Sex trafficking is more present on the North Shore than most locals might think, especially along the Route 1 corridor. But two bills proposed on Beacon Hill with support from area state legislators aim to protect victims and stop traffickers.
State Rep. Sally Kerans, D-Danvers, and state Sen. Joan Lovely, D-Salem, are petitioning for the approval of The Sex Trade Survivors Act, a bill that would partially decriminalize the sex trade by protecting sex trafficking victims from being charged with prostitution.
The bill would force more criminal accountability on buyers and traffickers, provide survivors with more access to support services, and make it easier to expunge criminal records related to trafficking.
“We go after the seller as if they aren’t a victim, when they are a victim,” Kerans said.
The bill was created with support from My Life, My Choice, a Boston-based organization that supports survivors of sex trafficking.
“A lot of times, what ends up happening when you have a criminal record is you have no other choice but to return back to the life,” survivor and Co-Executive Director Audrey Morrissey said.
“You find a path out, but all of the doors are being slammed in your face, sometimes even after the exploiter is gone,” she said.
State Rep. Tom Walsh, D-Peabody, has also filed a bill with support from Kerans and Lovely that would require trainings for hotel workers in the state for identifying signs of sex trafficking, like high traffic in and out of a hotel room and certain ways victims and traffickers may speak in public.
These trainings would be approved by the Attorney General’s office and overseen by local police departments.
Under the bill, hotels and motels would also be required to post information in multiple languages about sex trafficking help hotlines and other services for victims.
Nine other states have similar legislation already in place to what Walsh is proposing. With it, they hope to stem the tide of human trafficking.
“It’s a national crisis,” Walsh said. “It’s an issue that runs from Florida right up to the Canadian border.”
Both bills remain in committee, but lawmakers are hopeful the bills will move before the House and Senate for a vote.