Minnesota supports sex trafficked children through the Safe Harbor Act, which decriminalizes prostitution for minors and provides them with services, while increasing criminal penalties for sex traffickers.
But where do these children come from in the first place?
60% of sex-trafficked youth have a history in the child welfare system, according to the National Foster Youth Initiative. In our direct service work we knew hundreds as young as 13 who found prostitution a lesser hell than their abusive homes.
This child-protection-to-streets pipeline results from policies that force children to stay with abusive adults.
While parent advocates are understandably wary of removing children from families too quickly, particularly in communities of color, most children being sex trafficked are the product of a system that waited far too long to help them.