Washington
Should cops be involved in all Washington human trafficking cases?
That’s why advocates like Boyd believe survivors should be able to decide for themselves whether or not to involve law enforcement. While reporting the crime to law enforcement is the best avenue for some trying to escape their abusers, advocates say it can put others at risk of retaliation.
Proposed state and federal legislation could take that choice out of a trafficking victim’s hands. A bill under consideration this legislative session would make Washington the third state to mandate certain health care providers report suspected adult human trafficking victims to law enforcement. House Bill 1937 would apply only to adult victims, as health care professionals are already legally obligated to report suspected child abuse.
Meanwhile, a bill introduced in Congress last year would require tips received through the National Human Trafficking Hotline — a 24/7 phone line that assists trafficking victims in crisis — to be shared with law enforcement. The federal bill, which has bipartisan support, passed out of the House Judiciary Committee in November.
The legislation has stirred controversy over when suspected trafficking should be reported to law enforcement. Proponents of more mandatory reporting requirements argue it would hold abusers accountable and get victims out of dangerous situations earlier. Yet both bills faced immediate backlash from trafficking survivor networks.
“Law enforcement doesn’t always make survivors safer,” said Audrey Baedke, co-founder of Real Escape from the Sex Trade, a nonprofit organization that serves trafficking survivors in King County. “A lot of times it actually brings far more difficulty and harm to the survivors rather than help, particularly if that person is not seeking it out themselves.”
The sponsor of HB 1937, Rep. Clyde Shavers, D-Oak Harbor, said that before pre-filing the bill, he spoke to physicians about their concerns regarding clients who are being trafficked. Human trafficking survivors weren’t included in those conversations.
“It’s hard for them to be vocal about it,” Shavers said. “This bill is about giving them a voice.”
Boyd said survivors already have a voice — their voices just aren’t always listened to by legislators.
“Laws that revoke the right to autonomy for trafficking survivors, in a lot of ways, replicate the same kinds of control dynamics as traffickers,” Boyd said. “It feels like a lot of legislators and policymakers don’t really understand that.”
‘Good intentions’
Trafficking survivors and legislators agree that something needs to be done to support victims of human trafficking.
Systems meant to help survivors, including the criminal justice system, have “failed and failed miserably,” says a 2023 report by Polaris, an anti-trafficking organization that operates the National Human Trafficking Hotline. Over 16,700 victims were identified through the hotline in 2021. Service providers identify hundreds of victims every year across Washington state alone, yet convictions of alleged traffickers haven’t kept pace with the rising number of reported victims, InvestigateWest found last year.
Police involvement can be very beneficial for some of these victims, said Hao Nguyen, who works primarily with foreign-born trafficking survivors at the Seattle-based organization API Chaya. Police can put abusers behind bars. They can also strengthen survivors’ applications for T-Visas, which allow noncitizen victims of severe forms of human trafficking to live in the United States temporarily.
But Nguyen understands that calling the police isn’t right for everyone. Many of her clients are undocumented and fear deportation, she said.
“I find that the team of police officers that I’ve been working with is very trauma-informed and they’re doing their best for the survivor,” Nguyen said. “But they also have a different mission. Justice means so many different things. Let the survivor make that decision.”
Medical professionals are in a unique position to assist trafficking victims. Studies show that 68% to 88% of victims interact with a health care provider while being trafficked.
“There is a place for intervention there,” Baedke said. But this intervention should focus on giving survivors options, like referrals to local shelters, social workers or attorneys, she added. “The intervention isn’t for law enforcement to come in and save or rescue them.”
Only two states, Louisiana and Rhode Island, currently require health care professionals to report suspected adult human trafficking victims, according to a 2023 research paper by health care professionals at the Baylor College of Medicine and University of California, Davis. Little research has been conducted looking at the impact these laws have had on exploited patients, the paper says.
The effectiveness of mandatory reporting laws remains controversial. A 2019 systematic literature review of research on mandatory reporting of intimate partner violence found the benefits and harms of these laws were mixed and inconclusive from both survivors’ and physicians’ perspectives. Very few professionals had actually reported under the laws, the review found.
Domestic violence experts in favor of mandatory medical reporting argue that it increases accountability for abusers and provides early interventions before serious injury occurs, especially in cases where victims are too scared to make a report.
