Awareness Archives - Page 8 of 36 - Shared Hope International

November 22, 2016 by Susanna Bean

4 Ways to Give on #GivingTuesday

Here are a few simple ways to give back on #GivingTuesday to support the life-saving work of Shared Hope International.

1) Amazon Smile

Knock out that Christmas shopping AND donate to Shared Hope! When you start your shopping at smile.amazon.com, you get the same prices as the regular Amazon.com, and Amazon donates 0.5% of your purchases to Shared Hope! Simply go to smile.amazon.com instead of amazon.com, enter “Shared Hope International” as the charitable organization you want to support, and shop as you normally would! We’ll get a check at the end of the quarter that includes the contribution from your purchase.

2) Double your Gift

Thanks to several generous partners – your #GivingTuesday donation will go twice as far to help vulnerable women and children, through our $150,000 Christmas Hope Matching Challenge. Please give today to double your gift and help support prevention, restoration and justice solutions for victims of trafficking.

This year you can also use this fundraising platform to create and promote your own #GivingTuesday fundraiser for Shared Hope! Simply click the red, “Become a Fundraiser” button and follow the steps to create your own page to raise money for Shared Hope. Invite all your friends to support Shared Hope on #GivingTuesday.

3) Donate through the Combined Federal Campaign

The Combined Federal Campaign allows Federal civilian, postal and military donors to pledge a financial contribution to support eligible non-profit organizations that provide health and human service benefits. The CFC is the world’s largest annual workplace charity campaign that helps to raise millions of dollars each year. To contribute to Shared Hope International through your organization’s CFC, submit this number: #60601 to your human resources or payroll department. The minimum monthly contribution is $1.00.

4) Donate Stock or Estate Funds

If you have appreciated stock or property, you can greatly benefit from wise tax planning and giving by December 31, 2016, through a couple of different options:

A cash gift, dated and postmarked by December 31, 2016.
Gifts of appreciated stock or property. An asset that you’ve had for over a year, which has increased in value, can be donated to Shared Hope, and you may avoid capital gains tax. You also get the applicable charitable deduction for this year’s taxes.

For help in planning your special gift, please contact Sheila Avery, Senior Director of Finance for Shared Hope International, at 1-866-HER-LIFE (1-866-437-5433) or email Sheila@sharedhope.org

September 20, 2016 by Guest

Prevention: It Matters!

pre·ven·tion – prəˈven(t)SH(ə)n/ noun – the action of stopping something from happening or arising.

A study in Minnesota shows a benefit cost analysis for providing preventative and early intervention methods quantified at $34 to $1. For every $1 we spend on preventative measures for young adolescent females at risk for sexual abuse/trafficking, we will save taxpayers $34 (due to increase costs for legal, social health, medical cost, etc.).¹This study is a perfect example of the benefits in analyzing prevention efforts.

Allow me to introduce you to a child we will call Joe. He showed up at school on Tuesday morning believing that it would be a normal day as a seventh grader. As the students filed into their health class, it was unlikely Joe knew that it would be far from normal. As the guest presenter began to share about Human Trafficking and the warning signs, the effects and local realities, the mood started to change. A fellow classmate raised their hand to seek clarity on a specific matter. She asked the facilitator “What does loss of bowel control mean”? The guest facilitator searched the health teacher’s face for the go ahead to answer. Getting the green light, the facilitator explained in an age appropriate manner what sodomization was. Joe subconsciously responded, unable to control his response that was triggered by the discussion. He began to rock with his head between his hands; unnoticed by classmates and even the teacher. Joe, like so many other students, was just given vocabulary to identify abuse that he more than likely believed was normal, or even his fault. The facilitator guided the health teacher to appropriate follow up and ensured that Joe was given a support system. This is just one example as to why prevention matters.²

