Advocacy

Program Goal:  Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking (DMST) legislative change and policy improvements in order to stop this form of human slavery and to provide the necessary care for these victims. 

Program Objectives:  To advocate, facilitate and be pro-active in implementation of the NEXT STEPS according the 2009 National DMST Report.

#1: U.S. citizens and lawful permanent resident child victims of sex trafficking must not be criminalized.
There is a dichotomy between the treatment of domestically trafficked minors and their status as victims. Despite being recognized as victims by the majority of participants in all ten assessment sites, these victims are being labeled and treated as delinquents. This criminalization creates barriers to service delivery and infringes on victim rights to which domestic minor sex trafficking victims should have access. The solution requires harmonization of laws to ensure minors exploited through commercial sexual acts are not charged with a crime. Also, proper safe placements are required such that law enforcement, prosecutors, and the judiciary are not compelled to criminalize a domestic minor sex trafficking victim for the purpose of securing her for her own safety and/or for continued access to her as a witness.

#2: The arrest and prosecution of buyers must be made a priority.
Buyers are not arrested and prosecuted as frequently as necessary to deter the crime of solicitation. Though tremendous efforts have been taken to combat traffickers and other sexual exploiters, buyers have not been targeted. Demand is the root cause of domestic minor sex trafficking. Buyers of sex acts with children must face substantial penalties and coordinated efforts to hold them accountable. Recent indictments of buyers under the federal TVPA is a promising development, as buyers will face the severe penalties of the TVPA, increasing the deterrent effect of the federal law.
 
#3: Domestic minor sex trafficking must be recognized as a national threat.
Domestic minor sex trafficking is a burgeoning criminal enterprise in America. Gangs are turning to prostituting minors as a less risky source of revenue than drug trafficking or other crimes. Traffickers of foreign victims into the U.S. are finding local, American children easier to recruit and sell without the difficulties of crossing borders. Communities are being adversely affected with the loss of hundreds of thousands of children to this victimization. Resources must be committed and a zero-tolerance standard must be implemented at the law enforcement level with regard to buyers of sex from minors to attack the trafficker networks as well as the buyers presenting the demand in this market.

#4: Innovative investigative techniques, technology, and protocols are needed to combat domestic minor sex trafficking.
Traffickers, facilitators, and buyers use innovative methods to market, sell, and buy children, therefore, investigations must be equally innovative. Current methods must be assessed and law enforcement entities that have been addressing domestic minor sex trafficking can provide evidence-based techniques. The absence of investigative protocols for the treatment of the victims was notably absent in several of the assessment sites, but these protocols are critical to ensure successful participation of the victims in investigating the crime.

#5: Appropriate protective shelter and services are critical for the protection and restoration of child sex trafficking victims.
The current situation of domestic minor sex trafficking victims being placed in general population juvenile detention or being returned to the home from which they fled is detrimental to all parties. These victims require specialized care while being protected from their trafficker. The lack of such shelter across the nation is preventing first responders from succeeding in protecting and gaining justice for the victims of child sex trafficking. Funding authorized in the TVPA reauthorization for such shelters and services for domestic victims must be appropriated in order to move forward in this critical area.

#6: A nationwide, multi-disciplinary reporting measure is needed to capture the true scope of domestic minor sex trafficking.
There is no national reporting measure currently in place to provide accurate reporting of the numbers of commercially sexually exploited youth in America. The proliferation of labels and variations in data reporting in each state creates an inability to assess the true scope of domestic minor sex trafficking. Nonetheless, experts have estimated numbers from 100,000 to 300,000 children each year are victimized in prostitution in America. It is critical to establish standard reporting metrics through a federal authority in order to address this crime and victimization in a national approach. The 42 Human Trafficking Task Forces funded through the Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance have required performance metrics which collect the statistics and information on human trafficking cases involving foreign victims. Barriers to reporting on domestic sex trafficking victims must be lifted and these numbers collected as well in order to obtain a complete picture of the scope of domestic minor sex trafficking in the United States. Additionally, child protection agencies in each state should establish a classification of commercial sexual exploitation of children in the reporting format.

#7: Survivors must be leaders in the development of services, shelter, and response protocols to domestic minor sex trafficking.
Survivor leadership is critical to establishing appropriate protections and restoration for victims of domestic minor sex trafficking, as they have shared histories and, as a result can often establish trust more quickly. Several successful programs and organizations are led by survivors currently and these should be supported further to be more effective. Survivors are excellent advocates and must be facilitated in being heard at the policy level.