But Rachel Robitz, a family medicine physician and psychiatrist in Sacramento who co-authored the 2023 paper, doesn’t buy that argument. She opposes mandatory reporting laws in suspected adult trafficking and domestic violence cases, arguing that they limit providers’ ability to connect victims to services.
“If someone is concerned about involving law enforcement, then they are probably going to be much less likely to disclose what is happening,” Robitz said. “And when they don’t disclose, then I as a health care provider lose that opportunity to link them to resources that could be really useful.”
To more effectively involve Washington’s health care professionals in efforts to combat human trafficking, survivors say increased training on what trafficking looks like is crucial. In addition to mandating certain providers to report suspected victims, HB 1937 would require health care systems to provide training to better recognize trafficking victims, an intervention that service providers generally support.
Shavers expects the bill to be improved upon as it moves through the Legislature. Since pre-filing the bill on Dec. 13, he has spoken with survivors and advocacy groups about how to make the bill more inclusive and minimize harm to victims, he said.
“We haven’t made any concrete changes so far. But we are considering different agencies and different ways of helping those who may be victims and survivors,” Shavers said. “This is the beginning of a discussion.”
In Shavers’ opinion, it’s “worse to do nothing.” But Boyd worries that if changes to the bill aren’t made, its harms may outweigh its benefits.
“The main thing is just listening to survivors more,” Boyd said. “Lots of horrible things have been done in the name of good intentions.”
This story was originally published on Jan. 8, 2024, by InvestigateWest. Crosscut has edited the story to update the time elements.
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This story contains descriptions of fatal violence against a transgender person.
The Seattle Police Department are searching for a suspect after a 19-year-old University of Washington student was stabbed to death in an off-campus student apartment complex on May 10.
Seattle Police Department Detective Eric Muñoz told NBC News that the victim is “believed to be a 19-year-old transgender female” who was enrolled at the university. The victim has not yet been publicly identified by name. She was found in the housing complex laundry room shortly after 10 p.m. on Sunday night.
The housing complex, Nordheim Court, is privately managed but affiliated with the university, located near an upscale shopping center in Seattle’s U-Village neighborhood. According to NBC News, residents received an official alert from UW to stay inside their homes and lock all windows and doors — an alert that was lifted around 1 a.m. with the acknowledgment that “a death investigation remains ongoing.”
According to SPD detective Eric Muñoz, police and the fire department attempted lifesaving measures but ultimately “pronounced the victim deceased at the scene.”
“Officers are actively searching for the suspect, believed to be a black male with a beard, 5’6-8” tall, wearing a vest with button up shirt, and blue jeans,” Muñoz wrote in a blotter report.
Muñoz noted that the victim would be identified by the medical examiner’s office in “the coming days.” The SPD did not immediately respond to Them’s request for comment.
This is the seventh known trans person to be violently killed in 2026. In mid-April, 39-year-old transmasculine farmer Luca RedBeard was fatally shot in rural New Mexico. Last week, police in Marion County, Florida opened a homicide investigation into the shooting death of a 29-year-old who went by multiple names and referred to “transitioning” on social media. In Kentucky, an investigation into the disappearance of 22-year-old trans college student Murry Foust remains ongoing.
Police are asking anyone with information about the University of Washington case to call the Violent Crimes Tip Line at 206-233-5000, emphasizing that anonymous tips are accepted.
This is a developing story.
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On a quiet stretch of Des Moines Memorial Drive in South Seattle, the Sea Mar Museum of Chicano/a/Latino/a Culture rises like a long‑overdue acknowledgment. Its brick exterior doesn’t shout; it invites. Inside, the rooms hum with the stories of families who crossed borders, harvested fields, organized classrooms, and built communities across Washington state—often without seeing their histories reflected anywhere on a museum wall.
For Rogelio Riojas, founder and CEO of Sea Mar Community Health Centers, the museum is a promise kept. “We wanted to make sure the contributions of Latinos in Washington state are recognized and preserved for future generations,” he told The Seattle Times when the museum opened in 2019. It was a simple statement, but one that captured decades of work—both visible and invisible—by the region’s Latino communities.
