Giannini: Exposing Rhode Island’s Dirty Little Secret
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
We can do many things in life. We as a society and human race have cured diseases, fought wars, put men on the moon and have made strides in all areas of human life. But there is one thing we can't do, and that is rewrite history. We cannot go back in time and rewrite history the way we wish It was or should have been.
This is the thought that comes to mind whenever I read about the articles written about sex trafficking, prostitution and human trafficking. I have been reading fairy tales for so long that have many people taking credit for stopping the exploitation of children that I can only laugh.
If all these so called "crusaders" were there at the beginning of this fight to save the victims of sexual exploitation, we would have conquered the problem years ago.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe true history of the effort to stop sex trafficking in Rhode Island was no fairy tale. It is instead a nightmare right out of the "Brothers Grimm." I do not say that lightly, having lived through it and knowing the truth that has been misinterpreted so many times.
In 2006, I began filing the state's first bill to ban Human Trafficking in Rhode Island. Massage parlors were popping up all over Providence and stories were being reported on channel 10
news and on the front page of the journal. The living conditions of these young Asian girls were deplorable. As I have said so many times before, they were living like pets in a cage, living in one room with mattresses on the floor and cooking on sternos. Many were brought here from other countries and promised a better life. What they didn't bargain for was a life of sexual exploitation, abuse, disease and possibly death.
Yes, this bothered me. The fact that this was going on in Little Rhody amazed me. I truly thought this legislation was a no brainer, but I was wrong. What started that year was a continuing battle that lasted several years. I call it the "War on Human Trafficking." The first bill I filed in 2006 was to ban Human Trafficking in our state and passed the House of Representatives but died in the Senate.
In 2007, I reintroduced the Human trafficking bill with a second bill to ban indoor prostitution.
I had received a call from law enforcement telling me that there was a loophole in RI law which permitted indoor prostitution, thus making it impossible to prosecute the perpetrators of sex trafficking indoors. That year the first Human Trafficking bill passed both chambers and it quietly became law. There was no fanfare, no elaborate bill signing and it went unnoticed.
The indoor prostitution bill, however caused a raucous like you can't believe. I never thought I had stepped on so many toes but I did. I was labeled as trying to hurt women from making a living, called a number of names and had opposition from many. My intention was to stop the sexual abuse and exploitation of women, young girls and young boys. But I was told it didn't exist and I was misinformed.
I knew differently because I researched and found that indeed young girls were being transported to RI for sex trafficking. I expected to get help from many groups who advocate to protect women but instead many were against the indoor prostitution bill. It failed for years, until 2009 after a push by people who really understood what I was trying to do.
Colonel Brendan Doherty,(former State Police Chief), Warwick police Chief Colonel McCartney, former Governor Donald Carcieri, Mrs. Suzanne Carcieri, Professor Donna Hughes of URI,
Melanie Shapiro,Esq., former Attorney General Patrick Lynch, Mrs. Margaret Brooks, and the hundreds of Rhode Islanders who wrote emails were the people who stood on the forefront to end the sexual exploitation of woman and children in Rhode Island. Also, there was the tireless work of channel 10's Jim Taricani , who was not shy about exposing what I called "Rhode Islands Dirty Little Secret." The RI Catholic newspaper and Fr. Bernard Healy of the Diocese of Providence began writing about the scourge of Sex Trafficking. The journal wrote of the resistance to pass the bill.
I look back now and realize the things I exposed since 2006 were not easy for people to accept.
It was hard then because no one believed it existed. But we had documented proof from individuals who were interviewed who had been victims of this horrific trafficking problem.
I'm glad to read that everyone finally agrees that this problem exists. But I am deeply saddened to know that many who are now touting how much they are doing to stop the problem, were against our efforts for many years. If only they believed us then, so many would have been saved. If only they supported our efforts then.
In October of 2009, in a special House of Representative Session, we passed three important bills which became law:
- The Bill to ban indoor prostitution in Rhode Island.
- An amendment to the 2008 Human trafficking bill, which not only banned human trafficking for sexual exploitation but banned trafficking for forced labor. It also created a Human Trafficking task force which was made up of a diverse group of health specialists, law enforcement agencies, human service agencies and various women's groups to provide services to victims of trafficking. Unfortunately, these members were appointed by letter but a meeting never happened. This task force included all parties and it is sad it never met.
- A bill to ban minors from working in the adult entertainment industry due to young teens who were found working in strip clubs.
These three bills were crucial to help solve the problem of Human Trafficking. I also would like to commend Family Court Judge Haiganush Bedrosian, who held a seminar in 2013 to try to address these problems. And I thank her for calling me to meet with her and discuss the protocols that I recommended in my legislation which became law.
I'd like to say we have come a long way baby. But I cannot say that because it is 2016 and the exploitation of children, teens and women still exists. We may have won a few battles in the "War on Human Trafficking" but we are yet to win the war.
We can do better by involving all concerned parties who care and who fought to end the scourge of Human Trafficking. There is strength in numbers and many who worked tirelessly on this issue because they truly care.
The goal is for all Rhode Islanders is to be aware and to care. It could be your daughter, your sister, niece or neighbor. We need to speak out about this problem and expose the predators.
We need to stop the Internet advertisers such as "backpage.com" who are a haven for sex predators and stop the traffickers who have invaded our society. It can be done. And hopefully it will be done in our lifetime.
Joanne Giannini served as a RI State Representative from Providence from 1994 to 2010. She has previously written commentaries for the Providence Journal and the Federal Hill Gazette. During her tenure in the General Assembly, she made appearances on CNN, Primetime News, and American Morning regarding legislation she filed in Rhode Island.
Related Slideshow: Rhode Island’s History of Political Corruption
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