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Home>Archives for Guest

June 16, 2023 by Guest

Justice for God’s glory: Soli Deo Gloria

“A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law, or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law.” (Martin Luther King, Letter from the Birmingham jail)

What is social justice? How does it differ from “Social Justice” (with capital letters), about which we hear so much today? Are they one and the same, or very different? Which most closely represents “Biblical Justice”? Does it really even matter?

“Ideas have consequences, bad ideas have victims.” (John Stonestreet)

A recent news report in Colorado highlighted how legislators voted against making public indecent exposure to kids a felony because it could be used to “ban drag shows and harm transgender people”. In other words, the perpetrator of such exposure becomes the victim.

Is this right? Who is the real victim, the one we should protect? What standard should we use to guide us in understanding whether a law or movement is meant for good or evil? As a GPS guides us on the best route to follow, we must use a moral compass to guide us to true justice.

As someone with 18+ years of ministering in prisons and 7 years ministering in the area of Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking, I have seen how laws have impacted those who have been perpetrators, those who have been victimized, and society in general. It is imperative that we view our culture, laws and justice with reliance on the Bible as that moral compass and thus advocate for “Biblical Justice.” It is only through this lens that the world makes sense.

We live in a very turbulent historical moment, a time in which we need to stand for Truth, not confusion or compromise. If we rely on Social Justice, which is based on diversity, identity, and activism, we risk causing greater harm, chaos, and division. Much of what we are witnessing today – confusion in our schools, chaos and crime in our streets, compromise and carnality in churches, corruption in our government, the breakdown in our families – all are the result of Social Justice. “Social Justice” is not the same as “Biblical Justice.” They are not interchangeable terms. Social Justice is built on the premise of equity, a concept far different from equality. “Social Justice” looks through the lens of equity in social and economic factors rather than looking through the lens of God’s moral directives. Social Justice requires that society recognize and hold to beliefs that counter Biblical standards -at the very core is a stealth attack on God’s design, Imago Deo, the value and dignity of life made in the image of God.

“If we want to know what is most sacred in the world, all we need do is look for what is most violently profaned.” ( Christopher West )

As Christians we have a mandate to live out our faith in action, to be “doers of the Word”: to love our neighbors as ourselves, to be a voice for the voiceless, to help the poor and needy, to end slavery, to advocate for racial reconciliation, and to pursue unity without partiality or prejudice. To advocate for Biblical Justice is consistent with our faith, because we are first and foremost “Christ’s Ambassadors.” Our definition of social justice must reflect God’s sovereignty and His dominion over all of life. We are mandated to seek justice (Jeremiah 22:3, Isaiah 1:17, Psalm 82:3-4). However, when we pursue justice with an approach that is not compatible with God’s character, when we seek laws or movements because they sound like good ideas, we run the risk of causing greater harm.

“The problem is not with the quest for justice. The problem is what happens when that quest is undertaken from a framework that is not compatible with the Bible. And this is a very real problem, because the extent to which we unwittingly allow unbiblical worldview assumptions to shape our approach to justice is the extent to which we are inadvertently hurting the very people we seek to help.” (Thaddeus Williams)

“Defend the weak and the fatherless, uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy. Deliver them from the hands of the wicked.” (Ps 82:3-4).

“The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either – but right through every human heart – and through all human hearts.”

(Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn).

In summary, we are to advocate for justice for righteousness’s sake, to bring light into the darkness – to the glory of God alone – Soli Deo Gloria.

Wendy J. Smith
Fellow, Colson Center for Christian Worldview
Ambassador of Hope

Wendy J. Smith, RN, MSN, ACNP- retired, has worked in the medical field for over 40 years, specializing in hematology/oncology. During her healthcare career she published within her profession in both text and peer reviewed journals. She has also been a speaker on the state and national level addressing issues pertinent to hematology/oncology nursing, and advocacy for her patients and profession. Since retiring, Wendy has been able to focus on issues impacting our culture today, primarily writing and focusing on issues pertain to human trafficking and pro-life. Wendy volunteers with 3 different anti-trafficking non-profits and has been involved in prison ministry for 18+ years. She is also a Fellow of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. (www.colsoncenter.org).

