Human trafficking

Santa Clara County: Motel sting targets human trafficking and sex exploitation as part of broader sweep

The sheriff-led enforcement this week is part of a wider net of similar operations conducted across the country as part of the FBI-sponsored National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Santa Clara County identified at least 150 cases of human trafficking in 2015 and that at least 70 percent of the victims were victims of sexual assault at some point.

But many sex-worker advocates contend that while these efforts are laudable, the same or better results could be achieved by decriminalizing prostitution. They argue that eliminating the fear of arrest would sharply increase the reporting of abuse and exploitation from both sex workers and their customers.

Tara Burns, a former sex worker turned advocate who researches prostitution enforcement across the country, said people involved in the sex trade can’t rely on the hope that the police officer they encounter will use their arrest discretion to zero in on abuses, and could just as easily wield it to commit them, as seen in the ongoing East Bay police sex scandal.