Awareness Archives - Page 4 of 36 - Shared Hope International

July 1, 2020 by Guest

It Begins With Me

I learned about the sex trafficking of minors in the United States while serving as an active duty military officer. I was heartbroken to learn that while I was serving my county, supporting peacetime and wartime operations overseas, another war was raging at home. The casualties – countless American children. Every day, American children are manipulated, groomed, and exploited, often while they are in the confines of where they feel the safest. Like so many others I have since encountered, I was aware of human trafficking overseas but completely naive to what was happening right in front of me within the borders of my own country. Anger, sadness, hopelessness, and even fear were some of the emotions that attacked my mind. So, what do I do now? What do I do with these profound emotions? How can I take all this raw emotion and put it somewhere that can make a difference? Who am I to think I can do anything anyway; this feels like it will crush me?

It starts with me and my sphere of influence. As I wrestled with my emotions, I realized that pretending the sex trafficking of American children was not happening was not an option. I had fought for so many other things in my life, if I was not willing to fight for our children, what was the point? I also quickly learned that I was certainly not alone in my hunger for education, restoration, and justice. Organizations, like Shared Hope International, are attacking this atrocity with a holistic approach that includes providing the support volunteers need to make a difference in their communities. As an Ambassador of Hope you are not alone. You are part of a bigger team and the tools and support are there to empower you to bring the fight to your own community.

For more information on becoming an Ambassador of Hope, visit: https://sharedhope.org/aoh/

Now you have the tools, but what do you do with them? Start small! For me, my fight began with carrying flyers in my bag. If I had the opportunity to talk to someone about sex trafficking, I had a flyer for them with more information. The lady in the grocery line, the girl working the register in my favorite clothing store, and even my doctor. A flyer for all of them. As I learned more, and became more confident, my timid beginning handing out flyers evolved into opportunities to provide training to military members, churches, and middle/high schools. I have had the opportunity to mentor high school students and set up educational tables. While stationed in Hawaii, I was able to volunteer with a phenomenal organization, Ho`ōla Nā Pua, a nonprofit located on Oahu committed to the prevention of child sex trafficking and providing care for children who have been exploited. It was through this organization that I discovered Shared Hope International. These two organizations changed my life in a profound way, and I will never stop fighting for our children.

My life has evolved and so has my sphere of influence. It is smaller, at least for now. I am no longer an active duty military officer but a stay at home mom with two young boys! Turns out being a parent really is the hardest job! I find myself having to start small again and slowly the doors are beginning to crack open. That’s okay. Life changes and the way we are able to fight, as individuals, changes too. Instead of providing training for a room packed full of active duty military members, now I might be having an intimate conversation with fellow members of a mom’s club. It can be difficult for me to lead training and participate in education events, but I can build presentations and send emails. That’s my sphere for now and I am learning to be okay with that. While my sphere has changed, perhaps the biggest change is the why I am committed to fighting sex trafficking. Having children of my own has brought the reality of what we are fighting against home in an even more powerful way. When I look at my sweet babies’ faces, I know there are people out there who would exploit and abuse them, and frankly, it brings me to my knees. But in that fear, I find the strength to keep supporting Shared Hope International and their commitment to “Invade the Darkness.” In the end, the fight starts with me and my commitment to fight within whatever sphere of influence I find myself.

Together we save lives!

January 1, 2020 by Marissa Gunther

January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month

January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month. Do you know the warning signs?

As you read this, millions of women, men and children around the world are subject to being trafficked. To address this evil injustice, it helps to define and know exactly what it is.

The federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act defines human trafficking as:

The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act where such an act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age, or
The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.”

Human trafficking can take many forms, such as domestic servitude; factory labor that resembles prisons; farm work by migrants. War has created a new market for traffickers to exploit refugees fleeing a war that has torn apart their communities or countries – in many cases these migrants pay a fee to board a ship and are at the whim of their smugglers.

Human trafficking is a problem everywhere, including the United States. Including your neighborhood.

Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking (DMST) occurs when a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident minors (under the age of 18) are commercially sexually exploited. Children can be commercially sexually exploited through prostitution, pornography, and/or erotic entertainment.

We’re talking about U.S. kids, under the age of 18, being bought and sold for sex.

The age of the victim is the critical issue — under federal law, there is no requirement to prove that force, fraud, or coercion was used to cause the minor to engage in commercial sex.

