Collaborative approach in Colorado leads to better “John School” bill

Charmed by Hollywood images of Julia Roberts in “Pretty Woman,” a misconception of the life of young girls and women trapped in prostitution has spread through American consciousness. It is important to reveal to people what really happens to many of the girls and women. However, the enormity of the task means that just one organization cannot do this alone. This is why we often collaborate with other organizations, on international, national, and local levels, to ensure that we can make the biggest possible impact with the limited resources we have available.An example of one of our most recent collaborative successes involves Prostitution Offender Diversion Programs, also known as “John Schools,” which permit men who are first time offenders to have their records wiped clean if they agreed to complete the program. During the program, ‘johns,’ men who buy sex, would hear from non profit organizations as well as survivors of the commercial sex industry on how prostitution had affected them and the hardships they faced as a result of exploitation. The concept proved somewhat successful, with some studies indicating a dramatic reduction in recidivism. The idea has since been replicated throughout the United States, greeted with mixed reactions by advocates working to end human trafficking.

The most recent attempt to create John Schools is happening right now in Colorado, where Senate Bill 85, the Prostitution Offender Diversion Program, recently passed the House and Senate Chambers. Before the passage of the bill, Polaris Project was made aware of several gaps in the legislation, including a provision that would have permitted persons charged with “pandering” (a crime closely related to the activities of pimps) to participate in the program. Thus, SB85 as it passed the Senate, was less like a “John School” bill and more like a “Pimp School” bill, allowing individuals who engaged in human trafficking activities to participate in the Diversion Program. Another gap in the legislation was that it did not clearly articulate that johns who were charged with soliciting or patronizing a minor would not be eligible to participate in the program, but instead would be subject to prosecution to the fullest extent of the law.

When we were made aware of this, we reached out to one of our partner organizations in Colorado, the Laboratory to Combat Human Trafficking, to work on addressing these issues. Working together, we decided the best course of action would be to draft a letter to the sponsors of the legislation in the House and Senate and raise awareness of the troubling provisions in the House Judiciary Committee. Polaris Project in conjunction with the Laboratory to Combat Human Trafficking, ECPAT-USA, Shared Hope International, the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault, and Prax(us) drafted a compelling letter requesting that specific changes be made to SB85, including striking the language that would have permitted pimps or those who were charged with pandering to participate, clarifying that those who were charged with soliciting or patronizing minor victims would not be eligible to participate, and creating standardization of the program across local jurisdictions so that outcomes could be measured consistently.

We sent a letter to the co-sponsors of SB85 and members of the House Judiciary Committee, requesting specific changes be made to the bill to make it better and ensure that human traffickers and johns who solicit or patronize minors could not participate in the Diversion Program. Our efforts proved successful, as Representative McCann offered amendments to address some of the concerns we raised.

This is just one example of how national and local organizations can and should work together in order to create better anti-trafficking policies. We worked together to make the legislation better and prevented a terrible outcome that would have reversed the policies of increased penalties for human traffickers.