A
multi-prong effort has been launched to further protect children from
sex trafficking, including legislation to strengthen prosecutors'
ability to seek justice on behalf of child sex trafficking victims.
While federal law recognizes no child willingly becomes a prostitute,
New York law requires prosecutors to prove force, fraud or coercion was
used to make a child participate in prostitution. Frequently, the only
way to do this is through the testimony of the child victims sought to
be protected. The Governor's legislation would effectively remove this
requirement, and give prosecutors the ability to seek proper justice for
these victims without the need to put them through the trauma of
appearing in court.
"This is nothing short of a modern day slave trade that preys on children and the most vulnerable among us and it must be shut down once and for all in New York and beyond," Governor Cuomo said. "These reforms will close dangerous loopholes in the law that allow these human misery agents go free and will give law enforcement more tools to help protect victims and bring human traffickers to justice."
Aside from the fact that the idea of children being able to consent to prostitution contradicts other aspects of the law protecting children from sex crimes, the requirement to prove force, fraud or coercion creates a number of problems for prosecutors seeking to convict child sex traffickers. Often times, meeting this standard requires victims to testify against their trafficker which can lead to additional trauma for an already-traumatized victim.
Further, these victims are frequently convinced that they are in a loving relationship with their trafficker, leading to their refusal to testify or their provision of testimony that they engaged in prostitution out of love and not because of force, fraud or coercion. In these cases, this can result in downgraded charges with lesser sentences than those penalties associated with sex trafficking and the child may then return to the trafficker for the abuse to continue. This program bill adopts legislation previously advanced by Senator Andrew Lanza and Assembly Member Amy Paulin.
As part of this administration's ongoing commitment to these efforts, the Governor has worked with the Legislature to pass new laws and introduced several initiatives to help prevent, identify, and address sex trafficking and forced prostitution in New York State. These measures include legislation that has been enacted to protect the privacy of survivors by sealing records from future employers, providing mechanisms for survivors to vacate past prostitution related convictions by creating an affirmative defense for survivors who were compelled into prostitution, and the creation of improved guidance for police departments and sheriff's offices to follow in cases involving human trafficking.
"This is nothing short of a modern day slave trade that preys on children and the most vulnerable among us and it must be shut down once and for all in New York and beyond," Governor Cuomo said. "These reforms will close dangerous loopholes in the law that allow these human misery agents go free and will give law enforcement more tools to help protect victims and bring human traffickers to justice."
Aside from the fact that the idea of children being able to consent to prostitution contradicts other aspects of the law protecting children from sex crimes, the requirement to prove force, fraud or coercion creates a number of problems for prosecutors seeking to convict child sex traffickers. Often times, meeting this standard requires victims to testify against their trafficker which can lead to additional trauma for an already-traumatized victim.
Further, these victims are frequently convinced that they are in a loving relationship with their trafficker, leading to their refusal to testify or their provision of testimony that they engaged in prostitution out of love and not because of force, fraud or coercion. In these cases, this can result in downgraded charges with lesser sentences than those penalties associated with sex trafficking and the child may then return to the trafficker for the abuse to continue. This program bill adopts legislation previously advanced by Senator Andrew Lanza and Assembly Member Amy Paulin.
As part of this administration's ongoing commitment to these efforts, the Governor has worked with the Legislature to pass new laws and introduced several initiatives to help prevent, identify, and address sex trafficking and forced prostitution in New York State. These measures include legislation that has been enacted to protect the privacy of survivors by sealing records from future employers, providing mechanisms for survivors to vacate past prostitution related convictions by creating an affirmative defense for survivors who were compelled into prostitution, and the creation of improved guidance for police departments and sheriff's offices to follow in cases involving human trafficking.
Click here for the full announcement.
Source: The Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
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