This document analyzes safe harbor laws for commercially sexually exploited children and provides recommendations for San Francisco. It finds that over 100,000 children in the US are victims of sex trafficking each year, and the San Francisco Bay Area is one of 13 areas with high rates. Existing laws treat these children as criminals, so states have implemented safe harbor laws to decriminalize youth prostitution and provide services. The document profiles 4 jurisdictions' laws, finding elements transferable to San Francisco. It recommends San Francisco update codes to decriminalize underage prostitution and implement coordinated services, training, data collection and funding for a safe harbor program.

1. Seeking
Safe
Harbor
in
San
Francisco:
Analysis
of
Safe
Harbor
Laws
for
Commercially
Sexually
Exploited
Children
By
Jessica
Lobedan
For
the
San
Francisco
Department
on
the
Status
of
Women
Mills
College
Public
Policy
Program
May
1,
2015

2. Executive
Summary
Every
year
in
the
United
States,
over
100,000
children
are
coerced
into
the
lucrative
underground
business
of
commercial
sex
trade
(Federal
Bureau
of
Investigation,
2003).
According
to
the
Institute
of
Medicine
and
the
National
Research
Council
(2013)
commercial
sexual
exploitation
includes
a
range
of
crimes
of
a
sexual
nature,
including:
• Recruiting,
enticing,
harboring,
transporting,
providing,
or
obtaining
a
minor
for
the
purpose
of
sexual
exploitation
• Exploiting
a
minor
through
prostitution
• Exploiting
a
minor
through
survival
sex
(exchanging
sex
for
money
or
something
of
value,
such
as
shelter,
food
or
drugs)
• Using
a
minor
in
pornography
• Exploiting
a
minor
through
sex
tourism,
the
mail
order
bride
trade,
or
early
marriage
• Exploiting
a
minor
by
having
her
or
him
perform
in
sexual
venues
The
children
who
frequently
fall
prey
to
exploiters
are
those
with
prior
involvement
with
the
child
welfare
system,
foster
care
system,
homeless
youth,
and
other
vulnerable
and
forgotten
populations
(Walker,
2013).
The
Federal
Bureau
of
Investigation
has
identified
the
San
Francisco
Bay
Area
as
one
of
the
nation’s
thirteen
high
intensity
areas
for
child
sex
trafficking.
The
Bay
Area’s
complex
highway
system,
international
airports,
and
high
population
density
contribute
to
the
ease
of
trafficking
minors
for
sex
(Walker,
2013).
A
mix
of
federal,
state,
and
local
laws
regulate
San
Francisco’s
response
to
CSEC.
While
both
federal
law
and
California
law
designate
prostituted
minors
as
victims
of
human
trafficking,
engaging
in
the
trade
of
sex
for
money
(or
other
items
of
value)
is
a
criminal
offense
at
the
state
and
local
level.
Together,
these
laws
create
a
confounding
legal
framework
that
has
left
states
and
jurisdictions
in
disarray.

3. Safe
Harbor
laws
have
been
developed
by
states
to
address
these
inconsistencies
with
how
these
exploited
children
are
treated
(Polaris
Project,
2014).
California
has
no
Safe
Harbor
policy
in
place,
and
the
City
and
County
of
San
Francisco
is
seeking
a
recommendation
on
implementation
of
a
Safe
Harbor
policy
at
the
local
level.
This
report
will
help
to
inform
San
Francisco
policies
around
commercially
sexually
exploited
children.
For
this
report
I
researched
what
states
have
implemented
Safe
Harbor
laws,
and
selected
four
jurisdictions
to
profile.
The
jurisdictions
I
chose
were,
like
the
San
Francisco
Bay
Area,
home
to
one
of
the
nation’s
thirteen
high
intensity
child
sex
trafficking
areas
(FBI,
2003).
Furthermore,
the
following
four
jurisdictions
were
chosen
based
on
their
elements
of
transferability
to
San
Francisco,
and
the
model
provisions
outlined
within
their
Safe
Harbor
laws.
1. New
York:
New
York
Safe
Harbour
for
Exploited
Children
Act
of
2008
2. Illinois:
Illinois
Safe
Children
Act
of
2010
3. Minnesota:
Minnesota
Safe
Harbor
for
Sexually
Exploited
Youth
Law
of
2011
4. Washington,
DC:
Sex
Trafficking
of
Children
Prevention
Amendment
Act
of
2014
Each
of
the
case
studies
I
prepared
outlines
the
legal
framework
within
the
jurisdiction,
provisions
made
under
the
Safe
Harbor
law,
the
legislative
history
of
the
law,
and
information
and
feedback
gathered
from
informational
interviews
with
stakeholders.
The
following
recommendations
have
been
adapted
from
elements
outlined
in
the
case
studies.
I
recommend
that
San
Francisco
update
its
Municipal
Code
to
decriminalize
prostitution
offenses
for
children
under
eighteen,
and
to
accompany
this
with
implementation
steps
to
ensure
that
San
Francisco
sees
its
intended
outcomes.
The
below
model
outlines
a
policy
strategy
for
implementing
San
Francisco
Safe
Harbor.
Each
element
will
be
discussed
in
detail
in
the
report.

4.
SAN
FRANCISCO
SAFE
HARBOR
DECRIMINALIZATION
-­‐
Training
-­‐Temporary
Protective
Custody
-­‐
Coordinated
Service
Delivery
-­‐
Existing
Service
Inventory
-­‐
Safe
Harbor
Director
Law
Enforcement
Access
&
Coordination
Data
Collection
Funding
-­‐
Initial
funding
-­‐
Data
leads
to
funding
-­‐
Unique
identifier