Executive Director Bobby Lloyd opposes NYS Senate Bill S3075 and Assembly Bill A849. Here’s why.

For nearly 30 years we have been working to protect Women, Children & Families from Sexual Violence and Exploitation.

I oppose NYS Senate Bill S3075 and Assembly Bill A849. Here’s why: Two “quality of life bills” are marking their way through the New York State Senate and Assembly which will fully decriminalize the sex trade and lead to mass commercialization of sexual exploitation and human trafficking.

The secondary effects of such a change are numerous. New York will become a tourist destination for those who want to engage in prostitution. Individuals operating in and around the industry will continue to exploit children, women, and men, and lure many vulnerable people into the sex trade.

Organized criminal networks, including criminal gangs, will financially thrive under this new legalized system, and it will be much more difficult to prosecute pimps, because these bills decriminalize the “promotion of prostitution.”

I have previously served on a number of task forces aimed at ensuring quality of life in communities and raising awareness about Sexual Exploitation and Human Trafficking. Many people that enter the sex trade have personal histories of trauma, incest and abuse, and pimps lure vulnerable individuals (often minors) through drugs and control them through violent abusive tactics.

We should be focused on aiding victims of human trafficking while also safeguarding the public’s safety .

Please contact me immediately so together we can mobilize our efforts to protect children, families, and the community.