Guest, Author at Shared Hope International

June 20, 2019 by Guest

2019 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report Release

By Matthew Quandt, Legal Fellow

Today, the U.S. Department of State released the 19^thannual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who was joined by John Cotton Richmond, the Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking-in-Persons, and Ivanka Trump, Advisor to the President, honored 8 individuals as TIP Report Heroes in recognition for their unique contributions to fighting human trafficking worldwide.

The TIP Report is a federally-mandated annual report instituted by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA). The report collects information from U.S. embassies, government officials, nongovernmental and international organizations, published reports, news articles, studies, and research to evaluate the efforts of 187 countries around the world in the fight against human trafficking. Shared Hope contributed to the report.

As in prior years, the Report categorizes countries into four tiers based upon their efforts to combat human trafficking (Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 2 Watch List, and Tier 3), and mandates as a significant penalty the restriction of U.S. foreign aid funds for those countries which fall within Tier 3. In line with the TVPA’s recommendations, President Trump restricted Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 foreign aid to countries designated as Tier 3 by the 2018 TIP Report, and will likely take similar action this fall against countries designated as Tier 3 by the 2019 TIP Report. With the release of the 2019 TIP Report, Bhutan, Cuba, The Gambia, and Saudi Arabia each fell to the Tier 3 designation, while Belize, Bolivia, Gabon, and Laos saw their recent efforts rewarded with an upgrade onto the Tier 2 Watch List from their prior position on Tier 3.

Differing from past TIP Reports, which have broadly focused on transnational human trafficking and the forced movement of people from one country to another, the 2019 TIP Report intentionally focuses on trafficking that remains within the borders of a single country. The Report explains that it is always “easier to look outward and call on other governments to act; it takes much more resolution and political will for governments to look inward and stop traffickers, including their own citizens, from exploiting victims who have not crossed an international border.” The Report cites findings that “the clear majority of traffickers were citizens of the countries where they were convicted” and that “traffickers exploit 77 percent of all victims in the victims’ countries of residence,” while acknowledging that victims of sex trafficking are more likely to face transnational human trafficking than are victims of forced labor.

This focus on internal trafficking supports Shared Hope’s strategic priority on policy efforts to counter domestic minor sex trafficking within the United States since 2005. Although human trafficking is unquestionably a global issue, and Shared Hope has continued to support efforts in many countries outside of the U.S., we chose to target the trafficking of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents on U.S. soil in an effort to make critical policy and services changes within our own country (estimates place the number of current trafficking victims within the United States at over 400,000¹). Our vision is to coordinate a national network of protection services to improve the quality of response available to sex trafficking victims while also bringing justice through criminal enforcement, deterrence of demand, and survivor involvement in the effort to end sex trafficking. Shared Hope also conducts trafficking-related research and publishes resources to aid federal and state legislators in drafting victim-centered legislation. See the Resources page for more information: https://sharedhope.org/resources/.

The United States has ranked itself as Tier 1 each year since its first inclusion in the TIP Report in 2010; receiving a Tier 1 ranking, however, “does not mean that a country has no human trafficking problem or that it is doing enough to address the problem.” While the TIP Report acknowledges the efforts made to-date by lawmakers, law enforcement, and service providers in combatting human trafficking locally, it also acknowledges there is still much work to be done. The Report urges that “officials across government should work to challenge stereotypes of a typical victim of human trafficking.” For example, the United States must continue to increase appropriate training and clarity provided to law enforcement and prosecutors in cases in which human trafficking victims are compelled by their trafficker to commit illegal offenses (“victim-offender intersectionality”). “Forced criminality takes the form of begging, prostitution, cannabis cultivation, and theft, among others. An untrained law enforcement officer or benefits adjudicator may not realize an individual is a victim of human trafficking before making an arrest or a decision on available benefits. These assumptions can also make victims more reluctant to seek help. Proactive efforts to recognize and mitigate these assumptions are therefore critical.”

