Commentary Archives - Shared Hope International

June 25, 2025 by Guest

Sean (P Diddy) Combs Arrest: Response from a Survivor Leader

Rev. Dr. Marian Hatcher
Shared Hope Policy Consultant

First, I must state as a retired civilian member of law enforcement, Mr. Combs is of course innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

The charges are grave and pierce my soul as a survivor of sex trafficking and substance use disorder. They include racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution (the Mann Act). All for the pleasure of an organized crime boss. Living above the law. What is alleged is horrific and triggering for those of us who suffered atrocities such as those outlined in the unsealed indictment.

Unfortunately, in the age of the internet many instances of what is alleged to have taken place is seen in video and pictures. While horrible to watch, they have yet to be proven as criminal acts, and many are obviously manipulated to implicate others.

Criminal enterprises are built on the backs of willing and unwilling participants. Many are victims of sexual and labor abuses. They can also be ordered to procure and dispense illegal items such as weapons, narcotics and more.

I was discussing Sean Combs’ arrest with a good friend, Doug Gilmer, President of Resolved Strategies LLC, and retired federal law enforcement leader at Homeland Security Investigations. We commiserated that as we focus on the carnage of the Sean Combs case, there is always more. Doug said,

“Homeland Security Investigations is leading the Sean Combs case, just as they did with R. Kelly. Big name cases, right? But they aren’t the only cases. In fact, during this past year, HSI has also identified and provided services to well over 700 other HT victims, initiated about 1400 new cases, made over 3600 human trafficking arrests, seen over 1000 indictments, and about 630 human trafficking convictions. This is just one federal law agency; it doesn’t include the work being done by state and local agencies across the country. HSI’s numbers are just a fraction of what is really out there. Meanwhile, everyone is focused on Sean Combs. It’s sensational. But guess what? The suspects are not all R Kelly’s and P Diddy’s. Some are gang members, but many others are schoolteachers, community leaders, and family members engaged in trafficking. The victims are young and old, are from every socio-economic class, every ethnicity, both foreign and U.S. citizens.” [Stats from the Homeland Security Investigations and the DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking.]

Spanning decades, men and women alike are alleged to have endured prolonged abuse. The testimony by Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura, was four days of heart wrenching details of violence, manipulation and coercion. She bravely shared her dehumanization, aware of the victim blaming to come. In the later stages of her third pregnancy, she did for herself and others what was necessary and held Sean Combs accountable.

The common thread of all of this is societal numbness, the normality of this lifestyle. The pervasiveness. There are ecosystems of criminal and exploitive threads in our society that do not protect minors or adults. We must strive to address the willingness to ignore or accept, depending on which way you look at it, the lifestyle described above which exists in hiding and/or glaringly in our face. No one should have the opportunity or privilege to act with impunity, stripping victims of their dignity, respect and liberty. We must continue to bring all manner of bad actors to justice.

October 5, 2023 by stephen

A whole lot more than rescues: Our sound approach to sex trafficking

Shared Hope International’s Founder and President, Linda Smith, speaks about our work as restoration-focused in the U.S., not in overseas rescues.

Thanks once again to Hollywood, America added a new character this summer to the pantheon of action superheroes it has created: the swashbuckling man who sweeps into corrupt foreign countries to rescue children from the clutches of sex trafficking. Americans love the archetype of an outside savior boldly setting things right and exacting justice on those who deserve it.

This is the plotline that the film industry has created for us with children and sex trafficking. Although Hollywood has programmed us into believing that ending trafficking can be accomplished with brave rescues, it’s more complicated than that. Disrupting and dismantling what is a developed and multi-faceted industry involves a lot more than what can be shown in a dramatic and suspense-filled story that’s neatly wrapped up in two hours.

Let’s unpack what a rescue is, why it’s problematic, and why Shared Hope International takes a different approach.

