Under-age victims of sex trafficking are to be referred to child welfare agencies.
Comment: Child welfare agencies may not be very helpful to the victims:
The law was among several signed by Governor Jerry Brown this week to boost protections for children forced into sex trafficking. "The passage of these critical laws marks a clear shift in the public perception of sexually exploited children as victims rather than criminals," said Yasmin Vafa, executive director of Rights4Girls that launched the "No Such Thing" campaign.
"We are thrilled that media and lawmakers alike are beginning to understand that there is no such thing as a child prostitute," she said in a statement.
Other new measures include allowing prior convictions by trafficking victims to be eliminated and the records sealed, and allowing children under age 16 to testify remotely by closed-circuit television rather than open court in some cases, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The laws come amid debate over redefining prostitution as sex trafficking, in which victims are coerced and exploited, do not choose sex work voluntarily and cannot leave.
Children in particular are too young to consent, advocates say. Others argue prostitution is a matter of free choice and valid work that should be decriminalized so that sex workers are not punished.
In the United States, more than 1,000 children are arrested each year on charges of prostitution, according to Rights4Girls. Under U.S. federal law, the prostitution of children is considered a form of human trafficking, according to the Department of Justice.
(Editing by Belinda Goldsmith)
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