Guest, Author at Shared Hope International

May 20, 2014 by Guest

Seattle Times – U.S. House Should Pass Anti Sex Trafficking Bills, Crack Down on Backpage.com

FULL STORY – Seattle Times – U.S. House Should Pass Anti Sex Trafficking Bills, Crack Down on Backpage.com

The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote as early as Tuesday on several anti-sex trafficking bills. With broad support from members of both parties, these sweeping measures ought to have no problems getting passed off the floor and sent over to the U.S. Senate.

Take a look at the problem by the numbers:

In the U.S., up to 300,000 children are at risk of being sold for sex each year. (Source: U.S. Department of Justice)
Pimps and traffickers report making between $5,000 and $32,833 each week. (Source: Urban Institute)
In King County, conservative estimates show that between 300 and 500 boys and girls under the age of 18 are victims of commercial sexual exploitation every day. (Source: King County)

If they do indeed pull it off, then Americans should give lawmakers a rare pat on the back for working through their normally toxic relationship. Uniting behind victims of sexual exploitation is a no-brainer. But the legislation before the U.S. House this week creates some substantive changes. (The Seattle Times editorial board published a May 11 editorial in support of three of the proposed laws.) If Congress feels inspired enough to find consensus on this widespread problem, who knows. It could create enough goodwill for members to return to the table to resolve other stalled reform efforts (i.e. immigration).

One of the bills up for consideration, the Stop Advertising Victims of Exploitation (SAVE) Act, has caught some flak from Internet freedom advocates. To address their concerns, Samantha Vardaman, the senior director of policy for Shared Hope International, says the House Judiciary Committee amended the legislation on May 15 to ensure that federal charges and penalties are applied only to those websites that “knowingly” advertise minors.

That wording change raises the burden of proof for prosecutors and means the SAVE Act might not stop the posting of advertisements featuring commercially sexually exploited children. What’s to stop Backpage.com and its copycats from simply saying they didn’t know that photos posted on their sites are underage or victims of trafficking?

The SAVE Act is still a first step toward better, stronger policies in the future.

“It’s a thoughtful approach to introducing liability in a way that doesn’t exist currently,” Vardaman said over the phone.

Below is a list of the bills expected to be fast-tracked on Tuesday, courtesy of House Republican leadership:

1) H.R. 3530 Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2013 (Sponsored by U.S. Rep. Ted Poe / Judiciary Committee)

2) H.R. 3610 Stop Exploitation Through Trafficking Act (Sponsored by U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen / Judiciary Committee / Education and the Workforce Committee)

3) H.R. 4225 Stop Advertising Victims of Exploitation (SAVE) Act (Sponsored by U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner / Judiciary Committee)

4) H.R. 4058 Preventing Sex Trafficking and Improving Opportunities for Youth in Foster Care Act, as amended (Sponsored by U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert / Ways and Means Committee)

5) H.R. 4573 International Megan’s Law to Prevent Demand for Child Sex Trafficking, as amended(Sponsored by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith / Foreign Affairs Committee / Judiciary Committee)

6) H.Res. 573 Condemning the abduction of female students by armed militants from the terrorist group known as Boko Haram in northeastern provinces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended (Sponsored by U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson / Foreign Affairs Committee)

More Media & News Coverage 2014

May 19, 2014 by Guest

Traveling Sex Offenders Pose Significant Risk to Destination Countries

By: Eion Oosterbaan

In May 2014, the United States Mission to the European Union in Brussels, Belgium hosted a strategy meeting focused on information-sharing regarding traveling sex offenders (TSOs), who play a large role in the ever-growing presence of International Sex Tourism and Human Trafficking. Eion Oosterbann attended as an observer on behalf of Shared Hope.

In attendance were more than 70 people from over 15 countries representing government, law enforcement and non-governmental agencies. The purpose of this strategy meeting was to discuss the activities of the countries represented with respect to tracking the travel of TSOs from one country to another and notification of that travel to destination countries. It should be noted that it was accepted as a premise that the problem of TSOs is linked to the problem of human trafficking, particularly the trafficking and sexual abuse of children.

