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Stop the trafficking
One-hundred-eighty years after New York abolished slavery, it continues to flourish here. Worse, state lawmakers have yet to do anything about it. Today's version of slavery is much different from the practices of earlier days, of course. But it is brutal nonetheless. Instead of selling humans on auction blocks, today's traffickers lure the unsuspecting into dehumanizing lives of sexual exploitation and forced servitude. But New York's laws, as now written, compound the problem by punishing the victims of exploitation. How outrageous. As a rule, the victims are young and naive, and many come here from foreign countries in search of a better life. Often they wind up being forced into prostitution by traffickers who seize their passports and threaten them with harm if they refuse to cooperate. But American youths also are sold, and some are as young as 13. In most cases, they are runaways or have been abandoned by their families and become easy prey for pimps. Still others are exploited as domestics, or in sweatshop factories or on farms. New York 's penal system victimizes them all. The young men and women are liable to arrest for prostitution, even if they are under the age of 16 and would ordinarily be treated as minors. Incredibly, under current state law, a man can be prosecuted for statutory rape for having consensual sex with a minor, but faces no such penalty if the sex takes place in a club or brothel. These victims need help, and the traffickers and patrons need to face severe penalties. According to research by the Sisters of the Divine Savior, there are documented reports of trafficking in almost every state, with New York, Florida, Texas and California having the highest numbers. While 27 other states have already enacted anti-trafficking laws, New York still has not. One reason why, according to some state officials, is that trafficking is already a federal crime. True, but that statute is aimed at large scale operations that warrant Justice Department prosecution. A New York law would enable state and local police to crack down on smaller operations. One group making a major effort to get a state law on the books is the New York State Anti-Trafficking Coalition, which is urging the Assembly and Senate to agree on compromise legislation this year to shield victims from being treated as criminals. A bill sponsored by Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, D-Bronx, has promise, but Republicans in the Senate, which has its own anti-trafficking bill that calls for tough new penalties, have objected to provisions that would provide services to victims and allow them to sue traffickers. It's imperative that these differences be worked out in a compromise bill. As for sexually exploited minors, the Legislature should pass the Safe Harbor Act, sponsored by Assemblyman William Scarborough, D-Queens, and Sen. Dale Volker, R-Depew, which would end the practice of treating young victims as juvenile delinquents and instead provide them with counseling and other services. If the Legislature wants to repair its image as the most dysfunctional in the nation, it can start by passing these bills. Stop the abuse, and stop it now. THE ISSUE: Human trafficking remains a big problem in New York. THE STAKES: More victims will suffer unless the state lawmakers pass reform legislation. Last Updated:04/30/2007
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