A plan to protect commercially sexually exploited children. The US Department of Justice calls CSEC one of the most obscure and egregious forms of child abuse in the United States and North America today.
The commercial sexual exploitation of children and sexual human trafficking of children is an increasing pandemic in this country. The Florida Safe Harbor Act will allow first responders the option of treating commercially sexually exploited children as child-victims by dropping them off at private treatment centers, or Safe Harbors, if one is available, to treat these children and offer them a brighter future.
- This bill amends the definition of sexual exploitation to include children who are induced into prostitution by no fault of their own. The Act also allows police the discretion of arresting the child-victim or delivering them directly to a Safe House, if one is available, and to provide for the sheltering of sexually exploited children in specifically designated short and long term staff-secure Safe Houses.
- New provisions would be added to Chapter 409 defining short and long-term Safe Houses for child-victims of commercial sexual exploitation and sexual trafficking. Such provisions would define Safe Houses as gender specific secure residential facilities with 24 hour awake staff. The contracting agency must have the expertise to deliver a number of specifically delineated services for sexually exploited children including security, counseling, infant care, life skills to transition back to the community and health care.
- The proposed legislation would increase civil penalties for individuals (pimps) who procure others to commit prostitution, and amend section 985.115 to allow victim compensation for commercially sexually exploited children. Finally, the Act establishes a rebuttable presumption that child-victims of commercial sexual exploitation, who commit a first offense of prostitution, be placed in dependency rather than delinquency.
- The Florida Safe Harbor Act DOES NOT de-criminalize prostitution or make any substantive changes to the prostitution statutes, except to increase penalties for pimps who traffic in the commercial sexual exploitation of children.
Treating a child as a dependent child instead of a delinquent is a cost saving to the State of Florida. The average cost per day to keep a youth in juvenile detention is $255.
For more information or with questions, feel free to contact either:
Nelson Diaz, 305-490-3414 or Trudy Novicki, 786-360-9485
House Bill - Sponsored by Florida Representative Erik Fresen, District 111 and Florida Representative Jeanette M. Nuñez, District 112
Senate Bill - Sponsored by Florida Senator Anitere Flores, District 38
Please write to your district Florida Representative and Florida Senator to urge their support in the 2011 Florida Legislative Session.
