We the People

Human Trafficking Victim law set to go into effect

by Morgan Pratt

 

Human Trafficking Victim bill, H.B. 254, goes into effect Sunday, which will change the way the state handles child prostitution. The bill was signed into law on March 29 by Gov. Gary Herbert.

 

Utah House Representative Jennifer Seelig, D-Salt Lake City, said the bill recognizes the seriousness of child trafficking and forced labor in Utah for people under the age of 18. The law changes the way the state deals with teen prostitutes by calling them victims rather than criminals.

 

“From here on out, if a young person or a minor under code is picked up for prostitution the for first time, what happens is the child is routed through a system through the Division of Child and Family Services instead of the criminal justice system,” Seelig said.

 

Seelig said the population of children working in the industry is tough to serve, hard to quantify, and even more difficult to rehabilitate. Regardless, she said the law is very important because teens are pushed into the industry.

 

She said teens who are a part of the industry have a disadvantage because they typically have a history of abuse and neglect. They then seek for attention elsewhere and find themselves in a trauma bond with pimps.

 

Laurin Crosson is an advocate against the human trafficking business after she spent 20 years working in the industry herself. She said she had a pimp who controlled her entire environment.

 

“You have this strange attraction to them that you feel like you have been through everything together and they are there with you,” Crosson said. “Really, they are the ones that are putting you through it. It is a very strange dynamic for a relationship.”

 

Ana Perez, a therapist at the Family Support Center, said the new law is important because teens are especially susceptible to the industry.

 

“There out on the streets and they are looking for vulnerable children,” Perez said. “Some of some of these youth are homeless or runaway youth. They are wanting someone who pays attention to them.”

 

Crosson said it is hard to get out of the business as an adult and it is even harder to get out as a teen. She said she tried to leave the industry a couple of times herself.

 

“I just did not have the protection I needed,” Crosson said. “I was not able to get out, I was not able to resource friends or family to help me get out.”

 

She said she not only did not have a stable network to get out, but she also 30 charges for prostitution in several different states across the nation.

 

Crosson said another aspect to making it hard to get out is that it is hard to get a regular job that pays more than minimum wage.

 

“Really, these girls are dealt an unfair hand,” Crosson said.