TBA Law Blog

TBA Law Blog

Reporting Trafficking Could Get Easier with New Legislation

Posted by: Julia Wilburn on Feb 24, 2023

Sen. Page Walley, R-Savannah, and Rep. John Ragan, R-Oak Ridge, have introduced the Tennessee Safe Crime Reporting Law that would prevent victims of trafficking from arrest on prostitution charges or simply reporting a crime and increase criminal penalties for those patronizing prostitutes. The measure is designed to overcome longstanding mistrust between trafficking victims and law enforcement, which not only puts victims in danger but hinders broader public safety efforts, advocates say. “It creates a bridge,” said Alisa Bernard, policy director of the Nashville nonprofit Thistle Farms, which brought the measure before lawmakers. “If, for example, someone sees a child being trafficked they can report that to police” without fear of their own arrest. Historically the law has treated trafficking victims forced into prostitution as offenders, “when they’re almost always a victim who has been fraudulently enticed or forced into that life,” Ragan said in a statement. The Tennessee Lookout has the full story.

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