Shared Hope does not carry out rescues

Mention “rescue,” and most people will think of a forceful snatching-back of children who have been kidnapped and exploited. By their nature, rescues are dramatic and attention-grabbing.

Shared Hope takes an approach to the sex trafficking industry that is broader and wholistic and that includes more proactive responses. Our work is in three major areas:

Prevention: Through highly developed training for both laypersons and professionals, guidance on internet dangers, and with Ambassadors of Hope (volunteer representatives) across the country, we work on prevention strategies.
Restoration: Our strategic guidance and funding helps local organizations expand shelter and services for survivors.
Bringing justice: Our recommendations through our Report Cards on Child and Youth Sex Trafficking are changing the legislative and policy landscape in every state.

Working in these areas is sometimes slow and requires involvement in activities on a smaller scale. Changing large systems from within takes a lot of time. Reforms to whole industries do not happen overnight. Healing and recovery for survivors often takes place over many years.

We acknowledge that making a difference in a slow, often low-key way is sometimes frustrating and not as thrilling as a dramatic movie-type rescue. Yes, we work with urgency, knowing that especially children are at risk, but we pace ourselves to run not a sprint but a marathon. We believe the only way to create long-term, permanent change is to be in the work for the long haul. We’ve been at it for 25 years and have developed a good understanding and expertise to tackle the complexity and multiple facets of this issue.

Restoration is the real rescue

People who are able to escape trafficking situations need to be treated with a high level of care and connected immediately to services and supports. Lacking that, a trafficked person is likely to return to his or her former life by choice or by force. A very real danger then is re-exploitation by the original conditions that brought about the vulnerability to trafficking in the first place.

In addition, survivors need time on the long road of recovery. They are often afraid of or feel victimized by law enforcement. They have to learn to trust other people who want to care for them after living for years as enslaved property, being coerced and threatened, forced to live in dependent and abusive situations.

Shared Hope focuses on restoration with two strategic programs. One is through the amazing efforts of our restoration grant partners who do the immediate work that includes providing safe shelter, medical and mental health care, spiritual renewal, education, life skills, job training and vocational skills. The other restoration program is at the core of our long-term strategy. It involves our efforts in every state to promote legislation that requires restoration services to be provided for survivors of sex trafficking.

Rescues are paternalistic

The idea of a rescue is inherently tied to having a savior character. And with that, the person being rescued is viewed as helpless and powerless. That attitude is in and of itself re-victimizing. Shared Hope, in its assistance to and support of survivors, recognizes their agency, their own will and desire to be restored and to recover from their trauma. We strive to acknowledge their autonomy and empower them by giving them a voice. A survivor-centered approach requires that we do not carry out actions intended to burnish our own image or demonstrate our own strength.

Shared Hope’s approach is not designed to create or focus on a single hero. Thankfully, the anti-sex trafficking movement has many heroes, and each year we recognize some of them through our restoration grants program and our Pathbreaker Awards. These individuals and organizations are the real heroes. Our daily work is in outreach to creators of policies and average people who can be part of combatting trafficking as part of their professional and personal day-to-day lives.

Focused and steady wins the race

In the measured, deliberate approach that Shared Hope takes, we work to disrupt the sex trafficking industry from various angles. Our philosophy is that each person has a role to play in preventing and ending commercial sexual exploitation and that a collaborative, community-wide response is necessary. It takes the different parts of our society — the institutions and systems of law enforcement, governments at all levels, and the justice system, as well as the smaller, social units of families, parents, churches and other communities, healthcare professionals and teachers playing a part to undo what commercial sexual exploitation has built.

Shared Hope’s work is in building relationships and making connections between advocates and organizations. Our focus is educating school counselors, changing attitudes of judges and building the grooming-detection skills of youth. This all takes time, but we are` making progress.

We’ll leave the dramatic rescues to Hollywood. A real rescue is only one part of a much larger picture, and Shared Hope is applying its years of experience and expertise to all parts of the scene.

