Awareness Archives - Page 29 of 35 - Shared Hope International

July 1, 2011 by Guest

Attorneys General United in Fighting Human Trafficking

Washington State Attorney General and recently elected President of the National Association of Attorney Generals (NAAG), Rob McKenna, named human trafficking as NAAG’s issue of the year. Under NAAG’s initiative, Pillars of Hope, McKenna hopes to push the issue of human trafficking into nationwide recognition.

McKenna stated that awareness of human trafficking is at a “tipping point.” With the release of Shared Hope’s Protected Innocence Report Card for Washington in early 2011, McKenna said that he and other Washington legislators have taken the problem of human trafficking as a serious issue that needs to be addressed. He hopes NAAG’s Pillars of Hope: Attorneys General Unite Against Human Trafficking will result in the American public being well-informed about human trafficking, as well as a means to prosecute traffickers and johns.

The Pillars of Hope initiative outlines a set of goals that encompass many facets in the fight against human trafficking. Under the Four Pillars of Hope, NAAG sets out to 1) increase prosecution through proper identification of traffickers, johns and victims; 2) prosecute traffickers and buyers by encouraging every state to implement the anti-trafficking statutes; 3) rescue victims by providing shelter and legal support and; 4) focus on public awareness and victim identification to reduce demand.

Pillars of Hope is an ambitious initiative that addresses a challenging dynamic in the fight against human trafficking: awareness. Days before McKenna announced Pillars of Hope, he provided remarks by video at the Protected Innocence Legislative Briefing held by Shared Hope International and hosted by the Family Research Council. This forum aimed to raise awareness of the need for anti-trafficking laws at the state level. In McKenna’s address, he referred to DMST as a “hidden problem,” but with the release of Shared Hope’s Report Card, which gave Washington a “C,” many are starting to realize the scope of this problem.

For McKenna, a “C” isn’t good enough, and he hopes Washington will one day receive straight “A’s”— leading the charge against sex trafficking. McKenna reported that awareness among legislators has already increased since Washington received this mediocre grade, as Washington passed Senate Bill 6476, which increased penalties for buyers and traffickers and offers additional protection to trafficking victims. With Attorneys General across the U.S. uniting in this effort, we can hope the goals set out by the Pillars of Hope will reduce demand, provide criminal justice tools to prosecute traffickers and johns and provide services to victims. By making human trafficking NAAG’s issue of the year, McKenna is sending a message to traffickers and johns that, in America, kids are not for sale.

June 27, 2011 by Guest

Hide but not seek. Changing America’s response to trafficking.

“Harriet ran away from home when she was 11 years old and moved in with a 32-year-old man who sexually and physically abused her. Then he convinced her to become a prostitute. In the next two years, Harriet became addicted to drugs and contracted numerous sexually transmitted diseases. The police arrested Harriet when she was 13 and charged her with committing prostitution, and placed her on probation for 18 months in the custody of juvenile probation officials. Her lawyers have appealed the decision, arguing that since she could not legally consent to sex, she cannot face prostitution-related charges. The police made no efforts to find her pimp.” (United States Department of State)

Harriet is just one example of 100,000 American children who are sexually exploited through prostitution in the United States each year. Many children are vulnerable for sexual exploitation because of their age, emotional instability due to unstable home life, history of sexual abuse, and/or being a chronic runaway. As many as 2.8 million American children run away from home each year. Within 48 hours of hitting the streets, experts estimate one-third of these children are lured or recruited into the underground world of prostitution and pornography.

The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (TVPA) in 2000 created the tools to enable the U.S. government to address the prosecution of traffickers, protection for victims, and prevention of human trafficking. However, protecting victims and prosecuting traffickers is a challenging and complex process.

