Pimps in San Diego are using intimidation tactics to control neighborhoods, leveraging fear of retaliation to keep locals silent about the nearly-naked women working the streets.
This situation has been exacerbated by the repeal of a law banning loitering with the intent to engage in prostitution, which has emboldened pimps and prostitutes.
“Prostitutes will walk inside of the properties to say, ‘What are you looking at?,’ ‘quit staring.’ And they elaborate a little bit about calling their pimps in order to hurt them or harm them or do something to ‘take care of them,'” a San Diego business owner said.
“They are controlling the neighborhood,” he said regarding pimps.
“The author brought forth this legislation because the crime of loitering has disproportionately impacted Black and brown women and members of the LGBTQ community,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said.
“To be clear, this bill does not legalize prostitution. It simply revokes provisions of the law that have led to disproportionate harassment of women and transgender adults. While I agree with the author’s intent, and I am signing this legislation, we must be cautious about its implementation. My administration will monitor crime and prosecution trends for any possible unintended consequences and will act to mitigate any such impacts,” he said.
Human trafficking, including the trafficking of underage individuals and LGBTQ+ youths, has also been a significant issue.
“Youth who identify as LGBTQ+ are 7.4x more likely to experience acts of sexual violence than their heterosexual and cisgender peers,” the DA’s office wrote on its website.
Local officials and law enforcement have expressed concerns about the impact of the repealed law, with some calling for its repeal and increased penalties for sex buyers.
“Girls as young as 13 are being openly sold for sex on San Diego County streets. In fact, women of all ages are being blatantly trafficked for sex, meaning they are forced to walk the streets while their traffickers keep a watchful eye on their every move. One big reason is because California recently repealed the crime of loitering for prostitution with Senate Bill 357,” San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan wrote.
“Cartels definitely have an influence on sex trafficking, but we’re finding that it’s more our street gangs, which work for the cartels,” Stephan said.
“Prostitution is illegal and sex trafficking is a serious and abhorrent crime — as evidenced by ongoing law enforcement operations that occur regularly across California, including the significant arrests and felony charges in San Diego just last week. As the Governor stated when he signed the Safer Streets For All Act, the Administration is closely monitoring the implementation of this particular law, and is committed to responding to any unintended consequences,” Newsom’s office said.
The spike in prostitution and crime is seen as a result of human trafficking coming over the southern border.
“They weren’t brazen and emboldened. They would hide behind the cars or … they would just come out at night,” the business owner said.
“The Mayor has offered his full support to SDPD to enforce laws against prostitution and sex trafficking,” San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria’s office stated.
“What I saw was an open sex market with young women barely dressed and a line of sex buyers waiting in cars as casually as if they were at a drive through ordering a hamburger. The traffickers, sex sellers and buyers were totally undeterred and carried out their business with impunity,” Stephan said.
Despite ongoing law enforcement operations, the situation remains a serious concern, with instances of attempted human trafficking being reported.
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