Many of you have met Brianna… 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 […]
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 9th 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 […]
What 6,890 advocates can do
We are celebrating! Legislative sessions are wrapping up in states around the country and we have great news. Many of the bills you advocated for have passed: Utah HB 20 comprehensively strengthens the state’s response to child sex trafficking. Utah HB 108 strengthens the state’s existing non-criminalization laws to ensure that youth engaged in commercial sex […]
Child Victims of Sex Trafficking Receive Mixed Messages: If We Aren’t ‘Aggressors’ Then Why are We Arrested?
In February, Kansas Judge Michael Gibbens came under fire in national news for claiming that two girls, ages 13 and 14, acted as “aggressors” in a situation of exploitation in which a 67-year-old male, Eugene Soden, paid them to have sex. While public reaction to Gibbens ruling was appropriately harsh, the reality is that his […]
How to Tweet Your Legislator
On November 16 we released the 2018 Protected Innocence Challenge State Grades. This year, with our new tools, you can be a grassroots hero by sharing your state grade with your legislator! Click the Take Action button to visit our new Advocacy Action Center to tweet your legislator. If you don’t have a Twitter account, you also have the opportunity to share […]