News from 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 29, 2020 by Marissa Gunther

Honoring First Responders This World Day Against Trafficking in Persons – July 30

(Brianna, Survivor Leader, has a special message for law enforcement)

For the past 20 years, Shared Hope International has been working to bring justice to vulnerable adults and children who have survived and overcome being commercially sexually exploited. Our small but powerful team of 18 staffers has managed to secure a global network and reach, leading prevention strategies, restoration programs, and justice initiatives to combat trafficking in the United States and abroad.

The women and children we serve are no strangers to having their lives turned upside down, and as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc, many of the women and children we serve domestically are being made more vulnerable as resources are cut off with the reality of school closings, lack of childcare, layoffs, and more.

Due to the limitations on schooling and resources caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a substantial increase in screen time for children; with limited ability of parents to supervise all online educational programming, there is an increased vulnerability to online exploitation. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children has experienced a 90.46% increase in CyberTipline (the nation’s centralized reporting system for the online exploitation of children) reports of suspected child sexual abuse between January and June 2020 versus the same time period in 2019.

Unfortunately, we’re hearing from our law enforcement friends and our community-based partners that sex traffickers and buyers aren’t slowing down during this pandemic and are continuing to entrap more vulnerable youth with false promises. Despite the challenges that have risen during these uniquely challenging times, our resolve to protect children and restore survivors has only strengthened and we will not quit until every child is safe.

That’s why we support this year’s United Nations’ global plan of action which includes concrete actions to prevent trafficking in persons, protect and assist victims, prosecute related crimes and strengthen partnerships among Governments, civil society organizations and the private sector, including the media. The Action Plan also includes the decision to establish a United Nations voluntary trust fund for victims of trafficking in persons, especially women and children, to be managed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Additionally, the issue of human trafficking will be mainstreamed into broader United Nations policies and programs on economic and social development, human rights, the rule of law, good governance, education, and natural disaster and post-conflict reconstruction.

The UN’s global plan of action includes World Day Against Trafficking in Persons and this year’s theme focuses on recognizing the work of first responders. These are the people who work in different sectors – identifying, supporting, counseling and seeking justice for victims of trafficking, and challenging the impunity of the traffickers. During COVID-19, the role of first responders has become even more important, particularly as the restrictions imposed by the pandemic have made their work even more difficult. Still, their contribution is often overlooked and unrecognized.

(Rev. Marian Hatcher, Survivor Leader and Ambassador-At-Large for United Nations, on working with law enforcement)

We see this day not just as an occasion, but as an opportunity to educate the public about the scourge of human trafficking and to mobilize a political force and the resources needed to truly address the source of the problem. We are running full speed towards the UN’s call to action. Everyone, not just first responders and government entities, can take action to stop trafficking before it ever happens.

So what can you do to support World Day Against Trafficking on July 30th? Consider the following actions as a great place to start.

Celebrate and highlight the work of first responders in your county, community or organization.
Share, like, and comment on our World Day social media posts or messages about World Day Against Trafficking in Persons.
Offer to volunteer or donate to services that provide on-the-ground assistance and protection to victims of trafficking. For more ideas, check out Shared Hope’s Action Center for simple take action tools and ways to give.

We hope you will join our team at Shared Hope International as we stand with the UN on World Day Against Trafficking, carrying forward our mission to end this evil. We believe that together we can end human trafficking once and for all.

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.

July 21, 2020 by Guest

A Virtual Summer

Due to COVID-19, Shared Hope International had to shift our internship program to a remote experience. Despite losing the in-person experience, we maintained providing a meaningful for our interns, including our D.C. office interns Sapna Swaymapakula and Mariah Cabrera. Sapna gratefully shared with her and Mariah’s experience in this blog.

Participating in a virtual internship was not in the plan for myself or my peer Mariah this summer. Both of us intended to move to Washington D.C. and have our full internship with Shared Hope International. For Mariah, it was her last semester for her undergrad, my second to last. While our internship program, The Washington Center, gave the option of reapplying for a different semester, both of us stuck through with the process and trusted that the internship would be as equally opportunistic and insightful. For both of us, Shared Hope International has been eye opening, making us both more aware of the reality of child sex trafficking.

