A Hawaii law is to legalize sex between prostitutes and cops provided that the latter are on undercover duty for an investigation, Fox News reported Friday.
Honolulu police officer are now urging their lawmakers to keep an exemption in state laws, allowing undercover police officers to have sex with prostitutes during investigations.
Authorities claim that it would be better for them to catch lawbreakers during the said act. Moreover, this will serve as legal protection for cops who are doing undercover job for the investigation of brothels and possible hide-outs of prostitutes.
On the other hand, human trafficking experts and other critics claim that the law is quite unnecessary, adding that it can be the clean ticket of officers who further victimize sex workers, who may have been forced into the trade.
Police didn't specify how often undercover cops can use this law as an excuse; they also didn't mention if they have already been using the said provision. However, they assured legislators that there are internal policies and procedures that prevent officers from taking advantage of this law.
Expert Derek Marsh said the exemption for undercover cops is "antiquated at best," and that police can do their jobs without using it.
"It doesn't help your case, and at worst you further traumatize someone. And do you think he or she is going to trust a cop again?" Marsh asked.
Marsh is an expert in training California police in best practices on human trafficking cases. He has testified to Congress about the issue for the second time already.
"Police abuse is part of the life of prostitution," said Melissa Farley, executive director of the San Francisco-based group Prostitution Research and Education. Farley added that for other places that may be implementing a similar law, "women who have escaped prostitution" commonly report being coerced into giving police sexual favors to keep them from being barred or harassed.
Fox News claims that the controversial Hawaii bill aims to "ratchet up penalties on johns and pimps while leaving the punishment for selling sex as a petty misdemeanor."
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
