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by Sabrina Eaton
from Plain Dealer Bureau
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
WASHINGTON-President Bush on Tuesday signed a law co-authored by Rep. Deborah Pryce of Columbus that provides $360 million to fight sex trafficking in the United States and abroad. It establishes $50 million in grants that police can use to target prostitution patrons for arrest.
"Our nation is determined to fight and end this modern form of slavery," Bush said as he signed the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005.
The U.S. government estimates that 18,000 to 20,000 people are trafficked into the United States as slaves each year, including teens who become prisoners to the sex trade. Many willingly leave home for jobs they believe are legitimate, only to be forced into prostitution.
With money from the bill, authorities in the United States will apprehend prostitutes' customers, commonly known as johns, in order to crack rings that bring women to the United States for prostitution. Pryce's office said money from the bill also would be used to fight trafficking of runaway and kidnapped U.S. teens who are sold for sex domestically.
The law also authorizes a pilot program to counsel sex trafficking victims in the United States, convene a yearly conference on reducing the demand for prostitution, and provide better law enforcement statistics about the scope of trafficking.
"A nation that stands for the freedom and dignity of every human being cannot tolerate the degradation and exploitation of the innocent going on on our own soil," Pryce said.
Pryce has held congressional hearings to investigate sex trafficking.
After leading a congressional-fact finding tour to Albania, Moldova, Greece and Italy, Pryce also arranged surgery in the United States for a Moldovan girl who suffered crippling spinal injuries while escaping from a Turkish prostitution ring. The girl recently returned to Moldova after her successful operation, a Pryce spokeswoman said.
by Lillian Kwon
from The Christian Post
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
WASHINGTON - President Bush signed a human trafficking bill into law Tuesday, stirring applause from congressional officials and faith leaders alike.
"We're attacking this problem aggressively," said Bush just before signing the bill in front of an audience of religious heads and congressmen advocating human rights. "America has a particular duty to fight this horror because human trafficking is an affront to the defining promise of our country."
The renewed bill (H.R. 972) of the landmark 2000 human trafficking law toughens law enforcement abilities to prosecute traffickers and bring an end to the exploitation of women and children, especially within America. Grants are also included to assist victims and help reduce demand in sex trafficking.
"Our nation is determined to fight and end this modern form of slavery," said Bush.
Anti-trafficking advocates and religious leaders praised the strengthened bill as hundreds of thousands of people continue to be victimized each year.
"Everyone who is concerned about the sexual victimization of children and women should applaud the enactment of this legislation," said Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, according to the Baptist Press. "It significantly increases the ability of authorities to go after the pimps and the customers who exploit these young women and children sexually and in such horrific ways. The so-called End Demand aspects of this legislation are pioneering in many ways and hopefully will go a long way toward helping to end the terrible sexual exploitation going on in our nation."
Other advocates present at the signing of the measure included U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and Sen. Christopher Smith (R-N.J.).
Smith said in a written statement, "With this new law, the victims of this terrible crime know they are not forgotten."
With partnered efforts between the Department of Health and Human Services and faith-based and community organizations, anti-trafficking coalitions are to be established in 17 major cities across the country, said Bush.
The renewed bill also calls other nations to combat sex trafficking and have zero tolerance for the crime.
"The trade in human beings continues in our time and we are called by conscience and compassion to bring this cruel practice to an end," stated Bush.< Back to Recent Developments
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