Shared Hope International

Leading a worldwide effort to eradicate sexual slavery...one life at a time

  • The Problem
    • What is Sex Trafficking?
    • FAQs
    • Glossary of Terms
  • What We Do
    • Prevent
      • Training
      • Awareness
    • Restore
      • Programs
      • 3rd Party Service Providers
      • Stories of Hope
      • Partners
    • Bring Justice:Institute for Justice & Advocacy
      • Research
      • Report Cards
      • Training
      • Advocacy
  • Resources
    • All Resources
    • Internet Safety
    • Policy Research and Resources
    • Store
  • Take Action
    • Activism
    • Advocate
    • Just Like Me
    • Volunteer
    • Give
  • News&Events
    • Blog & Events
    • Media Center
    • Request a Speaker
    • Host an Event
    • Attend an Event
  • About
    • Our Mission and Values
    • Our Story
    • Financial Accountability
    • 2023 Annual Report
    • Leadership
    • Join Our Team
    • Contact Us
  • Conference
  • Donate
Home>Archives for Guest

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…]

August 16, 2022 by Guest

2022 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report

By Paulina Andrews and Emily Tegley

2022 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report

On July 19, 2022, the U.S. Department of State released the 2022 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. The TIP Report is federally mandated by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA). Each year, the TIP Report evaluates global anti-trafficking efforts and ranks countries into three tiers based on whether the countries have met the TVPA’s minimum standards.

Ranking System:

The 2022 TIP Report’s three-tier system ranks countries based on each country’s efforts to prosecute traffickers, protect trafficking victims, and prevent human trafficking. The tiers are based on the country’s efforts to address human trafficking and not on the size of the country’s human trafficking problem.

Countries that have made efforts to fully meet the TVPA’s minimum standards are placed in Tier 1. Tier 2 status is reserved for countries that have not fully met the TVPA’s minimum standards but are “making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards.” The Tier 2 Watch List includes countries that have made efforts to meet the TVPA’s minimum standards, but: (1) “the estimated number of victims of severe forms of trafficking is very significant or significantly increasing and the country is not taking proportional concrete actions”; or (2) “there is a failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons from the previous year.” Countries that do not meet the TVPA’s minimum standards and are not working to meet the standards are placed in Tier 3. Countries in Tier 3 may not be eligible for non-humanitarian and non-trade related funding.

The 2022 TIP Report also emphasizes the importance of ethically engaging survivors, seeking survivors’ input in decision-making, and employing survivors in a trauma-informed work environment. To achieve these goals, the TIP Report provides recommendations such as: encouraging organizations to budget for hiring survivors; ensuring organizations have obtained informed consent from a survivor before sharing the survivor’s story; compensating survivors appropriately for their time; and fostering a safe, trauma-informed environment in the workplace. Furthermore, the TIP Report addresses how survivors have diverse backgrounds and encourages anti-trafficking efforts to acknowledge that there is no “‘typical’ survivor or story.”  On July 20, the U.S. State Department held a briefing on this year’s TIP report, where the panel echoed the importance of having survivor-informed programs and policies. In keeping with this goal, the U.S. State Department relied on the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking, an appointed group of survivor leaders who advise and make recommendations on federal anti-trafficking policies, as subject matter experts to aid with the introductory materials for this year’s report, which is a tool to begin a global conversation on the inclusion of survivor expertise. Further, the panel noted that a dramatic increase in governments actively seeking survivor input could already be seen.

The United States:

The United States maintained its Tier 1 status in 2022, indicating the United States government has made efforts to meet the TVPA’s minimum standards. The TIP Report notes that the United States has maintained prosecution efforts and passed additional legislation to protect victims. For example, the TIP Report cites legislation the United States Congress enacted requiring credit reporting companies to remove adverse credit activity from victims’ reports when that credit activity is connected to their victimization. Additionally, the TIP Report explains the United States has improved its overall protection efforts by increasing the number of victims served and continuing to fund anti-trafficking efforts. Lastly, the TIP Report praised the United States’ prevention efforts, including its three-year national action plan to combat trafficking and ongoing public outreach efforts.

However, the TIP Report makes clear that Tier 1 status does not mean “a country has no human trafficking problem or that it is doing enough to address the crime.” Thus, the United States’ Tier 1 status does not mean the United States has a perfect response to human trafficking, and the TIP Report highlights various areas the United States needs to improve. For example, while the TIP Report indicates that the United States continues to reduce demand, the report also notes that advocates argue this demand-reduction must be trauma-informed, must be survivor-informed, and that diverse experiences and voices must be prioritized. In addition, the TIP Report notes the United States’ response to protecting LGBTQI+ individuals and children who are aging out of services is insufficient.

