Thursday, May 20, 2010 | 2:03 a.m.
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Regarding Cy Ryan’s May 11 story on lasvegassun.com, “Experts: Plan for Nevada ‘virgin auction’ could face legal trouble”:
Is Nevada so depraved that even a televised “virgin auction” would be tolerated? U.S. National Security Policy Directive 22, issued in 2002, reads in part:
“Our policy is based on an abolitionist approach to trafficking in persons, and our efforts must involve a comprehensive attack on such trafficking, which is a modern day form of slavery. In this regard, the United States Government opposes prostitution and any related activities, including pimping, pandering or maintaining brothels as contributing to the phenomenon of trafficking in persons.
“These activities are inherently harmful and dehumanizing. The United States Government’s position is that these activities should not be regulated as a legitimate form of work for any human being.”
Why is the state of Nevada not censured for allowing legalized prostitution in the first place? To combat human trafficking in such a depraved climate is insurmountable.
Abolishing prostitution will raise our credibility and remove perceptions of “anything goes” here, which will deter the likes of Justin Sisely — who published reports say has been recruiting virgins to auction themselves on camera — from permeating our community with this kind of debauchery.
The writer is the former program director of the Anti-Trafficking League Against Slavery, a task force in Southern Nevada.
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