Wendy is married to her best friend, Fred. Fred and Wendy enjoy living in Colorado Springs close to their daughter, Sarah, son-in- law, John, three granddaughters and one grandson: Abigail, Anna, Ali and Hunter Stonestreet. Psalms 71:18 “Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come.” (NIV)

Some examples of publications:

https://sarahshome.us/blog/

https://aaplog.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/revised-AAPLOG-Joint-CO-5-Pornography-Sex-Trafficking-and-Abortion_with-ACPeds-logo-2.pdf

https://townhall.com/columnists/wendysmith/

https://www.liveaction.org/news/author/wendy-smith/

March 3, 2023 by Guest

Sex Trafficking & Long-Term Health: Recognizing the long-term physical health effects of traumatic stress

Girl sitting in bathroom being handed moneyWritten by Barbara Amaya with Holly Austin Gibbs
Photography by Shanna Parker

After we had been married for a few years, Jose and I got serious about starting a family. I had never been pregnant before, and, until Jose, I honestly hadn’t given the idea much thought, other than being grateful that I had never become pregnant as a child. I was 12 years old when I first came under the control of Moses, a brutal sex trafficker. I was trafficked for commercial sex by this man for over a decade on the streets of Washington, D.C., and New York City.

During that time, I had heard horrible stories of other girls who had become pregnant and searched out ways to have abortions on their own, so great was their fear of what would happen to the baby if it ended up in the hands of their pimp. I knew one girl whose four-month-old child was already being abused by the man who controlled her. A baby wasn’t something I had ever expected or wanted to have in my future. But, after I was married, I felt differently. Having a baby seemed to be part of the “square life”, and I wanted that for us.

Jose and I tried to get pregnant for quite a while, but without success. With the added pressure of his mother asking for a grandchild, I decided to visit my doctor to ask some questions of my own. “It seems that you have some scar tissue that could be blocking your fallopian tubes,” my doctor told me after the examination. “There is also severe scar tissue in the vagina.” My doctor was compassionate as he explained the findings to me. Unfortunately, conversations like this are far too common among sex trafficking survivors and their medical providers.

In the 1990s, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Kaiser Permanente partnered to conduct the “Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study”, one of the largest investigations of childhood abuse and later-life health and well-being. The original ACE Study was conducted at Kaiser Permanente from 1995 to 1997. Over 17,000 Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) members received physical exams and completed surveys regarding ACEs and their current health status and behaviors. This research team continues ongoing surveillance of ACEs by continuing to assess the medical status and behaviors of study participants.

ACEs were described in the study as child abuse (e.g., emotional, physical, or sexual abuse), child neglect (e.g., emotional or physical neglect), and other household challenges (e.g., mother treated violently, substance abuse in the household, mental illness in the household, parental separation or divorce, and/or a household member had been sent to prison).

The three major findings of this study are as follows:

  1. ACEs are common across all populations. Almost two-thirds of the study participants reported at least one ACE, and more than one in five reported three or more ACEs.
  2. Some populations are more vulnerable to experiencing ACEs because of the social and economic conditions in which they live, learn, work, and play.
  3. The ACE score is the total sum of the different categories of ACEs reported by participants. Study findings show a “graded dose-response relationship” between ACEs and negative health and well-being outcomes. In other words, as the number of ACEs increases so does the risk for negative outcomes.

See the CDC figure for examples of the lasting effects of ACEs. Subsequent studies continue to reveal a relationship between trauma, especially trauma experienced in childhood, and other negative outcomes such as autoimmune diseases and diabetes. For an exhaustive list of negative outcomes, the CDC includes links to selected journal publications.

As a survivor of child sex trafficking, I have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), heart disease, multiple cancers, and an autoimmune disease, as well as infertility and spinal stenosis. The trauma of enduring multiple rapes for over a decade of my young life caused vaginal scar tissue, damage to my fallopian tubes, and, ultimately, infertility.

Trauma isn’t just “all in the mind” – it leaves a direct physical imprint on the physical body.

Experts today believe that there is a direct biological effect that occurs when a person’s body, especially a child’s body, experiences extreme stress such as the trauma of being sex trafficked. For example, a 2010 study of 117 Minneapolis women found that adults who had “first traded sex as juveniles had worse outcomes in several domains, including unstable housing, higher rates of teenage runaways, higher rates of STDs, lower rates of HIV testing, greater number of sex trades per week, higher incidence of street-based sex trading, and drug use at a younger age.”