Below is a summary of countries whose Tier status in the 2019 TIP Report changed from 2018. To read the entire TIP Report, visit the State Department website: https://www.state.gov/reports/2019-trafficking-in-persons-report/

Moves Up (24 countries)

From Tier 2 Watch List to Tier 2
Chad
Eswatini
Guatemala
Guinea
Haiti
Hong Kong
Kuwait
Macau
Madagascar
Mali
Mongolia
Niger
Nigeria
Senegal
Seychelles
Suriname
Tajikistan
Togo
Zimbabwe
St. Maarten* (*last year was a “Special Case” due to damage caused by Hurricane Irma)

From Tier 3 to Tier 2 Watch List
Belize
Bolivia
Gabon
Laos

Moves Down (25 countries)

From Tier 1 to Tier 2
Aruba
Denmark
Germany
Italy
Poland
Slovakia

From Tier 2 to Tier 2 Watch List
Afghanistan
Azerbaijan
Barbados
Brunei
Cambodia
Congo, Republic of the
Curaçao
Kazakhstan
Lesotho
Malawi
Marshall Islands
Romania
Sri Lanka
Tanzania
Vietnam

From Tier 2 Watch List to Tier 3
Bhutan
Cuba
The Gambia
Saudi Arabia

Sources

¹ https://www.globalslaveryindex.org/2018/findings/country-studies/united-states/

May 22, 2019 by Guest

Now I Have a Way to Help

By: Ambassador Bridget Crawford

You ever had a little person, maybe your own child pulling on your clothing in an attempt to get your attention? Or maybe they put their small innocent hand inside of yours, prompting you to follow? That familiar tug is what I felt when I began to hear about the reality of sex trafficking. My heart was being tugged. I was captivated by the gruesome reality that young adults and vulnerable children were being forced to have sex, at the expense of someone else’s greed and lust. I was angry. I was appalled. I was devastated. I knew we lived in an evil world, but this hit me differently. I listened to stories of survivors, and it broke my heart. To hear their pain, to listen to what they were subjected to, was not okay, at all. No one should be subjected to that kind of life. That’s abuse.

My sister once said to me “for someone to traffic someone, they have to view them as less valuable than themselves.” Those words never left my heart. One of the quickest ways to anger me is to see someone devalued, treated as less than.

Sex is a precious gift given by God, to be shared between husband and wife. No one should have that gift taken from them, or used for someone else’s selfish pleasure. The victims are precious to me. The survivors are precious to me, and I thank my friend, Sara Jones for telling me about Shared Hope. It is an amazing organization, and now, I have a way to help. Now, I have a way to help combat this issue. Now, I have a way to fight!

If you have been wanting to do something about this issue, but just haven’t figured out where to get started and how to get started, Shared Hope is an awesome place to start. You won’t be alone in the fight.

Become an Ambassador of Hope.

Contact your legislators.

Donate to Shared Hope.

Download Shared Hope’s Internet Safety Toolkit.

March 13, 2019 by Guest

Child Victims of Sex Trafficking Receive Mixed Messages: If We Aren’t ‘Aggressors’ Then Why are We Arrested?

In February, Kansas Judge Michael Gibbens came under fire in national news for claiming that two girls, ages 13 and 14, acted as “aggressors” in a situation of exploitation in which a 67-year-old male, Eugene Soden, paid them to have sex. While public reaction to Gibbens ruling was appropriately harsh, the reality is that his decision is reflective of a much larger societal and legal paradox.

Informing his ruling, Gibbens made multiple statements that less harm was done to the girls because he felt they had acted “voluntarily” and were paid. In speaking of the 13-year-old, Gibbens questioned:

“So, she’s uncomfortable for something that she voluntarily went to, voluntarily took her top off for, and was paid for?”

“I wonder, what kind of trauma there really was to this victim under those peculiar circumstances?”

As a society, we must ask, why did money sanitize what, in any other circumstance, would be considered child rape? And more concerning, how did the exchange of money shift the narrative so dramatically so as to characterize children as aggressors in the crime of which they were victims?

