Victory! Groundbreaking Georgia Anti-Trafficking Bill Breezes Through Senate
Victory! Groundbreaking Georgia Anti-Trafficking Bill Breezes Through Senate
Speak with anyone who helped pass Georgia’s anti-trafficking bill and one word resonates the most: disbelief. Despite the fact that House Bill 200 was an urgently needed piece of legislation that will finally equip Georgia with the tools to combat human trafficking — no one can quite believe this groundbreaking bill passed. Georgia has historically lagged in the fight against human trafficking and up until the passage of HB 200, criminals convicted of trafficking a person over eighteen faced as little as one year in prison. But thanks to the help of more than 300 Change.org readers and some passionate and dedicated representatives and lobbyists, a comprehensive trafficking law in Georgia isn’t just a pipe dream anymore — it’s reality.
“I am over the moon. I still can’t believe it,” Stephanie Davis, the executive director of Georgia Women for a Change, toldChange.org. The bill cleared the Senate with a unanimous vote on Tuesday. It was written and passed in the same session—without any amendments. Julianna McConnell, Street GRACE advocacy chairperson said, “I’ve been a lobbyist for 20 years and this is probably one of the most fulfilling moments of my career.”
So what’s all the fuss about? Atlanta is a known hub for human trafficking and in 2005, the FBI named it as one of 14 cities in the nation with the highest number of children trafficked into prostitution. Last January, a studyreported that 400 girls are commercially sexually exploited in Georgia each month, and the average age of these girls is between 12 and 14 years old. In another Georgia study, the number of internet ads featuring women described as “young” received up to 175 percent more inquiries than the ads that did not mention age. Despite these worrisome statistics, Georgia often addressed its human trafficking problem like a chicken with its head cut off.
But this bill has the potential to change all that. It addresses labor exploitation, prevents trafficking victims from being treated like criminals, offers trafficking victims legal, social and medical assistance and provides training for law enforcement under the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (POST) curriculum for little or no expense. It also gives human traffickers the penalties they deserve. If a victim is between 16 and 18 years old, the crime is a felony and punishable by 5-20 years in prison and a fine of $2,500. If the victim is under 16, the crime is a felony and the convicted trafficker will face 10 to 30 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.
“I live in Georgia, and I can’t tell you how nice it is to see groundbreaking and Georgia in the same sentence. We usually aren’t in the vanguard of much except stupid,” wrote one Change.org reader.
On that note, congratulations Georgia on this swift turnaround towards becoming a leader in combating human trafficking in the United States. Once all of the bill’s policies and programs are implemented, then it will really be time to celebrate.
Photo by: katieharbath
