New Measures To Fight Sex Trafficking In Georgia
Why Did Georgia Need New Laws?
On April 18, 2019, those of us who fight sex trafficking received some welcome news: three new measures to fight sex trafficking in Georgia were signed into law by Governor Brian Kemp. To gain some perspective as to why these laws are needed, consider the following statistics from Out Of Darkness:
- Atlanta, Georgia has a $290 million underground sex industry
- The average income for a pimp in Atlanta is $32,000/ week.
- The average age when a girl enters prostitution is Georgia is 13.
- 12,400 Georgia men pay money for sex monthly.
- 100 adolescent girls are exploited for sex nightly in Atlanta
What Are The New Anti-Trafficking Laws?
The first measure is House Bill 281, sponsored by Teri Anulewicz, D–Smyrna. The measure makes pimping a felony at the second conviction. According to Thomas Hartwell in the Marietta Daily Journal:
With Kemp’s signature on HB 281, a first offense is still a misdemeanor and is punishable by 72 hours in jail. But the bill makes subsequent pimping convictions felonies, punishable by a sentence of one to 10 years in prison, to be decided by a judge. If the crime involves a child under the age of 16, the penalty could be a minimum of 10 years in prison, up to 30 years in prison or a fine of up to $100,000.
The second measure, Senate Bill 158, was sponsored by Brian Strickland, R-McDonough. Senate Bill 158 is critical, because it expands the scope of emergency care the state can offer to underage victims of sex trafficking. Also, the bill prohibits authorities from charging underage victims as prostitutes. For more information as to why this is so important, see my previous blog post Language Matters: Why Our Perception Of Child Sex-Trafficking Victims Should Change.
Last but not least is House Bill 424, presented by John F. Kennedy, R-Macon, which modifies the Georgia gang law to include the crime of sex trafficking.
Conclusion
Georgia recently received a grade of “B” on Shared Hope International’s Protected Innocence Challenge. Hopefully, these new bills will go along way toward raising my home state’s grade to an “A.” For ways in which you can help in the fight against sex trafficking, see the following references:
- https://www.dvmforhope.com/links-to-organizations/ for information about organizations fighting human trafficking.
- https://www.dvmforhope.com/recommended-books/ for books about human trafficking.
- https://www.dvmforhope.com/ten-ways-you-can-help-end-sex-trafficking/ for additional ways to help in the fight.
References:
- Fonville, Christine. “McDonough senator talks newly signed Anti-Human Trafficking Protective Response Act.” mdj.com, 24 April, 2019.
- Bluestein, Greg. “Kemp signs trio of measures targeting sex traffickers.” ajc.com, 18 April, 2019.
- Wolfe, Wes. “Key sex trafficking bill heads to governor.” thebrunswicknews.com, 30 March, 2019
- outofdarkness.org
- sharedhope.org