Remove the Need to Prove Coercion of Minor Victims of Sexual Exploitation
Under current Texas law, prosecutors must prove that individuals accused with human trafficking knowingly forced women and girls into prostitution. By removing the need to prove “force, fraud, or coercion” of minors, prosecutors will have one less obstacle to attacking individuals who profit from the sexual exploitation of children.
PROPOSED POLICY REFORM: Currently, the Texas Human Trafficking statute, Penal Code Section 20A, requires prosecutors to prove that traffickers convinced their minor victims to commit commercial sex acts through the use of force, fraud, or coercion. CHILDREN AT RISK proposes changing the code to remove the requirement to prove force, fraud, or coercion only for child victims under the age of 18 who are engaged in commercial sex acts, regardless of whether or not the trafficker claims to have known a victim’s actual age.
RATIONALE: Not only will the proposed policy reform make it easier to target and prosecute traffickers, it will also ensure that scarce resources are used to target the perpetrators of the sexual exploitation of minors, not the victims. In addition, the proposed change will align Texas Penal Code with federal law, allowing for more efficient tracking and prosecution of human trafficking in Texas.
SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM: Texas sits at the epicenter of the global trade in child sex slaves. State and federal authorities report that:
- 100,000 and 300,000 children, most 11 to 14, are sold for sex in the U.S. each year.
- The US Department of Justice has designated Interstate 10 corridor to be one of the main trafficking routes in United States.
- It is estimated that 450,000 American children run away from home each year and that one in three are lured into sex trafficking within 48 hours of leaving home.
- These children have been manipulated by their traffickers to believe that they are making a decision to prostitute, but in reality the child has not been given a real choice at all.
HOW MUCH WILL THE BILL COST? CHILDREN AT RISK believes that this proposal will not only be revenue neutral to the state, but could actually save dollars by targeting scarce resources to prosecuting criminals, not the victims of sexual exploitation.
For Questions or comments please contact:
Mandi Sheridan Kimball, Director, Public Policy and Government Affairs, 713.869.7740 or mkimball@childrenatrisk.org, or
Jennifer Michel Solak, Senior Staff Attorney, 713.869.7740 or jsolak@childrenatrisk.org
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