House OKs domestic sex trafficking measure
- Dec 15, 2005 -
The House of Representatives approved Dec. 14 a bill targeting purchasers of illegal sex acts and the traffickers who exploit the victims in the United States. The End Demand for Sex Trafficking Act focuses on halting the domestic trafficking of people, primarily women and children, for purposes of prostitution and sexual slavery.
The House approved the measure as part of a reauthorization of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, the legislation passed initially in 2000 to combat primarily international trafficking. The House passed the reauthorization measure, H.R. 972, by a vote of 426-0. The Senate has yet to act on the reauthorization legislation.
The End Demand measure, which was added to the reauthorization bill by the Judiciary Committee, is designed to aid state and local police in establishing programs to investigate and prosecute sex trafficking cases. It also will provide funds to assist trafficking victims. Under the legislation, a statistical study will be conducted every two years on the problem, and a yearly conference on best practices in reducing demand for prostitution and sex slavery will be held.
It is estimated as many as 20,000 people are trafficked into the United States each year.
ERLC Vice President Barrett Duke applauded passage of the reauthorization bill and called the End Demand amendment a “vitally important section.”
“For too long, desperate women and young girls have been the sexual slaves of predatory, modern-day slave owners and disinterested, self-seeking customers,” Duke said. “Meanwhile, much of law enforcement focused only on the prostitutes, as if they were solely responsible for this tragic problem. Now, we will finally have some balance in the battle against the modern-day slave trade in the United States.
“As soon as the Senate passes the bill, the suppliers and the users of these abused women and girls will begin to feel society’s disgust of their activities,” he said. “Because of this legislation, I look forward to hearing that many women and girls have been freed from a life of sexual bondage. I look forward to knowing, as well, that someone’s daughter will be spared from a life of slavery and a lost future.”
The reauthorization bill will provide $361 million during the next two years in the effort to combat the international problem, according to Congressional Budget Office estimates.
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