally under thejurisdiction of state and local authorities, it will spread thin the resourcesdedicated to policing trafficking. It will harm the most vulnerable victimsof human trafficking -- children -- by reducing the resources dedicated tofinding and prosecuting predators who go after children.
The Senate bill improves victim protections and strengthens the ability toprosecute human trafficking. It builds on the House-passed bill and expandsprotections for minors who are trafficked, and eliminates many of theobstacles trafficking victims have faced in accessing protection. This billgoes far beyond any of the prior reauthorizations and reaffirms the UnitedStates' commitment and leadership towards eliminating modern-day slavery.
While trafficking cases are difficult to prove, federalizing prostitutionwill not make trafficking cases any easier to prosecute. The Department ofJustice stands in solidarity with the Fraternal Order of Police, the NationalAssociation of Attorneys General, and the National District AttorneysAssociation, all of which agree with victim's rights, women's rights and humanrights organizations and the Senate bill on the need to preserve the currentdefinition of human trafficking.
Any change in the legal definition of human trafficking attacks thefundamental integrity of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) andwill severely undermine our government's ability to battle what is now aninternational trade in children and women. Senators Biden and Brownback havetaken a courageous stance to protect women from modern-day slavery. Their billexpands our country's commitment to protect vulnerable women and girls beyondthe historic efforts to which our government dedicated itself with adoption ofTVPA eight years ago.
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO SCHEDULE AN INTERVIEW WITH THE PRESIDENT OFLEGAL MOMENTUM, CONTACT: Altagracia Levat, Legal Momentum, 347.739.7664,[email protected].
SOURCE Legal Momentum
