JuST Response Archives - Shared Hope International

September 24, 2020 by Marissa Gunther

Announcing Report Cards on Child & Youth Sex Trafficking; grades based on an advanced legislative framework. Coming Nov 18, 2020

She was just 18 years old, a straight A student with dreams of becoming a nurse, when a trafficker made his move and began to groom her in preparation to sell her into the underworld of commercial sexual exploitation. Through the intervention of a high school friend and his father, the quick actions of a law enforcement officer, and Shared Hope founder and President Linda Smith, she was able to see that this friendship was not what it appeared to be. Her community recognized the red flags and prevented her exploitation.

Ten years later, Brianna continues to bravely tell her story, partnering with Shared Hope International to raise a voice of awareness so that other youth can be spared. Unfortunately, there are countless stories of children who suffer outcomes far less positive and end up falling victim to the evil in this world, with traffickers and buyers dragging them into the nightmare of commercial sex trafficking. The struggle of these survivors continues even after they leave their trafficking situation as many are often misidentified as criminals themselves, interfering with critical access to holistic care and services while the buyers suffer far fewer consequences.

Survivors like Zephi^[1]…

Zephi was a typical, happy, hard-working 16-year-old junior in high school when she met her trafficker. She was sociable, participating in community activities, including her church’s worship team, a select fastpitch softball league, and her high school drill team.

However, after an abusive boyfriend introduced her to drugs, her outlook and demeanor quickly changed due to the new emotional, mental, and physical challenges she now faced. She also would run away from home. As Zephi’s life continued to “spiral,” her community was unable to prevent what happened next.

In May of 2019, an adult acquaintance began grooming her for sex trafficking. Through use of coercive tactics such as drugs, violence, and death threats, Zephi’s trafficker forced her to participate in commercial sexual acts with other adults, resulting in her being repeatedly raped by buyers. This heinous cycle of commercial sexual exploitation ended after her trafficker killed one of the buyers. Because Zephi was present during the murder, however, she was arrested and charged alongside her trafficker for capital murder.

After enduring pain, suffering, and exploitation during her trafficking victimization, she is now being charged with a crime. How is this justice? Sympathizing with her situation is not enough; we must act.

We are committed to taking action until every survivor receives justice. Zephi’s case is another reason why Shared Hope’s work to change laws that bring justice and ensure protective responses to victims is so critically important. For the past decade, Shared Hope has graded states on their success in enacting fundamental laws to address child sex trafficking. The Protected Innocence Challenge project was our vision for mobilizing states to improve legislation that impacts the sex trafficking of minors. Ten years of grassroots mobilization, advocacy, technical assistance, and consistent collaboration has allowed this vision to largely become reality.

Now, we begin a new decade focused on achieving State Action. National Change. through the legislative changes that will result from guidance provided through Report Cards on Child & Youth Sex Trafficking. The advanced legislative framework for the Report Cards on Child & Youth Sex Trafficking will be officially released on Wednesday, November 18, 2020.

So what is the advanced framework for the Report Cards on Child and Youth Sex Trafficking? It builds on the Protected Innocence Challenge state report card projects, identifying 40 key points of law, grouped into six issue areas, necessary under state law to provide a protective response to child and youth survivors of sex trafficking. All states now have a child sex trafficking law, and most states have made significant progress in providing laws that protect victims and hold perpetrators accountable; collectively, the country has made significant progress in those policy goals. However, little has been done to address and fund specialized services for victims or to adequately address root causes, including demand.

The past decade has led to new research and opportunities to listen to survivors, bringing ever increasing clarity to laws and policies that must be in place to finally put an end to the sex trafficking of minors. Now is the time to raise the bar and challenge states to enact the policies encompassed in the advanced framework for the Report Cards, which will support the ability of survivors to access care, opportunities to heal, and protection against future harm. Now, we begin a new decade focused on achieving State Action. National Change. through the legislative changes that will result from guidance provided through Report Cards on Child & Youth Sex Trafficking.

