Hawaii Passes Bill to Better Protect Victims of Commercial Sexual Exploitation
The bill is a landmark step towards implementing the Equality Model in the state
On June 25, Hawaii made progress toward protecting women and girls from the exploitation of the sex industry by enacting HB 887, which implements key aspects of the Equality Model (also known as the “Nordic Model”) of addressing prostitution.
The bill removes the statute of limitations for sex trafficking, a timeframe that was previously six years, and also decouples sex buyers from those exploited commercially for sex. Sex buyers are more harshly punished under the new law, especially those who exploit minors, which has been upgraded to a Class B felony, or “habitual” sex buyers. On the other hand, the victims of the sex trade are only subjected to a low-level misdemeanor that qualifies for expungement from their record after three years under certain conditions. Previously, both sex-trafficking victims and pimps could be found guilty of the same crime, which discouraged women from outing their exploiters and abusers out of fear of the legal ramifications they would endure as a result.
“This law is really a landmark piece of legislation in that it shifts the ideology,” said Khara Jabola-Carolus, executive director of the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women. “The whole framework is turned on its head — instead of women... being blamed for prostitution, it sees the issue as women… being exploited based on their marginalization.”
While the bill still allows for victims of commercial sexual exploitation to be charged with a misdemeanor, it is a step in the right direction by recognizing the inherent difference between being a victim and buyer or trafficker in the sex industry. The bill also updates language to clarify crimes that are “commercial sexual exploitation,” clarifies that coercion through means other than direct payments are still violations of the law, and removes other harsh penalties for victims.
The Equality Model helps prevent sexual violence, protect victims, and hold pimps and punters accountable for their systematic exploitation of women, girls, and boys. This model criminalizes the buying of sex, while also protecting victims and providing resources for exiting. This has shown to be more effective at protecting women from sex trafficking and abuse than full the full legalization of prostitution, as studies performed by Harvard Law have shown. Countries that use the Equality Model, for example, have already shown reduced rates of sex trafficking. Furthermore, a legal sex industry directly exploits women in porn and prostitution while engendering disrespect and normalizing male aggression towards all women.
Equality Model Bill Sits on Governor's Desk in Maine
Update 7/1/21: Maine Governor Vetoes LD1592
On June 30th, Governor Janet Mills vetoed LD1592, despite the support of her Democratic colleagues in the Maine Legislature. In doing so, she condemns women suffering from the horrors of sex-trafficking to continued predation by pimps. While Governor Mill did endorse a separate bill, recently signed into law, that expands the defense for engaging in prostitution if someone did so to prevent injury, economic hardship or threat; failing to enact an Equality Model styled system is a missed opportunity to reduce the prevalence of human trafficking in Maine. Maine continues to be a “hub” and “recruiting ground” for victims trafficked to the big cities of the Northeast.
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Earlier this month, the Maine legislature passed LD1592, which would explicitly adopt the equality model and protect the women and girls of Maine. The bill is currently on the desk of Maine Governor Janet Mills, waiting to be signed into law. Under the bill, soliciting a minor to engage in prostitution would be upgraded from a misdemeanor to a felony. It would also seal records for those convicted of prostitution charges and repeal criminal penalties for trafficking victims, as well as create a working group to explore what services should be provided to survivors.
“I see this bill as a quintessential anti-trafficking bill,” said state Rep. Lois Galgay Reckitt, a Democrat who is the bill’s sponsor. “I think that it will discourage trafficking in the extreme.”
To learn more about the Equality Act / Nordic Model:
WoLF Resources on Prostitution and the Sex Industry
Get the relevant facts and learn about proposed bills in various states
The Equality Model US
A campaign to enact the Equality Model in the US.
Nordic Model Now
The movement for the abolition of prostitution.