August 25, 2023 by Sidney McCoy

Unjust Criminalization: Zephi Trevino’s Story

Zephaniah “Zephi” Trevino has pleaded guilty and has been sentenced to 12 years for murder and five years for aggravated robbery. The Dallas County District Attorney alleged Zephi —along with two men— had taken part in a robbery that left one man dead from a gunshot wound and another injured. Although Zephi was not responsible for pulling the trigger, she was charged as an accomplice. What has been left out of the DA’s narrative, however, is that Zephi is a victim of sex trafficking. The two men who were “lured” by Zephi to the apartment where they were ultimately robbed, were there to purchase sex from 16-year-old Zephi. Zephi was charged as an adult and was facing a capital murder conviction. She took a plea deal, citing the risk of a life sentence was “too grave.”

While discouraging, this result is unsurprising as Texas has refused to see those who have been trafficked as victims, rather than criminals. Indeed, Texas remains one of the few¹ states that still criminalizes minors for prostitution—the very crime that is synonymous with their exploitation. In 2019, Governor Greg Abbot vetoed a bill that would protect minors from criminalization for prostitution and would instead direct them to receive assessment and services through child welfare and community-based services. That same year, after passing unanimously through the House and Senate, Governor Abbot vetoed a bill that would establish a clemency review panel for certain offenses committed by victims of domestic violence and human trafficking.

As it stands in Texas, a human trafficking survivor who has been unjustly charged with a crime has just one remedy: a “nondisclosure petition²,” a form of post-conviction relief that is limited to prostitution, marijuana, and certain theft offenses if the offense was committed “solely” as a trafficking victim.³ The relief is further limited because survivors are ineligible for the relief if they have additional convictions, and it requires survivors to provide assistance to law enforcement and prosecutors.⁴

Legal protections for victims of human trafficking are imperative given deeply pervasive forced criminality that exists in trafficking situations. In a 2016 survey, the National Survivor Network found that 90% of trafficking survivors reported being arrested and 60% reported being arrested for crimes other than prostitution or drug possession.⁵ Perhaps most significantly, the survey demonstrated that over half of all respondents believed that 100% of their criminal-legal involvement was directly related to their trafficking experience.⁶ These victim-offenders⁷ are retraumatized by their detention and prosecution. They are also left with a criminal record that hinders their ability to secure safe housing, employment, education, and other services. Contrary to the TVPA’s decree those trafficking victims not be criminalized as a result of their victimization,⁸ survivors continue to be charged with crimes related to their trafficking and states such as Texas fail to provide adequate legal protections to prevent criminalization.

What’s worse, the criminal-legal system itself can often mimic the power and control dynamics that exist in a trafficking situation. Justin Moore, one of Zephi’s defense attorneys, alluded to this in his comments to the press, stressing an “urgent need for a legal system that is trauma-informed . . . and that also calls into question the unchecked power that [prosecutors] have in this country and how they can bully defendants who are victims into taking plea deals.”⁹ This “bullying,” the pressure and coercion that is often applied on victims who are charged alongside their traffickers and co-conspirators, is a tactic used all too often. Indeed, the same youth who are charged as defendants alongside their trafficker may also be called to testify against their trafficker, and that testimony could be central to their successful prosecution.¹⁰ Although it does not appear that the Dallas District Attorney is pursuing trafficking charges against Zephi’s co-defendants, studies have shown that conditions of the juvenile/criminal justice process, secure confinement, and the stigma of criminal records alone further harm and traumatize child sex trafficking victims.¹¹ Prosecutors must weigh considerations of the harm to victim-offenders and the injustice of coercive charging tactics, and further, should be trained on victim-centered investigations and prosecutions to ensure positive identification of survivors and prevent unjust criminalization. Texas does not currently mandate such training.

