Statement on ALI Changes

 
 
 

BREAKING NEWS UPDATE:

 

With the help of Safe House Project's Policy team as well as other industry partners, such as National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, this code was able to be reversed. We are celebrating that American children are being protected.

 
 

If buyers are not prosecuted for purchasing a child, this illegal industry will continue to grow exponentially, child predatory behavior will continue to rise, and more services will be required to help victims of domestic minor sex trafficking heal.

 
 

Original:

 

The American Law Institute's changes this week to the model penal code regarding child safety laws are incredibly concerning to all of us here at the Safe House Project. We work with survivors of sex trafficking every day and are disheartened that ALI is making it harder for them to achieve justice against those who abused them.

 
 
 

Under the new revisions, those who purchase children for commercial sex purposes are immune from state trafficking charges and will not be listed on the sex offender registry. ALI states that those who buy children have such a small interaction with the child; they aren’t worth the criminal charge. Refusing to hold every single person involved in this horrific practice accountable shows how out of touch the ALI is with the reality of the stories of our survivors.

 
 
 

At the Safe House Project, we will continue to advocate for all survivors of human trafficking and hope to see the end of this appalling practice one day. We are hopeful that individual states will recognize this injustice and choose to act despite these changes.

 
 
 

Please contact your State Representative and the American Law Institute to voice your concerns about these revisions. We must take a stand to protect our children.

 
 
 

To learn more about the impact of this change, check out this great article from our friends at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children: Losing Ground in Child Protection.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Prevention, Policy, Child Sex Trafficking

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