Samantha, Author at Shared Hope International

November 10, 2021 by Samantha

2021 Pathbreakers

Picture in your mind, this pathbreaker. He or she is someone with a formidable tool—a pick or an ax—heaving it with two hands behind the back, coming down hard on a forbidding surface—rocks, or rock-hard earth. This worker is spent with the effort, perspiring and hot, but enduring, and unwilling to give up until this particular piece of the intended path yields to the effort.

This is a picture of 25 individuals who have been selected as Shared Hope Pathbreakers since 2010, each chipping away at a particular piece. More than a decade since 2010 Pathbreaker Award recipient Officer John Chapman recognized that a headstrong 18-year-old on the run was being trafficked, that path is still under construction.

It would be fair to ask why we are still breaking ground after so many years until we recall that the projected route for the path was not put in place until the year 2000. That is when the Trafficking Victims Protection Act defined a route to justice that could actually be visualized. Thanks largely to the efforts of Lifetime Pathbreaker Award recipient U.S. Congressman Chris Smith, the path was begun with the TVPA and supporting federal legislation brought forward by Lifetime Pathbreaker Award recipient U.S. Congressman Frank Wolf and 2013 Pathbreaker Award recipient U.S. Congressman Ted Poe. In short order, axes and picks started flying as influencers and advocates grabbed their tools and went to work!

It was in 2010 that Shared Hope took on a major effort to soften the ground for that path with the introduction of the Protected Innocence Challenge. Grading each state on the efficacy of its laws protecting child sex trafficking victims and holding perpetrators accountable, the Protected Innocence Challenge was the driver of dramatically improved laws in every state, year by year, over the decade that followed. Yet, despite such great progress, stubborn ground refused to yield; so, in 2021 Shared Hope will introduce a report card that reflects graduate-level pathbreaking effort. These stubborn areas are the ones that advocates have been chipping away at for the past ten years without sufficient progress. They address victim-blaming stereotypes enshrined in law, criminalization of victims permitted by law, and lack of services provided under the law for victims on either an immediate need or long-term recovery basis.

It has been Shared Hope’s honor and privilege to highlight outstanding contributors each year who influence policy, provide services, or advocate for justice, especially those whose courageous influence is rooted in their own lived experience. These individuals break through the trend of inaction and initiate meaningful responses to survivors and appropriate deterrence for perpetrators.

The 2021 Shared Hope Pathbreaker Award will honor two individuals whose efforts demonstrate the critical impact legislation can have on a survivor of domestic minor sex trafficking. Selected for her outstanding work to eliminate the burden of proving force, fraud or coercion in a case of child sex trafficking under Ohio state law, Senator Teresa Fedor exemplifies the pathbreaking spirit. Senator Fedor has tirelessly championed several pieces of critical legislation to increase protections for vulnerable children and youth, often reintroducing the same legislation year after year until it is successfully enacted. With the same spirit, Alexis Keerica Martin (Kee, as she prefers) is the brave survivor selected for her voice advocating for protection instead of punishment—a voice she found as a result of being herself convicted in adult court for criminal acts done while being trafficked at age 15 in Ohio. While navigating the countless roadblocks created by her own unjust criminalization, Kee has simultaneously used her experiences to influence much overdue and needed reforms, seeking to ensure that other survivors of trafficking are not held accountable for crimes reflecting their victimization. Together, these two deserving Pathbreakers have provided additional fuel for Shared Hope’s commitment to seek survivor-centered solutions for addressing and preventing child sex trafficking across the U.S.

Read more about the Pathbreaker Award and past recipients here: https://sharedhope.org/what-we-do/prevent/awareness/path-breaker-awards-since-2010/.

And watch the livestream event on November 17, 8:45 am ET, here: https://www.facebook.com/sharedhopeinternational

October 7, 2016 by Samantha

Condemning Pimping of Children on Backpage.com, finally.

On Thursday, news broke that Backpage.com CEO Carl Ferrer was arrested in Texas (on a California warrant) on felony charges of pimping a minor. It’s about time.

It is rare to read a press release now that doesn’t mention Backpage.com as a factor in a child sex trafficking arrest. In fact, Shared Hope has tracked nearly 500 law enforcement press releases noting Backpage.com involvement.

Backpage.com has been fighting attempts by prosecutors, legislators and advocacy groups to stop the child sex trafficking that is occurring on their website and has been making them millions for years. Each day that passes sees more victims. Last month Shared Hope joined with leading advocacy organizations in an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of child victims suing Backpage.com for allowing their exploitation to occur on its website. This is just the latest in a long fight to stop Internet exploitation of children, with Backpage.com being the giant in the online classified industry where this exploitation is widely taking place.

In addition, the U.S. Senate held Backpage.com in contempt of Congress in March after it refused to comply with a subpoena in its sex trafficking investigation. TheSenate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has compiled a report on Backpage.com’s activities that demonstrates a purposeful and diabolical strategy to capitalize on the demand for commercial sex with children, and to make as much money as possible from this activity: the true definition of a facilitator of child sex trafficking. Backpage.com refused to testify at a hearing on the report in November 2015, leading to the Senate voting to issue a contempt order – the first time in 20 years – against CEO Carl Ferrer. Backpage.com then used every possible legal procedure to stave off producing its corporate communications to the PSI, appealing all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court where it finally ended with the order to comply.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris tells it like it is in the press release from her office: “Backpage and its executives purposefully and unlawfully designed Backpage to be the world’s top online brothel.”