One of the greatest challenges faced in the prosecution of domestic sex traffickers and pimps is the separation of the victim from their immediate environment long enough to help them realize they are in fact victims. Most are under the severe psychological and physical control of their pimp, and trauma bonds between victims and pimps are very difficult to break. Trafficking victims often remain loyal to their trafficker, sometimes suffering arrest and prosecution to protect the identity of their trafficker. When this occurs, victims may be sent to juvenile facilities or back to their often dysfunctional family, instead of receiving safe shelter and necessary care such as psychological counseling. This experience could re-traumatize the child, causing greater distrust against the criminal justice system and increasing the possibility of the child returning to their trafficker.

States have increasingly started recognizing the importance of identifying and protecting trafficked minors through legislative and advocacy efforts; however, it is still not enough. The ongoing efforts of the justice system, NGOs, and non-profit organizations are crucial to meet and overcome the challenge of protecting the children in our country

June 22, 2011 by Guest

Global effort takes a step forward: Delta and Hilton sign the Code of Conduct

On March 9, 2011, Delta Air Lines was the first major airline in the world to sign the Code of Conduct. A month later, on April 14, Hilton Worldwide Inc., the leading global hospitality company, became the latest hotel company to take a strong stand against the issue by also signing the Code of Conduct. Hilton Worldwide is the fourth U.S. company and one of nearly 1,000 travel industry members worldwide that joined the effort to combat commercial sexual exploitation of children by committing to the Code.

Commercial sexual exploitation of children is a serious, hideous crime occurring every day throughout the world and there is an urgent need for global efforts to eradicate the issue. The Code of Conduct is one of such efforts taken by ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes), an organization dedicated to ending the commercial sexual exploitation of children.

The Code of Conduct, known as the Code, was initiated in 1998 by ECPAT Sweden in cooperation with Scandinavian tour operators and the World Tourism Organization (WTO). The Code aims to prevent sexual exploitation of children at tourism destinations. By joining/signing the Code, tour operators and their umbrella organizations, travel agencies, hotels, airlines, etc. commit to implement the measures defined in the Code. As part of their agreement, all participating companies will implement policies that condemn child trafficking and exploitation and provide training to help employees identify and report illicit activities.

Child sex tourism is one of many forms of child exploitation and abuse. The majority of sex tourists are adult males from more industrialized countries. They travel to lesser developed countries where laws are often not enforced and sex is relatively cheap and readily available. The U.S. is one of the major source countries of sex tourists, as well as Japan and Australia. Child sex tourism is especially prevalent in Asia and Central and South America – Thailand, Cambodia, and Costa Rica are among the most popular sex tourist destinations. A recent report shows that Americans make up an estimated 25% of all sex tourists in the world. The global sex industry is fueled by nearly two million children. Also, 80% of the sex tourists in Costa Rica and 38% in Cambodia are American males.

Although child sex tourism is more prevalent in lesser developed countries, tourists from almost every country in the world finance the sex industry and fuel the demand for young children. The steps taken by globally renowned companies such as Delta Air Lines and Hilton Worldwide, Inc. are a significant advancement in bringing more awareness to the issue.

June 9, 2011 by Guest

Do Inappropriate Human Trafficking Task Force Names Encourage Victim Blaming?

An 11-year-old Texas girl was gang raped by 18 men ranging from middle school boys to 27-year-old men.

Her case prompted nationwide controversy, even inspiring Florida state Rep. Kathleen Passidomo to fight for new legislation requiring stricter dress codes in Florida public schools. Passidomo rationalized the legislation as protecting young Floridian girls, since the 11-year-old in Texas was reportedly raped “because she was dressed like a 21-year-old prostitute.” This story reveals that victim blaming is still prevalent in today’s society, making efforts to combat it even more urgent.

Victim blaming is a critical issue when trying to protect the rights of domestic minor sex trafficking victims. Victims are often labeled with derogatory names, arrested, and jailed rather than provided with services they need and deserve. Shared Hope supports progressive changes in social attitudes, like referring to DMST victims as “prostituted children” rather than “child prostitutes,” to shift the blame away from the victim. In fact, simply changing the language towards victims has proven to be a powerful tool in changing society’s perception of the crime.

