Commentary Archives - Page 6 of 13 - Shared Hope International

September 12, 2016 by Guest

What is Justice Supposed to Look Like?

By Rose Mukhar, JD, Justice At Last

Imagine that you are an 11-year-old girl being sex trafficked by your parents. Or, that you are a 15-year-old boy trading sex for food and a place to stay. Or instead, that you are a 17-year-old girl willingly in “the life” to show loyalty to your gang. Now think about what would happen if one or all your exploiters were arrested on human trafficking charges? Would you be willing to testify in a court of law against your parents? Against your provider of food and shelter? Against your fellow gang members? Could you testify against any of them?

I have heard repeatedly from law enforcement or the prosecuting attorney in my cases or read in the news that “…without the victim’s testimony, the human trafficking charges against the perpetrator won’t stand.” In other words, without my client coming forward and testifying against his or her exploiter in court, there will be no human trafficking conviction against the defendant. The fact that my client’s testimony is the pivotal evidence, and that his or her testimony is often the determining factor for a case going forward to trial is troubling to me. Especially, given that all the human trafficking survivor clients I have represented have been threatened with serious bodily harm to themselves and/or to their loved ones if they were to disclose what truly happened to them.

Why, then, does the justice system rely primarily on the testimony of these crime victims without factoring in the age or capacity or willingness to testify? Why does the justice system require that the victim testify in a courtroom where jurors will hear about how he or she was exploited, brutalized, humiliated and dehumanized? And, when a crime victim of human trafficking agrees to testify, is the justice system able to protect and prevent him or her from being re-victimized?

About the author: Rose Mukhar is a social justice and human rights attorney with experience in cases involving children, women, refugees, and survivors of domestic violence, torture, and human trafficking. Rose recently founded Justice At Last, a non-profit law firm dedicated to empowering trafficked survivors by providing critical pro-bono legal services in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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

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.

May 18, 2016 by Guest

How our Culture normalizes Sexualization

by Karen Morris, LP, NCPsyA

Linda Smith’s account of her encounters on Falkland Road in Mumbai, in Renting Lacy, brought me to tears in a way I thought would never stop. I was as George Harrison wrote, “drowning in the tears of the world.” I knew then I had to stop tuning out the pervasive commercial sexualization of children, and do something. Compassion and empathy for the suffering of others are basic human civilizing factors. How is it they are seemingly undone and in their places posited the values of cruelty, debasement and torture in the name of entertainment? If 27 million people are enslaved in the world, how many more are willing to victimize and enslave others for profit? This must be understood in order for all victims of trafficking to heal, including those who knowingly and unknowingly profit from the suffering of others.

Recently on “The View,” a conversation began among the female celebrity hosts with a provocative statement about female porn stars having the most desirable of all professional life styles. They went on feigning envy about making “a ton of money” for having sex all day, wearing really sexy clothes, especially shoes, which are of high value for these women. This style of dialogue reinforces class distinctions by inciting primitive feelings of greed and envy. Commoditizing women as sex-objects powers the desire to imitate that life style for those left behind in the national/global craze for porn. Those who crave “the look” put forth by “The View” as desirable become a link in the chain of normalization of trafficking. Perhaps they are not aware of the more than 20 million child pornography websites, some containing millions of images of children for sale, 10 million sites of which are based in the United States. The intention of commercialization is to enslave, evident in speech, mannerisms and fashion, perceivable in every form of media. Their drive is to get us to want more, wasting lives and resources. Civilization thrives only when conditions support the development of Wisdom and valuing of human potential.

Karen Morris is a PA Ambassador of Hope and psychoanalyst in private practice in New York City and Honesdale, PA. She is an award winning author and poet. Her book CATACLYSM and Other Arrangements (Three Stones Press), received the Gradiva Award for poetry (2015, NAAP). She is co-author with visual artist John Tomlinson, of RAGE: The Misery of Men::Hope: The Dawning of Men (2016), and co-founder of Two Rivers Zen Community in Honesdale, PA.