The advanced legislative framework for the Report Cards on Child and Youth Sex Trafficking will be officially released on Wednesday, November 18, 2020

In the meantime, please join us for the JuST LIVE! State Action. National Change webinar series, which will run throughout October free of charge for anyone who wants to learn more about how to effectively fight child and youth sex trafficking. The webinar series aligns with six issue areas that hang on an advanced legislative framework.

Issue Areas Include:

Criminal Provisions: Clear criminal laws, including those that criminalize buyers of sex with children, are needed to ensure all sex trafficking offenders can be held accountable.
Identification of and Response to Victims: State laws must identify all commercially sexually exploited children as victims of trafficking and provide for a protective, rather than punitive response.
Continuum of Care: To break the cycle of exploitation, state laws must provide victims access to funded, trauma-informed services.
Access to Justice for Trafficking Survivors: A range of civil and criminal justice remedies must be available for victims under the law.
Tools for a Victim-Centered Criminal Justice Response: Criminal justice procedures for the benefit and protection of victims must be provided under the law.
Prevention and Training: To help prevent trafficking and promote more just responses to child sex trafficking victims, training for child welfare, juvenile justice, law enforcement, prosecutors and school personnel, and prevention education for students, must be required by law.

Please participate in this important experience — and share the registration information on all your channels!

To stay up to date on this exciting project, sign up here to guarantee the advanced framework will be delivered directly to you the moment it is released on November 18^th!

To support implementation of the advanced legislative framework for the Report Cards on Child and Youth Sex Trafficking, our Policy Team will remain available to provide rapid technical assistance to support legislators, advocates, and state agencies; technical assistance requests can be submitted here.

DirectlyTo, Zephaniah Trevinos Defense Fund, https://go.sharedhope.org/e/234702/phaniah-trevinos-defense-fund-/k4d74/307424383?h=WZ-miPH5rhOSTaJQE4-OkhEy2Q4WePnS3vBQjdxJtdk(last visited Sept. 23, 2020).

July 24, 2020 by SHI Staff

Shared Hope International Attends: OSCE 20th Alliance Against Trafficking in Persons

By: Natalie Assaad

The OSCE Office of the Special Representative and Co-Ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings held the 20^th OSCE Alliance Conference against Trafficking in Persons this past week from July 20 – 22, 2020. In reflection of the 20^th anniversary of the passing of the Palermo protocol, the conference focused on the lack of impunity of trafficking perpetrators globally. Despite an estimated 25 million victims of trafficking, only 11,096 traffickers were prosecuted in 2019. This amounts to approximately one prosecution for every 2,275 victims.

Conducting financial investigations in trafficking cases was emphasized by panelists and speakers, and first discussed by Albania’s Minister of Interior, Mr. Sandër Lleshaj. He discussed the importance of confiscating money and assets in trafficking cases, which was addressed by an Albanian law passed in 2020. This law requires individuals to prove the legality and origins of their assets if they were previously convicted of a particular set of criminal activities, including human trafficking. Barry Koch, Commissioner on the Financial Sector Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking, further discussed the use of financial data and records as effective weapons in fighting trafficking. Not only does financial data identify victims and perpetrators, but it proves coercion, corroborates witness testimony, and is the driving force behind a perpetrator’s activities. Mr. Koch recommended expanding the use of forfeiture assets to provide remedies to survivors, implementing global standards of crypto currency and the dark web to prevent criminal anonymity, and encouraging financial institutions to conduct periodic risk assessments to evaluate their exposure to human trafficking.

Ghada Waly, the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) discussed the effects of COVID-19 on human trafficking. The UNODC found that the increase in time spent online has provided traffickers with more opportunities to exploit victims while surges in poverty rates has heightened victim vulnerability. The UNODC also looked at past economic recessions and pandemics to study how the current pandemic may exacerbate trafficking. They found that countries who had higher unemployment rates as a result of not recovering as fast as other countries also had an increase in cross-border human trafficking.

