Renee Unterman - Your Georgia State Senator - District 45: Suwanee, Sugar Hill, Buford, Rest Haven, Braselton, Lawrenceville - Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children

Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children

Unfortunately, the buying and selling of children here in Georgia is a very lucrative business. It harms children of all races and socioeconomic classes. The internet and websites such as Craigslist, has made this problem even more pervasive.

Recently, the FBI named Atlanta as one of the 14 cities in the nation with the highest incidence of children used in prostitution. Each month, more than 400 girls are commercially sexually exploited in Georgia – girls who are 12 and 14 years old on average.

An estimated 7,200 men knowingly or unknowingly pay for sex with adolescent females in Georgia each month.

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and make a difference.

Timeline of the Georgia General Assembly’s Efforts to Combat the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children

2001: The Georgia General Assembly enacts the Child Sexual Commerce Prevention Act (SB 33), which increases the penalties for pimps and johns who exploit minors.

2006: SB 529 is passed, enacting Georgia’s anti-human trafficking statute. The new law creates two new criminal offenses: trafficking a person for labor servitude and trafficking a person for sexual servitude.

2008: The Joint Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Minors Study Commission is created through the passage of SR 445. Comprised of members of the House and the Senate as well as representatives of law enforcement and the legal community, the commission holds five public hearings over the next few months to examine issues related to the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) in Georgia.

2009: The Commission’s final report is publicly released with recommendations for tightening Georgia’s laws related to CSEC and strengthening the state’s system of care for victims.

2009: SB 91, sponsored by Senator Jack Murphy, proposes a surcharge of $5 per patron to adult entertainment establishments to raise funds for services to CSEC victims. A somewhat related bill, SB 74, sponsored by Senator Unterman, would have prohibited adult entertainment establishments from employing persons under the age of 21 as a dancer, entertainer, performer, bartender, waiter, or waitress. Neither of these bills ultimately pass.

2009: Senator Unterman introduces SB 69, which expands the definition of “sexual exploitation” as related to child abuse and deprivation to mean conduct by any person who allows, permits, encourages or requires the child to engage in prostitution or sexually explicit conduct. This bill, which was the product of recommendations by the commission, passes nearly unanimously.

2010: Senator Unterman introduces SB 304, which would have provided that children under the age of 16 could not be prosecuted for prostitution. Although this legislation is not ultimately successful, it sparks a conversation about how CSEC victims should be treated by law enforcement.

2011: The General Assembly passes HB 200, sponsored by Rep. Ed Lindsey. HB 200 increases penalties for human trafficking and strengthens protections for the victims of such crimes. HB 200 is the culmination of efforts between grassroots activists, faith organizations, law enforcement, and legislators to combat CSEC in Georgia.

You can get involved and make a difference.