ERLC endorses bill targeting domestic sex trafficking
- May 13, 2005 -
The ERLC is supporting legislation designed to combat domestic sex trafficking by targeting the demand side of the illicit trade.
The End Demand for Sex Trafficking Act, H.R. 2012, would fund the increased prosecution of purchasers of illegal sex acts and the traffickers who exploit the victims, normally women and children. It would focus on stopping the trafficking of people into the United States for purposes of prostitution and sexual slavery.
Rep. Deborah Pryce, R.-Ohio, is the sponsor of the bill, H.R. 2012, in the House of Representatives. Sen. John Cornyn, R.-Texas, is the sponsor of the Senate’s companion bill, S. 937.
It is estimated about 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders each year.
Congress began to deal with the international problem by passing the Trafficking Victims Protection Act in 2000. It promoted the prosecution of traffickers in other countries, while it also provided new punishment for traffickers in the United States.
“Until now, our nation has held others to a higher standard than we have held ourselves,” said Barrett Duke, ERLC vice president for public policy and research. “It is inexcusable to require of others more than we require of ourselves. The End Demand Act will help us remove the log from our own eye while we also call on others to address their own sex trafficking problems.
“For too long, the customers and traffickers involved in prostitution have had it too easy, while the women they abuse and victimize feel the brunt of society’s revulsion of their activity. If there were no demand and no suppliers, there would be very little, if any, prostitution.”
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