Linda Smith’s Testimony to the House Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. This Testimony is entitled “Domestic Sex Trafficking: the prostitution of America’s children.” House Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security
Political Asylum for Trafficking Victims in the TVPA: Rule or Exception?
Full of hopes and aspirations, thousands of women and children end up trafficked into the United States each year by false promises of a better opportunity, school or the fulfillment of a vocational dream, only to later realize that they have been forced into sex slavery. This is a story we hear too often, but […]
Craig – The Most Successful Pimp in the World
by Linda Smith, President and Founder, Shared Hope International Recent news reports have highlighted the role of Craigslist in facilitating commercial sex involving minors – domestic minor sex trafficking. However, as we advocate for the closure of Craigslist’s adult services web page, we must acknowledge that for the lucrative business of online classifieds for “adult […]
The Swedish Approach to Prostitution, Part II
The Swedish Approach to Prostitution: Could it work in the U.S.? Since 1999, Sweden has taken a unique approach to prostitution. In Sweden, it’s a crime to pay for sex. Prostitutes (mostly women and children) are referred to government funded programs aimed at getting them out of prostitution while customers (mostly men) who are paying […]
The Swedish Approach to Prostitution, Part I
For the past eleven years, Sweden has taken a unique approach to prostitution. In 1999, the Swedish government passed a law making it a crime to pay for sex. The selling of sex remains legal but people who pay for sex are charged with a crime. The Swedish perception of prostitution as an aspect of […]