This bill would ensure that minors who participate in acts of prostitution are treated as victims of sexual exploitation instead of as criminals. Laws criminalizing minors disproportionately affect LGBT youth, some of whom have been forced from their homes due to lack of acceptance or even hostility from their own families and engage in sex work to survive.
Status: Introduced on January 19th, 2016
Author: Assemblymember Mark Stone (D – Santa Cruz)