CALIFORNIA SENATE VOTES UNANIMOUSLY TO PROTECT “COUNTLESS CHILDREN” FROM TRAFFICKING

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By J.W. August

 

June 1, 2023 (Sacramento, CA)-- In a rare unanimous vote, the state Senate has passed legislation that would make trafficking of minors a serious felony on May 25th.

Sen.Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield), who authored the bill, originally attempted to make all types of trafficking a serious crime, but the revised version narrowed the focus to the trafficking of minors.  Despite that, advocates across the state were cheered by the measure's passage, as were victims who spoke out in praising what they consider a long overdue effort.  

Human trafficking, the bill's supporters point out, is one of the world’s fastest growing and most lucrative crimes, generating around $150 billion around the world each year. The bill, if passed next by the state Assembly and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, would add  human trafficking of a minor to a list of felony crimes like rape and murder, and make it a strike offense under California’s Three Strikes law.



San Diego District Attorney Summer Stephan said, "This legislation sends a strong message to human traffickers who would prey on minors that there will be severe consequences for their actions. It is such an injustice to our child victims to not afford them the dignity of holding their abusers properly accountable.”



Former trafficking victims spoke publicly about the need for the legislation. 

“The passing of this bill means so much for the survivors like myself,” a woman who asked not to be identified said, speaking in support of the Senator's legislation. “My first time being trafficked was 13 years old. And I wasn't able to escape that life until I was almost 18. So a few months before my 18th birthday, she said her trafficker still had not been prosecuted and “continued on to traffic many other people as he had trafficked many people before me.”

Another victim, who also was not identified, recalled that when she was being trafficked, "the constant violence and the manipulation kept me confused and abused. And I think that there's a disconnect of the reality of where human trafficking is. It's here. It's in our backyard."



Odessa Perkins was also a child victim and said, "There's a lot that goes into human trafficking. It's sexual assault, it's molestation, it's domestic violence, and it starts at a very young age. I started being touched and then I was groomed.”

She, like other victims, was elated about the bill’s passage in the Senate. “And we're going to just give a voice to the voiceless now, it's just amazing. It's amazing to know that it's finally going forward.”  

Dr. Angela Look works for the Department of Health Services in Kern County where Sen. Shannon is from.  Dr.  Look says, “This is a very intense trauma that they experienced, and this does not go away overnight. For the victims and the survivors, it's something that they live with for a lifetime."



In San Diego, Marisa Ugarte of the Bilateral Safety Corridor Coalition, an anti-trafficking organization, had mixed feelings about the legislation.

“The  BSCC couldn't be more pleased with the passing of SB14; however, we need to consider making it a felony for adult victims too,”  she said. "Human trafficking is a severe crime for anyone trapped by this modern day slavery." 

The Bakersfield Senator agreed, and while she is thankful the legislation is moving forward that “will protect countless children who are trafficked,” she resolved, “I remain committed to continuing to fight for survivors and victims of all ages.”

 


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