To fight human trafficking, kill the market for paid sex

It was 1992. Street prostitution had blighted the northern end of West Palm Beach. So Mayor Nancy Graham tried something different.

Rather than arrest the prostitutes and cut the supply, Graham sought to reduce demand by shaming the johns. After The Palm Beach Post — where I worked at the time — refused to publish the names of men whom police had arrested, Graham bought a quarter-page ad with city money and ran their names.

Instantly, the mayor became a national figure. Before the Internet and cell phones, Graham went viral on the social media of the day — talk shows. She went on CNN. Reporters called from Canada, not just the United States. Though other cities had tried the tactic, no mayor had drawn more attention for it.

Residents fighting prostitution loved Graham. They sent her 57 roses — one for each name on the list. A West Palm Beach cop considered the publicity helpful. “I've been beating my head against the wall for years trying to get the media interested in this. It's a lot more serious than most people think.”

But Graham also faced criticism. ThenNew York Mayor Ed Koch said Graham should have published only the names of convicted men. Lawyers for some of the men said publication violated their clients’ rights. Many others wondered why Graham wanted to risk men’s reputations over a “victimless crime.”

These days, the South Florida Sun Sentinel and many other newspapers run booking blotters of anyone who has been arrested. And the recent arrest of about

300 men in Palm Beach and Martin counties and Orlando again undercuts the myth that prostitution is a victimless crime.

The stings that caught New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, among others, were part of an operation targeting human trafficking rings.

Prosecutors allege that day spa owners essentially imprisoned illegal immigrants from Asia and forced them to work in the sex trade.

Nearly three decades ago, pimps controlled prostitutes. There was no talk of international smuggling. But those women who worked along Broadway in West Palm Beach lived in their own prison.

One 33-year-old prostitute told the Post, “The only reason I do it is to support my habit. Drugs is my pimp.” Cheap motel rooms in the area functioned as whorehouses and crack cocaine houses.

Graham spoke the truth in a letter to then-Gov. Lawton Chiles asking for tougher, statewide laws, such as the ability to impound johns’ cars. “Prostitution,” the mayor said, “is not a victimless crime. The victims are the residents and taxpayers who live in neighborhoods that were once vibrant, clean and safe, but are now dead, decaying and dangerous.”

Graham brought new authority to the anti-prostitution campaign because she had just become West Palm Beach’s first strong mayor. She didn’t need to consult the city commission about the ad, which cost about $1,000. Graham supervised the police department.

Something else was different. Graham was a woman. A male politician might have been less likely to go after the customers. Men tended to buy the “victimless crime” argument.

Though the element of human trafficking will focus even more attention on the women as victims, the economic principle still applies: Without the men, there’s no sex. Without the demand for sex, there’s no human trafficking for prostitution. Imagine what would happen with the Mexican cartels if we could cut the demand for illegal drugs in the country by half.

This year, the Legislature needs no prodding on the subject of prostitution. Tallahassee will consider at least six bills related to sex and human trafficking. Sponsors have aimed all of them at the operators and the johns.

Under current law, first-time penalties for buying sex include fines and community service. Johns can lose their car for 60 days. But there’s no jail time.

Senate Bill 370 would require a minimum 30-day sentence for anyone who solicits sex related to human trafficking. The sponsor is Gayle Harrell, who represents Martin County. Sheriff William Snyder, a former legislator, called the bill “a step in the right direction. Because the ultimate offenders in this are the men, the end users.”

Could prosecutors show that men knew the link between their purchase and the women’s indentured servitude? That’s hard to tell. From here on, though, no man can pretend not to know.