Of course, trauma, especially prolonged traumatic stress, can cause long-term negative health and well-being outcomes regardless of a person’s age at which they were first exposed to trauma. General adaptation syndrome (GAS) describes how the body responds to stress, as follows:

  • The alarm reaction stage prepares the body for the “fight or flight” response, which we now know includes “freeze” and “fawn” responses as well. For example, the heart rate increases and the adrenal glands release hormones like cortisol and adrenaline.
  • The resistance stage occurs after a fight or flight response, as the body slowly begins to recover but remains on high alert for a while. For example, the heart rate and blood pressure begin to normalize and the adrenal glands release lower levels of hormones.
  • The exhaustion stage is caused by prolonged stress, which can drain a person’s mental, physical, and emotional resources. This wears down a person’s resilience. It can lead to a weakened immune system and puts the person at risk for stress-related illnesses.

For example, in a 2011 study, 105 Native American women engaged in prostitution were assessed for life circumstances. More than half of the participants (79%) reported that they had experienced sexual abuse as children. The participants also reported that, while engaged in prostitution, 92% had experienced rape, 84% experienced physical violence, and 72% suffered traumatic brain injuries. At the time of the interview, 52% had PTSD and 71% had symptoms of dissociation. This is not surprising considering many of the participants seemed to be surviving daily life in the exhaustion stage. Additionally, 80% of the participants had used substance use treatment services, 77% used homeless shelters, and 65% used domestic violence services.

In another 2014 study, researchers explored the health consequences of sex trafficking among domestic survivors, aged fourteen to sixty. The authors reported that, regardless of the age at which participants were first exploited, or for how long, the participants had “suffered tremendously, virtually without exception”. In “Caring for Trafficked Persons: Guidance for Health Providers”, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that “as is the case with victims of torture, individuals who have been trafficked are likely to sustain multiple physical or psychological injuries and illnesses and report a complex set of symptoms.”

I’ve seen this first-hand. People who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation, particularly those who have been trafficked and subjected to physical violence and multiple abuses over a long period of time, may, and very often do, suffer from long term physical and mental health consequences in a manner consistent with victims of prolonged torture.

Too many have suffered in this way, myself included.

Like many victims of sex trafficking, I received no regular health care, no dental care, and no direct services during my time of victimization. I would visit the emergency room only if I had a serious injury or illness. Otherwise, I was too fearful of Moses, my violent trafficker, to disobey his orders and seek any medical help. Moses would only allow me to seek help in life threatening situations, such as a knife or gunshot wound, a severely painful urinary tract infection (UTI), or after being beaten by him or by those who sought to buy my body.

Victims and survivors of trauma, including sex trafficking, need access to health care services. The ACE Study underscores that, the longer we take to acknowledge the trauma caused by commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking and address its potentially damaging effects on the health and well-being of survivors, the greater our chances are for long-term negative health consequences, many of which can lead to disease, disability, and even early death.

As a newlywed, I was fortunate to receive care from a physician who was compassionate and invested in my health. He said he could perform a procedure that would reduce the scarring and damage to my body. And he was right; soon after surgery, I was pregnant with my baby girl.

I cried with joy as I lay in that darkened room, watching the blinking light of my baby’s tiny heart on the ultrasound machine. That a baby could grow inside me at all was amazing. I had worried that my body was poisoned and toxic from the abuse I had suffered; I couldn’t imagine how a pure, innocent little baby could grow inside something as ruined and polluted as me.

It was an incredible feeling to know that I held a life inside me, a beautiful, growing life that depended on me. I felt like it was a miracle.

Maybe, I had thought to myself. Just maybe, I wasn’t so horrible inside.

About the Authors

Barbara is an award-winning author, advocate, speaker, consultant, mentor, trainer, and survivor leader in the movement to finally end human trafficking and child exploitation. Barbara experienced first-hand the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. Then, as a vulnerable child runaway, she experienced the horrific extremes of violence, child abuse, human trafficking, drug addiction, and prison when she was trafficked on the streets of Washington D.C. and New York City for over a decade.