Hilary Axam, the Director of the Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit at the Department of Justice, emphasized the need for a victim-centered, trauma-informed response for survivors, along with the necessity of political will. Not only does a victim-centered, trauma-informed response require intensive training, but it requires the unlearning of typical training law enforcement receives. For example, a survivor’s difficulty in recalling memories, emotional reactions, or conflicting statements are typically viewed as unreliable by law enforcement, however trauma-informed expertise indicates that these actions are common in traumatized survivors. Further, mobilizing political will is crucial, but is a resource-intensive undertaking that does not provide quick results.

On the last day, Dr. Myria Vassiliadou, an independent expert and former EU anti-trafficking coordinator, provided a compelling presentation on anti-demand and the trafficking chain. Dr. Vassiliadou pointed out that our culture not only tolerates tens of thousands of trafficking victims but normalizes it through society and criminal justice systems. She stated that any criminal justice system that treats trafficking in a restricted manner by focusing only on the trafficker or victim instead of the trafficking chain and driving forces is bound to fail – as proven by the current statistics of prosecutions and victims internationally. Dr. Vassiliadou stressed the fact that trafficking is purely economically driven, and that impunity can only be achieved by eliminating economic demand.

Valiant Richey, Special Representative and Co-Ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, ended the conference with a necessary proposal –that all participating states triple the number of current prosecutions within the next three years. Mr. Richey stated that his office will offer support to participating states in designing and implementing effective strategies, such as training judges and law enforcement, conducting more financial investigations, building more prosecutions without survivor testimony, and implementing victim-centered, trauma-informed approaches.

Though shared from an international perspective, several of the themes and concerns addressed throughout the conference directly impact the United States’ response to domestic minor sex trafficking. For example, Dr. Vassiliadou emphasized the need to diminish demand and address the entire trafficking chain. Under federal law, buyers can be identified as sex trafficking offenders with or without the existence of an identified trafficker. However, the trafficking laws in several states exclude buyer conduct, and others fail to prosecute buyers despite their laws. In recognizing that the sex trafficking industry is fueled by demand and failing to address it comes at the cost of thousands of children’s lives, Shared Hope has developed a body of anti-demand resources. For more information, please visit https://sharedhope.org/resources/policy-research-resources/#endingdemand.

Further, the conference’s emphasis on political will strongly aligns with Shared Hope’s policy work. Shared Hope works tirelessly with survivors, advocates, and legislators to reform legislation in order to promote the non-criminalization of child survivors and the implementation of specialized services. This avoids re-traumatization of child survivors and equips states to respond with a trauma-informed, victim-centered approach through individualized, specialized services. For more information on Shared Hope’s non-criminalization efforts, please visit https://sharedhope.org/what-we-do/bring-justice/non-crim/. You can also take action by signing Shared Hope’s petition to end the criminalization of child sex trafficking survivors.

June 27, 2019 by Christine Raino

Research to Action Stakeholder Survey

Since 2011, Shared Hope International has been grading state laws related to the commercial sexual exploitation of children under the Protected Innocence Challenge Legislative Framework, which establishes the basic policy principles required to comprehensively address child sex trafficking under six key areas of law:

Criminalization of Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking
Criminal Provisions Addressing Demand
Criminal Provisions for Traffickers
Criminal Provisions for Facilitators
Protective Provisions for the Child Victim
Criminal Justice Tools for Investigation and Prosecution

During this time, states have closed gaps in critical areas, including enacting laws that specifically criminalize child sex trafficking, ensuring buyers of sex with children are treated as serious offenders, and increasingly recognizing the need for comprehensive, trauma-informed services. In fact, when Shared Hope first began grading each state, the national average was 59.1%; by 2018, it was 82.9%.

Yet, even as Shared Hope celebrates these achievements, there is much work to be done. To support the innovative work of those in the field and to drive the next wave of smart and sustainable policy change, Shared Hope is working towards the release of a new legislative framework in 2020 that will address some of the more nuanced and challenging issues related to child sex trafficking.

Since its inception, Shared Hope has been committed to doing research that leads to action. In keeping with this tradition, the revised framework will be informed, in part, by information obtained through a nationwide survey.

As a stakeholder in the fight against child sex trafficking, we hope you will participate in this 10–15 minute survey to provide valuable insight into the challenges and successes of implementing laws that combat this crime and address the needs of survivors. This research will be critical for developing a revised framework that connects Shared Hope’s policy work with emerging and established promising practices.