Furthermore, the TIP Report highlights that trafficking survivors continue to face criminal charges resulting from their victimization. Comprehensive victim protection laws are essential to ensuring survivors are identified and equipped to heal from their trafficking victimization and, if they choose to do so, join anti-trafficking efforts. Additionally, the TIP Report notes that criminal records resulting from the traffickers’ victimization exclude survivors from employment opportunities, housing, higher education, government programs, and from meeting their basic needs. The TIP Report also cites cases where trafficking survivors lost custody of their children because the survivors were required to register as sex offenders due to offenses the survivors committed as a result of being trafficked. To address this issue, the TIP Report encourages state, local, and tribal authorities to “implement policies not to prosecute victims for unlawful acts traffickers compelled them to commit.”

Shared Hope International’s Work:

In 2011, Shared Hope launched the Protected Innocence Challenge project, finding most states failed to recognize the crime of child sex trafficking. Under the project, Shared Hope graded each state on the strength of their laws regarding criminalization of child sex trafficking, offender accountability, tools for investigation and prosecution, and victim protections. By 2019, states had made great progress in areas related to criminalization, but service responses lagged. Shared Hope then retired the Protected Innocence Challenge project and released the Report Cards on Child & Youth Sex Trafficking legislative framework, building on the original Protected Innocence Challenge project and preserving its most fundamental components, but including new policy priorities that focus largely on specialized service responses and access to justice. These policies put survivor protections at the forefront of Shared Hope’s ongoing advocacy efforts.

This advanced legislative framework can be used as a tool for lawmakers seeking to address many of the recommendations found in the 2022 TIP Report. For example, to address and respond to the harmful and re-traumatizing effects of arrest and prosecution, the advanced legislative framework recommends that states enact laws to prevent the arrest, detention, and prosecution of children who have committed crimes as a result of their victimization. Specifically, states can take concrete steps to prevent additional trauma by prohibiting the criminalization of minors under 18 for prostitution offenses, prohibiting the criminalization of sex trafficking victims for non-violent crimes and trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation offenses committed as a result of their victimization, and providing victims with an affirmative defense for violent felonies committed as a result of their trafficking victimization. The criminalization of survivors is concerning, and while there has been an increase in awareness, gaps still remain in written policies seeking to prevent the criminalization of survivors.

Additionally, Shared Hope’s JuST Response Council, a group of over 30 experts from around the country who collaborate to improve responses to child sex trafficking, released field guidance on responding to sex trafficking victim-offender intersectionality and the complexities of charging victims of trafficking with offenses committed as a result of being trafficked. The Victim-Offender Intersectionality Report discusses not only why criminalizing survivors is inherently unjust, but also offers approaches for applying a sex trafficking-informed lens.

Shared Hope Resources:

  • Report Cards on Child & Youth Sex Trafficking and 2021 Toolkit
  • Seeking JuSTice Report: Legal approaches to eliminate criminal liability for juvenile sex trafficking victims
  • Responding to Sex Trafficking Victim-Offender Intersectionality: A Guide for Criminal Justice Stakeholders

Take Action:

  • Get informed. Visit the U.S. State Department’s website to review the entire 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report.
  • Advocate for change. Send your state’s report card to your legislators.
  • Join the fight. Sign Shared Hope’s Stop the InJuSTice Campaign petition to encourage states to stop arresting and charging child sex trafficking survivors with prostitution.
  • < Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • …
  • 35
  • Next Page >
  • What We Do
  • Newsletter Signup
  • Take Action
  • Donate
Shared Hope International
Charity Navigator Four-Star Rating

STORE | WEBINARS | REPORTCARDS | JuST CONFERENCE
 
Donate

1-866-437-5433
Facebook X Instagram YouTube Linkedin

Models Used to Protect Identities.

Copyright © 2025 Shared Hope International      |     P.O. Box 1907 Vancouver, WA 98668-1907     |     1-866-437-5433     |     Privacy Policy   |   Terms of Service

Manage your privacy
SHARED HOPE INTERNATIONAL DOES NOT SELL YOUR DATA. To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
Manage options
{title} {title} {title}
Shared Hope InternationalLogo Header Menu
  • The Problem
    • What is Sex Trafficking?
    • FAQs
    • Glossary of Terms
  • What We Do
    • Prevent
      • Training
      • Awareness
    • Restore
      • Programs
      • 3rd Party Service Providers
      • Stories of Hope
      • Partners
    • Bring Justice:Institute for Justice & Advocacy
      • Research
      • Report Cards
      • Training
      • Advocacy
  • Resources
    • All Resources
    • Internet Safety
    • Policy Research and Resources
    • Store
  • Take Action
    • Activism
    • Advocate
    • Just Like Me
    • Volunteer
    • Give
  • News&Events
    • Blog & Events
    • Media Center
    • Request a Speaker
    • Host an Event
    • Attend an Event
  • About
    • Our Mission and Values
    • Our Story
    • Financial Accountability
    • 2023 Annual Report
    • Leadership
    • Join Our Team
    • Contact Us
  • Conference
  • Donate