Trafficking Prevention Scorecard: Which Laws Are Actually Winning?
Feb 19, 2026
Across the country, lawmakers continue advancing policies framed as “anti-trafficking.” But the real question is not what a bill is called — it’s what risk conditions it creates or reduces.
Trafficking prevention happens when people have economic stability, legal protection, labor rights, healthcare access, and the ability to report harm without fear.
Policies that increase surveillance, criminalization, or instability often increase vulnerability — even when passed with protective intent.
Here is what we are tracking right now.
California — AB 379 (Loitering with Intent to Purchase Sex)
California’s AB 379 creates a misdemeanor offense for loitering in public with intent to purchase commercial sex. You can read the full bill text in the official
California legislative record.
This law reintroduces intent-based policing shortly after California repealed its previous prostitution-loitering law, SB 357 — a statute widely criticized for enabling racial profiling and discriminatory enforcement. The repeal was acknowledged in the governor’s official
Structural impact:
Intent-based laws allow police action based on perceived purpose rather than conduct. Enforcement becomes discretionary, expanding stops, questioning, and surveillance in public space.
Why this matters for trafficking prevention:
Markets pushed underground become harder to monitor, harder to regulate, and harder for workers to safely exit or report violence — conditions that increase vulnerability to coercion.
Rights-based prevention targets force, fraud, and coercion directly — not perceived intent.
Colorado — SB26-097 (Decriminalization of Consensual Adult Sex Work)
Colorado’s SB26-097 proposes removing criminal penalties for consensual commercial sexual activity between adults while maintaining penalties for trafficking, coercion, and exploitation of minors. Legislative details are available through the
Colorado General Assembly bill page.
Structural impact:
The bill creates a legal separation between consent and coercion, allowing enforcement resources to focus on trafficking elements rather than consensual activity.
Why this matters for trafficking prevention:
Criminalization increases dependence on intermediaries, suppresses reporting, and creates environments where coercion can be concealed. Legal clarity improves enforcement precision and public health access.
Decriminalization, in this framework, is not deregulation — it is targeted enforcement.
Nebraska — LB511 (Expanded “Commercial Sexual Exploitation” Language)
Nebraska’s LB511 expands statutory definitions related to commercial sexual exploitation and increases penalties tied to solicitation-related activity. Bill tracking and legislative status can be reviewed through
BillTrack50’s legislative summary.
Structural impact:
Broader definitions expand enforcement scope and increase the range of conduct captured under exploitation statutes.
Why this matters for trafficking prevention:
When legal definitions expand too broadly, enforcement spreads outward while investigative focus on coercion can diffuse. Precision in statutory language improves victim identification and enforcement effectiveness.
Vagueness increases punishment exposure without necessarily reducing exploitation.
Nevada — Brothel Worker Unionization Effort
Workers at Sheri’s Ranch in Pahrump are organizing for union representation, citing contract control, working condition concerns, and limitations on bargaining power. Reporting on the effort is available through
The Nevada Independent’s coverage.
Structural impact:
Workers are attempting to establish collective bargaining rights, grievance procedures, and contractual oversight.
Why this matters for trafficking prevention:
Exploitation is fundamentally a power imbalance problem. Labor protections — in any industry — reduce vulnerability to coercion.
Worker power is prevention infrastructure.
National — Super Bowl Trafficking Enforcement Surges
Major sporting events consistently trigger intensive trafficking enforcement operations. Recent Bay Area coverage of Super Bowl-related activity can be found in
KQED’s reporting on enforcement and advocacy responses.
At the same time, federal officials publicly clarified that there were
no planned ICE immigration operations tied to the Super Bowl, underscoring the gap between public fear narratives and actual enforcement plans.
Structural impact:
Event-based enforcement increases policing visibility and public alarm but does not address long-term drivers of vulnerability such as housing instability, poverty, or immigration precarity.
Sustained prevention requires structural investment, not episodic enforcement.
Community-Led Safety Infrastructure
In response to enforcement pressure and stigma, community-based reporting and safety systems are emerging. One example is
Angel Alert’s harm-reduction reporting initiative.
These tools reflect adaptive safety strategies where formal systems are inaccessible or mistrusted — an important signal about institutional gaps.
The Structural Pattern
Current policy approaches fall into two broad categories.
Risk-Increasing
intent-based policing
broad criminalization
vague exploitation definitions
surveillance expansion
event-based enforcement
Risk-Reducing
clear legal distinction between consent and coercion
labor protections
economic stabilization
healthcare access
stigma reduction
worker safety infrastructure
Only the second category consistently addresses known drivers of trafficking vulnerability.
Rethink Trafficking Position
Policies that improve sex worker safety, labor power, legal clarity, and service access are not separate from anti-trafficking strategy.
They are primary prevention.
Trafficking prevention is vulnerability reduction.
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