The law recognizes the effect of psychological manipulation by the trafficker, as well as the effect of threat of harm which traffickers/pimps use to maintain control over their young victims.

But cultural bias continues to influence access to justice and services for minor victims. Even when protective laws are on the books.

Under the leadership of the Shared Hope Institute for Justice and Advocacy, we are working hard to address the issue of human trafficking in combating one of the most vehement forms: domestic minor sex trafficking. And there is no time like today to JOIN US in our efforts to end this terrible evil once and for all.

Advocate: See laws change in your state. January is the beginning of legislative sessions all over the country; now is the time to contact your legislators and have your voice heard through our Advocacy Action Center. We make it easy and quick for you with pre-written emails and tweets.

Volunteer: Receive comprehensive training and empowered to join a team of volunteers raising awareness and providing prevention education in all communities across the nation. Connect with other volunteer Ambassadors of Hope and work together to help make all communities safer for children.

Give: Empower Shared Hope’s work to prevent the conditions that foster sex trafficking, restore and empower survivors, and bring justice to victims with a gift.

Help us make freedom a priority this Human Trafficking Awareness Month.

We can win this battle.

December 20, 2019 by Christine Raino

When Difficult News is the Most Important News

Sometimes the most important news is the most difficult to hear. On the same day that Shared Hope International celebrated the release of our 9^th annual Protected Innocence Challenge report cards, we heard that the Kansas Prisoner Review Board had decided not to recommend Hope Zeferjohn, a child sex trafficking victim, for a pardon. After working all year to advocate for victim-centered, trauma-informed legislation, produce in-depth analysis reports, and support our partners in translating their strong laws into practice, this was indeed difficult news to hear. But it was also important to hear because it challenges us and reminds us of the challenge we face as a nation: how do we keep our focus on the purpose of passing human trafficking laws?

That purpose is, and always should be, to protect those who have been victimized and prevent others from being exploited. Most would agree that purpose seems clear and uncontroversial. However, as this relatively new area of law has developed and the knowledge gap about human trafficking persists in broader society, the implementation of laws developed for this important purpose has become increasingly complex and sometimes disconnected from the very purpose behind passing those laws.

Where this has become painfully relevant is in the context of sex trafficking victims charged with crimes as a result of their trafficking victimization. Trafficking victims charged as co-conspirators alongside their traffickers, or in lieu of their traffickers, is a phenomenon appearing in headlines, leaving many of us shaking our heads. We know this is not moving the fight forward, yet we also recognize the complexity of this intersecting victimization and criminal conduct. Simultaneously, we are also facing the fact that this is not an outlier case. Based on Shared Hope’s ongoing research into this issue, these cases are even more common than the headlines would indicate.

Evidenced by Hope Zeferjohn’s case, minors are not exempt from facing serious criminal consequences as a result of their trafficking victimization – far from it. Not only can minors face potential prostitution charges in 20 states, but the headlines also show that child sex trafficking victims are being picked up and charged as co-conspirators alongside their traffickers (e.g., see this and this), or are facing other serious charges that directly resulted from their victimization (e.g., see this, this, this, this, this, this and this). And yet, these cases are proceeding through the criminal justice system despite language enshrined in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, the groundbreaking law that established the federal crime of sex trafficking, indicating that trafficking victims should be protected and not punished as a result of their victimization. According to the “Purposes and Findings” enshrined in Section 102(a)(24) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000:

“Trafficking in persons is a transnational crime with national implications. To deter international trafficking and bring its perpetrators to justice, nations including the United States must recognize that trafficking is a serious offense. This is done by prescribing appropriate punishment, giving priority to the prosecution of trafficking offenses, and protecting rather than punishing the victims of such offenses.”

The Protected Innocence Challenge, which has focused on analyzing child sex trafficking laws in all 50 states and DC every year since 2011, seeks to advance that protective purpose of anti-trafficking laws at the state level. However, Shared Hope’s grades do not analyze the implementation and enforcement of those laws, including whether the laws are being implemented in a victim-centered and trauma-informed manner. For example, Kansas’ ‘A’ grade reflects the strength of the laws enacted to address child sex trafficking and respond to victims, including whether the law allows for child sex trafficking victims to be criminalized. For the last three years, Kansas has earned an “A” for having passed legislation that comprehensively addresses the crime with one glaring exception: Kansas state law fails to protect survivors of child sex trafficking from facing criminal consequences as a result of their own victimization. For the last nine years, Shared Hope has relentlessly called on legislators to develop statutory tools for recognizing and appropriately responding to sex trafficking victimization all in the hopes of ensuring that exploited children, like Hope Zeferjohn, are protected, not punished.