Sex trafficking victimization and forced criminality are intrinsically linked. Arresting and prosecuting sex trafficking victims for criminal offenses, even violent ones, is in direct conflict with a victim-centered criminal justice approach and reflects a limited understanding of the complex nature of victim-offender intersectionality. Prohibiting the criminalization of sex trafficking victims for offenses related to victimization accounts for the nature and extent of control exerted by sex traffickers, and the influence of trauma on the decision-making process and behavior of survivors. Accordingly, states must enact non-criminalization laws, including an affirmative defense law, that don’t draw a “hard line” on the qualifying offenses and should extend to accomplice and co-conspirator liability.

Successful implementation of this change in law and practice will require training as well as active participation from criminal justice stakeholders, including law enforcement, victim advocates, prosecutors, and judges. To improve identification of sex trafficking victim-offenders, criminal justice stakeholders should take proactive steps throughout the criminal justice process to assess whether a person that is suspected of trafficking had also experienced trafficking victimization.

Finally, non-criminalization and post-conviction relief laws are two sides of the same coin. It is inevitable that survivors will “slip through the cracks” or go unidentified, resulting in unjust convictions. These survivors must be afforded an opportunity to vacate convictions they’ve received as a result of their victimization. States must not limit the types of crimes or charges for which a sex trafficking survivor can seek post-conviction relief to prostitution offenses. States limiting post-conviction relief to trafficking survivors who are convicted of prostitution or other sex offenses leave many sex trafficking survivors without any avenue for relief.

1 As of August 2023, twenty-nine (29) states plus Washington D.C. have passed laws preventing minors from being criminalized for prostitution-related offenses. Eighteen (18) states go on to expand non-criminalization laws to protect child sex trafficking survivors from being prosecuted for other crimes committed as a result of their victimization. Nine (9) states prohibit criminalization for, or provide an affirmative defense to, violent felonies. See Safe Harbor page.

2 See Texas Government Code § 411.0728. Juveniles in Texas are afforded additional opportunities to vacate delinquency adjudications under certain circumstances. However, this relief is not afforded to juveniles convicted of criminal offenses. See generally Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 58.253, Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 58.255, and Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 58.256.

3 Freedom Network USA Texas – Freedom Network USA

4 Id.

5 National Survivor Network Member Survey: Impact of Arrest and Detention on Survivors of Human Trafficking, August 2016. Microsoft Word – VacateSurveyFinal (nationalsurvivornetwork.org)

6 Id.

7 Victim-offender is used to refer to an individual who has experienced, or is currently experiencing, sex trafficking victimization and is alleged to have engaged in conduct that violates the law. See generally Shared Hope Int’l, Responding to Sex Trafficking: Victim-Offender Intersectionality (2020) https://sharedhope.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/SH_Responding-to-Sex-Trafficking-Victim-Offender-Intersectionality2020_FINAL.pdf.

8 22 U.S.C. § 7102(17) (2000) (“The term ‘victim of trafficking’ means a person subjected to an act or practice described in paragraph (9) or (10).”); Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015, Pub. L. No. 114-22, § 109, 129 Stat. 239 (“[S]ection 108 of this title amends section 1591 of title 18, United States Code, to add the words ‘solicits or patronizes’ to the sex trafficking statute making absolutely clear for judges, juries, prosecutors, and law enforcement officials that criminals who purchase sexual acts from human trafficking victims may be arrested, prosecuted, and convicted as sex trafficking offenders when this is merited by the facts of a particular case.”).

9 “Grand Prairie’s Zephi Trevino sentenced to 12 years in prison in fatal 2019 robbery” Jamie Landers and Kelli Smith Aug. 21 2023

10 Supra note 7.

11 Id.

September 20, 2022 by Guest

“My story can change things.” – Pieper Lewis, September 13, 2022

In sentencing child sex trafficking survivor, Pieper Lewis, on September 13, 2022, Judge David Porter stated, “Ms. Lewis, this is the second chance you asked for. You don’t get a third. Do you understand?”