Beyond the legal cases and breaking news is the reality of the thousands of vulnerable children being exploited on Backpage.com; many are still trapped and advertised on Backpage.com as you read this article. As Shared Hope follows this case, we remain committed in our work to prevent the sale of children for sex, restoring survivors and bringing traffickers and predators to justice.

June 28, 2016 by Samantha

Human Trafficking Awareness Week in Mesa, AZ

The Mesa City Council announced a Proclamation establishing June 26-July 2 as Human Trafficking Awareness Week in Mesa, Arizona.

Mesa law enforcement and officials have taken up the fight against human trafficking, working with Shared Hope and the Arizona Anti-Trafficking Network to tackle and prevent exploitation in the City. In 2015 the Mesa Police Department initiated Project Blue Heat to identify and rescue child sex trafficking victims, and to arrest predators.

In 2016, the Police Department created the Human Exploitation and Trafficking Squad (HEaT) and zeroed in on the traffickers and buyers as the offenders.

Thank you to Mayor John Giles for putting your hand to proclaiming Human Trafficking Awareness Week!

The Proclamation -Human Trafficking Awareness Week Proclamation

April 8, 2013 by Samantha

Raise Your Grade! Massachusetts Put to the Test

In 2011, the state of Massachusetts received an “F” in Shared Hope International’s Protected Innocence Challenge report. It received a final score of 45, with especially low scores regarding the criminalization of domestic minor sex trafficking and protective provisions for child victims.

Just a year later, Massachusetts has been named the Most Improved State, raising its score by nearly 30 points! It’s an exciting accomplishment about which state lawmakers and advocates should be very proud. But how did they do it? Here’s an overview.

In 2011, the state received just 2.5 out of 7.5 points for its domestic minor sex trafficking laws. In 2012, it increased that score to 7.5 out of 10. It’s a more than 30% improvement that happened mainly because Massachusetts passed its first-ever sex trafficking law. The law not only addresses sex trafficking specifically, but does not require victims under 18 to prove force, fraud or coercion.

In addition, the new laws distinguish between buying sex with an adult and buying sex with a minor, and make it possible for purchasers to be charged with trafficking crimes as well.

Massachusetts also recognized that the internet has changed the way human trafficking crimes are committed. In response, state lawmakers passed legislation that imposes a five year sentence, and/or a fine of $2,500 for anyone convicted of “human trafficking or commercial sexual activity by electronic communication.” There is also a mandatory five year sentence and minimum $10,000 fine for any subsequent offense.

But they didn’t stop there! Massachusetts also took significant steps towards protecting child trafficking victims. The state enacted laws specifically designed to provide specialized services to all sexually exploited youth, and allow trafficking victims to use trafficking as a defense against prostitution charges. The laws also allow victims under 15 years of age to testify via closed-circuit television. And finally, the statute of limitations was extended to 15 years for human trafficking charges, and eliminated entirely for sex trafficking of minors.

Governor Deval Patrick has high hopes that the new laws will serve Massachusetts well, saying that it will “protect innocent victims, and give Massachusetts the tools to prosecute the criminals committing these egregious crimes to the fullest extent.” Also showing optimism is Representative Eugene L. O’ Flaherty, who says the new laws “give law enforcement and prosecutors the tools they need to combat this issue that is often hidden from society and provides victims, particularly young children, with the safety and services they need to get their lives in order.”

February 12, 2013 by Samantha

The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act Advances in the Senate Thanks to the Violence Against Woman Act

On February 12, 2013, the Violence Again Women Act (VAWA) passed in the Senate with critical amendments made by Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy’s (D-VT) to secure the reauthorization of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) as part of VAWA and by Senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) to authorize grants to enhance the safety of youth and children who are victims of, or exposed to sex trafficking, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) was enacted in 2000 to create tools to enable the U.S. government to address the prosecution of traffickers, protection for victims, and prevention of human trafficking. This Act serves as the cornerstone of legal protection for victims of trafficking at the federal level and sets a standard for state legislatures around the nation. For 18 years, VAWA has been the foundation of fighting violence, providing services and resources for victims of violence. Together these two statutes have enabled America to lead the world in protecting and delivering justice to victims of trafficking.

“National leadership is the key to combatting this crime,” said Linda Smith, President and Founder of Shared Hope International. “When our federal government takes a stance against trafficking, they reenergize the prioritization of innovative and effective solutions to this national crisis.”

The TVPA serves as a baseline standard for Shared Hope’s Protected Innocence Challenge, a comprehensive analysis of existing state laws against a framework of legal components necessary to fully protect children from child sex trafficking. Under the Challenge, every state receives a Report Card that grades the state on 41 key legislative components that must be addressed in state’s laws in order to effectively respond to the crime of domestic minor sex trafficking. In addition, each state receives a complete analysis of this 41-component review and practical recommendations for improvement. Click here to find out how your state scored.