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(AP) -- A state lawmaker and hundreds of child advocates are calling for young girls to be treated as victims and not criminalized as prostitutes. 

Sen. Renee Unterman is proposing a bill that would set the minimum age at 16 for prosecuting sex-for-hire.

Unterman has been active in the campaign to end child prostitution in Atlanta and she says she is encouraged by newly elected Mayor Kasim Reed's support on the issue. 

Unterman says the bill does not decriminalize prostitution but aims to make people aware that young children are not responsible for sexual acts and need rehabilitation and therapy, not jail time.

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