News from Shared Hope International

January 19, 2015 by SHI Staff

A movement to restore human dignity; this MLK holiday, the work continues to end modern day slavery

In recalling today the incredible work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. we are also reminded of both how far we have come and how far we have to go in the fight to end oppression and restore human dignity to the millions who still suffer under injustice and slavery.

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

These words from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. are powerful as we commemorate the life and work of a man who gave his life for justice.

There is a common belief that slavery no longer exists; unfortunately, that is simply not the case. The practice of buying and selling human beings is still intact, just in new forms. Today as you read this, women and children are bought and sold as objects in the sex trade to fulfill grown men’s fantasies. Just like any market, sex trafficking takes various forms and is not consistently defined as depraved or wrong by every individual or nation; but as Nickloas Kristof has proffered, “whatever one thinks of legalizing sexual transactions among adults, we should all be able to agree that children shouldn’t be peddled like pizzas.”

Despite the many heroic efforts by activists, judges, law enforcement, case workers, community groups and others, domestic minor sex trafficking is still rampant in the United States. Of the many ills and underlying acts of depravity in the news today, the scourge of domestic minor sex trafficking rises to the top as a prime example of why we cannot rest; as Dr. King Jr. imparted years ago, “until all are free, none of us are free.” It is with this same principle that Shared Hope is working on the crucial goals of preventing trafficking, restoring hope to victims and finally bringing justice to those who do harm.

Similar to how Dr. King Jr. encouraged activists to take greater and greater action in an effort to spark legislative and social reforms related to civil rights in the 1960s. Today, Shared Hope and others are aiming for similar energy to be put toward bringing greater justice and restoration for those who have been wronged by a developing legal system which allows buyers of sex with children walk free and victims of trafficking to fend for themselves. This MLK day join in us celebrating the efforts of all those who have and continue to fight for equality and justice in this country.

Here are ways to take action on the MLK holiday and continue the work of a man who stood for equality and justice in face of cruelty, hatred and systemic oppression.

Legislative Action:

Campaigns:

Join the fight and help put an end to trafficking in the United States, and as you do remember this work requires all of us and that real change takes collective action; in the words of MLK, “We cannot walk alone.”

January 12, 2015 by SHI Staff

Demand Justice at Super Bowl XLIX

Help end domestic minor sex trafficking at Super Bowl XLIX in Arizona

Recently we posted a letter and petition on demandingjustice.org encouraging the 15 County Attorney’s Offices in Arizona to ensure prosecutions of buyers of sex with children are made a priority. The goal of the petition is to bring a unified front to enforce zero tolerance for child sex trafficking.

Let’s tell buyers, if they exploit a child in Arizona, they better plan to stay awhile – in jail! Sign the petition today and use your name to encourage the authorities to get tough on the scourge of trafficking in Arizona and elsewhere. The nation is watching.

Oops! We could not locate your form.

“Children Aren’t Playthings” Dollbox on Display in Arizona

View Shared Hope International’s domestic minor sex trafficking awareness Dollbox on the following dates in the following locations:

Saturday, Jan 31 (in coordination w/ the Scarlet Cord and Streetlight USA)

10:00 – 9:00
813 N. 1st Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004

Post by Shared Hope International.

[mashshare]

[clear-line]

[clear-line]Arizona’s Not Buying It

The Arizona’s Not Buying It campaign brings together some of Arizona’s most recognized voices to commit to fighting child sex trafficking, including: Kurt Warner (NFL retired, Arizona Cardinals); Jason Rowley (President, Phoenix Suns); Derrick hall (President and CEO, Arizona Diamondbacks). In partnership with Shared Hope International, the #AZnotbuyingit campaign aims to raise awareness of sex trafficking and support efforts to combat demand.

Click here to learn more about the Arizona Not Buying It Campaign.