Prevention is vital when it comes to eliminating any problem. When we look at the issue of human trafficking, prevention must become an essential part of our strategy. We will never have enough resources, time or people to respond to the increasing issue of modern-day slavery. We must find a way to swim upstream and put appropriate measures in place to prevent future victimization. Prevention is not only critical in the fight against human trafficking, but it is indispensable for eliminating the effects of trauma. We know that 70-90% of exploited children have a history of sexual abuse.³ Many states are passing laws (North Carolina, Virginia, and others) that require students in public schools be taught about Human Trafficking through their health classes. This is creating a demand for evidence-informed curriculum and systematic protocols that ensure at-risk children do not slip through the cracks. Our schools, communities, clubs, places of faith, and businesses are filled with students presenting risk-factors. The question I would pose to you: Do we know who they are? If and when we become a community that knows how to identify at-risk students, before further victimization occurs, then we will begin to change the culture. Prevention: it matters!

^{1: (Early Intervention to Avoid Sex Trading and Trafficking of Minnesota’s Female Youth: A Benefit-Cost Analysis, Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center, 2012).}

^{2: The story of Joe is true. His name has been changed to protect his identity.}

^{3: 1. Bagley, C. & Young, L. (1987). Juvenile Prostitution and Child Sexual Abuse: A Controlled Study. Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health.;. Annual Report. (1991). Council for Prostitution Alternatives. Portland, Oregon.; Murphy, Patricia. (1993). Making Connections: Women, Work, and Abuse. Paul M. Deutsch Press, Florida.}

About the author: Hannah oversees the development and implementation of sustainable programs for females ages 12-18, focusing on awareness, prevention and direct services to victims of exploitation and trafficking. She blends her experience from the corporate and non-profit worlds into a unique balance of purpose and passion.

This blog post was originally part of our 2016 JuST Conference Speaker Blog Series.

September 10, 2016 by Rickie Scott

Children: Victims Not Criminals

A bill sits on Governor Jerry Brown’s desk designed to address the sex trafficking of children in California. While many people have joined the cause to fight sex trafficking abroad, few realize that it occurs in their own neighborhoods. Who would think that California, the land of sunshine, natural beauty, and “good vibes,” hides a dark history of sex-related crime?

Miya was a normal teenager working multiple jobs to save up money for college. One day, while selling sunglasses at the mall, a couple approached Miya and lured her with the promise of a modeling career. She was captured, trafficked to California, forced into prostitution, and subject to repeated physical and emotional abuse. Imagine – girls like Miya finally escape their torturer only to be criminalized for a situation in which they were the victim. Sadly, this is all too often the case.

The problem is not limited to California’s laws. The appalling truth is, across the nation, only 15 states have enacted state prostitution laws that prohibit the criminalization of juvenile sex trafficking victims; however, progress is being made. Influenced by Shared Hope International’s Protected Innocence Challenge, a comprehensive study of state laws that form the framework of protections for child sex trafficking victims, five states in the last year alone, enacted legislation to prevent the criminalization of minors involved in prostitution. Additionally, 2016 is the first year that all 50 states have passed legislation criminalizing the sex trafficking of minors.

However, after receiving a “D” on its Protected Innocence Challenge Report Card in 2015, California’s laws need improvement. The state previously enacted the California Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which criminalized human trafficking, and the Human Trafficking Collaboration and Training Act, which required law-enforcement officers to complete response training, but it is not enough. While these bills created reports and established the California Alliance to Combat Trafficking and Slavery, the stigma surrounding prostitution remains engrained in the minds of both citizens and law enforcement officials. Jim Saleda, an Oakland Police officer, described the unit’s increased understanding of the complicated issue: “When we first started, the attitude toward prostitutes was ‘clear the streets.’ Now…we treat them as victims.” Unfortunately, this new attitude is not wide-spread.

