Opinion: Why Maryland’s sex trafficked children need a Safe Harbor law

Maryland has been trying to address the needs of child sex trafficking victims since at least 2007 when the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force was established. Laws have since passed that define trafficking as a form of child abuse and that impose harsher penalties on traffickers. The Regional Navigator Program, established in 2019, now provides child trafficking victims immediate, specialized care in nearly every county. Yet, despite these advances, the state still has not passed Safe Harbor legislation to protect sex-trafficked children from being charged as prostitutes.