A senator in American Samoa says the proposed law against human trafficking should have harsher penalties for those who don't report crimes.
Senator Galeai Tu'ufuli says the proponents of the law have promised it won't affect cultural norms such as family members travelling to help with domestic work.
But he says the culture has been taken advantage of and many girls are abused through underage prostitution.
He says there should be an awareness programme to inform people about fines, and those who fail to report human trafficking should be penalised with a misdemeanor.
"All of this came down because of the commericalisation of certain things that never existed before on these islands. Some people are bringing people in for prostitution, or other things that doesn't seem to be in line with our traditions and they're being exploited by some people here. That's where this new law comes in and attempts to deal with that problem."
Senator Galeai Tu'ufuli in American Samoa.