The judge was alluding to his sentencing order that imposed a term of probation in lieu of immediate imprisonment, however the “second chance” he believed he was providing is nevertheless one rooted in punitive responses for trafficking survivors. If the anti-trafficking movement is committed to moving toward truly trauma-informed approaches, “second chances” must not include criminalizing survivors for trauma and offenses committed as a result of trafficking victimization; “second chances” must not include tools of control and punishment that resemble a survivor’s past exploitation, including incessant supervision, adherence to strict rules, placement in locked facilities, and debts to earn freedom.

Yet, in providing a “second chance” to Pieper, Judge Porter ordered Pieper to pay her exploiter’s family $150,000 in restitution,[1] the court an additional $4,000 for expenses incurred in her prosecution,[2] and, for the next five years, to wear an ankle monitor, remain on probation, and live in a facility managed by the Iowa Department of Corrections. Further, if Pieper violates any term of her probation, the court is authorized to reimpose a 20-year term of imprisonment.

Trafficking another person, raping them, exposing them to abuse after abuse is horrendous. While a person being trafficked is still breathing, and therefore technically alive, their life is no longer their own. Victims of human trafficking are subjected to a level of control that enslaves them fully, mind and body. They are subjected to abuses, assaults, and a commodification that reduces them to a product and shreds the soul.

Prosecutors argued that Brooks was asleep at the time he was stabbed and therefore not an immediate danger to Lewis. Such assertions can only be made by someone entirely disconnected from the intensity of trauma and human trafficking. Brooks had drugged and raped Pieper repeatedly, on more than one occasion, contributing to a pattern of sexual violence inflicted on her, as well as other harm, including homelessness and poverty.

Pieper Lewis, a 15-year-old child at the time of her arrest, has not been treated as such, nor has she been treated as the victim she was and, as she rightfully claimed in court, the survivor she is. Indeed, Pieper powerfully demonstrated her resilience during her sentencing hearing, “Today, my voice will be heard. The story of Pieper Lewis holds power. The trauma of Pieper Lewis carries a ruptured beginning, tormented past and a delayed future. With perseverance, we have the ability to change the direction of our delayed and unknown futures.” But she also spoke to how the criminal justice system had overlooked and ignored her victimization as she was prosecuted for a crime that directly arose from the abuse and trauma she experienced through trafficking, “I wish the events that took place on June 1, 2020 never occurred, but to say there’s only one victim to this story is absurd.”

Even when imprisonment is avoided, criminal and juvenile justice responses are inherently punitive and often compound trauma, contribute to cycles of poverty and exploitation, and fail to positively contribute to the survivors’ healing. They also cement cultural beliefs and practices that blame victims for their own harm suffered. This is the reason more comprehensive approaches to preventing survivors from being criminalized are at the core of survivor-centered reforms.

As a judge in a state that continues to allow children to be charged with prostitution–conduct that is synonymous with their trafficking victimization–Judge Porter’s ruling cemented the victim-blaming beliefs that have undermined efforts to protect rather than punish child sex trafficking victims in Iowa.

Iowa currently joins 23 states that still criminalize children for prostitution, 34 states that still allow children to be charged and prosecuted for other non-violent crimes or trafficking charges that resulted from their trafficking victimization, and 42 states that still do not allow child sex trafficking victims, like Pieper Lewis, to assert a defense to violent felony charges that arose from trafficking victimization. We as a country have a long way to go to recognize, in our laws and within our judicial system, the harm that is caused by continuing to treat victims of trafficking as criminals while ignoring the impact of their victimization.

Together, The Genesis Project, Shared Hope International, and the Iowa Network Against Human Trafficking and Slavery seek just responses for trafficking survivors, including Pieper. We strongly urge dramatic change in how survivors of trafficking are treated in Iowa and beyond. We invite you to join us and help shift the status quo to one that protects survivors rather than blaming and punishing them for their own victimization.

