FRC's Patrina Mosley Offers Testimony Against D.C.'s Effort to Fully Decriminalize the Sex Trafficking Industry

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 18, 2019
CONTACT: J.P. Duffy or Joshua Arnold, (866) FRC-NEWS or (866)-372-6397

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Patrina Mosley, Director of Life, Culture, and Women’s Advocacy at Family Research Council, prepared testimony in opposition to District of Columbia Bill 23-0318 for a hearing yesterday. The bill would fully decriminalize the sex trafficking industry within the federal district. Some activities that would be allowed by the poorly-named “Community Safety and Health Amendment Act of 2019” include brothel owning, prostitution, and pandering. Over 100 groups and individuals across the political spectrum are scheduled to testify against the bill in a hearing today. Laura Grossberndt of FRC’s Department of Policy and Government Affairs delivered the remarks on Mosley’s behalf.

Patrina Mosley Director of Life, Culture & Women’s Advocacy, Family Research Council explained:

“Contrary the bill’s name, this measure will drastically reduce the safety and well-being of current victims and persons at risk of exploitation. Removing criminal penalties for buying, pimping, or procuring a person, along with brothel owning, does not protect vulnerable individuals, including sex trafficking victims, but only benefits those who profit from the exploitation of others. Trafficking victims deserve protections, not their exploiters.

“The repeal of these provisions will establish DC as a major prostitution destination similar to the likes of Nevada and Amsterdam and fuel the sex trafficking of our most vulnerable communities,” concluded Mosley.

Mosley’s public testimony included the following remarks:

“This bill encourages exploitive behavior and would, therefore, be a bad law. Fully decriminalizing the sex trafficking industry would make brothels legitimate businesses, pimps and traffickers business managers, and the District a collaborator in the exploitation of women and children. Commercial sex trafficking is sexual exploitation—it should never be someone’s job to be exploited by another human being.

“Legitimizing something bad in hopes of fewer bad things happening is never an acceptable solution to society’s ills. We must confront the injustice of exploitation with justice,” continued Mosley.

“Empowering the business of exploitation doesn’t protect anyone except the exploiters. With everything we know about the abuse and violence that characterizes the commercial sex industry, equating unobstructed exploitation with victim protection is just as absurd as saying, ‘since many of those who endure rape feel the stigma of shame, let’s remove all penalties for rape and legitimize it so they won’t feel shame,’” added Mosley.

The full testimony offered by Family Research Council can be viewed here.

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