It was clear at this meeting that U.S. law enforcement is tracking TSOs and providing notice to destination countries with a great deal of effectiveness (offenders against children). The U.S. is aided by its sex offender registration laws. The United Kingdom, Australia and Canada have similar laws and also address the problem effectively. Most other countries do not, but there seems to be broad interest amongst these countries in finding ways to provide and receive notice of TSOs. This universal determination is due to a recognition amongst governments that child sex offenders who travel to foreign countries pose a real risk to children in destination countries, particularly in destination countries with significant trafficking problems. However , the European Commission is not likely to enact legislation to register sex offenders due to privacy rights concerns. Without such legislation in countries, it would be difficult to track and provide notice of TSOs.

There are a number of legal and practical impediments to establishing a global notification system. The legal issues include privacy rights, which is a critical issue for certain European countries. The practical issues include problems of availability of data, lack of central control of data, reliability of data, and the timeliness of delivering of data and, accordingly, notice to destination countries.

By the end of the meeting it was clear that many gaps and needs must be resolved before a global notification structure and process for TSOs can be developed. Having discussed the diversity of conditions among the countries present, it was agreed that going forward the group’s strategy must be bifurcated to address countries that can and will monitor sex offenders on the one hand and those countries that cannot on the other. For the countries with privacy concerns standing in the way, arguments must be put forth that show the interests of protecting children outweigh privacy interests of offenders. Countries with an effective track record in registration and monitoring will help put forth these arguments with compelling examples and outcomes to be used by advocates in non-registration countries. For the countries already registering and/or monitoring, it was agreed that certain principles and objectives discussed at the meeting would be set out, drafted and shared by organizers with a view toward further discussion on specific steps and measures going forward. It is expected that this document will be shared shortly.

Due to Shared Hope International’s mission to prevent, restore, and bring justice in the effort to eradicate human trafficking worldwide, this issue lies directly within its realm. Looking at it from a macroeconomic perspective, Shared Hope has identified and targeted the demand for victims (buyers) as the entity that allows human trafficking/ sex tourism to exist and thrive. Simply put, without demand there would be no supply. Therefore, the establishment of a global notification structure for Traveling Sex Offenders would serve as a significant obstacle to the demand and source of revenue for human trafficking.

May 9, 2014 by Guest

In Congressional Briefing, Panelists Discuss Exploitation of Vulnerabilities That Lead to Child Labor

By: Elizabeth Clapp

On Tuesday, April 8, a Congressional Briefing was held on Capitol Hill, entitled “Combating Exploitative Child Labor.” In attendance was Senator Tom Harkin, along with a panel of activists and professionals working within the anti-child labor trafficking movement. These individuals are on the front lines, helping young children who have been exploited by working in harsh conditions for the profit of others. David Abramowitz of Humanity United noted that child labor is “morally, physically, [and] socially harmful,” and that it keeps children from gaining opportunities such as education. One of the focuses of the briefing was on the exploitative roots of the industries that feed off of child labor trafficking.

A primary way that children end up working in these dangerous conditions is through the economic vulnerability of their families. Shauna Bader-Blau of Solidarity Center observed that in Liberia’s rubber plantations, if parents are given more than they can handle in workload, they will often recruit their families to help them fill the quota in order to pay the bills. Another way in which children end up in exploitative labor is if their families cannot afford to put them into school. As Ms. Bader-Blau confirmed, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) there are often school entrance fees that families cannot pay. Therefore, their children may join the tens of thousands of other kids working in the DRC’s cobalt and copper mines. The promising futures of children are stolen because the economic tables are turned against them and their families.

Shared Hope International acknowledges that economic vulnerability can be a factor that leads to exploitation, whether that comes in the form of labor or sex trafficking. That is why we partner with organizations worldwide to fight the epidemic of exploitation, focusing on sex trafficking. One of our partners is Asha Nepal, an organization that provides Nepalese trafficking survivors a welcoming home. These women are often lured by the prospect of a better job – only to become trapped in the sex industry. By offering education and job skills training programs, we work to encourage financial stability and independence.

Learn more here about Asha Nepal and the stories of Nepalese trafficking survivors.

We also partner with Sparsh, an organization based in India that provides a sanctuary for survivors of sex trafficking in India’s brothels and their children, as well as the children of the mothers still trapped in the brothels. One mother recalls she had worked long hours in a factory and heard about a job with higher wages. What she didn’t realize is that the new job required her to sell her body, health and dignity for hours each day in an Indian brothel. Economic disincentives such as these steal opportunities for a better life and drive people of any age into the exploitative sex trafficking and labor trafficking industries.

Learn more here about Sparsh and the stories of women escaping from India’s brothels.

