The Protection Project - A Three “E” Approach

I am privileged to be speaking to you about the United States laws against commercial sexual exploitation of children

And I believe that the United States provides for a comprehensive legal framework.

The latest is Iowa’s Anti-trafficking Bill, which passed by the House of Representatives on March 30, 2006.

But, because I am speaking before lunch and I have to be short, here is a short list of five important laws in the United States against commercial sexual exploitation of children:

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 as reauthorized in 2003 and 2005.
The Mann Act, especially sections 2421, 2422, 2423, and 2427.
The Protect Act, especially sections
- 105 (Penalties against sex tourism)
- 323 (Cyber Tip line)
- 202 (Statute of Limitation
- The Children’s Internet Protection Act
- The Child Obscenity and Pornography Prevention Ac

And I believe that the legislative measures adopted by these laws comply with international legal standards.

And the United States, although has not ratified the CRC, has ratified three main international legal instruments against commercial sexual exploitation of children.

The United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially in Women and Children on November 3, 2005.
The Optional Protocol on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography on December 23, 2005.
The International Labor Organization Convention 182 concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor on February 12, 1999.

I suggest what I call the three ‘E’s to be added to the 5 ‘P’s and 5 ‘V’s.

To me, the US legislative movement in the last five years, since the second World Congress against commercial sexual exploitation of children in 2001 reflects:

Under the child sex tourism law, proof of travel with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct is no longer required.
1. And the law punishes attempts to commit the crime
2. And provides for liability of the legal person, the tour operator
And it is a crime to engage in illicit sexual activity with any person under the age of 18 regardless of the age of consent

*Which is only 15 in countries like Cambodia, Thailand, and Costa Rica which are significant destination countries for sex tourism.

The Protect Act created a “Cyber Tip Line” providing the general public an effective means of reporting internet related sexual exploitation

4. The Department of Justice expanded the definition of a commercial sexual service of a minor to include not only a commercial sexual activity, but also a “sexually explicit performance”

Recognizing that international traffickers “are increasingly placing their victims into strip clubs rather than prostitution.”
This was the case in the United States vs. Virchenko, the first case to be decided under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.
Courts have held that obscenity and child pornography are not entitled to protection under the first amendment and therefore may be prohibited.
And while the previous law provided that the statute of limitations expired when the child attained the age of 2

Section 202 of the Protection Act now stipulates that there is no statute of limitations for child sex crimes.

The penalty under the TVPA is 20 years in prison and the penalty may be increased to life if the trafficked person is under the age of 14.
The penalty under the Protect Act was doubled from 15 to 30 years

However, perhaps we should consider whether plea-bargaining is appropriate in sex crimes that include children.

This was the case in the United States vs. Clark, the first case to be decided under the Protect Act.

The U.S. law while expanding criminal liability it shifts the focus towards penalizing the purchaser of sexual services.

The TVPRA of 2005 address demand explicitly for the first time, and amends section 108 that provides for the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking in persons that foreign countries must comply with, to include:

Whether a country is taking the appropriate measures to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts
And for participation in international sex tourism
And to ensure that its nationals who are deployed abroad as part of a peace keeping mission do not engage or facilitate an act of trafficking in persons or exploit victims of such trafficking.

This is a very significant legislative measure since, as stated by ambassador John Bolton, US Representative to the United Nations at the Security Council on February 23, 2006:

“To date, the United Nations has investigated 295 personnel resulting in 137 repatriations and only 16 dismissals of soldiers, commanders, police and UN staff who violated the 1993 UN Code of Conduct that prohibits “abuse or exploitation of the local population”

And for the first time, the TVPRA of 2005 addresses the issue of prostitution, or a commercial sex act separate from trafficking on the federal level, calling for:

Enhancing state and local efforts to investigate and prosecute purchasers of commercial sexual services.
In addition to establishing various federal programs to reduce demand for such acts.

The United States approach here is consistent with most international legal developments:

The Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings of May 3, 2005 calls, in article 19, upon states to consider criminalizing the use of services provided by victims of trafficking.

On March 11, 2005, the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women adopted a resolution presented by the US on eliminating demand for trafficked women and girls for all forms of exploitation.

The resolution reflects the mandate of article 9(5) of the United National Protocol on trafficking that call upon states to take the necessary measures to discourage demand.

And the US law on the prohibition of prostitution is consistent with International Law on prostitution which provides under the 1949 Convention for the suppression of the traffic of persons and the exploitation of the Prostitution of others, that

“Prostitution and the accompanying evil of traffic in persons for the purpose of prostitution are incompatible with the dignity and worth of the human person and endanger the welfare of the individual, the family, and the community.”

Under section 506 of the Protect Act, production of child pornography outside the US for the purpose of distribution in the US is a crime.
And the Protect Act applies to any US Citizen or resident who travels abroad to engage in illicit sexual activity with a child. Here the sex tourism law applies regardless of where the act has been committed.
And the TVPRA provides for extraterritorial jurisdiction over trafficking in persons offenses committed by persons employed by or accompanying the federal government outside of the United States.

The US law addresses the special needs of children based upon the best interest of the child and adopts a child sensitive approach in several ways:

For instance, a trafficked child is entitled to benefits under the TVPRA regardless of cooperation with law enforcement officials.
A trafficked child may receive a T-Visa that includes his or her parents, although the number is still very small, as Ambassador John Miller mentioned.
A child witness may testify out of court in the event of fear that the child would be subject to trauma.

However, as recognized by Congress in TVPRA of 2005, “no known studies exist that quantify the problem of trafficking in children for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation”.

“An effective mechanism for quantifying the numbers of victims of trafficking on national, regional, and international bases.”

Perhaps we should look into children who are most vulnerable for exploitation, especially commercial sexual exploitation, the “missing, runaway, throwaway, homeless, unaccompanied, abducted, and unregistered.”

I hope this conference inquires into whether the United States laws against commercial sexual exploitation of children are fully implemented so that our children are safe and protected.