Footnotes:

[1] https://www.gofundme.com/f/vxgt7q

[2] The prosecution of Pieper Lewis was inherently unjust as the lack of legal protections (e.g., an affirmative defense, non-criminalization protection) available to human trafficking victims under Iowa state law and, thus, unavailable to Pieper, left her with no legal remedies. As a result, despite her status as a child sex trafficking victim, she was arrested, prosecuted, and sentenced for an offense that arose from her trafficking victimization. In response to the injustice of Pieper being prosecuted and sentenced in the death of her abuser, without access to legal protections, advocates and supporters of Pieper have raised over $550,000 (as of September 19, 2022) to pay her restitution order and court fees and provide additional funds to positively impact Pieper’s trajectory. To learn more about best practice for responding to sex trafficking victims engaged in criminal or delinquent conduct, please visit: https://reportcards.sharedhope.org/safeharbor/.

August 16, 2022 by Guest

2022 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report

By Paulina Andrews and Emily Tegley

2022 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report

On July 19, 2022, the U.S. Department of State released the 2022 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. The TIP Report is federally mandated by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA). Each year, the TIP Report evaluates global anti-trafficking efforts and ranks countries into three tiers based on whether the countries have met the TVPA’s minimum standards.

Ranking System:

The 2022 TIP Report’s three-tier system ranks countries based on each country’s efforts to prosecute traffickers, protect trafficking victims, and prevent human trafficking. The tiers are based on the country’s efforts to address human trafficking and not on the size of the country’s human trafficking problem.

Countries that have made efforts to fully meet the TVPA’s minimum standards are placed in Tier 1. Tier 2 status is reserved for countries that have not fully met the TVPA’s minimum standards but are “making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards.” The Tier 2 Watch List includes countries that have made efforts to meet the TVPA’s minimum standards, but: (1) “the estimated number of victims of severe forms of trafficking is very significant or significantly increasing and the country is not taking proportional concrete actions”; or (2) “there is a failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons from the previous year.” Countries that do not meet the TVPA’s minimum standards and are not working to meet the standards are placed in Tier 3. Countries in Tier 3 may not be eligible for non-humanitarian and non-trade related funding.

The 2022 TIP Report also emphasizes the importance of ethically engaging survivors, seeking survivors’ input in decision-making, and employing survivors in a trauma-informed work environment. To achieve these goals, the TIP Report provides recommendations such as: encouraging organizations to budget for hiring survivors; ensuring organizations have obtained informed consent from a survivor before sharing the survivor’s story; compensating survivors appropriately for their time; and fostering a safe, trauma-informed environment in the workplace. Furthermore, the TIP Report addresses how survivors have diverse backgrounds and encourages anti-trafficking efforts to acknowledge that there is no “‘typical’ survivor or story.” On July 20, the U.S. State Department held a briefing on this year’s TIP report, where the panel echoed the importance of having survivor-informed programs and policies. In keeping with this goal, the U.S. State Department relied on the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking, an appointed group of survivor leaders who advise and make recommendations on federal anti-trafficking policies, as subject matter experts to aid with the introductory materials for this year’s report, which is a tool to begin a global conversation on the inclusion of survivor expertise. Further, the panel noted that a dramatic increase in governments actively seeking survivor input could already be seen.

The United States:

The United States maintained its Tier 1 status in 2022, indicating the United States government has made efforts to meet the TVPA’s minimum standards. The TIP Report notes that the United States has maintained prosecution efforts and passed additional legislation to protect victims. For example, the TIP Report cites legislation the United States Congress enacted requiring credit reporting companies to remove adverse credit activity from victims’ reports when that credit activity is connected to their victimization. Additionally, the TIP Report explains the United States has improved its overall protection efforts by increasing the number of victims served and continuing to fund anti-trafficking efforts. Lastly, the TIP Report praised the United States’ prevention efforts, including its three-year national action plan to combat trafficking and ongoing public outreach efforts.

