Prostitution and sex trafficking has a long sordid history in this country, particularly involving immigrant women and women from minority groups. As interpreted, the Thirteenth Amendment abolishes all forms involuntary servitude & sex trafficking and imposes both liability for violations and positive obligations to not enable violations.
The Senior Legal Counsel at NCOSE Law Center, Christen Price works to influence courts and legislatures toward protecting human dignity and equality on behalf of sexual exploitation survivors. In this CLE she will analyze the implications of the Thirteenth Amendment for how governments regulate prostitution and enforce sex trafficking laws by focusing on the context of prostitution & sex trafficking in this country, case law & statutory interpretation by the courts and the implications of these decisions. Additional topics of discussion include: the underpinnings of sex trafficking & prostitution in America, peonage, facially neutral laws, self-executing nature of the 13th Amendment, application to private actors, badges & incidents of slavery, limitations, rules & fines, forced medical exams, debt bondage, coercion & violence.
Christen Price serves as Legal Counsel for the National Center on Sexual Exploitation Law Center. Christen has been passionate about using the law to stop violence since she first encountered the issue of trafficking in persons in college, and now engages in legal advocacy to end impunity for all forms of sexual exploitation.