08 LC 18
7225
Senate
Resolution 1020
By:
Senators Unterman of the 45th, Johnson of the 1st, Williams of the 19th,
Seabaugh of the 28th and Moody of the 56th
ADOPTED
SENATE
A
RESOLUTION
Creating
the Senate Sexual Exploitation of Minors Study Committee; and for other
purposes.
WHEREAS,
across the State of Georgia, children are being forced to engage in
prostitution, escort services, stripping, pornography, and other forms of
commercial sexual exploitation; and
WHEREAS,
Georgia, especially the metropolitan Atlanta area, has become a hub for child
sexual exploitation, with children trafficked from around the state, from other
states, and from other countries; and
WHEREAS,
children between the ages of 11 and 16, but as young as ten, are being marketed
to adults for sex; and
WHEREAS,
victims of commercial sexual exploitation often suffer extreme conflicts in the
home, parental neglect, physical or sexual abuse, homelessness, poverty, housing
instability, educational failure, emotional problems, running away, and other
social ills that lead to their recruitment into prostitution; and
WHEREAS,
children who are commercially sexually exploited often become victims of rape,
assault, robbery, and murder and are at greater risk for drug and alcohol abuse,
depression, suicide attempts, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other
psychiatric disorders, developmental and social delays, unplanned pregnancy, and
sexually transmitted disease (STD) and HIV infection; and
WHEREAS,
children who miss or drop out of school and become victimized through commercial
sexual exploitation are likely to need intensive counseling and other public
social services well into adulthood.
NOW,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that there is created the Senate
Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Minors Study Committee to be composed of five
members of the Senate appointed by the President of the Senate. The President
of the Senate shall designate one of such members as chairperson. The
chairperson shall call all meetings of the committee.
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the committee shall undertake a study of the
conditions, needs, issues, and problems mentioned above or related thereto and
recommend any action or legislation which the committee deems necessary or
appropriate. The committee may conduct such meetings at such places and at such
times as it may deem necessary or convenient to enable it to exercise fully and
effectively its powers, perform its duties, and accomplish the objectives and
purposes of this resolution. In conducting such study, the committee may study
current law and policy in Georgia and other states and may elicit views from
experts in the fields of child welfare, juvenile justice, social work, mental
health, and public health as well as input from child victims and adult
survivors of commercial sexual exploitation. The committee may examine recent
policy and social science reports on child commercial sexual exploitation,
including, but not limited to, its effect on child well-being and community
safety. Also, the committee may review services that are currently available to
this population in Georgia, as well as best practices for serving commercially
sexually exploited children from other jurisdictions. The members of the
committee shall receive the allowances provided for in Code Section 28-1-8 of
the Official Code of Georgia Annotated. All funds necessary to carry out the
provisions of this resolution shall come from funds appropriated to the Senate.
The allowances authorized by this resolution shall not be received by any member
of the committee for more than five days unless additional days are authorized.
In the event the committee makes a report of its findings and recommendations,
with suggestions for proposed legislation, if any, such report shall be made on
or before December 1, 2008. The committee shall stand abolished on December 1,
2008.