Photo courtesy Sandy Middleton. Amid widespread efforts to crack down on sex trafficking, particularly of children, those who participate in adult sex workβoften called prostitutionβare getting caught in the sweeps. Many consider this a flaw in the system. In October, the Federal Bureau of Investigations partnered with law enforcement agencies, including the Jackson Police Department, for a highly publicized nationwide effort to recover underage victims of human trafficking and prostitution.
However, authorities found no children in Mississippi as a result of Operation Cross Country that took place from Oct. They did arrest prostitutes, however. The Jackson Police Department arrested 13 individuals during the sweep, charging 12 of them with prostitution and two of them with additional charges of possession of a firearm and possession of meth and heroin, respectively.
The youngest woman arrested was 18 and the oldest One woman's charges solely indicated she had "obstructed traffic. Jackson Police Department Commander Steve McDonald said sometimes charges for obstructing street traffic occur because "people are prostituting or trying to sell themselves they will step out in traffic and stop vehicles. The issue of conflating prostitution with sex trafficking looms large for many women's advocates. Sandy Middleton, executive director for The Center for Violence Prevention in Pearl, listed primary factors that increase the prevalence of sex work here in Mississippi: the failed foster-care system, poverty, homelessness, lack of support for runaway children, lack of programming and planning for runaway children, and lack of screening kids for different types of sex crimes.
Sex work, or prostitution, then becomes a by-product of other societal and economic factors, which is why Middleton affirms that criminalization is not the answer. While law enforcement are supposed to treat minors involved with any type of sexual act, trafficking or prostitution as victims, things get complicated for adults engaged with sex work.
The Mississippi Code states that if a person charged with prostitution is doing so because he or she was a victim of trafficking, "that person shall be immune from prosecution for prostitution as a juvenile or adult. With an adult, you have to prove that someone has forced them or coerced them to perform these acts. So there's a bigger investigation that has to take place for adults. Commander McDonald said that when people are arrested for prostitution, they're interviewed and officers discuss a lot of things with them to "see if they fit into trafficking or if it's a life choice they've made.