The answers lie in the paradox in which victims of child sex trafficking are legally apprehended and consequently, socially stigmatized. Twenty-five states, including Kansas, still allow commercially sexually exploited minors to be charged and prosecuted for prostitution and human trafficking offenses despite federal and state laws that recognize these same minors as victims of child sex trafficking. This paradox still exists despite an increase in awareness, and specific laws to protect children from such offenses over the last couple of decades.

As recently as 2018, Shared Hope International scored Kansas an “A” for having strong laws to address child sex trafficking. Yet, even within a state that has received an “A” rating, more than 79 minor human trafficking victims between 2013 and 2018 were detained in a juvenile detention center, sentenced to an average of 33 days. Criminalizing youth who have experienced the horrors of commercial sexual exploitation, and oftentimes survived traumatic experiences that predate the exploitation, is not only the gravest of injustices but also prevents survivors from receiving critical services and ongoing, specialized care.

Laws, and the manner in which they are applied, should reflect a community’s attitudes and beliefs.

The law in Kansas fixes the age of consent at 16 in apparent recognition that sexual contact between an adult and a minor is not consensual. Despite this long-standing law and an increased understanding of the damaging effects of sexual violence, victim-blaming toward sex trafficking survivors remains. Gibbens’ comments towards the children in this case, reflect a culture that seeks to diminish or justify the harm of buyers and abusers by placing responsibility within the victims. The reactions of citizens, in which nearly half of the comments on social media placed blame on the minors and used terms such as “delinquent,” “out of control,” “promiscuous,” “prostitute,” and “choice” illuminate the reality of this disconnect. Illustrating this further, in response to Gibbens’ ruling, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt proposed a new law that would prevent judges from reducing sentences for adult sex offenders because a child was labeled the “aggressor.” Kansas lawmakers rejected the bill.

Thus, amidst anti-trafficking awareness campaigns and fancy fundraisers, as Kansans we must ask ourselves: How do we really view individuals who have been victimized by and survived human trafficking? If we truly care, how do we shift our culture to recognize all survivors of sexual violence, including child sex trafficking, as unequivocally blameless in the conduct that constitutes their very victimization? How do we ensure that individuals victimized are afforded services, protection, and responses free of judgement and injustice, while simultaneously developing modes of accountability for offenders?

We must put an end to the paradigms, practices, and policies that allow survivors to be criminalized for surviving their victimization while perpetrators get a pass. Instead, we must believe the experiences of child victims of commercial sexual exploitation, and hold forth the truth of their innocence. We must protect survivors and provide access to holistic services. We must demand justice.

For more information, please visit the Center for Combating Human Trafficking (CCHT) and Shared Hope International.

About the Authors:

Linda Smith served as state legislator and Member of Congress from Washington (1983-1998). She founded Shared Hope in 1998.

Dr. Karen Countryman-Roswurm is the Founding Executive Director of the Center for Combating Human Trafficking (CCHT) as well as an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work at Wichita State University. Grounded in her own life experiences of overcoming streets and systems, Dr. Roswurm has over two decades of personal, professional practice, and community-based research expertise in the Anti-Trafficking Movement.

February 19, 2019 by Guest

Ambassador of Hope’s Ripple Effect

She had an idea, and followed it!

You start with your first invitation, and someone in the audience asks you to come to their group, and someone there asks you to their school, and the ripples multiply until you have to build a local team of Ambassadors to keep up!

As a new member of her small town Rotary Club, Pennsylvania Regional Coordinator, Megan Inghram simply had an idea to write a letter to the editor of the Rotary International magazine. She was hoping they would consider a feature article on sex trafficking and Shared Hope. She wasn’t even aware her letter had been published in the international publication until one of the local Rotarians called to tell her. She then asked her club to invest in Renting Lacy books for the local library and they agreed.

And that was the first ripple.

Megan delivered the display of Renting Lacy books to her librarian who responded, “It seems there should be a program with this. Do you have a presentation?” Incredulously, Megan thought, “Is this how it works? Can it really be this easy?”

At the next city council meeting, that librarian shared about the books and the upcoming Chosen showing. A local news reporter asked, “Do you really think this is a problem here?” She urged him to hear Megan’s presentation.