Recognizing that policy must be shaped by the realities of implementation and enforcement, hearing from those in the field who are on the front lines of fighting this crime is essential. To that end, Shared Hope’s policy work involves engaging with survivors, law enforcement, service providers, and policymakers. For several years now, Shared Hope has been convening the JuST Response Council, a group of individuals from around the country with expertise on issues related to juvenile sex trafficking. This group is geographically varied and they bring to the table a diverse range of professional and lived experience perspectives, including that of service providers, survivor leaders, government agencies, law enforcement, prosecutors, clinicians, policy experts, attorneys and others. Currently this group is working on field guidance for criminal justice stakeholders to help shift away from the type of retributive, victim-blaming, and not trauma-informed response that we see occurring in Hope Zeferjohn’s case. This field guidance has been the central project of the Council for over 3 years and we are excited to release the report in January 2020.

In addition to convening the Council to work through difficult policy issues, we have also been convening and consulting with stakeholders in the field for the past several months, including conducting a national survey/poll this summer, to understand how the Protected Innocence Challenge laws are being implemented. The field input we’ve gathered, along with a growing collection of unjust cases and a persistently low national score on victim protections, indicate there is a need to revise the Framework to deepen our focus on victim protections.

Therefore, perhaps it is the tragedy of Hope Zeferjohn’s case that answers our initial question. Human trafficking laws are designed to protect survivors; to keep our focus on that purpose, it is clear that we, as stakeholders, must make that the core purpose and goal of our work.

December 2, 2019 by Guest

Sex Trafficking: “A Supply Answer to a Demand Problem”

By Geoffrey Rogers

The United Nations’ estimate of nearly 27 million people around the world held in slavery through human trafficking is a statistic too mammoth for my mind to fully contemplate, so I’ll consider children…children in our own country.

I have been engaged with efforts to alert Christians to this day’s pressing social issues for 15 years, and I can truthfully say that the sex trafficking of America’s children is one of the most egregious.

It is believed that over 100,000 children under the age of 18 in the United States are trafficked for sex every day. What I have come to realize most of all, is that human trafficking—especially sex trafficking—is a “supply answer to a demand problem.” It exists because people, mostly men, are paying for sex. As a society, if we are to make a substantial difference in the fight against human trafficking in America, we must find ways to decrease and eradicate the demand for purchased sex.

We identify pornography as the #1 factor fueling the demand for sex trafficking. More than $13 billion per year is spent on pornography and commercial sex services—that’s $3,000 per second spent on pornography. It’s estimated that 50-70% of men regularly consume pornography. Last year, the largest porn website in the U.S. received over 28 billion visits; that’s almost 4 visits for every person on the entire planet, for this U.S.-based site. Studies are now showing the highly addictive nature of pornography, which leads a portion of addicts to eventually want to actualize what they have only been visualizing, hence creating the increasing demand for purchased sex. Linda Smith, the founder and President of Shared Hope International, makes this point so clear in the upcoming documentary on sex trafficking in America, BLIND EYES OPENED and she calls out the fact that we simply aren’t holding buyers accountable.

While the focus for awareness about the vulnerability of child sex trafficking victims and services for them has focused on girls and women, what many people don’t know is that demand for sex with boys is rampant as well. A U.S. Department of Justice study identifies that 36% of trafficked children are boys.

Services for all victims across the country are a critically important part of the fight against sex trafficking, and Shared Hope International has been one of the leading anti-trafficking organizations educating the masses and assisting safe home operators to learn from one another and improve their impact. Concerned with the void in services for boys, they recently partnered with one of the only boys’ safe homes in the nation, operated by the U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking.

BLIND EYES OPENED is a first-of-a-kind Christian documentary that dives deep into the sex trafficking industry in the U.S. The film exposes the darkness that fuels demand, highlights survivors’ transformations through Christ, engages lawmakers, law enforcement, organizations, ministries and experts across the country committed to ending the atrocities, all while showing Christ as the hope for all involved. It is such an honor to have Linda Smith participate in this critically important documentary, being released in theaters nationwide on January 23. Visit www.BlindEyesOpened.com to learn more and find a theater near you.

