Realities of human trafficking need to be addressed

For far too long, our society failed to confront the realities of human trafficking in the sex trade.

When a teen runaway turned to prostitution to survive, we saw it as a sad consequence of her decision to leave home. For adults engaged in prostitution, we chalked it up to a shadowy business deal, the oldest form of commerce. Too often, we ignored or mythologized the role of the pimp or madam.

By not focusing on the coercion involved, we failed to see its most cruel and exploitative aspects.

Attitudes began to shift a decade ago when the FBI, in response to the growing problem of human trafficking, teamed with state and local law enforcement to launch the “Innocence Lost National Initiative.” Nothing short of a coordinated effort was needed to combat a $32 billion annual global industry that today is the most common form of slavery.

Problem is, that commerce is aided and abetted by popular music and TV shows that depict young women as sexual objects and that glorify a pimp’s life. Social media has become an easy avenue of recruitment for criminals looking to lure young women into prostitution.

During Super Bowl week, seven teenagers were rescued from forced prostitution in the San Francisco area. Some of the victims, who had been reported missing by their parents in faraway cities, were as young as 14. More than a dozen pimps and their associates, lured by potential trafficking profits during the football fest, were arrested in multiagency sweeps.

In the Central Valley, law enforcement agencies are working diligently to arrest and prosecute human traffickers, while local nonprofit groups are working to rescue victims and prevent a new generation of young women from falling prey to the threats and violence employed in such criminal enterprises.

In Stanislaus County an active faith-based nonprofit, Without Permission Inc., founded by Debbie Johnson has been doing remarkable work in the fight against human trafficking. Without Permission has collaborated with community leaders, first responders, social service providers, educators and medical staff in serving victims and educating the community.

As the state senator serving Senate District 5, I believe it is imperative for California to build on these efforts. We need to expand state criminal law to include human trafficking for sex as a violent felony whenever violence or threats are used to coerce victims. Under legislation I introduced this year, human trafficking would be considered a violent felony subject to additional prison time.

The victims of human trafficking often come from the ranks of society’s most vulnerable. In a recent case, a pimp deprived a 17-year-old girl of food, water and sleep for four days while he sold her to several men. She managed to alert local law enforcement to her plight by dialing 911 on her cellphone and pretending, in front of the pimp, that she was providing her address to a client.

As part of a 2012 state law that requires human trafficking informational posters to be prominently displayed in public places, staffers from my office have been canvassing our communities. We have posted the large notices written in three languages in airports, hospital emergency rooms, businesses that serve alcohol, farm labor contractor offices, massage parlors and adult-themed shops.

The message is simple: Human trafficking for sex isn’t commerce between two willing parties; there is a third party, a criminal standing in the shadows, who exerts such power over the victim that she cannot exercise free will. A metaphorical – and sometimes very real – gun is pointed at her head.

Recognizing human trafficking in the sex trade as a crime of violence, a crime that comes with additional prison time, is the next important step we must take.

This story was originally published February 25, 2016 at 2:58 PM with the headline "Realities of human trafficking need to be addressed."