Editorial: Ideological roadblock

Friday, Sept. 21, 2007 | 7:07 a.m.

When law enforcement officials were setting up a task force in Las Vegas to fight human trafficking, they looked to UNLV sociologist Kate Hausbeck. Daniel Bogden, the former U.S. attorney for Nevada, said she is "exactly the kind of person you'd want" on it.

Human trafficking victims can end up in forced prostitution, and Hausbeck, with colleague Barbara Brents, has done extensive research on prostitution in Nevada. It seemed like a natural fit, but Hausbeck withdrew from consideration after some concerns were raised.

As reported Saturday in the Las Vegas Sun by Abigail Goldman, there was a fear her presence would jeopardize federal funding because her research suggested that legal brothels minimize the risk of sexually transmitted diseases and violence against prostitutes.

That could be seen by the federal government as tacit support of legal prostitution. Federal guidelines for anti-human trafficking programs prohibit money being used to "promote, support or advocate" prostitution.

The executive director of the task force has said federal regulations did not allow her to pass out research done by Brents and Hausbeck, who have been critical of the criminalization of prostitution.

Although we oppose legalizing prostitution in Clark County, we think it is wrong to cast aside legitimate researchers and their work because they might not fit a certain ideological mold.

Brents said the "point of scientific inquiry is that we follow the facts and the data. We draw conclusions without regard for politics."

In the nebulous world of human trafficking, that is important because hard data are difficult to find. A U.N. report on human trafficking noted that it was difficult to determine the extent of the problem because of the hidden nature of the crime and the lack of systematic reporting.

The federal government's regulations, which make the difficult task of learning about human trafficking more difficult, should be shelved so every appropriate resource can be tapped to fight such a horrific crime.