New Yorkers Draw Attention to Human Trafficking

New York, NY —

Advocates and a few local legislators are rekindling their fight to get New York to pass a law to combat human trafficking. They're planning rallies today and every Thursday, until State legislators criminalize the exploitation. WNYC's Marianne McCune has more.

REPORTER: Human trafficking is a crime, but there's no state law against it - only federal authorities can go after the people who force women to prostitute themselves. But federal prosecutors don't have the resources to go after low profile, smaller-scale traffickers, so Jane Manning of Equality Now says it's outrageous that New York hasn't joined 21 other states and made it a crime.

MANNING: There are traffickers all over NYC getting way with it.

REPORTER: New York is a hub for traffickers but when police encounter prostitutes here, they're not trained to recognize which are victims of trafficking and they have little power to go after the trafficker.

Last year the State Senate and Assembly passed competing anti-trafficking bills and ended up with nothing. The issues of contention include how much to punish the so-called 'johns' or clients of prostitutes and what help to offer victims of trafficking after they come forward.

For WNYC, I'm Marianne McCune.