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Home>Archives for SHI Staff

November 16, 2015 by SHI Staff

NPR: States Do Better Cracking Down On Child Sex Trafficking, Report Says

Transcript: Lina Wertheimer, WUNC Interview for NPR

Now we bring you some good news coming from a nonprofit group that studies the problem of child sex trafficking. A new report being released today finds many U.S. states are doing a better job of halting this crime. NPR’s justice correspondent, Carrie Johnson, got an exclusive look at the report.

CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE: When the nonprofit group Shared Hope International started evaluating how well states cracked down on child sex trafficking back in 2011, the report card was ugly. Christine Raino directs public policy at Shared Hope.

CHRISTINE RAINO: We have really seen substantial change. That first year, more than half the states had failing grades. And now, five years later, we actually have half the states – more than half the states have A’s and B’s, and we no longer have any states with failing grades.

JOHNSON: The group tracks how many states have passed criminal laws against trafficking and whether the states punish those who pay for sex with people under age 18. Awareness is starting to grow, Raino says, in part because the FBI works with state and local partners to try to recover children every year in raids like this one in Michigan last month.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Big child sex trafficking sting taking place here in metro Detroit and across the nation.

JOHNSON: Authorities found 19 girls between the ages of 13 and 17 and an even bigger raid in Denver.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: A 14-year-old girl has been rescued from her pimp, a local gang member who was trafficking the girl along Colfax Avenue. She is one of 20 children rescued from sex trafficking operations along the Front Range.

JOHNSON: The federal system prohibits minors from being charged with prostitution or other crimes, but that’s not the case in many states. Fifteen states now officially treat minors as victims rather than exposing them to prosecution for prostitution. Raino says there’s still a long way to go.

RAINO: Looking at victims’ protections and victims’ access to services and really moving toward the recognition that child sex trafficking victims are not committing a crime, but they’re victims.

JOHNSON: The new report from Shared Hope points out that trafficking markets operate on the principle of supply and demand – case in point, the booming oil industry across North Dakota and Montana.

RAINO: What we’re hearing is an increasingly urgent problem of sex trafficking. With the oil boom have come many more people into the region and predominately men.

JOHNSON: And those men have had a lot of disposable income. This year, North Dakota boosted protections for survivors of child sex trafficking, and Shared Hope says Montana strengthened its laws, too. Carrie Johnson, NPR News, Washington. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

November 16, 2015 by SHI Staff

CBN News: Anti-Trafficking Laws Make Big Gains

By: Heather Sells, CBN News

A national report card that grades states on their anti-trafficking laws shows dramatic progress in the last few years.

Shared Hope International‘s 5th annual Protected Innocence Challenge report card, released Wednesday, reveals that half the states are earning an A or B on their report card, and none are failing.

When the anti-trafficking, non-profit organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., began grading the states in 2011, it failed 26 states.

Samantha Vardaman, senior director at Shared Hope told CBN News “a lot of that is due to grass roots activities. Public awareness has increased significantly over the years.”

North Dakota and Montana are two bright spots in this year’s report card. In recent years, the booming oil industry has drawn more than 100,000 workers, mainly men, away from home in search of high-paying jobs in the Bakken region, which overlaps with Montana. The surge threatened to fuel an emerging sex industry.

In 2011, Shared Hope failed both states. This year, it gave North Dakota a B and Montana an A for overhauling their laws.

Anti-trafficking laws vary from state to state. The core idea behind Shared Hope’s Protected Innocence Challenge is to penalize traffickers and buyers, identify victims and provide shelter and services for them.

“With improved laws and greater enforcement, buyers and traffickers become aware that this is a much riskier endeavor to engage in and it will deter demand and trafficking,” Vardaman explained.

Shared Hope says there’s still a great need to provide help for victims. It also wants all states to earn A’s and B’s so traffickers will not be able to simply move their operations to the most “trafficking-friendly” states.

November 16, 2015 by SHI Staff

World Magazine: States improve efforts to punish sex traffickers, rescue victims

By: Gaye Clark, World Magazine

When the advocacy group Shared Hope released its first report card on efforts to combat sex trafficking of America’s children, 26 states received a failing grade. This year’s report card, released Wednesday, proved a surprise to Shared Hope founder, Linda Smith.

“I was excited there were no Fs,” Smith said. “In 2011, we had 26 states with failing grades—so many places in the United States that could be scary places for our children.” In addition to no Fs, more than half the states earned either an A or a B.

The Protected Innocence Challenge assigns A through F letter grades to all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It evaluates states on critical elements in the fight against sex trafficking of minors, including special criminal provisions for the men who buy children and legal and restorative services for their victims.

This year, Louisiana retained its top spot on the list. Michigan earned the title of most improved. Two other states, Montana and North Dakota, improved their scores by two letter grades. While the scores this year show dramatic improvement, Smith said they reflect several years of persistent effort on the part of state attorneys general and legislators. She said lawmakers in the states that received higher marks found a way to work together, across party lines and without hubris, for the common goal.

Critics say existing legislation is sufficient to prosecute sex traffickers and more laws are not needed, suggesting anti-trafficking advocates should focus on enforcing existing laws.

Smith believes in new legislation as well as enforcement.

“We have to build law and then practice what we have built,” she said. “Good people make laws work.”

While Smith is greatly encouraged at the progress of the last five years, she still sees more ground to cover. For example, only 15 states protect minors from being criminally charged as prostitutes, a stigma that can keep victims from getting support and recovery services. Smith also believes many states have much work to do toward punishing buyers to lower demand.

In 2013, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo introduced a trafficking survivor who shared her story, illustrating the need for legislation that targets buyers and protects victims. “Brianna” was 9 years old when her school janitor kidnapped her, raped her, and sold her to a pimp. She recounted a life controlled by a series of brutal pimps who sold her “to men who knew my age and bought sex because of it.”