Learn More

Shared Hope International has been a leader in Arizona anti-trafficking efforts since 2009. Shared Hope advocates for stronger laws by hosting the 2011 SHE! Counts Advocacy Day in partnership with Arizona Foundation for Women; providing an annual analysis of Arizona state laws on domestic minor sex trafficking and offering practical recommendations through the national Protected Innocence Challenge; testifying at the Governor’s Human Trafficking Task Force; and documenting cases of buyers of sex acts with minors through the Demanding Justice Project to inform policy opportunities. Shared Hope hosts and presents at numerous trainings in Arizona, equipping law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, child welfare and community members to effectively identify and respond to the crime.

January 5, 2015 by SHI Staff

“Human Trafficking: What You Need to Know”: Focus on the Family’s Free Radio Program

We are happy to announce that Shared Hope’s two-day Focus on the Family audio broadcast entitled “Human Trafficking: What You Need to Know” is airing on Thursday, Jan. 8th and Friday, Jan 9th, 2015!

The streaming audio of this broadcast appears on Focus on the Family’s Broadcast page (www.focusonthefamily.com/radio). On the broadcast page, look for the Focus “Station Finder” to find stations that carry the program in your area. In addition, a downloadable podcast will be available on iTunes (just search for Focus on the Family Daily Broadcast or click here).

You can listen to last year’s program (Exposing the Dark World of Human Trafficking Parts I & II) here and listen to former US Congresswoman and Founder and CEO of Shared Hope International Linda Smith discuss the alarming prevalence of modern-day human trafficking, what is being done domestically to protect victims, and how parents and youth leaders can teach the warning signs to their children.

Last year’s radio broadcast is available to be ordered via a donation. You can purchase it here.

December 12, 2014 by SHI Staff

How One Man Used Marketing to Bring Buyers to Justice – And Why He’s Not So Different From You…

Jason Kowal, Principal and Co-Founder of Global Thinking had a good reason to get involved. Two daughters.

In the spring of 2014, Shared Hope contacted Jason and his team about helping launch the Demanding Justice Project campaign website, a site that serves to expose buyers convicted of purchasing sex with minors. At the conclusion of the call, we determined our vision might be just too large for our budget. In less than 24 hours, Jason’s team contacted us and said they were not only willing, but wanted, to take on the project.

Check out how this marketing expert put his skills and resources to work to fight demand.

DJ_Team2 — Pictured (left to right) – Jason Kowal, Nikki Hogan, Shannon Bailey, John Armstrong.
Team members not pictured – Tifa Kerbal and Will Paul.

SHI: What is Global Thinking?

Jason: Global Thinking is a creative agency based in Alexandria, Virginia. The vast majority of our business is for private companies, we work for multi-national companies doing all types of marketing work from branding to digital strategy to campaign marketing. As an organization we have been committed to devoting a significant portion of our time to causes we believe in and those include non-profits and local business that we know and love and want to help. In the case of Shared Hope, we saw the opportunity; we saw a great need for a voice that was fitting the cause.

SHI: I know we made a rather bold request of you and your team to help with the Demanding Justice Project to expose buyers of sex with children. We had a large vision, tight budget and timeline and difficult subject matter. But you decided to stand with us and dedicate time, passion and creativity to accomplish what has become one of our most powerful and inspiring projects to date. Why?

Jason: I have to be honest, it was not an easy decision to make, but it was an impossible decision to walk away from. While we were considering what could be done, we were only considering doing this the right way. While I was working with my team we discussed how to bring DJP into the stream of projects we do. Fortunately, we’ve had enough success since starting that we’re able to take on some amount of work purely out of love and this was a case like that. I think the two factors that specifically came into play were the things I kept coming back to: this wasn’t just a subject that needed attention, it was the right thing to do. We really wanted to be involved. The second part, which affected me personally, is that I have two daughters who are the same age as some of the girls who are affected by this crime. So, I have a reminder every night. I think it’s true of a lot of the people who worked on the project. It’s important to note that there was a team who worked on it, who were equally passionate about it and wanted to put every bit of extra effort to make sure we had a fantastic end product.

