|
|---|
Pryce Holds Hearing on Sex Trafficking; Introduces “End Demand for Sex Trafficking Act” Washington, DC – Congresswoman Deborah Pryce (R-Upper Arlington) today brought national attention to the issue of human trafficking and introduced legislation to end demand for this dehumanizing practice. Pryce, who is Chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Domestic International Monetary Policy (DIMP), held a hearing this Thursday on the issue of sex trafficking, where experts from the State Department and advocates testified. Following the hearing, Pryce was joined by other lawmakers, non-governmental officials, and Lifetime Television to introduce the “End Demand for Sex Trafficking Act.” “Sex-trafficking is a problem that isn’t typically discussed on television or at the dinner table,” said Pryce. “It’s a problem that occurs behind closed doors, a problem that preys on the vulnerable and destroys so many human spirits. Trafficking is a problem that is built on lies and deception, as most of the victims are lied to and coerced into it without their knowledge or permission.” “It’s a problem that affects an estimated 800,000 women, men and children worldwide each year alone. But the reality is that human trafficking isn’t an issue that’s isolated to countries far away. Sadly, more and more women and children - up to 20,000 - are being trafficked across our nation’s borders and within our borders, into backyards in the United States. During the hearing, Pryce heard testimony from Tina Frundt, Outreach Specialist for the Polaris Project, an advocacy group combating sex trafficking and offering assistance to trafficking victims. Tina is a former victim of sex trafficking. She recalled at age 14 being forced to sell herself on the streets of Cleveland and give the money she received to a pimp. "I’ve been locked in the closet on numerous occasions, had my arm broken with a bat, and had my finger broken which has never set right... No one else helped me,” Frundt said. "After awhile, you become numb to the abuse. It happens to you so much, it’s just like eating breakfast in the morning. You may not like what you eat but you get used to the routine." Upon hearing Frundt’s dramatic story of survival, Pryce commented, “This was a difficult hearing to sit through. Tina's story of horror in Cleveland really brings the issue home and puts a human face on the problem. Think about it: we're talking about an American woman who was forced into sexual slavery in America's heartland. It’s hard to talk about human trafficking in other countries and cultures, but it's even harder to accept the fact that this modern day form of slavery is happening in our own communities. This is a crisis that we must face and put to an end now." Congresswoman Pryce has made human trafficking an important legislative issue in the 109th Congress. Earlier this year, Pryce led an all female Congressional delegation to Albania, Italy, Greece and Moldova to meet with government officials, non-government organizations and trafficking victims to address the issue. The goal of the trip was to exchange ideas about how better to prevent sex trafficking, protect victims of sex trafficking, and prosecute those who traffic, exploit and purchase women and children. The bill Pryce introduced today focuses on the problem that exists within the United States. About the bill: End Demand for Sex Trafficking Act of 2005 The End Demand for Sex Trafficking Act of 2005 – introduced by U.S. Senators John Cornyn, and Arlen Specter, and by U.S. Representatives Deborah Pryce, Carolyn Maloney, and Bobby Scott, Kay Granger, Thelma Drake – seeks to combat sex trafficking by targeting and reducing demand. Federal efforts to combat human trafficking and slavery, both abroad and within our very own borders, have received significant attention in recent years. Last July, President Bush made clear that ending demand for trafficking is a critical component of this effort, in remarks he delivered before the first national training conference on Human Trafficking in the United States: Rescuing Women and Children from Slavery, hosted by the Justice Department in Tampa, Florida. As the President stated, “we cannot put [human traffickers] out of business until and unless we deal with the problem of demand.” Moreover, as the State Department’s 2004 Trafficking in Persons Report notes, “[c]onsiderable academic, NGO, and scientific research confirms a direct link between prostitution and trafficking. In fact, prostitution and its related activities . . . contribute[] to trafficking in persons by serving as a front behind which traffickers for sexual exploitation operate. . . . [P]rostitution directly contributes to the modern-day slave trade and is inherently demeaning. When law enforcement tolerates . . . prostitution, organized crime groups are freer to traffic in human beings.” Section 1. Short title. Section 2. Findings and purposes. The bill expresses Congress’s commitment to reducing the U.S. domestic demand for sex trafficking, which disproportionately victimizes women and children. Section 3. Definitions. Section 4. Prosecution of purchasers, sex traffickers, and exploiters. This provision establishes a new federal grant program to encourage the development and implementation of demand-side strategies for the enforcement of laws against sex trafficking. The bill would authorize the appropriation of $15 million per year for fiscal years 2005 through 2007 to fund the grant program. Grants could be used (1) to focus prosecution efforts on purchasers of unlawful commercial sex acts – such as through educational programs, shaming penalties, the use of decoys, and other demand-side law enforcement strategies, (2) to focus prosecution efforts on traffickers and exploiters of unlawful commercial sex acts – such as through surveillance efforts, prosecutions for rape, sexual assault, and tax evasion, and civil actions for restitution, and (3) to fund NGOs specializing in providing services to victims of commercial sex activities, including protection, education, food, and shelter. Section 5. Strengthening prosecution and punishment of sex traffickers and purchasers and exploiters. This provision strengthens and clarifies federal criminal law by amending the 1910 Mann Act. The original 1910 version of the Mann Act prohibits the transportation of “any individual” across state or national lines, with the intent that such individual engage in prostitution or some other criminal sexual act. The bill would make clear that “any individual” includes the transportation of consumers across state lines, as well as the transportation of persons used for prostitution across state lines. This alteration would ensure that the Mann Act can be used to combat sex tourism. (The sex tourism provisions of the PROTECT Act apply only to sex tourism involving minors.) Section 6. Senior Operating Group Participation. This provision simply ensures that federal agencies involved in combating sex trafficking coordinate with the Senior Policy Operating Group established by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. Section 7. Reports. This provision contains a number of reporting requirements to strengthen future efforts to combat unlawful commercial sex. It would require the Attorney General to release an annual report on best practices for reducing the demand for unlawful commercial sex at a national conference sponsored by the Justice Department. The report would review the outcomes achieved by grant recipients and examine the Department’s use of the Act’s amendments to the Mann Act. The bill would also require the Attorney General to undertake a biennial comprehensive statistical review and analysis of the incidence of unlawful commercial sex nationwide. |
| Back |