Tori Lemon
Editor-in-Chief
Because of poor laws and legislation, many minor sex trafficking victims are receiving more jail time than those who bought sex from them.
There are countless cases where minors are arrested and tried for prostitution- even if they were held against their will.
Take the story of Tina Frundt, for instance. According to her testimonial, she was nine years old when her foster parents sold her for sex for the very first time. At only 13-years-old, she was convinced by a pimp to run away with him. Frundt was then trafficked all over the United States. At 15-years-old, she was arrested for prostitution and sent to a juvenile detention center in Illinois. In 2008, Frundt founded Courtney’s House, a foundation to help and protect sex trafficking victims where the state laws cannot.
According to the Department of Justice, “Child sex trafficking victims are often not recognized as victims and may be arrested and jailed.” Regardless if they are minors, regardless if they are forced to do these sexual acts, they are treated more like a criminal rather than a victim. They go on to explain that, “no child is immune to becoming a victim of child sex trafficking, regardless of the child’s race, age, socioeconomic status or location, and every child involved in this form of commercial sexual exploitation is a victim.”
When Frundt was charged with prostitution, there were not many laws that aimed at protecting her as a victim. Today, some change in the right direction has occurred, yet there is still a lot more to do.
Polaris, an anti-trafficking organization, gives an annual “grade” or rating for each state regarding their laws against prostitution and how they affect victims. The annual ratings are based on whether or not states enacted 10 categories of laws that are essential to combating human trafficking.
The categories, according to Polaris’ 2014 annual report, are as follows: sex trafficking; labor trafficking; asset forfeiture for trafficking offenses, investigative tools such as including human trafficking in the state racketeering statute or authorization of interception of communications during investigations into trafficking; training for law enforcement, development of a task force; lower burden of proof for the prosecution of child sex trafficking offenses; posting information about a human trafficking hotline; providing safe harbor to minor victims of trafficking; victim assistance plans or services; a civil remedy for human trafficking victims and vacating convictions.
The ratings go through “Tiers” one through four. Tier one being a “category for having passed meaningful laws to combat human trafficking,” according to Polaris.
Federal attempts to fix this patchwork of state laws have failed.There are many different acts that have been enacted to at least try to help victims: The Stop Exploitation Through Trafficking Act (SETTA) of 2014 encourages states to enact safe harbor laws by providing Community Oriented Police Services (COPS) grants only to states that have those laws and also calls for federal funding of a national communications system to connect victims with services.
There is also the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000, which according to Polaris “establishes human trafficking and related offenses as federal crimes.” Subsequent reauthorizations have strengthened the TVPA, including the creation of pilot and grant programs for sheltering minor survivors in 2005 and the inclusion in 2013 of a section that recommends states treat minors as victims and adopt laws to prevent their prosecution.
The truth is, yes, we have made steps in the right direction when dealing with victims of human trafficking. However, we still have a ways to go. A simple Google search will show you how there are many victims giving their testimonies about being treated as a criminal. Those who are victims of trafficking deserve love and support- not lock up.