May 18, 2016 by Guest

Finding Yourself in the Flow of Fighting Sex Trafficking

By Beth Edmonds

Yesterday I was listening while driving to the NPR talk show:Ted Radio Hour featuring Maslow’s Human Needs. I’ve been fascinated with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and often feel it’s intended to flow from the “bottom-up” with not just an individual person at its crux, but as a “we the people” all needing to flow from the “bottom-up” in order for there to ever be self-actualization experienced. It has to be done as a group. There was a part of the program that I resonated with. It was self-actualization, but that it comes only in brief interludes, and in what they called in the Ted Talk as being “in-the-flow.” It was something that you may experience but that it is only a temporary, fleeting thing: being “in-the-flow.” And then you go back to striving for “self-actualization” again. It was thought provoking as I drove into Portland.

This week I’ve been working the Shared Hope International booth at the United Methodist Church General Conference with 8000 people from around the world in attendance. (That’s a whole other story) It was kind of slow at the booth; all the attendees were occupied with church business. But somebody came by the booth so I drew them in with, “Where are you from?” The guy says, “I’m from San Jose” to which I replied, “I’m from San Jose!” He responds with, “I’m the pastor of Santa Clara UMC.” I say, “I’m speaking at your church in June!” He got so excited about meeting me (which really was a needle in a haystack kind of experience) and then asks if he can take a selfie with me so he can take it back to his congregation. It felt like one of those “in-the-flow” moments, and I found that exciting.

Originally the event in June was going to be just me talking to the United Methodist Women only, and then the door opened to present to their entire church, followed by a potluck dinner. That’s progress. That’s movement. Again, it feels like being “in-the-flow.”

This message of Sex Trafficking is for everybody in the church, which is described as the body of Christ – youth, women, men, and clergy. It’s not just for some to get involved, although all of our involvement will look differently.I’m involved in fighting sex trafficking because I feel like I have a purpose when I’m in-the-flow. Some like to call it purpose. I say it just feels right.

March 17, 2016 by Guest

These Programs have Empowered Women Worldwide

Guest Post by Ashley Macdonald

While anyone can become a victim of human trafficking, Shared Hope recognizes that traffickers target susceptible individuals. Financial instability is among the vulnerabilities that can aid a victim to fall in to the horrors of human trafficking. Shared Hope International’s Women’s Investment Network (WIN) program offers women the opportunity to engage in hands-on vocational training, leadership development, and job skills courses so they build self-esteem and achieve financial independence.

International training programs are active in Nepal, India, and Jamaica. Agriculture is the mainstay of Nepal’s economy, therefore Asha Nepal’s programs include vegetable, cow and coat farming as well as tailoring, cooking, and handicrafts. In India, Ashagram provides a range of handicraft services to fit the diverse economy. Ashagram includes a sewing center, jewelry unit, bag weaving and henna design. These programs contribute to positive integration into the global economy. In Jamaica, the economy is dependent on services. Remittances and tourism account for 30% of GDP, therefore the Theodora Project focuses on appropriate skills training that meet the demand within the tourist sector. These programs enable the student to acquire the skill set to start a small business. The WIN program looks at how providing these services can address Jamaica’s large-scale unemployment rate.

Domestically, Shared Hope runs a nine-month three-phase WIN program that focuses on computers and administrative skills. Women in the program commit 20-25 hours a week to train on-site. Shared Hope International looks for partners that emphasize the importance of helping survivors gain financial independence, reflecting the principals of our WIN program. For example, Fields of Hope, a project of On Eagles Wings Ministries, allows female survivors of human trafficking (ages 16 and up) to receive valuable job skills training, spiritual mentorship, counseling, and accountability.

Sara, a participant of our domestic WIN program, states, “I gained the confidence I needed to believe I really would be able to support my son and myself. Being part of an organization that rescues women around the world while at the same time becoming better equipped for a career has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.” These programs have empowered women worldwide. Marcia, a participant of the Theodora Project, tells us of how her financial instability led her to fall in to the horrors of human trafficking. She has been working on her financial independence for over a year now with the help of our Jamaica WIN program. Providing survivors with the skills and means of creating their own economic sustainability helps reduce the risk of re-victimization and gain independence.

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