My colleague, Brenda Zurita, examined the 2008 report on arrests for prostitution in the United States. Those under age 18 totaled 172; the number in Georgia was 31. Thus, one-sixth of all the U.S. prostitution arrests for those under age 18 were in Georgia –– indicating a need for law enforcement and concerned citizens to be educated on the issue (a mandate to the Department of Justice in the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005). Georgia should put the focus on educating their law enforcement personnel to recognize victims, learn how to interview them and concentrate on arresting more pimps and johns.
As Tanya Ditty, State Director for Concerned Women for America (CWA) of Georgia, said, “Decriminalization would not serve to help these victims; it would increase their exploitation. Decriminalizing prostitution creates a wonderful situation for pimps and traffickers, ties the hands of the police to arrest them and keep women and children enslaved.”
Numerous victims of commercial sexual exploitation express appreciation for the intervention of law enforcement officers who gave them the opening that they needed to escape this modern day form of slavery. One of the most dramatic accounts is the story of the late Norma Hotaling. I worked with Norma for almost a decade and I continue to be inspired by her survival as an 18-year-old victim of prostitution and her creation of SAGE (Standing Against Global Exploitation), an organization that provides services to women and children trapped in prostitution. Norma once told Laura Lederer, my long-time colleague and Vice President of Global Centurion, that “she owed her life to the laws and law enforcement officers who arrested her for prostitution –– because it forced her into the services that she needed –– chemical detox, food, clothing and shelter, medical assistance, legal assistance, and finally therapy.” Norma became a leader in the international fight against sex trafficking and a champion of those who are sexually exploited. She passed away last year, but her legacy continues.
States need a dual focus in their efforts to help children who are victims of this rapidly-expanding, very lucrative industry. Education is a key component in equipping law enforcement officers, social service organizations and health care providers in recognizing the crime and providing the assistance that is needed. The demand for younger and younger girls is what drives prostitution and trafficking. Decriminalizing prostitution for minors does not reduce demand for commercial sex with minors. In fact, it may increase demand because the pimps and traffickers would have an extra layer of protection between them and law enforcement. Prostituted minors will deny to law enforcement that they are being pimped or trafficked, thus making the pimping of minors more lucrative and lessening the danger of being caught. Keeping the laws in place allows the police to investigate and with proper training recognize the victims involved in order to get them the help and services that they need.
In the case of minors who are being sexually exploited, being well-meaning is not enough. We cannot be naive and seek faux-utopian solutions; we have to take a hard-nosed look at what works and what provides the best protection and opportunity to rescue those held captive by street-smart pimps who know how to work the system.