New Hampshire Juvenile Sex Trafficking Survivor Urges Representatives To Vote Against Decriminalized Prostitution, Darlene Pawlik, Donna M. Hughes Dr.
Feb 2017
New Hampshire Juvenile Sex Trafficking Survivor Urges Representatives To Vote Against Decriminalized Prostitution, Darlene Pawlik, Donna M. Hughes Dr.
Donna M. Hughes
I am a juvenile sex trafficking survivor. I was sold here in New Hampshire and other states as well. This is happening now too. Even with a law against prostitution, the more egregious elements are prevalent. Trafficking is not separate from prostitution, it is just the darker side of the very same coin.
Sex Industry Advocates Aim To Decriminalize Prostitution In New Hampshire, Kelly Roy-Williams, Lisa Thompson, Donna M. Hughes Dr.
Feb 2017
Sex Industry Advocates Aim To Decriminalize Prostitution In New Hampshire, Kelly Roy-Williams, Lisa Thompson, Donna M. Hughes Dr.
Donna M. Hughes
There is an organized effort in New Hampshire to fully decriminalize prostitution. What that means is that all laws controlling the buying and selling of sex will be removed from the law books, making prostitution legal. Law enforcement and public officials will then have no control over if, when, and where prostitution occurs, whether it’s in massage parlors (often called spas), hotels, apartments, residences, or strip clubs. Because commercial sex will be legal, pimps and “sex workers” will be able to freely advertise prostitution services. Pimps will be able to openly recruit women and girls into prostitution, without fear of …
Men Still Visiting Brothels, Melanie Shapiro Esq, Donna M. Hughes Dr.
Mar 2010
Men Still Visiting Brothels, Melanie Shapiro Esq, Donna M. Hughes Dr.
Donna M. Hughes
Wednesday night, I gave a talk at Brown University, as part of the Human Trafficking Awareness Week. After the talk, I stopped for a coffee on Atwells Avenue on the way home. One Spa, an illegal spa-brothel, is next door to the coffee shop and just above the office of the Federal Hill Gazette. From the time I got out of my car and returned with my coffee, I saw three men go into the brothel—one white man in his late thirties dressed in carpenter pants, a flannel shirt, and baseball cap, one older balding white man with glasses, …
The Citizens Were Heard, Donna M. Hughes Dr.
Oct 2009
The Citizens Were Heard, Donna M. Hughes Dr.
Donna M. Hughes
Congratulations to the citizens of Rhode Island and national anti-trafficking advocates for the legislative victory in Rhode Island. This past week, the Rhode Island Assembly passed an unprecedented pieces of legislation that will protect victims from sex industry predators and give law enforcement the tools they need to arrest pimps, traffickers, and “johns.”
Testimony On Prostitution Bill, Senate Judiciary Committee, Oct 2009, Donna M. Hughes Dr.
Oct 2009
Testimony On Prostitution Bill, Senate Judiciary Committee, Oct 2009, Donna M. Hughes Dr.
Donna M. Hughes
I am here to support a bill that will give Rhode Island the prostitution law it needs to combat the growing sex industry and sex trafficking.
Many letters and reports have been written describing the problems that decriminalized prostitution has created for Rhode Island. We know that women from foreign countries are here in the spa-brothels. We know that U.S teens are trafficked here from other states. We know there is much evidence of sex trafficking in the Asian spa-brothels and strip clubs.
Testimony For Trafficking Bill, Rhode Island House Judiciary Committee, Oct 2009, Donna M. Hughes Dr.
Oct 2009
Testimony For Trafficking Bill, Rhode Island House Judiciary Committee, Oct 2009, Donna M. Hughes Dr.
Donna M. Hughes
I am here to support a trafficking bill that will do two things:
1) Criminalize forced labor as a form of human trafficking.
2) Make it easier to prosecute sex trafficking of minors by removing the requirement to prove force, fraud, or coercion.
Senators' Prostitution Bill Is A Sham, Donna M. Hughes Dr.
Sep 2009
Senators' Prostitution Bill Is A Sham, Donna M. Hughes Dr.
Donna M. Hughes
RHODE ISLAND needs a good prostitution law to halt the metastasizing problems of prostitution and sex trafficking. The growing number of spas and clubs are sordid destinations for foreign women and teens from around the Northeast. To address this problem, both the House and the Senate have passed bills they claim “close the loophole.” But the competing bills are profoundly different in their probable effectiveness.
Speak Your Voice On Prostitution Bill, Donna L. Landry, Donna M. Hughes Dr.
Aug 2009
Speak Your Voice On Prostitution Bill, Donna L. Landry, Donna M. Hughes Dr.
Donna M. Hughes
Now is the time to speak your voice and urge your Senator to pass the House bill H5044A. Now is the time to close the loophole of indoor prostitution in Rhode Island. Negotiations are ongoing, so please write letters to your senator and circulate petitions now.
Sex Radicals Target Rhode Island, Margaret Brooks, Donna M. Hughes Dr.
Aug 2009
Sex Radicals Target Rhode Island, Margaret Brooks, Donna M. Hughes Dr.
Donna M. Hughes
Citizens Against Trafficking responds to the letter from 50 academics who support the status quo of decriminalized prostitution (indoors) in Rhode Island.On July 31, 2009, a letter co‐authored by Ronald Weitzer and Elizabeth Anne Wood and signed by 48 other “members of the academic community” was sent to the Rhode Island General
Assembly opposing any bill banning prostitution indoors.
The Obstructionism Of Senator Paul Jabour, Donna M. Hughes Dr.
Jul 2009
The Obstructionism Of Senator Paul Jabour, Donna M. Hughes Dr.
Donna M. Hughes
“I am disappointed in the last minute amendments [to the prostitution bill]. For Senator Jabour “to suggest that after all we have suffered through, with the way we are perceived as a state and the [lack of] tools we need in a court room; to suggest that [prostitution] is a violation, something like a traffic ticket, is a woeful decision. [Jabour’s amendments] are “what derailed [the prostitution bill] in the last week.” – Attorney General Patrick Lynch, on Channel 10 News Conference, July 12, 2009
Against all logic and political wisdom, in the closing weeks of the Assembly session last …
Testimony In Support Of "An Act Relating To Criminal Offenses--Prostitution" At Governors Press Conference, Rhode Island, Donna M. Hughes Dr.
Jun 2009
Testimony In Support Of "An Act Relating To Criminal Offenses--Prostitution" At Governors Press Conference, Rhode Island, Donna M. Hughes Dr.
Donna M. Hughes
Prostitution is harmful to individuals involved, their families and the community. It is not a victimless activity or just a private sex act. Up to 90% of women in prostitution are beaten and raped by pimps and the men who buy sex. Approximately 90% are addicted to drugs and alcohol. They suffer depression and hopelessness; suicide attempts are common. For visual, physical evidence of the harm caused by prostitution, please look at this collection of serial photographs of prostitutes as they are being destroyed over time by prostitution and drug use.
Because of decriminalized prostitution indoors, the sex industry is …
Testimony On Human Trafficking Bill, Rhode Island Senate Judiciary Committee, Donna M. Hughes Dr.
Jun 2009
Testimony On Human Trafficking Bill, Rhode Island Senate Judiciary Committee, Donna M. Hughes Dr.
Donna M. Hughes
In 2007, the Rhode Island General Assembly passed an anti-human trafficking law. To date, there have been no prosecutions. There are three serious problems with the present Rhode Island law that need to be remedied in order to effectively combat human trafficking.
