EVENT ALERT
Watch the press conference on NCOSE’s Facebook page. [UPDATED – Video Uploaded Here.]
For the last 7 years, we at NCOSE have worked hard to make sure officials in Washington, DC recognize the importance of these issues. In an effort to show Washington that there is overwhelming support for their action, we have also united the movement, changed the discussion in the media, and ignited energy and hope in thousands of Americans through very successful advocacy!
We understand how the Trump victory has caused many to have unsettling feelings about the new administration, but we, of course, must look for every opportunity to advance our cause of ending exploitation!
And, we at NCOSE are hopeful!
Not only is public opinion on our side now, but many within Trump’s transition team are social conservatives for whom issues of sexual exploitation are already of great concern. They recognize the harm that unfettered access to hard-core pornography has unleashed on this nation. They see the effects of the “pornification” of the culture in phenomena like sexting and revenge porn. They understand how demand for prostitution fuels sex trafficking. Many will be in a position where they can take action to curb exploitation.
We see many possibilities and because of this, we developed a plan of action for the immediate future and for the next four years.
The following are some of our policy recommendations:
- Nominate an individual to the position of Ambassador-at-Large for Trafficking in Persons at the U. S. Department of State who is committed to combating all forms of human trafficking (sex and labor trafficking), who will address the role of demand for commercial sex in the sex trafficking phenomenon, and who will vigorously support National Security Presidential Directive-22.
- Amend Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) of 1996 to allow prosecution of those who facilitate illegal commercial sex acts via the Internet. The CDA was intended to protect the public from indecency. Yet, as some courts have ironically interpreted the law, the CDA is shielding sex trafficking and prostitution websites from criminal and civil liabilities in cases involving facilitation of sex trafficking via the Internet. As a result sex trafficking is flourishing on the Internet, and those profiting from the sexual exploitation of countless individuals have repeatedly escaped justice.
- Direct the U. S. Surgeon General and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to undertake investigations into the public health harms of pornography (i.e. association with sexual violence, adverse impacts on other behaviors, link to erectile and sexual dysfunctions, transmission of STDs, detrimental impact on brain health, etc.) and to launch a comprehensive effort to abate these problems.
- Appoint an Attorney General who will vigorously enforce current federal obscenity laws, 18 U.S.C. § 1460 to 18 U.S.C. § 1470. The Trump campaign has pledged to combat pornography. It can fulfill this pledge and curb the demand for prostitution, sex trafficking, child sex abuse, and sexual violence by appointing an Attorney General who will seek to enforce these existing federal laws which prohibit distribution of hardcore pornography on the Internet, on cable/satellite TV, on hotel/motel TV, in retail shops, and by common carrier.
- Institute routine audit and removal of pornography found on military computers, storage drives, work areas, and officer’s clubs, across all branches of the U.S. military.
- Direct the Federal Communications Commission to vigorously enforce the federal indecency law, 18 U.S.C. § 1464, designed to protect children from damaging sexual content on television and appoint FCC commissioners committed to fulfilling this mission.
Watch the press conference on NCOSE’s Facebook page. [UPDATED – Video Uploaded Here.]
