Faces of Human Trafficking: Introduction to Sex Trafficking Transcript Clip 2

Kate Mogulescu, Supervising Attorney, Legal Aid Society of New York City: As a public defender, I started to look more critically at our representation of people charged with prostitution offenses. These clients weren’t identifying themselves as victims of trafficking, but many of them had been completely controlled and scripted by the force, fraud, and coercion that we understand to make up human trafficking. We had to do better in trying to address these clients’ needs so that people who may be in very dangerous, abusive, violent situations don’t have to continue in those situations, and that an arrest make their life worse.

James Fitzgerald: The idea here is not to prosecute the potential sex trafficking victims.

Hon. Theresa Pouley, Chief Judge, Tulalip Tribal Court, Washington State: That happens a lot. A person is convicted of crimes and then are eliminated from all the services that could actually help them escape the trafficking.