NEW YORK: Child sex trafficking sufferers will no longer be made to testify in courtroom within the United States, after New York followed a regulation on Wednesday making it the general state to finish the apply.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into regulation a measure that eliminates the legal requirement in sex trafficking cases to prove a child victim was compelled or coerced into sex.
"It means the trafficking victim doesn't have to take the stand and testify about the horrific experiences," stated Dorchen Leidholdt of Sanctuary for Families, an anti-trafficking crew.
The transfer brings New York in line with US state and federal laws, as well as global norms, experts stated.
Under a United Nations measure referred to as the Palermo Protocol, children should not have to prove they had been trafficked, stated Romina Canessa, a trafficking professional on the rights crew Equality Now.
Elsewhere within the United States, Alabama last month lifted its requirement for coercion or deception to be confirmed in cases of child sex trafficking. Its new regulation took effect in July, in keeping with a spokeswoman for the state's attorney basic.
In New York, the transfer confronted resistance from some legislators who had been first of all reluctant to extend criminal penalties, Canessa advised the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
"It took a little bit of convincing, and just making state legislators realize that there is a reason why federal and international law, and the majority of other states, don't require proof of coercion for minors," she stated.
"This is an issue of rape of children."
Each yr, some 100,000 to 300,000 children are at risk of being trafficked for industrial sex within the United States, in keeping with the USA Department of Justice.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into regulation a measure that eliminates the legal requirement in sex trafficking cases to prove a child victim was compelled or coerced into sex.
"It means the trafficking victim doesn't have to take the stand and testify about the horrific experiences," stated Dorchen Leidholdt of Sanctuary for Families, an anti-trafficking crew.
The transfer brings New York in line with US state and federal laws, as well as global norms, experts stated.
Under a United Nations measure referred to as the Palermo Protocol, children should not have to prove they had been trafficked, stated Romina Canessa, a trafficking professional on the rights crew Equality Now.
Elsewhere within the United States, Alabama last month lifted its requirement for coercion or deception to be confirmed in cases of child sex trafficking. Its new regulation took effect in July, in keeping with a spokeswoman for the state's attorney basic.
In New York, the transfer confronted resistance from some legislators who had been first of all reluctant to extend criminal penalties, Canessa advised the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
"It took a little bit of convincing, and just making state legislators realize that there is a reason why federal and international law, and the majority of other states, don't require proof of coercion for minors," she stated.
"This is an issue of rape of children."
Each yr, some 100,000 to 300,000 children are at risk of being trafficked for industrial sex within the United States, in keeping with the USA Department of Justice.
With new US law, trafficked children no longer need to testify in court
![With new US law, trafficked children no longer need to testify in court]()
Reviewed by Kailash
on
August 16, 2018
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