ATLANTA, GA (January 29, 2009) — The joint Senate and House Commission on Sexual Exploitation of Minors announced their legislative recommendations for the 2009 General Assembly today during a press conference at the Capitol. Three potential pieces of legislation that have emerged from the study committee are to implement a surcharge on the entrance into an adult entertainment business, changing the age of erotic dancers from a minimum age of 18 to 21 and to require proof of age, and tie enforcement to licensing regulations.
State Senator Renee Unterman (R-Buford), in conjunction with Representative Calvin Hill (R-Canton) co-chaired the committee’s five meetings during the interim session and has identified these areas as crucial to help create a coordinated, statewide campaign to raise awareness and stop the prostitution of children in Georgia.
“We have all worked extremely hard to collect as much data and expert advice as possible over the course of the last year, and based on our committee findings it is vital that we do everything we can to address this problem now, as it is only getting more and more dangerous for our young children,” said Unterman. “Our mission with these pieces of proposed legislation is to ensure Georgia is a safer, better educated state on these matters and a no tolerance zone for the prostitution of children.”
The legislators also proposed to amend Georgia Code 19-7-5, the mandatory reporting of child abuse, to also report a child who they suspect is being prostituted by someone other than a “parent or caretaker.”
Rep. Hill and Senator Jack Murphy (R-Cumming) will sponsor the adult entertainment surcharge bill in the House and Senate respectively that looks to impose a $3 to $5 entry fee for patrons at adult entertainment businesses and venues. The revenues generated from the surcharge will be spent to fund services for children who have been prostituted, including abuse centers and prevention strategies.
Sen. Unterman and Representative Amy Carter (D-Valdosta) will champion the issue of raising the minimum age of erotic dancers from 18 to 21 in their respective chambers. Sen. Unterman and Rep. Carter will also introduce Senate and House bills to amend the child abuse reporting law to require mandatory reporting of all commercial sexual exploited minors as child sexual abuse. The current law only mandates a report of sexual abuse by a parent or caretaker, but the study committee findings noted that many adolescent girls are solicited by non-family members.
The committee hopes to utilize these legislative items in conjunction with the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act reauthorization which passed both the US Senate and House December 10th, 2008 and was recently signed by President George W. Bush. The bill authorizes tens of millions to prosecute pimps and assist victims of the domestic minor sex trade. Sen. Unterman believes that in taking a comprehensive statewide approach means when those funds are appropriated, Georgia will be well positioned to apply for and receive TVPRA federal dollars.
Minor Sexual Exploitation is an imperative and prevalent issue to Georgians because Atlanta is one of 14 cities in the U.S with the highest incidents of child exploitation. Two hundred to three hundred young girls are sexually exploited in Georgia every month with as many as 129 girls being prostituted on a typical weekend night, and 12 to 14 is the average age of entry into pornography and prostitution in the U.S.
Legislators and advocates that were scheduled to speak and appear at today’s press conference include Sen. Renee Unterman (R-Buford), Rep. Calvin Hill (R-Canton), Sen. Kasim Reed (D-Atlanta), Sen. Jack Murphy (R-Cumming), Rep. Amy Carter (D-Valdosta), Rep. David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge), Kaffie McCullough of the Juvenile Justice Fund , Cheryl Deluca-Johnson of StreetGRACE, Rev. Scott Weimer of North Avenue Presbyterian Church, Sharon Saffold-Harris of A Future. Not A Past, Wendell Phillips of the Presbytery Public Policy Committee, and Ray Newman of the Georgia Baptist Convention
Sen. Renee Unterman serves as Chairman of the Government Oversight Committee. She represents the 45th Senate District which includes a portion of Gwinnett County. She can be reached at 404.463.1368 or by email at renee.unterman@senate.ga.gov.
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release:
January 29, 2009
For Information Contact:
Raegan Weber,Director
Matt Colvin Communications Associate
matthew.colvin@senate.ga.gov
404.656.0028