Atlanta Proposes Decriminalizing Prostitution for Teens

categories: Domestic Human Trafficking, Government and Legal Efforts to Combat Human Traffickin, Human Trafficking in the US, Sex Trafficking and Prostitution, Trafficking in Children

Published June 20, 2009 @ 09:00AM PT

In a bold move, legislation has been proposed in Atlanta this week to decriminalize the act of prostitution for children under 17 years old. And I'm sure you're all shocked to find out that legislation about teenagers, sex, and prostitution has met with.... controversy!

Atlanta has long had a serious problem with young girls being trafficked into prostitution, and has been sometimes called "the child prostitution capital of America." And anyone who's driven through downtown late at night would not disagree that there are very, very young girls out on the streets. And despite some great efforts by the Mayor's office, Atlanta remains a huge destination for young girls forced into commercial sex industries. So will decriminalizing prostitution for teens be the fix?

The article from the Atlanta Journal Constitution leaves out a lot of really important details: Will soliciting a teen prostitute still be criminal for the buyer? What about for the pimp? I can't imagine that the law would pay paying a teen for sex legal, but I haven't heard confirmation either way. If someone has more information and/or the text of the proposed legislation, please share it in the comments.

The controversy over this law is complex and (I'm sure) related to the broader discussion about the relationship between human trafficking and prostitution. On the one hand, advocates argue that these teens are stigmatized by their prostitution arrest(s) for the rest of their lives, and may be more likely to re-enter the industry as adults feeling they have no other choice. On the other hand, some groups argue that sometimes arrest is the only way to get a child off the streets (and away from her pimp) long enough for her to talk to a social worker or call her family. It's an intensely tricky issue.

I'm wondering if anyone in Atlanta has considered alternatives to wholesale decriminalization that would both allow law enforcement to pick up kids in need and prevent them from being stigmatized with a prostitution arrest? Or if decriminalization is the only way, are there other laws (curfew, loitering, etc.) that could help get a girl under pimp control off the street and to a safe place? If anyone from Atlanta with more information about this legislation and the discussion around it is reading, please share your thoughts!

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Comments (5)

I've read that at one point in Canada teen prostitutes were treated like delinquents - they were charged with truancy so they could be put in halfway houses for their own safety. Then authorities just started treated the kids like victims, and offered them victim services.

I think if you just offer kids the services they need, you don't need force to get them there. You just need to make it safe for them to access the services they need. And I think the attitudes the authorities have, interacting with them, is what makes the biggest difference.

Posted by Anemone Cerridwen on 06/20/2009 @ 09:18PM PT
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I don't know the details of it but in NYC, teenage girls are arrested and prosecuted for prostitution even though they are not old enough to consent to sex and are mostly forced into prostitution by adults. There is a wonderful program called GEMS that has been working on this issue and made a film about it called Very young girls. Very painfull to watch but a real eye opening film. They recently passed some legislation about it but it does not go far enough and only protects those that are willing to testify against the adults who forced them into it, but of course if youve been living in terror of someone you likely won't testify. The problem with changing these laws in NY has been that the DA's don't want to give up a practice that generates big numbers for them.

Posted by Marissa l on 06/20/2009 @ 09:45PM PT
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I think decriminalizing underage prostitution would work only if you upped the penalties and really cracked down on the johns, which is what they should be doing anyway. Put faces on billboards on 285, repo their Lexus, make em pick up litter in the ATL summer wearing a shirt that says "I lust after little girls." Do all that for a year, see how much of a problem you still have.

Posted by Slim Chance on 06/23/2009 @ 04:40AM PT
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I agree. And the pimps. Those girls are victims. Why victimize them further?

Posted by Romy Carver on 06/24/2009 @ 01:30PM PT
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The Pimps and the actual people performing the Human Trafficking are the main problem, and penalites should be upped and made really severe for them. Law Enforcement needs to start concentrating and specializing in hunting them down and putting them away.

Law Enforcement needs the power to safely and quickly remove children from these situations and to be able to contact their parents and social services.

This legislation sounds like a good start.

I write more in support of the legalization of prostitution on my Blog:

http://www.arionshome.com/social-activism/prostitution/

Posted by James O'Neill on 06/26/2009 @ 08:18AM PT
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Author

Amanda has been a full-time abolitionist for six years. During that time, she has created reports, documentaries and training materials on human trafficking in the United States and around the world.