Governor Mike Beebe signed into law Tuesday new legislation tightening human trafficking laws in Arkansas, updating the state’s original laws passed in 2005. Republican Rep. David Meeks from Conway and Republican Sen. Missy Irvin of Mountain Home introduced the new legislation following criticism of the state by advocacy groups like the Polaris Project, which claimed Arkansas was among the bottom four states in the nation in terms of the quality of its human trafficking laws.
The house passed Meeks’ bill, HB 1203, with a 91-0 vote on Feb. 8. The new laws offer protection to victims of human trafficking, including the right to sue offenders. It also penalizes anyone who knowingly involves himself or herself with a prostitute who is a victim of human trafficking. Additionally, it sets up a task force that will research further measures the state can take to combat human trafficking. The task force will be composed of local police and prosecutors who will work to produce a broader plan for addressing human trafficking in the state.
“We are pleased that Arkansas’ legislators are making significant efforts to strengthen the state’s laws against human trafficking,” Polaris spokeswoman Megan Fowler said. “These are the types of actions we want to see all states take to protect victims of human trafficking, punish traffickers and prevent this crime and human rights abuse from occurring.”
The Senate is also considering a safe harbor act, under which women younger than 18 would be protected from being prosecuted for prostitution and other offenses linked with human trafficking.
“Human trafficking does often have an interstate component, so that would fall under federal law,” Meeks said to the Associated Press. “But in Arkansas, you had prosecutors who didn’t know that human trafficking existed or knew about it but you saw them using other statutes because the penalty on it was not tough enough.”
Senior Ashli Roussel of HUmanity, a student organization largely dedicated to raising human trafficking awareness, said although the group was not directly involved in the legislation, members were glad to see that the issue is gaining a wider audience.
“I believe it is such an important issue,” Roussel said. “Harding students need to get on board.”
HUmanity plans to host a “Stand for Freedom” event in association with International Justice Mission and other colleges and universities around the nation April 11-12. IJM’s goal is to raise $270,000 in honor of the estimated 27 million slaves in the world today. Roussel said HUmanity hopes to recruit 270 students to help raise $2,700 to contribute.