However, how can attitudes truly be converted when services created to protect DMST victims carry names that are inherently accusatory? For example, in South Florida, the FBI task force, which responds to DMST victims, is called “Minor Vice Task Force.” Vice is an umbrella term for crimes involving actions considered by their very nature immoral. Thus, this title implies that the focus of this task force is minors engaging in “immoral” crimes, crimes they are forced to commit as trafficking victims. Other examples include the National Innocence Lost Task Force, which although represents a step in the right direction of viewing the trafficked minor as a victim, may be interpreted by those who are served by that force as having lost all their innocence, and still fails to maintain neutrality despite well meaning efforts. Although prostitution is legally a crime, the San Francisco Task Force on Prostitution and Vallejo Prostitution Task Force titles reinforce the idea that prostitutes are the real criminals, which perpetuates victim blaming, rather than revealing that purchasing young girls for sex as the true crime. It seems odd that the names of some human trafficking task forces would focus on the victim of the crime, considering that many other task forces, such as drug task forces, maintain a sense of neutrality about the purpose of the task force.

The purpose of a task force is to target a specific type of crime and those affected by it. Task forces like the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force and the D.C. Human Trafficking Task Force have accomplished neutrality while allowing room for minors to still be seen as victims. These simple changes in language can help shift our nation’s victim blaming tendencies towards to the real perpetrators.

June 5, 2011 by Guest

Too cool for school? Not John!

Don’t worry about picking up school supplies or studying for exams…this isn’t your average school.

On March 29, 2011, the Colorado Senate passed Senate Bill 85 which will create a first offender program, in other words a “John school,” that will make it possible for those put on trial for soliciting, pandering, or patronizing a prostitute to wipe their records clean of the offense. The prostitution-related charge will be dismissed as long as it is the offender’s first offense, the offender pleas guilty to the offense, pays the $5,000–10,000 fine and completes the program. Reservations about this bill and similar legislation stems from the question of whether or not first offender programs (John schools) are effective. Do “John schools” really reform buyers and can they do the same with traffickers and pimps? Moreover, is it sufficient punishment for the harm the offender imposed on the victim?

According to a 2010 article by the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (CAASE), “John schools” sprung up in the mid-1990s to deter buyers of commercial sex from repeating the offense in the future by educating them about the risks and societal implications their actions create. They educate “Johns” about many aspects of prostitution by including information on the laws, health risks, and testimonies from survivors.

In 2008, Apt Associates Inc. conducted research on the efficacy of “John schools” and found positive results overall, including a decline in recidivism rates (number of repeat offenders). The study claimed that first offender programs were cost-effective, sustainable, and transferable (could be replicated in another area). Unfortunately, however, “post-class survey suggests that the program effectively informed johns about the consequences of participating in prostitution, but did not significantly lower the self-reported likelihood of soliciting in the future.” Several other studies revealed the same conclusions.

Conversely, some experts say there is not enough evidence to determine the effectiveness of “John schools.” CAASE, Prostitution Research and Education, and the Chicago Coalitionfor the Homeless conducted a study in 2008 that entailed interviews with 113 men who bought sex and found that only 41% believed that “John school” acted as a sufficient deterrent to demand for commercial sex. Men stated the top deterrents from purchasing sex would be: photo/name in the local paper (87%), jail time (83%), or photo/name on a billboard (83%). Texas used this approach during the 2011 Super Bowl– posting mug shots of men convicted of trying to purchase sex in Arlington on a billboard near the Super Bowl stadium. The study recommends that “John schools,” in order to be more effective, should include individual sessions on a long-term basis between buyers and clinical practitioners.

The effectiveness of “John schools” is a dynamic debate in which the proven lower recidivism rates stand in stark contrast to “John school” graduates continued willingness to purchase sex. Stay posted as we announce future research and demand reduction efforts.

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