Young sex trafficking victims are treated as criminals and suffer unjust, traumatizing consequences, such as search, arrest, and detention, which intensifies their trauma, sends the message that they are responsible for the violence committed against them, and produces a distrust of the justice system. The emotional toll of this process alone affects the success of the overall fight against sex trafficking and undermines relationships with law enforcement, prosecutors, child welfare, and service providers. Most federal and state trafficking laws define a commercially sexually exploited minor as a victim of sex trafficking. Why will that same child face criminal charges under the prostitution law for an act they legally cannot consent to? No other child will suffer criminalization for their own sexual abuse, yet minors who are sex trafficked will face fines and jail-time, which reinforces trauma bonds with their traffickers, denies them immediate, necessary services, and hinders their ability to successfully recover from their past.

Senate Bill 1322, which was sent to Governor Brown on August 30 for approval, is a necessary and fundamental step in eliminating child sex trafficking, as well as the stigma surrounding it. With the production of this bill, California is at the forefront of a rapidly growing number of states that are taking strides towards ending human trafficking. Shared Hope International is making efforts through its Legislative Action Center to ensure that the bill passes and successfully prevents juvenile sex trafficking victims from being unfairly criminalized for their own victimization.

There is no such thing as a “child prostitute”, and there cannot be a true shift in the cultural view until the law treats them consistently as victims of abuse. However, even non-criminalization is not the full solution to this complex issue. Abused youth must be connected with services, not punishment .Without access to proper services, these children remain at risk of being re-exploited. With the production of Senate Bill 1322, California has taken the first step, yet policy makers, law enforcement, prosecutors, service providers, and society must join together to compassionately support children abused by the horrors of sex trafficking. Shared Hope International remains committed to encouraging the creation of a robust system of services for victims through the JuST Response Initiative.

You too can help California take this first step in making sure that child abuse victims receive protection and proper treatment by joining in the efforts of the National Center for Youth Law and West Coast Children’s Clinic and Rights4Girls, California organizations leading the fight against the criminalization of minor sex trafficking victims. Submit a support letter to Governor Brown through the CWDA website or join their Twitter campaign (@CWDA_CA, @ncyl_CSEC, @rights4girls and @westcoastccorg), using the hashtag #nosuchthingasachildprostitute.

September 9, 2016 by Linda Smith

A Southwest Washington Girl was Rescued and Given Her Name Back

For four long years, Stephanie wasn’t even allowed to use her own name. She was only known by the name her trafficker gave her when he first enslaved her. She was only 13 years old at the time.

“He said I was no longer that girl with my old family,” Stephanie remembers, “No longer a girl who went to weekend retreats with my church youth group. But now a new girl that was a part of his family.”

It was a brutal family. Her trafficker beat her and continually manipulated her emotionally. Even worse than the beatings, Stephanie says today, were his constant reminders that he would go get her 10-year-old sister — unless Stephanie kept the customers satisfied.

Eventually, local law enforcement rescued her but she still couldn’t use her own name. Shared Hope moved her from her home community in SW Washington clear across the country, and gave her a new name for her own protection. And as she was loved, cared for her and counseled, the day came when she determined to share her story boldly, to help fight the scourge of sex-trafficking, to keep other girls from being subjected to what she had suffered.

As she prepared to speak at her first public events, the old shame bombarded her again. But then, something beautiful happened: “I walked to the microphone, looked out, and saw smiles of acceptance. Something had changed. I lifted my chin, stood tall, and said, ‘My name is Stephanie, and I am taking back my name.’ I then proceeded to tell them how the traffickers work, so they could better protect the children in their homes and communities!”

Her story is, in many ways, sadly typical: the older boy taking an interest in the younger girl, persuading her that their relationship is “fate,” promising to marry her, buying her nice things, and then demanding that she dance in a strip club to help him out of a financial jam.

“It was degrading, but I did it ‘for us,’” Stephanie says. When he demanded that she sell herself for sex, she refused — and he threw her out of the house on a bitterly cold night. She could sell, or she could freeze to death.

“I began endless nights of selling myself to make the money my trafficker demanded. I descended into depression. I drank and took drugs to dull the pain. Before I turned 16 all I wanted to do was die. Police picked me up, recognized me as a reported missing child, took me home — but fearing what he would do to my little sister if I didn’t return, I would get in the car when he drove up to my house.”

