[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 24 (Thursday, February 12, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S1009]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 81--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT CHILDREN 
   TRAFFICKED FOR SEX IN THE UNITED STATES SHOULD NOT BE TREATED OR 
   REGARDED AS CHILD PROSTITUTES BECAUSE THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A 
  ``CHILD PROSTITUTE'', ONLY CHILDREN WHO ARE VICTIMS OR SURVIVORS OF 
                        RAPE AND SEX TRAFFICKING

  Mrs. GILLIBRAND (for herself, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Blumenthal, Mrs. 
Feinstein, and Mr. Grassley) submitted the following resolution; which 
was considered and agreed to:

                               S. Res. 81

       Whereas the Federal Bureau of Investigation estimates that 
     hundreds of thousands of children in the United States are at 
     risk of being commercially exploited through sex trafficking;
       Whereas children as young as 11 years old may be subjected 
     to the commercial sex market as victims of sex trafficking;
       Whereas many child victims of sex trafficking have 
     experienced previous physical or sexual abuse, 
     vulnerabilities that traffickers exploit to manipulate the 
     victims into a life of sexual slavery through sex 
     trafficking;
       Whereas many child victims of sex trafficking are hidden in 
     plain view, standing at bus stops, in runaway and homeless 
     youth shelters, and advertised online; and
       Whereas many child victims of sex trafficking who have not 
     yet attained the age of consent are arrested and detained for 
     juvenile prostitution or status offenses directly related to 
     their exploitation: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) encourages the Departments of Justice, Health and Human 
     Services, and Labor, and all other relevant Federal entities, 
     to treat children trafficked for sex as victims or survivors 
     of rape and sex trafficking;
       (2) supports efforts to arrest and prosecute sex 
     traffickers and buyers of children trafficked for sex, in 
     accordance with applicable State and Federal sex trafficking 
     statutes, and State child protection laws against abuse and 
     statutory rape, in order to take all necessary measures to 
     protect the most vulnerable children in the United States;
       (3) supports survivors of child sex trafficking, including 
     efforts to raise awareness of this tragedy and of the 
     comprehensive services necessary to heal from the trauma of 
     sexual violence and exploitation;
       (4) urges lawmakers, law enforcement, the media, and the 
     public to reframe the trafficking of children for sex as an 
     act of violence against children and not as mere vice, 
     prostitution, or sex work, because there is no such thing as 
     a ``child prostitute'', only children who are victims or 
     survivors of rape and sex trafficking; and
       (5) supports an end to the demand for children in the 
     commercial sex market, by supporting efforts to ensure that 
     children in the United States are not for sale and that any 
     person who is trafficking or purchasing a child for sex shall 
     be punished under the full force of the law.

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