Many victims do not survive before or even after escape. Their experiences are so horrific that survivors often never come back to the ‘real’ world. Barbara not only survived and healed, but truly transformed her life. As a survivor of trauma and adversity, she feels called to share her story and has dedicated her life to educating the public about modern-day slavery. Barbara has been actively raising awareness about the exploitation of children and domestic sex trafficking since 2012. She has a background in education (including a credential in early childhood development), and holds a PhD in psychology.

Learn more about Barbara and order her inspirational book, Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Lost Innocence, Modern Day Slavery, & Transformation, at BarbaraAmaya.com.

Shanna Parker is a national Survivor Leader and Subject Matter Expert in the field of Human Trafficking. She is the founder and CEO of Angels Go To Work, where she serves hundreds of youth and young adults yearly in local group homes, campuses and the community. Shanna is a  consultant for the Office for Victims of Crime Training and Technical Assistance Center where she assists with program building and specialized training. She sits on panels for multiple research projects with various agencies, and universities.

Shanna also works with multiple tribal agencies to develop responses to trafficking in rural and native lands. Shanna partners with local and federal law enforcement agencies in various capacities including training, consultation, outreach, operations, and victim advocacy. Shanna assists the Arizona Financial Crimes Task Force with the Attorney General’s Office in sex trafficking cases. She also works for Southwest Network as the Anti-Trafficking Coordinator. In this position, she is a consultant for clinical staff and works with several agencies as a specialized mentor and advocate for chronically trafficked youth with a high runaway rate.

To learn more about Shanna and her organization, and to order her memoir, And He Called Me Angel: The Story of a Human Trafficking Survivor, please visit AngelsGoToWork.com.

______________________________________________________________________________

If you are victim, or someone you know is a victim, of labor trafficking or sex trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888, or text 233733 (BEFREE).

February 27, 2023 by Guest

I Blinked: The Impact of Retirement on an “Elder” Survivor, the Grief, the Reward!

Dr. Marian Hatcher
Shared Hope Policy Consultant
Ambassador-at-Large, United Nations

Black History Month this year has a different meaning for me, its reflective, personal, communal, and generational.

You might ask why? It’s actually very simple, as life usually is. I literally laughed out loud as I wrote this because, it’s us, the actors in this play called life, that complicate God’s plan.

You see, as I look behind and again forward, I can see the simplicity and the difficulty of being a Black woman, and a survivor of systems of prostitution in America. [Read more…]

September 20, 2022 by Guest

“My story can change things.” – Pieper Lewis, September 13, 2022

In sentencing child sex trafficking survivor, Pieper Lewis, on September 13, 2022, Judge David Porter stated, “Ms. Lewis, this is the second chance you asked for. You don’t get a third. Do you understand?”

The judge was alluding to his sentencing order that imposed a term of probation in lieu of immediate imprisonment, however the “second chance” he believed he was providing is nevertheless one rooted in punitive responses for trafficking survivors. If the anti-trafficking movement is committed to moving toward truly trauma-informed approaches, “second chances” must not include criminalizing survivors for trauma and offenses committed as a result of trafficking victimization; “second chances” must not include tools of control and punishment that resemble a survivor’s past exploitation, including incessant supervision, adherence to strict rules, placement in locked facilities, and debts to earn freedom.

Yet, in providing a “second chance” to Pieper, Judge Porter ordered Pieper to pay her exploiter’s family $150,000 in restitution,[1] the court an additional $4,000 for expenses incurred in her prosecution,[2] and, for the next five years, to wear an ankle monitor, remain on probation, and live in a facility managed by the Iowa Department of Corrections. Further, if Pieper violates any term of her probation, the court is authorized to reimpose a 20-year term of imprisonment.

Trafficking another person, raping them, exposing them to abuse after abuse is horrendous. While a person being trafficked is still breathing, and therefore technically alive, their life is no longer their own. Victims of human trafficking are subjected to a level of control that enslaves them fully, mind and body. They are subjected to abuses, assaults, and a commodification that reduces them to a product and shreds the soul.

