Last week, I wrote about Bob Clegg’s work for “Decriminalize Sex Work”, an organization that paid him to lobby against HB 201, a bill that would have provided increased penalties to people who pay to rape children. He and his partner received $48,000 from this organization for lobbying on their behalf for 2019.
Susan Olsen posted a lengthy response from Bob Clegg to my piece, where he defends his lobbying against the bill, and Darlene Pawlik, who was sexually trafficked as a child, gave this reply to her:
Susan,
I am glad that Senator Clegg stood up for your right to protect yourself. The bill in question, however, had nothing to do with adult liberties.
HB201 was about protecting children from sexual predators. The idea that it would impose penalties on someone watching a child change at the beach is absurd and Senator Clegg knows that is a diversion. The hearing was hijacked with non-germane arguments to decriminalize prostitution, having absolutely nothing to do with the bill.
HB 201 merely increased penalties for buying sexual interactions with minors. Although, it may not deter those deviant behaviors, the increased penalties might give some children some relief from their exploiters.
Having been sexually abused from toddlerhood and sold into juvenile sex trafficking, I can tell you those experiences are damaging. I call it a core violation for good reason. When I was given drugs enough to be talked into stripping at barely 15 years old, then raffled off for a sexual encounter in the bathroom stall of a VFW, the men there knew I was a minor. I was 92 pounds. Their jeering and insisting that I spread my naked body open more solidified my non-person status. I believed I was an implement for sexual gratification and nothing more.
That hearing for HB201 was about the adults of NH protecting girls and boys like me.
It had nothing to do with prostitution, which I will never call sex work. It is neither sex, nor work. Buyers are often cruel and very abusive. I have been raped, pinched, punched, choked, beaten, thrown out of cars, ridiculed, kidnapped and held against my will, and suffered STDs and lice many times. For many years I suffered nightmares, rages and an inability to manage emotions. Child sexual abuse stunted my ability to consider repercussions and future ramifications. PTSD responses to mundane environmental stimulus haunted me and therefore, my family.
Perhaps, you should do some homework before defending the actions of others. One good deed, does not make a Saint. I’m sure the senator has done many good things, but hijacking HB 201 was not one of them.
When Republican primary voters consider their choice for Executive Councilor in NH District 5, I hope they remember Darlene’s story and Clegg’s taking thousands of dollars in lobbying fees to help stop a bill that would have offered sexually trafficked children a greater chance at escaping their cruel fate.
| Image was updated. Image credit: The Darling Princess
