Florida Looks to Create the First Ever State Prostitution Registry
Florida just can’t stay out of the news when it comes to sex and prostitution. They clearly realize the need for some governing of all the lawlessness that goes on in the Sunshine State, and it was reported on Fox News that the state is looking to become the first state in the USA to have an official registry of prostitutes and john’s. Obviously, as a blogger who covers the sex industry very closely, especially in South Florida, this is of great interest to me and I’m curious as to where it goes from here. I have no shortage of busts that I report on and react to happening in Florida, so this is no surprise to me.
Florida Looking to Create A Registry for Prostitutes & Johns
This story out of Miami was hatched to stop human trafficking, according to the report. This public database would be similar to that of sex offenders and would be complete with names, pictures, and even the addresses of pimps and johns who have faced convictions.
“This is like the first step, in really chiseling away at that demand side,” said Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle.
Having worked with approximately 600 victims of human trafficking in her life, Rundle mentioned that the registry would be designed to track those who support the industry as well as used as a tool to expose people.
I know firsthand that Florida has a very transient populace, and it’s a hotbed for human trafficking. Just in the last week, I’ve published stories about human trafficking in Florida:
Out of 4,000 sex trafficking cases in the country last year, 261 were prosecuted in the state of Florida.
The proposed legislation is that the registry would not be published online, but would be public record. (I wish it were published online.) It also has a proposed idea that would allow johns to come off the registry if they don’t become a repeat offender after five years.
With the threat of public humiliation, the threat of human trafficking gets weaker as the desire wanes and become a less attractive offer to people who just can’t simply “risk it all” and appear on a list like that.
This comes on the heels of the Robert Kraft investigation, which looks like is something he will beat since key evidence is being thrown out.
Human trafficking stats show that Florida is ranked third in the dubious ranking of how many people are involved, behind only California and Texas. Florida’s trafficking is driven by the sex industry.
The article keenly points out that the law is being proposed ahead of some MAJOR events that Florida will host in the next two years, namely in 2020 the Super Bowl in Miami, Wrestlemania in Tampa, and the Super Bowl once again in Tampa in the year 2021.
Conclusion
Cindy Alvarado is an advocate of human trafficking. Herself a survivor, she was sold to a trafficker for only $300. She was sadly roped in by a fake babysitting job and from that point on was held captive since early 2010.
For years she was shuffled back and forth between Costa Rica and Virginia by her traffickers. She commented that the bill would move focus off of the victims and onto the buyers of sex, because they would essentially be held accountable.
