Statement of Mohamed Y. Mattar, S.J.D. Adjunct Professor of Law and Executive Director, The Protection Project at The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) Submitted to: Maryland House of Delegates March 21, 2005
Towards a More Adequate and Effective Legal Response to Trafficking in Persons: the New Maryland "Trafficking of Persons and Involuntary Servitude" Law
Distinguished Members of the House of Delegates, On behalf of The Protection Project at The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) I would like to support the "Trafficking of Persons and Involuntary Servitude" House Bill 1473 of Maryland. Trafficking in persons is a serious crime that requires an adequate and effective legal response, not only on the federal level, but on the state level as well. State resources should be used to prosecute cases of trafficking especially considering that federal resources are not always available in light of the diverse priorities of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). This would ultimately have the effect of identifying more victims of trafficking. Identifying victims of trafficking is a challenge and a responsibility, since we must reach victims of trafficking and provide them with the necessary protection and assistance that they deserve. A specific anti-trafficking provision in the criminal code of Maryland would make prosecution of a case easier instead of struggling to prosecute the case of trafficking under existing laws such as provisions on prostitution and prostitution related activities, including pandering (§ 11-303 criminal code), receiving earnings of a prostitute (§11-304 criminal code), house of prostitution (§11-306 criminal code) or other sexual offences (§ 3-305 to 3-308 criminal code), sexual solicitation of a minor (§ 3-324 criminal code), sexual abuse of a minor (§ 3-602 criminal code) kidnapping (§ 3-502 criminal code), child kidnapping (§ 3-503 criminal code), abduction of a child under 16 (§ 11-305 criminal code), sale of a minor (§ 3-603 criminal code) false imprisonment, and the like. The Bill recognizes trafficking in persons as a serious crime. Existing laws that may have been used to prosecute a case of trafficking do not always provide for a sentence that is compatible with the gravity of the crime. The Bill sentences a criminal who traffics a victim for forced labor or services to imprisonment up to 10 years. This penalty is enhanced to imprisonment up to 15 years in cases involving minors. Of course, a number of issues must be resolved in establishing the relation between state laws and federal law, in the areas of criminalization as well as protection of victims of trafficking. How would we reconcile the definition of trafficking in persons under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) with the definition specified in the Bill? Would a victim of trafficking, a part of a case that has been prosecuted in accordance with the state law, be entitled to federal benefits granted under the TVPA? The Bill adopts the Department of Justice's model state anti-trafficking criminal statute, which defines "services" to include not only commercial sexual activities, but sexually explicit performances as well. Although one may question the definition of a commercial sexual activity as service, especially considering that the TVPA clearly distinguishes between sex trafficking and trafficking for labor and services, this approach, I believe, is more comprehensive and effective in combating sex trafficking. However, I would have liked the Bill to define sexually explicit performances to include not only strip clubs but massage parlors that entail abuse as well. In many cases sexually oriented establishments have been used as fronts for houses of prostitution. Women are brought from foreign countries to the U.S. then transferred to various strip clubs and massage parlors across the U.S. where they
end up working as prostitutes. Strip clubs and massage parlors and other sexually oriented establishments facilitate or create demand for trafficked persons. The first case to be tried under the TVPA was United States v. Virchenko, a case involving a Russian national, who was sentenced in 2001 to 30 months in prison for trafficking adult women and under age girls from Russia into Alaska to dance nude in a strip club. While pursuing such sexually oriented establishments through violation of zoning ordinances might be sufficient in some cases, what is more important is that states take steps to curtail the activities of the establishments that might facilitate trafficking. The Bill clearly accomplishes this goal. By adopting this law, Maryland would join Texas, Washington state, Missouri, and Florida in recognizing trafficking in persons as a state crime. Legislators from Arizona, Connecticut, Hawaii, North Carolina, Minnesota, California, and other states are also considering enacting specific anti-trafficking legislation. A state legislation however, should not be limited to the criminalization of trafficking as a crime. I hope that this Bill will encourage the legislator to create a task force that mobilizes efforts to combat trafficking in the state of Maryland. I would like to applaud your leadership in addressing this very important issue and I thank you for this opportunity to lend our support for "The Trafficking of Persons and Involuntary Servitude " House Bill 1473 of Maryland.
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