November 22, 2013 by Guest

Shared Hope Director, Nancy Winston, Receives Maryland Governor’s Service Award

By Melanie Mah

Twenty-seven Maryland residents were selected as recipients of the 30^th Annual Governor’s Service Award, honored on November 4, 2013.

Nancy Winston, Senior Director at Share Hope International, was honored with the Governor’s Service Award as a Special Honoree. This prestigious award is given to individuals who display an outstanding record of volunteerism and service.

Nancy has served as an integral part of Shared Hope since its inception. In the early days of Shared Hope, Nancy hosted President and Founder Linda Smith during her travel to Washington, D.C. and served as a local volunteer. As Shared Hope grew, so did Nancy’s position within Shared Hope and she was elected to sit on the Shared Hope International Board of Directors, a position she held for six years. During this time, Nancy assisted in organizing the War Against Trafficking Alliance in 2002. She participated in the Path Breaking Strategies Conference in Washington, DC in 2003 and in the Next Steps Conference in Mumbai in 2004, as well as the Justice Department Domestic Trafficking and Prostitution conference in Tampa in 2004 and the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children Mid Term Review in D.C. in 2006. She represented Shared Hope at the White House Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives in 2007 and 2008. In 2008, she left her career in healthcare information technology at Cerner Corporation to begin a second career with Shared Hope International.

Today, Nancy is a Senior Director whose diverse responsibilities include speaking, writing, training, donor relations, restorative shelter initiatives, and partner relationships.

Since 2008, she has served on the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force where she currently chairs the Legislative Committee is an active member the Victim Services committee. As a task force member and a Shared Hope employee, she provides expert testimony at committee hearings in the Maryland legislature in support of legislation that would toughen the state’s anti-trafficking laws.

Congratulations Nancy!

October 8, 2013 by Guest

Seattle Chosen Premiere Summary – Sept. 26, 2013

Guest post by: Jo Lembo

With the Seattle Aquarium as the backdrop, guests of Shared Hope International heard, many for the first time, that sex trafficking is real and it’s here in our neighborhoods. The Seattle Premier showing of Chosen drew a registration of over 300, many of them sponsored youth from the Puget Sound area. The diverse crowd included Senators who sponsored new, stricter laws, law enforcement who enforce them, caregivers who support the victims, and providers of housing for survivors. Parents, teachers, media representatives, coaches, youth leaders and nearly 100 teens came to learn how to Defend Their Friends, the theme for the evening. Students from University of Washington Law School seemed to represent the United Nations in their small group of ten. One girl shared with a staffer, “I was trafficked twice in Africa. Then I became a prosecutor but it’s very hard to protect women in a country where they are considered property. So I came to the US to get my degree!” Her fire and passion resounded with the promise of greatness as she declared, “I will be the best prosecutor ever to return to my country!”

Nine partners stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Shared Hope including Seattle Archdiocese Council of Catholic Women (ACCW), Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking (BEST), Connelly Law Firm, Federal Way Coalition Against Trafficking (FWCAT), The Genesis Project, Real Escape from the Sex Trade (REST), Union Gospel Mission, Washington Women’s Network (WWN) and Youthcare. We all recognize there is a war raging and none of us can win it alone. Shared Hope is grateful for others in the Puget Sound area who are fighting the same battle.

A hush fell over the crowd when survivor, Brianna, stood up to declare the vulnerabilities that were exploited in her, a then barely 18-year old college-bound girl. Her story breaks all stereo-types as she shared how she was an A-student, a cheerleader, an athlete, in a youth group, and the youngest of five children in a two-parent home. She thought she was making choices when a regular customer where she waitressed invited her to Seattle for the winter break. But she didn’t know he had chosen her to groom and sell her into the sex industry. Her friend, Evan, recognized the signs of trafficking because his dad had heard a presentation based on the book “Renting Lacy” at a Rotary Club and had talked to his son about defending his friends. Evan betrayed Brianna’s trust to save her life.

Everyone was riveted as she spoke through tears, “Where were my parents, you might ask?” Brianna answered her own question, “I lied to them. I wasn’t where I said I would be. I kept things from them. They did an amazing job raising me, evidenced in the fact that I can stand before you after what happened to me. I want to thank my parents who are sitting on the front row tonight.” She then urged young people to be aware when a friend is hiding things, being isolated from support networks, has a significantly older boyfriend, suddenly has expensive gifts or is planning to go away without telling her parents. “Talk to them! Tell them it’s dangerous! If they won’t listen, go to a responsible adult and ask for help!”