Klobuchar has introduced bipartisan legislation modeled after Minnesota’s “Safe Harbor” law that helps make sure minors sold for sex aren’t prosecuted as defendants but are instead treated as victims
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) today released the following statement on the University of Minnesota Urban Research and Outreach Engagement Center report on sex trafficking in Minnesota. The report examined the marketplace structure behind sex trafficking and found an elaborate system of buyers, facilitators and recruitment tactics being used in Minneapolis and the surrounding communities.
“This report is more hard evidence that sex trafficking is a not something that only happens half a world away – it’s happening here in our own backyards and we need to take action,” said Klobuchar. “That’s why I am working to ensure victims across the country have access to the support they need and minors who are sold for sex are treated as victims – not prosecuted as defendants.”
Klobuchar has introduced bipartisan legislation to combat sex trafficking. The Stop Exploitation Through Trafficking Act (SETT) would give incentives for all states to have a safe harbor provision to help ensure minors who are sold for sex aren’t prosecuted as defendants, but are instead treated as victims. When a state passes a safe harbor law, it means that kids sold for sex should be steered towards child protection services, rather than being arrested, charged, or convicted under a state’s criminal laws.
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