However, the TIP Report makes clear that Tier 1 status does not mean “a country has no human trafficking problem or that it is doing enough to address the crime.” Thus, the United States’ Tier 1 status does not mean the United States has a perfect response to human trafficking, and the TIP Report highlights various areas the United States needs to improve. For example, while the TIP Report indicates that the United States continues to reduce demand, the report also notes that advocates argue this demand-reduction must be trauma-informed, must be survivor-informed, and that diverse experiences and voices must be prioritized. In addition, the TIP Report notes the United States’ response to protecting LGBTQI+ individuals and children who are aging out of services is insufficient.

Furthermore, the TIP Report highlights that trafficking survivors continue to face criminal charges resulting from their victimization. Comprehensive victim protection laws are essential to ensuring survivors are identified and equipped to heal from their trafficking victimization and, if they choose to do so, join anti-trafficking efforts. Additionally, the TIP Report notes that criminal records resulting from the traffickers’ victimization exclude survivors from employment opportunities, housing, higher education, government programs, and from meeting their basic needs. The TIP Report also cites cases where trafficking survivors lost custody of their children because the survivors were required to register as sex offenders due to offenses the survivors committed as a result of being trafficked. To address this issue, the TIP Report encourages state, local, and tribal authorities to “implement policies not to prosecute victims for unlawful acts traffickers compelled them to commit.”

Shared Hope International’s Work:

In 2011, Shared Hope launched the Protected Innocence Challenge project, finding most states failed to recognize the crime of child sex trafficking. Under the project, Shared Hope graded each state on the strength of their laws regarding criminalization of child sex trafficking, offender accountability, tools for investigation and prosecution, and victim protections. By 2019, states had made great progress in areas related to criminalization, but service responses lagged. Shared Hope then retired the Protected Innocence Challenge project and released the Report Cards on Child & Youth Sex Trafficking legislative framework, building on the original Protected Innocence Challenge project and preserving its most fundamental components, but including new policy priorities that focus largely on specialized service responses and access to justice. These policies put survivor protections at the forefront of Shared Hope’s ongoing advocacy efforts.

This advanced legislative framework can be used as a tool for lawmakers seeking to address many of the recommendations found in the 2022 TIP Report. For example, to address and respond to the harmful and re-traumatizing effects of arrest and prosecution, the advanced legislative framework recommends that states enact laws to prevent the arrest, detention, and prosecution of children who have committed crimes as a result of their victimization. Specifically, states can take concrete steps to prevent additional trauma by prohibiting the criminalization of minors under 18 for prostitution offenses, prohibiting the criminalization of sex trafficking victims for non-violent crimes and trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation offenses committed as a result of their victimization, and providing victims with an affirmative defense for violent felonies committed as a result of their trafficking victimization. The criminalization of survivors is concerning, and while there has been an increase in awareness, gaps still remain in written policies seeking to prevent the criminalization of survivors.

Additionally, Shared Hope’s JuST Response Council, a group of over 30 experts from around the country who collaborate to improve responses to child sex trafficking, released field guidance on responding to sex trafficking victim-offender intersectionality and the complexities of charging victims of trafficking with offenses committed as a result of being trafficked. The Victim-Offender Intersectionality Report discusses not only why criminalizing survivors is inherently unjust, but also offers approaches for applying a sex trafficking-informed lens.

Shared Hope Resources:

Report Cards on Child & Youth Sex Trafficking and 2021 Toolkit
Seeking JuSTice Report: Legal approaches to eliminate criminal liability for juvenile sex trafficking victims
Responding to Sex Trafficking Victim-Offender Intersectionality: A Guide for Criminal Justice Stakeholders

Take Action:

Get informed. Visit the U.S. State Department’s website to review the entire 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report.
Advocate for change. Send your state’s report card to your legislators.
Join the fight. Sign Shared Hope’s Stop the InJuSTice Campaign petition to encourage states to stop arresting and charging child sex trafficking survivors with prostitution.

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