Arrests and returns became a cycle. At one point, the trafficker brutally assaulted Stephanie in front of her own home. “While I was hospitalized, my probation officer asked Linda Smith of Shared Hope to find a safe place where professionals had the skills to address my many needs,” Stephanie says.

The closest such place was 3,000 miles away. But Stephanie was willing to go. To escape the nightmare.

Stephanie has rebuilt her life, with strong support. Yet, as she often tells audiences, she likely would not have been tricked into the horror she endured if she, her youth leader, coach, or even her mom had known how the traffickers work. The signs were very evident.

Stephanie is one of two girls who tell their story in ‘Chosen,’ a gripping documentary from Shared Hope that opens hearts and eyes to the tragic dangers of sex trafficking and educates youth to recognize the danger signs. This 20-minute film tells the shocking true story of two all-American teenage girls tricked into trafficking. Both were manipulated. Both were exploited. Both were chosen.

“My journey has made me strong enough to be a voice for others,” Stephanie says today. “My faith in God and His way of making beauty from ashes has emboldened me to speak on their behalf.”

Shared Hope International is a global community dedicated to protecting our children on a local level. We’re thrilled to be working alongside the Clark County Sheriff’s office and Southwest Washington Churches on September 22nd to train parents, youth workers, community leaders, and teens how traffickers operate and how they can protect themselves and their friends. We invite those in the Northwest to join us for this event. In equipping our entire community with the proper knowledge and tools, we at Shared Hope believe we can protect our children before they come to harm.

We also invite you, our global community, to support our local efforts by giving to Shared Hope International as a part of Give More 24 on September 22.

September 6, 2016 by Guest

Knowledge is Powerful and Helpful: How Trauma Can Impact Interviews of DMST

By Iona Rudisill, Baltimore Child Abuse Center

Trafficking of youth has been occurring for decades and centuries. Regardless of the Emancipation Proclamation being enacted in 1863, the reality is slavery never stopped. That is exactly what juvenile sex trafficking is: the slavery and bondage of innocent youth for the pleasure and commercial exploitation of others. And this experience has profound impacts on the individual enslaved. Therefore, when a 14 year old is brought to an accredited Child Advocacy Center because they have been sexually abused by an aunt repeatedly fondling them, an uncle sodomizing them, and a cousin selling them to others for fiscal profit and gain, the trauma that this adolescent has experienced is complex. It is during the adolescent years of development when children begin to come into their own identity, this developmental milestone is directly impacted by the fact that the child has had to deal with mistrust, broken promises, psychological and physical threats as well as endless mind games. Since these adolescents have encountered a multiplicity of deplorable life experiences, the manner in which they manage this trauma imposed upon them can have an effect on how they interact with professionals who are trying to help them, particularly in the way the traumatized youth responds in an interview.

This is why I am offering a training session to provide professionals (i.e. social workers, forensic interviewers, mental health providers, law enforcement and attorneys) with a better understanding of how the dynamics of trauma can affect the results in the different types of interviews a juvenile sex trafficked youth will encounter. We will explore brain development of youth, and discuss steps that professionals can take in helping the youth unpack their painful memories with the understanding of how brain development has been impacted by their experiences. The more prepared an interviewer is to recognize that the trauma is speaking rather than the child, and utilize the tools required to bring the child out of that trauma-control, the more fruitful and helpful the interview will be for the variety of needs in a juvenile sex trafficking case.

About the Author: Iona Rudisill is an LGSW, with over 22 years of working in the field of child abuse and 16 years of experience in forensic interviewing, with training in a myriad of national and international protocols. She is currently the co-chair of the Maryland State Human Trafficking Task Force Victim Services subcommittee and Human Trafficking Program Manager at Baltimore Child Abuse Center.

This blog post was originally part of our 2016 JuST Conference Speaker Blog Series.

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