FLORIDA: Sex Trafficking Bill Clears House on Unanimous Vote
A bill aimed at responding to sex trafficking, with a laundry list of services and safety precautions to protect victims, passed the Florida House of Representatives on Tuesday with a unanimous 119-0 vote.
The bill, if passed by the Senate and signed by Gov. Rick Scott, will provide the Florida Department of Children and Families with new guidelines to assess victims and provide housing in safe facilities or foster homes — as well as allocate $3 million toward the treatment of victims.
The bill’s sponsor, Gayle Harrell, R-Port St. Lucie, urged the other House members on by citing alarming statistics of what she called “modern day slavery” taking place in Florida every day.
Children are being sold for sex and forced into violent situations and drug abuse, Harrell said.
The average age at which a child is forced into prostitution is 13, she said, with their life expectancy reduced to a handful of years.