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Home>Archives for Guest

June 22, 2012 by Guest

SEX+MONEY

“Have you ever heard of the issue of human sex trafficking?” 

The trailer for the documentary “Sex + Money” opens by asking this question. Most people don’t know or don’t understand the scope of the problem. Most people who have heard of sex trafficking couldn’t possibly imagine it happening here … not in America, no way.

It is here. It is in every city across the U.S. If you can’t find it in one location, you just aren’t looking hard enough.

In 2011, five young journalists set off on a mission across the United States. They were on a mission to spread awareness about domestic minor sex trafficking by hosting screenings of the “Sex + Money” documentary.

Shared Hope partnered with the Sex + Money team to raise state grades through the Protected Innocence ChallengeReport Cards. Together we have started a wildfire of states introducing and enacting laws and legislation that will help rescue, restore, protect, and defend girls — while strengthening laws that serve justice to traffickers.

Will you join us? Will you watch the video and be inspired to action? Or will you brush it off? You can make a difference. Together, we can change the world.

www.sexandmoneyfilm.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsY93C8cm54

June 12, 2012 by Guest

Fighting Fire with Fire: Using Technology to Thwart Human Trafficking

Guest Post By: Cleo Tung
Master of Philosophy, Criminological Research University of Cambridge

Cleo Tung holds a Master of Philosophy in Criminological Research from the University of Cambridge. As a 2010 Gates Scholar, Ms. Tung focused her dissertation on exploring different NGO perspectives on human trafficking in the US. She is the former Vice President of the United Nations Children’s Fund at the University of California, Irvine, where she completed her BA in Criminology, Law & Society.

Although human trafficking predates information and communication technologies (ICT’s) such as the Internet, mobile phones, and social networking sites, there is little doubt that trafficking activity now takes place in the digital domain. Indeed, traffickers increasingly rely on ICT’s to recruit, advertise, and sell their victims. As the United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking notes, ICT’s are ideal conduits for trafficking because they “…provide a degree of anonymity and/or disguise which allows them [traffickers] to commit their crimes with reduced risk.”

Indisputably, ICT’s exacerbate the trafficking problem. The upside, however, is that the same technologies can ameliorate anti-trafficking efforts, as recently noted by Mark Latonero’s study at the University of Southern California, Human Trafficking Online. For example, ICT’s have proven critical to public awareness campaigns including the DNA Foundation’s “Real Men Don’t Buy Girls” campaign, which has helped educate the public on child slavery via social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. In fact, organizations are increasingly cognizant of ICT’s as an effective tool for expanding public understanding of human trafficking. Shared Hope International’s YouTube channel, the Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking’s webinars, and this very blog are but a few examples of such recognition.

Smartphone applications like the International Justice Mission’s IJM Mobile also signify the emergence of ICT’s as a useful anti-trafficking tool. Through IJM Mobile’s “Make Some Noise” feature, users can easily help raise public awareness and galvanize support for anti-trafficking policies by posting the latest trafficking-related news in their social networks.

Technological innovation in the anti-trafficking field is further exemplified by Survivors Connect, a California-based organization dedicated to leveraging ICT’s against human trafficking. Like IJM, Survivors Connect employs mobile technology with its SMS: Freedom helpline service, through which users can reduce their risk of victimization by connecting to professionals and resources (e.g. information about trafficking scams, safe migration, child protection, and emergency support) via text messaging.

Beyond mobile technology, Survivors Connect offers a range of data mapping programs, notably Freedom Datamap, which crowd sources information about where anti-trafficking organizations work and provide services globally. Freedom Datamap enables professionals, lawyers, service providers, government agencies, and international organizations to share critical trafficking information in a single space. Users submit their information through various media (e.g. email, Twitter, web reports), which is then aggregated into direct reports and plotted on an interactive map. With this program, users can easily access and share data, thereby empowering them to enhance collaboration efforts, learn best practices, and identify gaps in knowledge.

As we have seen here, technology can play a critical role in combatting the trafficking problem. Whether it’s raising awareness of the issue through Facebook or sharing the latest research through a webinar, anti-trafficking work has great potential to improve as technology continues to advance. For many, this could mean a life free from the violence, exploitation, and abuse endured under the conditions of modern-day slavery.

Special thanks to Founder and Executive Director of Survivors Connect, Aashika Damodar, who agreed to discuss her organization’s anti-trafficking work.

April 18, 2012 by Guest

Recent Secret Service Scandal Raises Awareness of Sex Tourism

Recently thrust into the media due to the less-than-honorable actions of some members of President Obama’s Secret Service team, sex tourism has risen to the attention of the global community. Sex tourism, defined as traveling to a domestic or international location with the purpose of purchasing sex, has become a multi-billion dollar industry with some seriously questionable repercussions.
One such repercussion is the proliferation of sex trafficking. Sex tourism increases the demand for commercial sex, enticing traffickers to force women and children into the market to satisfy this demand.  This leads to child sex tourism, which is defined as traveling to a location with the purpose of engaging in sex with a minor.  Although this commercially-facilitated form of child abuse is known to occur in countries with a weak economic structure, it also occurs in the United States on a regular basis.

For example, Las Vegas is a hub for sex tourism, and thus sex trafficking is extremely common.  In a 2008 study performed by Shared Hope, over 400 prostituted children were found in Las Vegas in just one month. Efforts to curb child sex trafficking have made some progress, but the problem continues to plague the area. Fortunately, law enforcement agencies are aware of the strong presence of sex trafficking and tourism in Las Vegas, and are developing measures in similar areas in their communities with the potential to become a hub for sex trafficking. For example, Hollywood Casino Toledo is slated to open in Toledo, Ohio this June, so local law enforcement officers are being trained to identify and address sex trafficking.

