Next Steps for Addressing Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Connecticut

In keeping with our July them of "freedom" the first thing that came to my mind was the trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children that happens here in Connecticut. I began to think how these young women lack freedom. When talking to my friends about preparing for this blog post they thought I was talking about the human trafficking that takes place abroad. When I told them I was focusing on Connecticut they seemed a little surprised. I think people know it is a problem in Connecticut, but they don't think it is as prevalent here, but that is not what I found out when I attended the 15th Annual Melanie Ilene Rieger Memorial Conference at Central Connecticut State University last month and when I typed in teenage prostitution in Connecticut into an Internet search. At the conference I Rachel LLoyd was a keynote speaker. She is the author of the book "Girls Like Us", which focuses on her time in "the life" and the lives of those young women who attend the nonprofit organization she founded called GEMS, Girls Educational and Mentoring Services in New York City, which serves girls and young women who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation and domestic trafficking. The book sheds light on the nation's least recognized epidemic and describes how even though these children are not usually kidnapped into this life they also did not have the ability to choose the life either.

When I tried to research this problem in Connecticut I landed on Vanity Fair's article "Sex Trafficking of Americans: The Girls Next Door", which describes how the average age of a young women who enters the sex trade has dropped to 13. The article goes on to explain the reasons for this ranging from the normalization of sex harm in the media to the breakdown of the family unit.

I wondered what is being done in Connecticut to address this issue. A couple of positive things were the recent passage of the Public Act 10-115, “Safe Harbor for Exploited Children", which eliminates the possibility of a sexually exploited minors under 16 being charged with the crime of prostitution. It also presumes 16-17 year olds who may have otherwise been arrested and charged with prostitution are actually victims of trafficking in persons. Also the passage of SB 1044, an act requiring the Department of Children and Families to be notified when a youth is arrested for prostitution.

My question is, what should the next step be for Connecticut to address this problem? Would a program like the GEMS organization that provides holistic case management, trauma based therapy, and clinical support work here in CT? Or is there something else that would be better?