At what age are minors able to make decisions for themeless? Teenagers will surely argue that they always know what is best ; but this question is commonly addressed in a court of law. How old does a child have to be before they fully understand right from wrong? At what point is it acceptable to treat minors as adults when those minors perform acts with a full awareness of what they're doing? And what if they are not?
The link below goes to an article by Kevin O'Hanlon from JournalStar.com about a bill proposed by Nebraska Sen. Amanda McGill which deals with the questions above: Should a minor be prosecuted for prostitution? The bill is designed to protect underaged victims of human trafficking. Being trafficked is no doubt an unspeakably heinous situation for a child, or anyone for that matter, to experience. Sen. McGill's bill offers that any person under the age of 18 shall not be prosecuted for prostitution. The article offers several quote from the senator regarding this subject. According to McGill, experts say" anyone who is a minor who is performing sex acts for money is not doing it by choice. It isn't something that should be prosecuted."
The article also goes on to address that in some cases minors (often older teens) are not forced into prostitution. In those cases, though force may not be present, it is likely that those individuals made that choice based on a number of circumstances. The bill offers an amendment for situations where a minor engages in prostitution without being forced by any other person. Sen. McGill states, "That is incredibly rare. I'm not hearing of any cases like that. The specter is there, but I am not aware of any cases like that." The amendment offers that, in these situations, a juvenile court may have jurisdiction to order treatment.
Fro a full and more detailed account please visit the link below to read the article.
Human-trafficking bill would make minors immune from prostitution charges : Politics
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