Photo by Kim Veis.
Child victims of sex trafficking need comprehensive services, not arrest, advocates will tell a D.C. Council committee today.
The Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety will hear testimony on a bill that would offer safe harbor to child victims of sex trafficking, put in place new reporting methods and expand on the training Metropolitan Police Department officers currently receive for better victim identification.
Andrea Powell, the executive director of Fair Girls, says her non-profit already works with MPD to secure services for identified victims. Thirty-seven percent of referrals to Fair Girls, which provides crisis response for trafficking survivors, come through police. This bill would, in part, formalize this arrangement.
The Sex Trafficking of Minors Prevention Amendment Act was drafted with the DC Alliance of Youth Advocates and introduced by Councilmember Mary Cheh. “Right now, D.C.’s current policy and procedures toward child sex trafficking victims only worsens the exploitation of young people,” DCAYA wrote in a blog post. Part of correcting this problem, according to the group, is immunity for minors “suspected of engaging in or offering to engage in a sexual act or contact in return for receiving a fee.”
Paul Quander, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice, is expected to oppose the safe harbor provision as arresting a child is one way to ensure her safety. Requests for comment Wednesday were not returned.
“We understand wanting to keep children safe,” Powell said. “But when effectively using this model, you don’t re-victimize the victim. You get a better witness, and that child is more likely to stay engaged in services because they have done so with full support, rather than being compelled to do so.”
The Committee will hear from one sex trafficking survivor, who is now 18, on that subject, according to Powell. The survivor went unidentified as a victim, as she went in and out of the juvenile justice system.
Another client who worked with Fair Girls, Powell said, was willing to talk to the authorities about her victimization — until she received a subpoena.
The need to identify victims before they enter the justice system is also addressed in the bill. “The best way to identify victims is really having well-trained, sensitive and compassionate law enforcement conducting interviews and identifying victims on the street,” Powell said. “This bill further mandates a more comprehensive training around missing and exploited children.” This includes children who are at-risk or who have been misidentified. The training would help police see if there’s a deeper reason a child has been arrested for abscondence or a curfew violation, for example.
Powell understands the fear that exists with safe harbor provisions. “The bottom line is that you can’t keep them in a detention facility forever,” she said. ‘When they get out, if they haven’t received services, they’re going to run further and deeper underground. And they’re going to find a meaner and more horrible pimp.”
While Powell has never met a client who left jail feeling better, she said services like therapy are proven to work.
