Thanks to people such as former Congresswoman Linda Smith, it is becoming more and more difficult for sex traffickers to operate in the shadows.
Smith founded Shared Hope International in 1998, and since then the Vancouver-based organization has been at the forefront of exposing an industry in which victims, often underage, are exploited for sex. Nationally, the issue has drawn increased attention in recent years, and Smith points with pride to the fact that numerous states have strengthened their laws to combat horrific profiteering at the expense of powerless victims.
All of that provides some foundation for a discussion about a bill that is pending in the Washington Legislature. Senate Bill 5272 — which was co-sponsored by Sen. Annette Cleveland, D-Vancouver, and passed with a 49-0 vote — would make it easier for victims of trafficking to have prostitution convictions vacated even if other offenses exist on their records. A companion bill in the House of Representatives is in committee. Current Washington law does not allow for prostitution convictions to be vacated if the defendant has been convicted of other crimes.
Lawmakers should be quick to pass the bill, and Gov. Jay Inslee should be quick to sign it. Having a prostitution conviction on the record often serves as an albatross for people trying to reconstruct their lives.
More important, however, is the fact that the bill reflects changing mores as those who get caught up in sex trafficking increasingly are viewed as victims rather than criminals. Many stories exist that detail the fashion in which pimps recruit potential prostitutes and then isolate them from friends and family, leaving them reliant upon the pimp and devoid of options for escaping the situation. The stories are particularly troubling when they involve minors.
Sex trafficking has flourished in the digital age. Pimps can lure girls to work for them — often initially establishing relationships online — and then post internet advertisements that draw customers and are difficult to trace. For customers seeking a prostitute, ordering a girl becomes as easy as ordering a pizza.
Washington long has taken a lead in fighting human trafficking, including sex trafficking. In 2003, it became the first state to criminalize trafficking, and the state’s laws are regarded as among the most stringent in the nation. Shared Hope International grades each state based upon the strength of its laws to combat sex trafficking, and the organization’s 2016 report card awarded Washington an A.
Other states don’t do as much to protect former sex trade workers. California recently passed a law to treat minors charged with prostitution as victims, sending them toward social services rather than the criminal justice system. With the help of a conservative state assemblyman, this was twisted into an absurd assertion that California had legalized child prostitution. When children are molested by an uncle or a teacher or their mother’s boyfriend, society has no difficulty viewing them as victims; the same standard should hold for those who are sold by a pimp.
The Washington bill that would allow people to vacate a prostitution conviction despite the existence of other charges likely will not have a large impact upon their future. Their criminal records still would include the other convictions. But it would help to cleanse some of the stigma from those who should be regarded as victims rather than criminals. That’s what makes SB 5272 a good bill.
