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OPINION
Rescuing the innocent by tackling human trafficking
by Rebecca Burgoyne
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Ibrahim wanted a bicycle. A man he knew told the 11-year old from Mali tales of the wealth that could be his working on a cocoa farm. He could buy a bicycle! Soon after, Ibrahim found himself in another country, doing backbreaking, dangerous work with little to eat. Eight-year-old Julia was taken from her native Balkans to a neighboring country, where she was forced to beg and eventually enter prostitution. Such are the stories contained in the June 2009 “Trafficking in Persons Report,” by the U.S. Department of State.
There’s a modern-day slavery epidemic—human trafficking—in which thousands of men, women and children are forced into involuntary servitude. The United States is not immune, and has become a prime destination, primarily on the West Coast, for thousands of men, women and children. Seventy percent are forced into sexual slavery. An estimated 14,500 to 17,500 women and children are trafficked into the United States annually from other countries, and 100,000 to 300,000 American teens are at risk for sex trafficking annually.
The Clinton administration first developed policies countering human trafficking in 1998, and federal legislation followed in 2000. During the past decade, federal trafficking law has been expanded and augmented, but the lack of cohesive state laws has enabled traffickers to transport their victims within a state—across county lines—to escape prosecution.
In 2005, Assembly Bill 22, introduced by former California Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, D-Mountain View, created the felony crime of human trafficking in California state law and established a 23-member task force to examine the issue. In its report, released in 2007, the task force found the need for stiffer penalties for traffickers, stronger tools to prosecute those who prey on the innocent and financial aid for non-governmental entities that help the victims.
Growing awareness
Since that time, awareness nationwide has grown, and the California Legislature has incrementally expanded its anti-trafficking laws, providing stronger tools for prosecutors in dealing with perpetrators. This year, several measures have been signed into law. SB 1279, Pavley, D-Santa Monica, authorizes a pilot program to help commercially sexually exploited minors in Los Angeles County, identical to a program currently operating in Alameda County. AB 17, Swanson, D-Oakland, imposes fines on those who solicit another for prostitution and authorizes the court to impound property used in the crime’s commission—providing a revenue stream for victim compensation.
One measure vetoed by the governor last year was reintroduced this year as SB 677, Yee, D-San Francisco. Deletions in last year’s bill, then called SB 557, appear to address the governor’s concerns and have been included in SB 677, which would allow for the property seizure of those convicted of human trafficking. Other related measures that failed passage this year may be reworked and returned next year for another attempt at becoming law.
Resolution pending
A resolution, SCR 76, Corbett, D-San Leandro, would proclaim the Legislature’s support of human-trafficking awareness events and encourage Californians to become aware of the problem of human trafficking and work to eradicate the criminal practice. Resolutions do not have the force of law, but simply express the Legislature’s collective opinion on various issues. As a resolution, which is not subject to the usual bill calendar deadlines, SCR 76 passed the Senate unanimously July 1 before passing in the Assembly. It was enacted Aug. 17.
While in 2006 only eight bills dealing with human trafficking were adopted nationwide, this year, according to the Polaris Project, more than 40 bills have been adopted so far—from about 350 introduced around the country. A total of 42 states now have passed criminal and anti-trafficking laws.
United effort
Human trafficking is pervasive and largely hidden, but progress is being made in combating this modern-day scourge. Since 2003, when the FBI, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children launched the Innocence Lost Initiative to address the growing problem of sex trafficking in the United States, cooperative efforts have led to the recovery of more than 1,000 children, the conviction of more than 500 individuals who exploited children through prostitution, and the seizure of property, vehicles and monetary assets. Numerous 25-year-to-life sentences have also been handed down.
For the past several years, the California Legislature has added to the arsenal of weapons to combat this persistent danger. The governor has until Sept. 31 to sign, veto or allow a bill to pass into law without his signature the hundreds of bills currently awaiting his actions. And next January, as legislators return for the 2011-12 session, brand new bills and reworked bills will be introduced to begin the legislative process. Rescuing the innocent from human trafficking is one priority that most legislators support.
Burgoyne is a research analyst with the California Family Council.
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