| She’d been deceived and manipulated by pimps. She’d been abused and raped by sex buyers. But when the police came, she was arrested. And her exploiters went home.
Far too often, victimized persons bear the brunt of prostitution arrests, while those who exploit them hide in the shadows. But this week brought a historic victory. In a trailblazing move, Maine has become the first U.S. state to decriminalize prostituted persons while maintaining the criminalization of sex buyers, pimps, and brothel keepers. Maine also increased criminal penalties on some sex buyers. The legal approach of decriminalizing prostituted persons while criminalizing those who exploit them has been successful in other nations, such as Sweden, Norway, France, Ireland, and more. It has been shown to be more effective in preventing sex trafficking, deterring exploiters, and supporting exploited individuals. Read more here. |
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