Walking through the galleries feels like stepping into a living archive. One of the most arresting sights is a pair of original farmworker cabins, transported from Eastern Washington. Their narrow wooden frames and sparse interiors speak volumes about the migrant families who once slept inside after long days in the fields. The cabins are not replicas or artistic interpretations; they are the real thing, weathered by sun, dust, and time. They anchor the museum’s narrative in the physical realities of labor that shaped the state’s agricultural economy.
Sea Mar describes the museum as “dedicated to sharing the history, struggles, and successes of the Latino community in Washington state,” a mission that plays out in photographs, letters, student newspapers, and oral histories contributed by community members themselves. These aren’t artifacts chosen from afar—they’re family treasures, personal archives, and memories entrusted to the museum so they can live beyond the kitchen tables and shoeboxes where they were once kept.
The story extends beyond the museum walls. Just steps away is the Sea Mar Community Center, a sweeping, light‑filled gathering space designed for celebrations, performances, workshops, and community events. With room for nearly 500 people, a full stage, a movie‑theater‑sized screen, and a catering kitchen, the center was built with one purpose: to give the community a place to see itself, gather, and grow. Sea Mar describes it as “a welcoming space for families, organizations, and community groups to gather, celebrate, and learn,” and on any given weekend, it lives up to that promise.
Together, the museum and community center form a cultural campus—part historical archive, part living room for the region’s Latino communities. Students come to learn about the Chicano activists who reshaped the University of Washington in the late 1960s. Families come to see their own histories reflected in the exhibits. Visitors come to understand a story that has long been present in Washington, even if it wasn’t always visible.
The Sea Mar Museum is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., offering free admission to anyone who walks through its doors. For many, it’s more than a museum—it’s a recognition, a gathering place, and a testament to the people who helped shape the Pacific Northwest.
Preserving Latino History and Community Life in Washington was first published on Washington Latino News (WALN) and republished with permission.
Celebrate Mothers Day with à la carte brunch at Lady Madison featuring seafood, entrées, desserts, and premium beverage options.
Celebrate Mothers Day in sophisticated style at Lady Madison, located inside Le Méridien Washington, DC, The Madison. Join us on Sunday, May 10, 2026, from 12:003:00 PM for an elevated à la carte brunch experience in downtown Washington, DC.
Enjoy a refined selection of chef-driven brunch classics, fresh seafood, seasonal salads, and elegant entrées. Highlights include a Build Your Own Omelette, Crab Benedict with lime hollandaise, Chilled Seafood Trio, and signature mains such as Roasted Rack of Lamb, Cedar Plank Sea Bass, and Marinated New York Strip Loin.
End on a sweet note with classic desserts including Crème Brûlée Cheesecake, Fruit Tart, Strawberry Shortcake, and Passion Fruit Cake.
Enhance your experience with beverage offerings, including bottomless Mimosas and Bloody Marys for $30 with house selections. Piper-Heidsieck Champagne is also available by the glass for $16 or by the bottle for $49.
Reserve on OpenTable:
https://www.opentable.com/booking/experiences-availability?rid=1426987&restref=1426987&experienceId=695240&utm_source=external&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=shared
À La Carte Menu
Les ufs & Brunch
Egg White Frittata $24
spinach, tomato, mushrooms, green onion
Served with pommes de terre rissolées or seasonal fruit
Build Your Own Omelette $24
ham, smoked salmon, vegetables, cheeses (choose up to 3)
Served with pommes de terre rissolées or seasonal fruit
Crab Benedict $24
lime hollandaise, salsa cruda
Served with pommes de terre rissolées or seasonal fruit
Brioche French Toast $17
berry compote, whipped butter, maple syrup
Les Froids & Salades
Chilled Seafood Trio $28
Jonah crab claws, shrimp, cocktail sauce
Spring Berry Salad $17
brie, berries, champagne vinaigrette
Golden & Crimson Beet Salad $18
red wine vinaigrette
Add protein: shrimp, salmon, skirt steak +18 | chicken +16
Les Plats Principaux
Roasted Rack of Lamb $42
mint sauce, huckleberry reduction, sweet potato purée, asparagus
Cedar Plank Sea Bass $49
saffron rice, spring vegetables
New York Strip Loin $42
mushroom sauce, truffle croquette potatoes, haricots verts
Les Desserts $14
Crème Brûlée Cheesecake
Fruit Tart
Strawberry Shortcake
Passion Fruit Cake
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