PHOENIX (AZ Family) — Proposition 313 addresses the prosecution of sex traffickers. If it passes, people convicted of sex trafficking, the children will serve life in prison.

Republicans largely support the bill, while some Democrats express concern about it.

Thursday evening America First Works hosted a town hall event about Prop 313 at Volanti in North Scottsdale. They discussed the issue with Arizona Republican Sen. Janae Shamp and Kayleigh Kozak, a namesake Kayleigh’s Lawwhich passed in 2022 and aimed to protect victims of abuse.

The women on stage discussed why they support the proposed bill and why tougher penalties are needed against sex traffickers in Arizona.

“It is not the severity of the punishment as a deterrent; it’s the certainty and so let it be known if you traffic a child in the state of Arizona that you will be sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole,” Kozak said.

Senator Shamp is one of the prop leaders in the state Senate.

“If you rape a child in Arizona and they’re under 12 and you cause them bodily harm, you’re going to spend the rest of your natural life in prison and you’re never going to get out,” Shamp said. “That’s a legacy I can be proud of.”

Not everyone agrees with this. The director of sex trafficking research at Arizona State University, Professor Dominque Roe-Sepowtiz, says the state already has harsh punishments for sex trafficking and that this bill, while intended to do good, could cause more harm the victims.

She says there is a greater burden on the courts and victims.

“There has to be a higher standard of proof, the burden of proving that someone is eligible for a life sentence is higher. Harder to develop and harder to get convictions,” Roe-Sepowtiz said.

She says if the court needs more evidence, victims of trafficking may need to testify against their abusers. It’s not something he wants victims to go through. Roe-Sepowtiz also says there are some cases where victims are then forced to traffic others. She wants to see language on how those cases would be handled.

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