By Lindsay Street, Statehouse correspondent | Bills written to address the shadowy, modern-day problem of forced prostitution pass with strong support in South Carolina. But that’s only when they actually reach the floor of the House and Senate.
Known as human trafficking, forced prostitution is a centuries-old problem that remains persistent today as abusive partners pimp their victims, families sell sex services of children, and, in more rare cases, children and adults are abducted for illicit sex rings. Human trafficking can also include forced, unpaid labor.
Recent headlines in the state showed reports of human trafficking cases have surged more than 360 percent as the public has become more aware of the nefarious trade.
But in the state legislative effort to save people from forced prostitution, some lawmakers see a lack of fire in the bellies of Statehouse leaders, despite a recent bill that received unanimous support. And at least one state advocate sees lawmaker actions on sex education and introduction of bills aimed at transgender people as counter-productive in the fight.
“There is so much more we could do (to address human trafficking),” Lancaster Democratic Rep. Mandy Powers Norrell told Statehouse Report. Norrell has sponsored several anti-human trafficking bills this session. She said many of her bills have been stuck in committee. “We’re not getting the attention for the bills and for the movement.”
Emails requesting comment for this story to Gov. Henry McMaster, House Speaker Jay Lucas and Senate President Harvey Peeler on what South Carolina needs to address human trafficking went unanswered.
Last week, Norrell and Surfside Beach Republican Rep. Russell Fry tacked on a human trafficking bill that was languishing in committee as an amendment to a Senate-passed bill on the House floor. If the bill is signed into law, it will increase prostitution, soliciting and pimping penalties, but absolving minors of the legal consequences of prostitution — known as affirmative defense. The amendment and the bill, S. 194, passed without a single no vote.
South Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Executive Director Sara Barber said creating an affirmative defense for minors involved in prostitution is a key element in combatting human trafficking.
If the bill becomes law, any minor who would have been charged with prostitution will be referred to the Department of Social Services, lead sponsor Lexington Republican Sen. Katrina Shealy said.
The House amendment include penalties for the “sex tourism” industry. Because of those changes in the House, S. 194 is pending conference between the two bodies before it can be ratified and sent to McMaster’s desk.
It is possible the anti-human trafficking bill could be ratified as soon as next week, should the Senate choose to address uncontested bills ahead of S. 419, the massive education package on special order.
The fight against human trafficking
In 2012, South Carolina passed its first human trafficking laws. Two years later, the state developed its first plan, which focused on training prosecutors and law enforcement in investigations and prosecutions. In 2015, South Carolina allowed state prosecution of those accused of trafficking persons, meaning that a victim did not need to be “retraumatized” in multi-county cases, South Carolina Human Trafficking Task Force coordinator Kathryn Moorehead said in a 2017 interview with Statehouse Report.
More laws have been passed since then, including a 2018 law that defines child trafficking as child abuse.
“It’s a huge puzzle with a lot of different pieces,” Moorehead said this week. She said her task force, which resides in the state attorney general’s office, is working to finalize a “strategic response protocol” to build a network of federal and state agencies and nonprofits.
In the last year, the S.C. Attorney General’s office has reached out to industry groups, such as beer distributors, to grow training for recognizing victims. The Attorney General’s office 2019 report identified several needs in South Carolina, including:
- A lack of sufficient funding for, access to, and availability of resources for groups that provide services to victims of human trafficking;
- Inadequate shelter space to meet the needs of human trafficking victims; and,
- Lack of resources available to law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges that frustrate opportunities to arrest, prosecute, and sentence human traffickers. Additionally, the report found, there is inadequate enforcement of existing rules and regulations in South Carolina.
The road ahead
Shealy said the state needs to keep upping penalties on those who pimp and those who solicit sexual services.
“We have to put teeth behind what we’re saying,” she said. “I don’t think our penalties are strong enough, and we have to give law enforcement the tools to catch them.”
Moorehead said more money will be needed for the task force’s mission.
The Attorney General’s office currently budgets two staff positions for its human trafficking task force, but it is requesting five additional prosecutors — $500,000 — in its 2020-2021 budget. According to Communication Director Robert Kittle, those prosecutors will help handle human trafficking cases.
One program that trains organizations in providing care to trafficking victims is a high priority for Barber.
“The needs of traffic(king) victims are very, very complex,” she said.
Kittle said that as 2021-2022 rolls around, the office will increase its spending requests to aid anti-human trafficking training programs.
Legalizing sexwork, consent-based sex ed, LGBTQ support
But while advocates in the state seek many avenues to address human trafficking, one thing not being considered: legalized sexwork.
Decriminalization bills have been considered in Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and the city of Washington D.C.
“That’s a horrible idea,” Shealy said. “This is a good Southern state and we’re not talking about legalizing selling sex in South Carolina.”
Moorehead said that while she is aware of other states exploring legalizing sexwork, there needs to be “more research.”
“We need to have success as much as possible, and be really strategic about it,” she said, adding that there appears to be some interest in creating a registry for those working in strip clubs among other states and that’s something “we could potentially discuss.”
“That would be a very heavy lift in our state and I don’t think we’re there yet,” Barber said. “There’s a very clear argument that some people engage in sex work voluntarily and there is the other argument that a majority of people engaged in sex work have been trafficked.”
Consent-focused sex education and support for the LGBTQ community could also play a big role in protecting vulnerable young people, according to Barber.
“When you talk about trafficking, youre talking about already vulnerable youth who are at risk,” she said.She added that there is a link between trafficking and ideas around sexual consent and respect in relationships.
Citing the “bathroom bill” from a few years ago that sought to mandate public restroom goers use the bathroom of their birth sex, and a current House bill called the Youth Gender Reassignment Prevention Act, Barber said those bills send a clear message to LGBTQ youth: We don’t support you.
“All those kinds of policies serve to alienate LGBTQ youth. They further the bias against them in school and in their communities. We should support people who ever they are and however they identify,” Barber said. “If you have policies that are further alienating or leading to lack of support … which means they are far more likely to be homeless and far more likely to be victims of trafficking, you have a big old circle going on.”
- Have a comment? Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!