New Arizona Law Targets Demand Behind Prostitution, Sex Trafficking

In this ZeroHedge article, Tyler Durden shares Allan Stein’s reporting from The Epoch Times on Arizona’s new law aimed at reducing prostitution and sex trafficking by punishing buyers and helping victims clear related records.

• Arizona’s new law targets the demand side of prostitution by increasing penalties for people who pay, agree to pay, or offer to pay for sexual conduct.
• The offense is now treated as a felony and carries mandatory jail time for buyers.
• A first offense can bring up to 15 days in jail, while a second offense can bring up to 30 days.
• Offenders must also pay a $200 assessment, with the money directed toward programs that assist sex-trafficking survivors.
• State Rep. Selina Bliss, who co-sponsored the bill, said the goal is to target “the demand that fuels prostitution and sex trafficking.”
• Supporters argue that buyers financially sustain the trafficking economy while communities deal with the crime, exploitation, and social damage that follow.
• House Bill 2720 also requires courts to seal prostitution-related records when those convictions are vacated because the person was found to be a sex-trafficking victim.
• Advocates say that record-sealing provision will help survivors pursue employment, housing, and other opportunities without a prostitution record holding them back.
• The article points to Phoenix’s “The Blade,” a corridor associated with street prostitution, and notes that Maricopa County filed 437 prostitution-related cases in 2025.

Read the full story:
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/new-arizona-law-targets-demand-behind-prostitution-sex-trafficking