SHI: Do you have any advice for others in business who may be interested but are wondering how to get involved?

Jason: When you are evaluating your decision on what types of business to get involved in, you have to ask yourself: do I want to be doing the same thing every day for the same clients? Does it really matter if it personally affects me? Does it affect me because I’m human? That’s why we do what we do at Global Thinking. When we’re evaluating every opportunity that comes before us rather than asking, how is this going to affect me, we ask how am I going to affect others?

SHI: This can be a challenging topic to work on. What part of this project was most impactful for your team?

Jason: The statistics about demand aren’t ones you forget quickly. The magnitude of the problem affected how people felt about the work in a positive way. There is also a real benefit that comes back to the group that works on a project like this; they push the boundaries on what they are comfortable working on. Really, it’s a way people can come together and come up with great ideas.

How have you been inspired to engage in the battle to stop trafficking? Leave us a comment below.

December 9, 2014 by SHI Staff

Ninth Circuit: Privacy for buyers of sex with children outweighs protection of children

California Proposition 35 made sweeping changes to California’s child sex trafficking laws. On November 6, 2012, over ten million people in California voted in favor of the act, making it the most successful ballot in California history. Over 80% of voters voted in favor of Prop 35 and it is easy to see why: increased penalties for traffickers, mandatory law enforcement training, designation of fines from convicted traffickers for victims, and requirement of sex traffickers to register as sex offenders are among some of the changes to California law that were enacted.

Proposition 35 was not met without opposition, however. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of anonymous sex offenders to prohibit enforcement of a provision which requires buyers of sex with children to register their online identifiers as part of their sex offender registry requirements. Buyers, under Prop 35, would be forced to disclose their internet identities and activities once convicted for an offense against a child. Information about the buyer’s online presence would then be used by the community and law enforcement to protect children against repeat exploitive behaviors.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in California upheld a lower court’s decision to enjoin the provision regarding registration of buyer’s online identifiers, holding that the provision is an unconstitutional burden on free speech for the sex offender. In making this decision, the court gave greater constitutional weight to the privacy of sex offenders than the protection of children. Complete online privacy and anonymity, in the holding of the court, is a right which even convicted child predators deserve. How did privacy become a more compelling societal interest than protection of children?

Convicted child predators often have their rights taken away by courts. In many states, a buyer on the sex offender registry is forbidden from living within a specified distance from a school or child care agency. Society chooses to establish these restrictions in order to reduce the availability and access to children for child predators. The internet should not be an exception. In an age where nearly everyone has a digital identity, including children, shouldn’t predators be restricted from access to children online? The Ninth Circuit says no, despite inconsistency with federal law.

Convicted criminals forfeit privileges in society because of the decisions they made to exploit the vulnerable in our society. Sex offenders should not be allowed to retain privacy privileges at the cost of the reality of the re-offenders among them using that privacy to contact and exploit more children. Many buyer cases involve a digital interaction using social media or classified websites. If buyers remain anonymous on the internet, they will continue to use these websites to target and approach children.

Protection of the vulnerable in society is among the fundamental roles of government. Privacy cannot be given to convicted criminals at the cost of protecting vulnerable youth from child predators. Upon appeal of this decision, the Supreme Court will have an opportunity to hear this case and undo the damage being done by the injunction from the Ninth Circuit. The urgency and magnitude of the outcome of this battle cannot be overstated.

National change is happening on the state level and buyers are subject to sex offender registration in many states. Increasing pressure on buyers and making sure that they are restricted from access to places where children can be contacted, including the internet, must be a part of a state’s response to child sex trafficking. Learn about how putting buyers on the sex offender registry addresses demand and see how your state stacks up against other states in the fight against demand so you can take action.

< Previous Page
1
…
30
31
32
33
34
…
55
Next Page >