Geoffrey Rogers is the co-founder and President of Ships of Tarshish, a nonprofit production company established to produce high-quality Christian programming that is relevant, exciting and entertaining, and is the co-founder CEO of the U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking. After leaving a successful career in the corporate world as an executive with IBM, Geoff began Ships of Tarshish with his wife Kerri. Through their work on the upcoming documentary on sex trafficking in America, Blind Eyes Opened, they committed their lives to the fight against sex trafficking.

August 16, 2019 by Marissa Gunther

Nowhere to Hide: Shared Hope’s New Tools Shine Light on Predatory Grooming and Internet Safety

By: Marissa Gunther, Director of Growth Strategies, Shared Hope International

As I prepared this announcement for Shared Hope’s Internet Safety Series, the children in your life were on my mind.

And, transparently, I have a son of my own. He turned eight earlier this month. He is curious, creative, and energetic – imagine a walking, talking pile of puppies – that’s him. And much like your kids or grand-kids are to you, he is my heart walking outside of my body.

While I’d like to tell you his favorite toy is Legos, I am certain he would quickly correct me and tell the world that his Kindle Fire is his actual favorite, thank you very much! So, despite being allowed one hour of heavily controlled tablet time per week, my son and his tablet stayed at the forefront of my mind as our Growth Strategies and Awareness team researched predatory online grooming and technology dangers.

As we’ve peeled back layers of the online world as experienced by children and teens, one emotion has grown stronger the deeper we’ve dug…

Fear.

Predators are luring kids on any internet device that may come to mind. They are using tablets, smartphones, smartwatches, even video game consoles, and multi-player gaming. In these online venues, children and teens are being enticed, entrapped, and then sold for sex.

That common saying – where children play, predators prey – it’s so true.

We experienced this predatory behavior firsthand at Shared Hope, and you need to know what we saw and what we were asked to do.

While researching commonly used mobile apps, our staff member posing as a 15-year-old female was solicited within minutes by an adult male. She was sent pornographic images, asked to remove her clothing, and in one case to meet in-person. Another adult male groomed her with friendship over several days; then, his messages started to become sexually explicit. His profile picture was a puppy.

Worse still, the solicitors were decades older… decades!

Screenshots taken by Shared Hope’s staff researcher

Seeing and experiencing the evidence right before my eyes, I thought: How do I keep my son safe in an ever-changing, anonymous digital world? How do we help other parents and caregivers keep their kids safe? How do we help kids develop healthy boundaries and resilience when they are being tricked and fooled?

The answer?

We start the conversation now and we do it together – with courage, persistence, and the facts in our hands.

Thanks to the work of our team here at Shared Hope, and with the input and support of our Ambassadors of Hope, survivors, and law enforcement, we now have new tools available to start the conversation. We are thrilled to be able to put these important resources on Internet Safety in your hands today.

A new Internet Safety Guide on grooming tactics and warning signs to help keep children from being enticed by online predators.
A new resource and supporting research on mobile apps commonly used by children and teens.
A new educational video series to you help navigate the latest technology and apps that predators use to target children and teens — facilitated by Kelly, Shared Hope’s Community Engagement Manager and internet safety specialist.
And coming this month a comprehensive Internet safety toolkit — with information and resources on technology dangers, parental controls, networks, mobile apps, gaming, and sexting, along with “how-to” safety tips.

These resources will empower you to:

Teach your children and teens about grooming and sex trafficking.
Navigate the latest technology and apps that predators use to target children and teens.
Let friends and family know they can learn to identify the warning signs.
Make children aware of the dangers of the online world and what they can do to develop safe, healthy boundaries and resilience.

But we’re not stopping here. With an ever-changing digital world, our team is making a promise to stay on top of the latest technology to get new information into your hands as it develops.

You can sign-up for our Internet Safety newsletter HERE

I’d say at this point that I’ve said enough, but we can’t stop here friends. We just can’t. We need to have this conversation with as many people as possible – to get these resources in as many hands as possible – to keep the conversations going.

Let’s start a ripple. Let’s shine a light in every community across the nation.

The more people are equipped to spot the dangers and signs of predatory grooming and child sex trafficking, the easier it will be to put an end to it. There will be nowhere left for predators to hide.

I hope this information empowers you to ensure the safety of the kids in your life. I truly believe that, together, we can be lights in the darkness….

…in our homes, in our communities…and online.