Shared Hope International has educated us both more on sex trafficking’s origin, and in modern society. Through webinars, we have learned about the history of sex trafficking, and different factors that play a part: race, sex, age, status, and even education. We both are grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the Shared Hope International team. Both Mariah and I never imagined gaining so much from a virtual internship. The projects are at times challenging, but we enjoy that sense of accomplishment when turning them in before the deadline. Each project differs from the previous one, and allows us to strengthen our skills in every aspect we’re challenged in. Working on a wide range of projects has allowed us both to harness new skills, skills we otherwise would not have gained while supporting various programs and departments within Shared Hope.

Even though we are working virtually this summer, we still have been given the opportunity to interact with other members of the team, which we did not expect. Both Mariah and I communicate constantly and found that we work better together on our various projects. We have learned effective ways to professionally interview others, how to compose a professional cover letter, tidy up our resumes, and communicate effectively and professionally. These two months at Shared Hope International are passing quicker than either one of us expected, but we both know that we will carry these memories and skills with us wherever we go. Shared Hope International has helped us mature professionally and personally, and we can’t wait to use these skills to help build our future.

July 13, 2020 by Guest

20th Anniversary of Trafficking in Persons Report

“20 years ago today, there was not a single country in the world with a comprehensive anti-trafficking law. We have since seen 154 countries pass anti-trafficking legislation.”

-Ambassador-at-Large John Cotton Richmond

The 20th annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report was released on June 24th, 2020, celebrating two decades of the U.S. Department of State’s assessment of responses to human trafficking across the globe. Countries from around the world are invited to contribute information, highlighting their efforts, successes, and shortcomings in the fight against human trafficking. This year’s report not only marks a legislative milestone, but also an international one by highlighting the efforts and successes being made all over the world to fight against human trafficking. When the TIP Report was released in 2001, only 80 countries were signed on, and on the 20th anniversary it was announced that there are now 177 countries participating and 154 countries have passed anti-trafficking legislation.

Over the past 20 years, the U.S. Government has tracked its improvement in light of the historic passing of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA). In 2000, the TVPA was signed into law, creating protections for victims of human trafficking and allowing the government to prosecute trafficking offenders. Not only did the TVPA directly address the issue of human trafficking both domestically and internationally, it also established the creation of the annual TIP report, the first of which was published on July 28, 2001. Since then, the TIP Report has been an effective tool for perpetuating global change, leading to the increased number of countries enacting anti-human trafficking legislation.

The TIP Report required only a rating of governments based on how well governments followed or met the minimum standards of a three-tier ranking system established in the TVPA. Along with the three-tier rating system, each government provided explanations in an effort to bring “clarity and context to the report” (TIP Report, 2020). Today, the TIP Report has become a robust document, including tier placements for each country and in-depth country narratives. The TIP Report also includes, Victim Stories on Forced Labor, Sex Trafficking, and Debt Bondage.

The TVPA was also useful for shaping domestic legislation. In 2010, Shared Hope International used the TVPA when drafting for its Protected Innocence Challenge. Under the Protected Innocence Challenge, each state receives a Report Card and a grade based on a legislative framework that addresses six key areas of law related to domestic minor sex trafficking.

View your state’s 2019 Report Card here!

The Protected Innocence Challenge shines a light on each state’s efforts to eradicate domestic minor sex trafficking. Grading each state on how effective their legislative response is creates accountability, provides direction of issues to focus on, and equips states to better address the issue of domestic minor sex trafficking.

With so much to celebrate this year, we mustn’t forget that human trafficking is still an issue worldwide. According to the 2020 TIP Report, 25 million adults and children suffered from human trafficking this year. There is still much work to be done to hold countries and trafficking offenders accountable, but there is also a lot we can do here to stop domestic human trafficking domestically. Find more ways you can take action today!