AUGUSTA, Maine — The district attorney in Androscoggin, Oxford, and Franklin counties wants state lawmakers to decriminalize prostitution.
Andrew Robinson told a legislative committee that it's time to acknowledge that people who are caught up in the “nightmare circumstances of human trafficking and sexual exploitation” are victims. "The people who create the victims are the ones paying for sex and they are the ones who should be subjected to the criminal justice system," said Robinson. "This legislation recognizes that a victim should be treated as a victim, and not a criminal."
LD 1592 is sponsored by state Rep. Lois Galgay Reckitt, D-South Portland, who presented the bill to the Joint Standing Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety.
Dee Clark, a survivor and executive director of Survivor Speak USA, is against the legislation. "Repealing engaging in prostitution will harm more than it will help," she said. "Young girls are easily swayed by false promises of love and a better life. Women in relationships that are grounded in coercive controls will be reminded that they don’t have to worry about being arrested for prostitution. Maine will become a spot for traffickers."
The bill also allows for a person convicted of prostitution to have their record erased.
Part of the legislation would establish a pilot program in Androscoggin County to provide services to the survivors of commercial sexual exploitation and victims of human trafficking.
LD 1592:
Testimony from bill sponsor Rep. Rickett:
A list of all those who testified and their testimony before the Joint Standing Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety about LD1592 can be found here.