During her ordeal, Brianna saw her mother out the window of the room in which she was trapped. Her mom was hanging “missing” posters with Brianna’s face on them. She screamed, trying to get her mother’s attention, but her pimp yanked her away from the window by her hair.

When police finally came, it didn’t feel like a rescue.

“I was arrested and placed in handcuffs. … I was called a prostitute even though I was a child, even though I was a trafficking victim,” she said.

A jury eventually convicted her abuser of kidnapping—a charge for which he will serve about four years, Brianna said.

“This man who owned me as a slave, who sold me to child rapists, who profited off of my body deserves to be punished more harshly,” she said.

Shared Hope plans to continue monitoring legislative efforts to fight sex trafficking but in the future the group also hopes to track implementation.

“We’re going upstream, “Smith said. “ Improvement doesn’t happen overnight. We’re in this for the long haul.”

November 11, 2015 by SHI Staff

Texas, Montana, Minnesota Join Ranks Strongest States in Nation for Child Sex Trafficking Laws

Shared Hope International Releases State Report Cards to Reveal State of Trafficking Laws in U.S.

WASHINGTON, D.C., Legislative advancements in 2015 scored Texas, Montana and Minnesota top spots in the nation for strongest laws to combat child sex trafficking, according to a new study by Shared Hope International. These states join Louisiana, Tennessee and Washington, the first three states in the nation to earn an “A” on the annual Protected Innocence Challenge report card grading the sufficiency of state laws to address child sex trafficking.

Five years of sweeping legislative advancements allowed 47 states to raise their grade since 2011. In 2015, a record-setting 933 bills related to domestic minor sex trafficking were introduced in 50 states and D.C., resulting in the improvement of 14 state grades. Louisiana ranked top in the nation for the second year in a row, earning a 99.5 per cent. Michigan claimed most improved state. View the state grades.

Montana tackled major legislative gaps in 2015, raising its grade from a “D” to an “A” – one of the most significant improvements in the 2015 session. Montana, like other states in the Bakken region, has expedited a crackdown on child sex trafficking due, in part, to the increased threat of trafficking from the surge of transient workers drawn to the booming oil industry.

“Thanks to the dedicated efforts of advocates and legislators in Texas, Montana, and Minnesota, these states are leaders in the battle against trafficking. They are sending an undeniable message that our children are not for sale,” Linda Smith, President and Founder of Shared Hope International said.

The Protected Innocence Challenge was created to address key legislative gaps and makes recommendations for improvement so states can strengthen laws and implement effective state response. See all state grades at www.sharedhope.org/reportcards.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Taryn Offenbacher
Communications Director
703.351.8062 office / 602.818.3955 cell
Taryn@sharedhope.org

MEDIA MATERIALS

For media convenience, a variety of video clips and resources, including sex trafficking survivor comments, are available at this location: https://vimeo.com/user12564384/videos. Videos are password protected, please enter password sharedmedia1 to access media clips.

Shared Hope International is an anti-trafficking organization focusing on prevention, restoration and justice for victims of sex trafficking. Founded in 1998 by Congresswoman Linda Smith, Shared Hope is a trusted leader for training, research, restorative development, and legislative development.

November 11, 2015 by SHI Staff

MICHIGAN NAMED MOST IMPROVED IN NEW STUDY ON CHILD SEX TRAFFICKING LAWS

Shared Hope International Releases State Report Cards to Reveal State of Trafficking Laws in U.S.

WASHINGTON, D.C., Michigan was named the most improved state for its laws addressing child sex trafficking, according to a new study released by Shared Hope International. The Protected Innocence Challenge, a report on the state of child sex trafficking laws in the U.S., found that five years of sweeping legislative advancements allowed 47 states to raise their grade since 2011.

Michigan raised its grade from an “F” in 2014 to a “B” in 2015 after enacting new laws strengthening criminal provisions addressing buyers – the driving force of the commercial sex industry. While Michigan made substantial law changes in five years, the state has more work to do. Earning strong scores in most categories of the assessment, Michigan must strengthen protective provisions for child victims. Juvenile sex trafficking victims have access to specialized services through child welfare; however, 16 and 17-year-old victims remain subject to arrest and potential criminalization for prostitution offenses. Leaving the older minors subject to criminalization ignores the reality that these kids are vulnerable and frequently targeted by traffickers.

“Michigan tackled the driving force of child sex trafficking in 2015. They should be proud of the work they accomplished to combat demand and now press forward to ensure no child victim is banned access to the justice they deserve due to gaps in the law.” Linda Smith, President and Founder of Shared Hope International said.

In 2015, a record-setting 933 bills related to domestic minor sex trafficking were introduced in 50 states and D.C., resulting in the improvement of 14 state grades. Louisiana ranked top in the nation for the second year in a row, earning a 99.5 per cent. View the state grades.

The Protected Innocence Challenge was created to address key legislative gaps and makes recommendations for improvement so states can strengthen laws and implement effective state response. See all state grades at www.sharedhope.org/reportcards.

 

MEDIA CONTACT:

Taryn Offenbacher
Communications Director
703.351.8062 office / 602.818.3955 cell
Taryn@sharedhope.org

 

MEDIA MATERIALS

For media convenience, a variety of video clips and resources, including sex trafficking survivor comments, are available at this location: https://vimeo.com/user12564384/videos. Videos are password protected, please enter password sharedmedia1 to access media clips.

Shared Hope International is an anti-trafficking organization focusing on prevention, restoration and justice for victims of sex trafficking. Founded in 1998 by Congresswoman Linda Smith, Shared Hope is a trusted leader for training, research, restorative development, and legislative development

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