Alabama House passes anti-human trafficking bill
The Alabama House has approved a bill to crack down on predators seeking to purchase sex via human trafficking, what many consider the last existing form of slavery in the United States. The bill – HB 433, dubbed the “Safe Harbor Act” – passed the House on a unanimous 103-0 vote on Thursday. Rep. Jack Williams, who chairs the Legislature’s bipartisan Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force formed in 2014, sponsored the bill. The legislation is designed to treat minors caught up in the sex trade as victims, rather than willful law breaker, as it often the case now. HB 433 provides that any minor found to have committed prostitution under state law not be transferred to or tried in adult court, and that a list of services including counseling, substance abuse treatment, legal representation, and medical treatment be made available to them. The bill also requires Alabama businesses operating an “escort business of companionship” to registered with the Secretary of State, and provides for penalties for violations of the rules therein. A similar bill, SB 368 by Democrat Sen. Vivian Figures, was also introduced this Session, but has not gotten a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Advocates for sex trafficking victims have estimated the trade is the second-largest criminal industry in the U.S., topped only by illegal drugs.
Montgomery convention seeks to tackle Alabama human trafficking
A multitude of groups gathered at Embassy Suites in Montgomery Friday for a convention aimed at finding ways to end the scourge of human trafficking in the state, the majority of which threatens minors. Rep. Jack Williams (R-Vestavia Hills) chairs the state’s Human Trafficking Task Force and was on-hand to welcome guests to Friday morning’s convention. “I don’t want to sound like Donald Trump,” Williams said. “But this is going to be a great conference.” “The whole idea here is to exchange ideas and learn,” Williams continued, after brief statements from Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange. “The issue that we’re dealing with, for many, many years, was an issue in the rough part of town. This is no longer an urban problem, this is a problem that’s pushing outward.” At the conclusion of Williams’ statements, Raleigh Avenue Baptist Church Pastor Nic Seaborn made brief statements concerning his own encounters with the illegal sex trade in Alabama, which he said is taking place only blocks from his church. “The problem of sex trafficking is knocking on our door,” Seaborn said, as he rapped on the podium. “It’s like a cancer, it is spreading into our neighborhoods.” The first speaker of the day was Rachel Harper of Shared Hope International, who touched on the specifics of Alabama’s human trafficking problems and ways to tackle it. Just between January and February of this year, more than 1,900 ads for female escorts were displayed in Alabama. An Alabama State University study found that, in the 15 markets explored, one in 20 men are soliciting sex online, about 90,000 men in Alabama. “It’s everywhere,” Harper said. “It’s rampant.” Harper noted that 80 percent of buyers say jail time or public exposure would thwart their efforts, but Alabama is lacking in substantive laws to protect children and prosecute buyers. According to a presentation from Harper, Alabama is one of only a handful of states with no Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) laws, meaning the state’s laws are designed to capture traffickers rather than buyers, which are more often than not complicit in the maltreatment of enslaved children. In Alabama, the law requires proof of “force, fraud or coercion” before a human trafficking charge can be levied, leaving buyers an out if they claim ignorance to the age or conditions of the purchased sex worker. Further, according to Harper’s presentation, there is no legal differentiation in the state between purchasing sex from an adult or a child. While the various groups gathered distributed handouts regarding ways to identify endangered children – inability/fear to make eye contact, may have “brand” tattoo, lying about age or possessing false identification and more – people are encouraged not to attempt to rescue victims. Human trafficking, also known as “Modern Day Slavery,” is the second largest criminal industry in the world and generates about $32 billion annually and predominantly victimizes females, a large portion of which are children. Williams plans to bring forth a “Safe Harbor Act” during this year’s legislative session, which will ensure that children ensnared by human trafficking are classified as victims rather than criminals.
House passes “safe harbor” bill for human trafficking victims
Alabama may soon offer safe harbor provisions for children who have been victims of human trafficking. Under House Bill 433, children who have been victims of sexual exploitation cannot be convicted of prostitution and must be tried in the juvenile court system. Adults convicted of promoting prostitution will incur a $500 fine on top of any restitution they might be ordered to pay. Rep. Jack Williams sponsored the legislation, which passed the House unanimously on Tuesday. He also chairs the Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force, a bipartisan group formed in 2014 to fight the state’s growing problem of human trafficking. According to the task force website, human trafficking cases have been reported in Montgomery County, Birmingham, Fort Payne, Madison County, Huntsville, Albertville, Guntersville, Dothan, and Mobile. With estimated profits as high as $150 billion, human trafficking is the second largest criminal industry in the country. Alabama has had a human trafficking law since 2010, however HB 433 would introduce a new layer of protections for child victims. In addition to keeping children in juvenile court, the bill says child victims will have access to shelter, health care and mental health counseling. Williams said that the goal of HB 433 is to “keep minors charged with prostitution under the authority of DHR and out of the courts, insuring the state treats them as victims not criminals.”
