During the 2019 legislative session, nine states passed[1] critical legal reform measures to protect child sex trafficking victims from being prosecuted for prostitution, commonly referred to as “Safe Harbor” laws. However, as first pointed out in 2017, not all “Safe Harbor” laws actually insulate child sex trafficking victims from a punitive response for engaging in […]
How to Make an Ocean Rise – Celebrating Cyntoia Brown’s Release
“Ripples. When you create a difference in someone’s life, you not only impact their life, you impact everyone influenced by them throughout their entire lifetime. No act is ever too small. One by one, that is how to make an ocean rise.” –Danielle Doby, Author Eight months ago, we learned that Cyntoia Brown, a […]
Nonprofit Partnership in South Dakota Leads to Groundbreaking Law
In 2017, South Dakota passed a groundbreaking law to ensure survivors of sex trafficking, ages 16 and under, are protected from criminalization. This effort began two years ago when Becky Rassmussen, Executive Director of Call to Freedom, an awareness-raising and survivor-serving organization, recognized the important perspective she could bring to the legislative process. Seeking to […]
Progress Without Protection: How State Laws Are Punishing Child Sex Trafficking Victims
Over the past 7 years of the Protected Innocence Challenge, states have made substantial progress – 47 states have raised their grade, and while the majority of states were failing in 2011, there are no longer any states with a failing grade and 30 states now have an “A” or “B” grade. By closing gaps […]
Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking is a Form of Child Abuse
Nine states are working on laws this year to ensure that the definition of child abuse includes the crime of child sex trafficking. You can take action to support these bills! See the list of those 9 states below. Why does this definition matter? As a nation, comprised of both federal and autonomously-acting state law, […]