Countries with a weak economic structure are popular destinations for sex tourism because buyers can purchase comparatively less expensive sexual services with exotic women, men and/or children, with greater anonymity than if purchasing in their home country. A prime example is India. According to the 2011 Trafficking in Persons Report, “Religious pilgrimage centers and cities popular for tourism continue to be vulnerable to child sex tourism. Indian nationals engage in child sex tourism within the country and, to a lesser extent, in other countries.” Essentially, Indian children are being trafficked in India to provide domestic and international tourists with sex, and Indian adults also travel to other countries to engage in sex with minors.

All forms of sex tourism fuel global sex trafficking. Although the U.S. Secret Service members’ alleged sexual engagement involved adults, their actions are driving the sex tourism industry, thus promoting the brutal commercial sexual exploitation of women and children in the region and around the world.

April 12, 2012 by Guest

On the Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, President Obama Refocused Efforts on Modern Day Slavery

By Anne Reilly

On March 15, President Obama held a meeting with cabinet members and senior advisors to lay out plans to put an end to modern day slavery. The United States has long been a leader in addressing international human trafficking. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton led the group in discussing the current situation and making plans to combat the issue. The United States plans to utilize tools to combat human trafficking including: law enforcement, victim service provisions, increasing public awareness, and diplomatic pressure. These tools can be used domestically or internationally to target traffickers and help protect victims. In addition, the United States will increase partnerships with organizations, schools, businesses, and local communities.

[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKTj5beMjmw’]

The U.S. was one of the first countries to take action against slavery in its modern form. In 2000, Congress passed the “Trafficking Victims Protection Act” in order to address the problem. This law gave a federal definition to the crime of sex trafficking and created the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons within the U.S. Department of State to study the issue. Every year since the enactment of the TVPA the U.S. Department of State releases a “Trafficking in Persons Report”evaluating the efforts of every country in prevention, prosecution, protection and partnership to combat human trafficking. Countries are ranked using a tier system. Low ranking countries face public scrutiny and possible sanctions, prompted many countries to toughen anti-trafficking efforts.

Though the TVPA provides a strong legal platform, many states are lacking laws on the issue. Shared Hope spearheaded the effort to make sex trafficking a priority issue in states by creating the Protected Innocence Challenge in 2011. Every year this challenge will evaluate states based on its current legislation regarding domestic minor sex trafficking. Each state receives a grade for its efforts, as well as recommendations on how to strengthen laws to protect citizens

President Obama said, “I am confident that we will one day end the scourge of modern slavery, because I believe in those committed to this issue: young people, people of faith and station, Americans who refuse to accept this injustice and will not rest until it is vanquished.”

We couldn’t agree more.

February 24, 2012 by Guest

Holding Online Facilitators Accountable: Campaign Targeted at Backpage.com

Since Shared Hope’s December 2011 release of the Protected Innocence Initiative, many states have had a torrent of new bills going out addressing the gaps in their laws which leave minors vulnerable to sex trafficking. As part of this initiative, Shared Hope evaluated the laws of each state in regards to their punishments for facilitators. Facilitators are those people or entities that knowingly enable domestic minor sex trafficking or benefit from sex trafficking in any way. While our analysis did not specifically focus on online facilitators, law enforcement and service providers have identified it as an increasing concern.

President and Founder of Shared Hope International, Congresswoman Linda Smith, explained in testimony before the Washington Senate Judiciary Committee on Friday, January 27th, it seems illogical to believe that these sites should escape accountability because they happen “in the cloud”. (Click here to listen to Congresswoman Smith’s testimony.)

Traditionally facilitators were thought of as a taxi cab driver or hotel employee assisting or turning a blind eye away from sex trafficking. However it is increasingly becoming apparent that there are many forms of facilitation of child sex trafficking. While a few states currently hold facilitators responsible by holding them to criminal or civil penalties, there are still barriers when it comes to online facilitators.

Backpage.com is an online classifieds site owned by Village Voice Media Group where many so-called “adult” ads are placed. Backpage.com has been identified by law enforcement and service providers as a hub for child sex trafficking. News outlets in states across the country have been reporting cases confirming Backpage.com is being used by traffickers to place ads offering minors for commercial sex. For example, in Florida, Leighton Curtis was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for bringing a 15-year-old girl into the state where he took sexually explicit photographs of her and advertised her for commercial sex on websites including Backpage.com. Another case involved Theodore Briggs of Connecticut who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for sex trafficking a 14 and 17 year old. He used Backpage.com to advertise the girls for sex to buyers.

Backpage.com profits each time a minor is advertised for commercial sex on the site. An independent study by Advanced Interactive Media Group found that the adult section of Backpage.com is expected to earn Village Voice Media Group $24.8 million this year. While the act of profiting from child sex trafficking could lead to criminal charges for on-the-ground facilitators, Backpage.com has been left relatively unchanged throughout this process. Village Voice Media has claimed that their website is protected by the Communications Decency Act. They have been unwilling to close down this section of their website or even though they have been made well aware by law enforcement, policy officials and the victims themselves that domestic minor sex trafficking is happening there.

Shared Hope International is leading a national campaign inviting mayors across the nation to join our efforts to encourage Village Voice Media to stop facilitating child sex trafficking on Backpage.com. In addition, 51 state attorney generals, 53 anti-trafficking experts and organizations, and nearly 3,000 faith leaders of different denominations are publically calling on Backpage.com to shut this section down. We will not stop our efforts until children are no longer advertised online for sex.

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