Creating Change, One Law at a Time

California

In California, all aspects of the sex trade —whether selling sex, buying sex, promoting it, or profiting from it—are completely illegal. However, in 2023, California removed “loitering in a public place with the intent to commit prostitution” from the state's penal code. In 2023, California became one of the first states in the nation to pass “Sara’s Law” or unfair sentencing of youth legislation, allowing courts to depart from mandatory minimum sentences when sentencing minor victims of abuse or trafficking who have been charged with a crime against their abuser. California law allows survivors of trafficking to vacate non-violent offenses “proximately caused by” or “as a direct result of” their trafficking.

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