Tennessee and Florida are the two best states at fighting sex trafficking, leaving the remaining 48 far behind, according to the organization Shared Hope International.
Tennessee was the only state that received a grade A, while Florida was the only state that received a B, according to a report by Shared Hope International.
RELATED VIDEO — Rep. Cammack Confronts HHS Chief Becerra with Border Child Trafficking Case She Witnessed:
Many might not be surprised to see that Tennessee and Florida outshine other states with regard to fighting sex trafficking, given that their governors, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), have made protecting children a clear priority in their respective states.
Meanwhile, just seven states (California, Colorado, Minnesota, Nevada, Louisiana, Texas, and Washington State) received a C grade. Nine states (Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Utah) received a D.
Notably, the majority of U.S. states — 32 in total — received an F grade with regards to fighting sex trafficking.
RELATED VIDEO — Exclusive — Sound of Freedom’s Tim Ballard on Trafficking of Children in the United States:
The states that failed were:
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming
Some of the things Shared Hope International examines when grading states include “mirroring the federal law, state child sex trafficking statute(s) should unequivocally apply to the conduct of buyers by criminalizing the act of ‘purchasing’ or ‘patronizing’ a minor for sex, regardless of the child’s age.”
“In addition to using the child sex trafficking law to prosecute buyers, law enforcement and prosecutors should also be able to investigate and charge a wide range of buyer conduct under state CSEC laws,” the organizations adds. “These laws must clearly apply to buyers by criminalizing the act or attempt to solicit, purchase, or patronize a minor for sex without requiring an additional and limiting actus reus.”
You can find more information here.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and X/Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.