The survey will close on September 16, 2019. Thank you in advance for your participation in this process. We look forward to receiving your response!

August 10, 2015 by Christine Raino

JuST Response Policy Paper

Eliminating the Third Party Control Barrier to Identifying Juvenile Sex Trafficking Victims

This paper evaluates the fundamental importance of defining sex trafficking to include all instances of commercial sexual exploitation of minors. Beyond the question of whether force, fraud or coercion was used by the offender, this discussion addresses the impact of requiring that a third party, in particular a trafficker, has caused a minor victim to engage in commercial sexual activity in order for a minor to be recognized as a sex trafficking victim.

While federal law states that any commercially sexually exploited minor is a victim of sex trafficking, some state statutory schemes mandate identification of a controlling third party or trafficker in order for instances of commercial sexual exploitation of children to be identified as sex trafficking. This means if a buyer directly pays a minor or offers food or shelter in return for sex acts, then this child may not be identified as a victim.

Alternatively, even when a trafficker is involved, if the minor does not identify the trafficker, the exploitation will not be identified as an instance of sex trafficking. This is problematic since victims often deny the extent of their own exploitation and often experience trauma-bonding making it difficult or impossible for children to disclose their trafficker. Instead of being identified and provided protections as a trafficking victim, the child could be prosecuted for prostitution in many jurisdictions.

At its core, requiring the presence of third party control ignores the fact that buyers are committing the very exploitation that the trafficking laws were enacted to punish. Failure to recognize the conduct of buyers as acts of sex trafficking ignores the definition of trafficking.

Policy Paper_Eliminating Third Party Control_Final_Page_01

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JuST Response Council Members

NANCY BALDWIN, HICKEY FAMILY FOUNDATION
LAURA BOYD, FOSTER FAMILY-BASED TREATMENT ASSOCIATION
VEDNITA CARTER, BREAKING FREE
CARLA DARTIS, ALAMEDA COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
MELINDA GIOVENGO, YOUTHCARE
LISA GOLDBLATT GRACE, MY LIFE MY CHOICE
YOLANDA GRAHAM, DEVEREUX GEORGIA TREATMENT NETWORK
MICHELLE GUYMAN, LOS ANGELES COUNTY PROBATION DEPARTMENT
MARIAN HATCHER, COOK COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
STEPHANIE HOLT, MISSION 21
REBECCA JOHNSON, AIM / ENGEDI REFUGEGRETCHEN KERR, NORTHLAND, A COMMUNITY CHURCH
LINDA KRIEG, ACTING CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING & EXPLOITED CHILDREN

ALEXANDRA PIERCE, OTHAYONIH RESEARCH
MARGIE QUIN, TENNESSEE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATIONS
DOMINIQUE ROE-SEPOWITZ, SEX TRAFFICKING INTERVENTION RESEARCH OFFICE, ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
MALIKA SAADA-SAAR, HUMAN RIGHTS PROJECT FOR GIRLS
LINDA SMITH, SHARED HOPE INTERNATIONAL
CAROL SMOLENSKI, ECPAT-USA
JEN SPRY, PENNSYLVANIA COALITION AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING
PEG TALBURTT, LOVELIGHT FOUNDATION

Field Expert Endorsers

Dave McCleary, Rotarians Against Child Slavery
Shea M. Rhodes, Villanova Law School Institute to Address Commercial Sexual Exploitation
Heather Stockdale; Georgia Cares
Justice Bobbe J. Bridge (ret), Center for Children & Youth Justice
Autumn Burris, Survivors for Solutions
Alex Trouteaud, youthSpark
Kate Price, University of Massachusetts Boston

July 28, 2015 by SHI Staff

JuST Response State System Mapping Report Release

About this video

Full video of the release of the JuST Response State System Mapping Report on March 4th, 2015.

The JuST Response is a trauma informed, individualized, survivor informed and evidence-based research project. It serves to deepen knowledge of the interrelationship of statutes, systems and services in developing state level responses to juvenile sex trafficking victims.