Prosecutors argued that Brooks was asleep at the time he was stabbed and therefore not an immediate danger to Lewis. Such assertions can only be made by someone entirely disconnected from the intensity of trauma and human trafficking. Brooks had drugged and raped Pieper repeatedly, on more than one occasion, contributing to a pattern of sexual violence inflicted on her, as well as other harm, including homelessness and poverty.

Pieper Lewis, a 15-year-old child at the time of her arrest, has not been treated as such, nor has she been treated as the victim she was and, as she rightfully claimed in court, the survivor she is.  Indeed, Pieper powerfully demonstrated her resilience during her sentencing hearing, “Today, my voice will be heard. The story of Pieper Lewis holds power. The trauma of Pieper Lewis carries a ruptured beginning, tormented past and a delayed future. With perseverance, we have the ability to change the direction of our delayed and unknown futures.” But she also spoke to how the criminal justice system had overlooked and ignored her victimization as she was prosecuted for a crime that directly arose from the abuse and trauma she experienced through trafficking, “I wish the events that took place on June 1, 2020 never occurred, but to say there’s only one victim to this story is absurd.”

Even when imprisonment is avoided, criminal and juvenile justice responses are inherently punitive and often compound trauma, contribute to cycles of poverty and exploitation, and fail to positively contribute to the survivors’ healing. They also cement cultural beliefs and practices that blame victims for their own harm suffered. This is the reason more comprehensive approaches to preventing survivors from being criminalized are at the core of survivor-centered reforms.

As a judge in a state that continues to allow children to be charged with prostitution–conduct that is synonymous with their trafficking victimization–Judge Porter’s ruling cemented the victim-blaming beliefs that have undermined efforts to protect rather than punish child sex trafficking victims in Iowa.

Iowa currently joins 23 states that still criminalize children for prostitution, 34 states that still allow children to be charged and prosecuted for other non-violent crimes or trafficking charges that resulted from their trafficking victimization, and 42 states that still do not allow child sex trafficking victims, like Pieper Lewis, to assert a defense to violent felony charges that arose from trafficking victimization. We as a country have a long way to go to recognize, in our laws and within our judicial system, the harm that is caused by continuing to treat victims of trafficking as criminals while ignoring the impact of their victimization.

Together, The Genesis Project, Shared Hope International, and the Iowa Network Against Human Trafficking and Slavery seek just responses for trafficking survivors, including Pieper. We strongly urge dramatic change in how survivors of trafficking are treated in Iowa and beyond. We invite you to join us and help shift the status quo to one that protects survivors rather than blaming and punishing them for their own victimization.

Footnotes:

[1] https://www.gofundme.com/f/vxgt7q

[2]  The prosecution of Pieper Lewis was inherently unjust as the lack of legal protections (e.g., an affirmative defense, non-criminalization protection) available to human trafficking victims under Iowa state law and, thus, unavailable to Pieper, left her with no legal remedies. As a result, despite her status as a child sex trafficking victim, she was arrested, prosecuted, and sentenced for an offense that arose from her trafficking victimization. In response to the injustice of Pieper being prosecuted and sentenced in the death of her abuser, without access to legal protections, advocates and supporters of Pieper have raised over $550,000 (as of September 19, 2022) to pay her restitution order and court fees and provide additional funds to positively impact Pieper’s trajectory. To learn more about best practice for responding to sex trafficking victims engaged in criminal or delinquent conduct, please visit: https://reportcards.sharedhope.org/safeharbor/.

September 12, 2022 by Guest

The WIN Program: Investing in the Women of Our Community

By Kayla Wolff
Growth Strategies Manager: Foundations/Grants/Donors /
Shared Hope International

Share Hope International’s domestic W.I.N. (Women’s Investment Network) program empowers women who have experienced difficult or traumatic circumstances through professional development and training. For 20-25 hours every week during the nine-month, three-phase program, these women learn basic office procedures and are equipped with skills to problem-solve in the workplace, as well as in their personal lives.  WIN women perform tasks in several different departments – from accounting to growth strategies – until they find an area they would like to expand their expertise in. After having the chance to contribute to meaningful projects in the Shared Hope office, each woman receives assistance in crafting a resume and exploring future career opportunities. The program provides a stipend, expanding the experience so each woman is able to get paid while learning.

[Read more…]

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