That was Megan’s first Chosen showing with a room full of thirty people. She was a bit nervous, and driving home realized she had never introduced herself! So she wrote a note to self – always introduce yourself first!

Later, while setting up a display in a library, a local news reporter was there to take pictures of the Rotarians presenting the books to the library. He asked Megan all about trafficking for an article he intended to write with the photo which he later published. Click here to read the news article that began the next ripple.

Megan has done great work to educate her community on sex trafficking and prepares them to combat this issue themselves!

February 13, 2019 by Guest

Survivors of Child Sex Trafficking are Never the Aggressor

Joint Statement by Shared Hope International and Center for Combating Human Trafficking on Sentencing by Kansas Judge Michael Gibbens

Under Federal and Kansas state law, persons who purchase sex from minors commit child sex trafficking; in fact, Kansas law specifically criminalizes such conduct as “Aggravated Human Trafficking.” Therefore, by definition, minors who are purchased for commercial sex are victims of sex trafficking. Yet, in 25 states, including Kansas, an alarming legal paradox exists that oftentimes prevents child sex trafficking victims from being identified and treated as victims of the heinous crime.

A February 3, 2019 sentencing by Kansas Judge Michael Gibbens has once again reminded us of the detrimental status of our nation’s non-criminalization laws. In reducing the sentence of a 67-year-old buyer, and referencing the 13 and 14-year-old victims, Judge Gibbens stated,

“So, she’s uncomfortable for something that she voluntarily went to, voluntarily took her top off for, and was paid for? . . . . I do find that the victims in this case in particular were more an aggressor . . . [t]hey were certainly selling things monetarily that it’s against the law for even an adult to sell. . . . Normally, I would think that the harm that would have been done by this kind of conduct would very, very substantial. I’m not convinced that that is so in this case.”

This case illuminates a culture that allows half of the country’s laws to regard minors engaged in commercial sex as offenders of prostitution, despite their status as victims of sex trafficking. Shared Hope International and the Center for Combating Human Trafficking at Wichita State University adamantly and unequivocally assert that survivors of child sex trafficking are never the aggressors or blameworthy for their own victimization. Together, we challenge the laws and culture that support penalizing, rather than protecting, youth who have experienced and survived commercial sexual exploitation.

We share the collective outrage for the reduction in the buyer’s sentence while daring the conversation to go further; we must amend our laws and shift our beliefs to ensure that no child is deemed a “prostitute” and prevented from receiving imperative protections and specialized services. We believe that when laws, practices, and beliefs are transformed in tandem, true perpetrators will be held accountable and survivors will be appropriately identified and protected; justice will be served.

Be part of a movement that seeks genuine change to both the laws and practices that address exploited youth; together, we can ensure that youth survivors of sex trafficking are protected, not punished:

Education: The Center for Combating Human Trafficking offers training and technical assistance and also has a significant amount of free resources available.
Action: Sign Shared Hope International’s petition to Stop the Injustice and end the criminalization of child sex trafficking victims.
Continued Contribution:
- Slow down, pay attention, think critically, and seek solutions that move beyond technical, short-term responses and address the more complex root causes of trafficking.
- As states across the country, including Kansas, continue to develop their anti-trafficking and child sexual exploitation laws this legislative session, support legislation that offers true “Safe Harbor” protections for minors, ensuring youth survivors of sex trafficking are protected from criminalization and have access to critical forms of post-conviction or post-adjudication relief, including vacatur and records expungement.
- Many state laws, including Kansas, ensure that there is increased training for law enforcement officers and commercial truck drivers who might assist in identifying individuals who are trafficked. However, without adequate and accessible resources, increased identification can lead to increased criminalization of the very victims we seek to assist. Thus, improved legislation should consider training for those who are charged with determining outcomes and trajectories for youth survivors, especially stakeholders within the justice system, including prosecutors, probation officers, and public defenders.
- Hold elected officials accountable in applying the law as it was intended. This requires all of us to invest through time, talent, and treasure in our own local communities.

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