Policy Archives - Page 11 of 12 - Shared Hope International

September 10, 2016 by Rickie Scott

Children: Victims Not Criminals

A bill sits on Governor Jerry Brown’s desk designed to address the sex trafficking of children in California. While many people have joined the cause to fight sex trafficking abroad, few realize that it occurs in their own neighborhoods. Who would think that California, the land of sunshine, natural beauty, and “good vibes,” hides a dark history of sex-related crime?

Miya was a normal teenager working multiple jobs to save up money for college. One day, while selling sunglasses at the mall, a couple approached Miya and lured her with the promise of a modeling career. She was captured, trafficked to California, forced into prostitution, and subject to repeated physical and emotional abuse. Imagine – girls like Miya finally escape their torturer only to be criminalized for a situation in which they were the victim. Sadly, this is all too often the case.

The problem is not limited to California’s laws. The appalling truth is, across the nation, only 15 states have enacted state prostitution laws that prohibit the criminalization of juvenile sex trafficking victims; however, progress is being made. Influenced by Shared Hope International’s Protected Innocence Challenge, a comprehensive study of state laws that form the framework of protections for child sex trafficking victims, five states in the last year alone, enacted legislation to prevent the criminalization of minors involved in prostitution. Additionally, 2016 is the first year that all 50 states have passed legislation criminalizing the sex trafficking of minors.

However, after receiving a “D” on its Protected Innocence Challenge Report Card in 2015, California’s laws need improvement. The state previously enacted the California Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which criminalized human trafficking, and the Human Trafficking Collaboration and Training Act, which required law-enforcement officers to complete response training, but it is not enough. While these bills created reports and established the California Alliance to Combat Trafficking and Slavery, the stigma surrounding prostitution remains engrained in the minds of both citizens and law enforcement officials. Jim Saleda, an Oakland Police officer, described the unit’s increased understanding of the complicated issue: “When we first started, the attitude toward prostitutes was ‘clear the streets.’ Now…we treat them as victims.” Unfortunately, this new attitude is not wide-spread.

Young sex trafficking victims are treated as criminals and suffer unjust, traumatizing consequences, such as search, arrest, and detention, which intensifies their trauma, sends the message that they are responsible for the violence committed against them, and produces a distrust of the justice system. The emotional toll of this process alone affects the success of the overall fight against sex trafficking and undermines relationships with law enforcement, prosecutors, child welfare, and service providers. Most federal and state trafficking laws define a commercially sexually exploited minor as a victim of sex trafficking. Why will that same child face criminal charges under the prostitution law for an act they legally cannot consent to? No other child will suffer criminalization for their own sexual abuse, yet minors who are sex trafficked will face fines and jail-time, which reinforces trauma bonds with their traffickers, denies them immediate, necessary services, and hinders their ability to successfully recover from their past.

Senate Bill 1322, which was sent to Governor Brown on August 30 for approval, is a necessary and fundamental step in eliminating child sex trafficking, as well as the stigma surrounding it. With the production of this bill, California is at the forefront of a rapidly growing number of states that are taking strides towards ending human trafficking. Shared Hope International is making efforts through its Legislative Action Center to ensure that the bill passes and successfully prevents juvenile sex trafficking victims from being unfairly criminalized for their own victimization.

There is no such thing as a “child prostitute”, and there cannot be a true shift in the cultural view until the law treats them consistently as victims of abuse. However, even non-criminalization is not the full solution to this complex issue. Abused youth must be connected with services, not punishment .Without access to proper services, these children remain at risk of being re-exploited. With the production of Senate Bill 1322, California has taken the first step, yet policy makers, law enforcement, prosecutors, service providers, and society must join together to compassionately support children abused by the horrors of sex trafficking. Shared Hope International remains committed to encouraging the creation of a robust system of services for victims through the JuST Response Initiative.

You too can help California take this first step in making sure that child abuse victims receive protection and proper treatment by joining in the efforts of the National Center for Youth Law and West Coast Children’s Clinic and Rights4Girls, California organizations leading the fight against the criminalization of minor sex trafficking victims. Submit a support letter to Governor Brown through the CWDA website or join their Twitter campaign (@CWDA_CA, @ncyl_CSEC, @rights4girls and @westcoastccorg), using the hashtag #nosuchthingasachildprostitute.

April 5, 2016 by Rachel Lehr

Shifting towards Justice: Non-Criminalization of Child Sex Trafficking Victims

During the 2016 legislative sessions this year, at least 10 states have introduced legislation that would protect a child from being blamed for their own commercial sexual exploitation, meaning that prostitution offenses would not apply to minors. As of August 1, 2015, 14 states and DC had already enacted full non-criminalization provisions to prevent prosecution of minors for prostitution. This means that almost half of the country has enacted or is considering legislation to protect child sex trafficking victims from being put on trial for the very conduct that constitutes their victimization. Under federal law, any child who is bought or sold for sex acts is a sex trafficking victim. Last year, in the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, Congress urged the states to treat commercially sexually exploited children as victims and direct them to services instead of punitive responses and prosecutions.

Laws that protect all minors from prostitution charges are necessary to justly respond to juvenile sex trafficking victims and safeguard child victims from being treated as criminals. No child should be unfairly stigmatized as a “prostitute,” especially by the courts. In short, there is no such thing as a “child prostitute.” Shared Hope’s policy paper, Non-Criminalization of Juvenile Sex Trafficking Victims “discuss[es] the social and legal importance of ending criminalization of minors for prostitution offenses.” Prosecuting or charging a youth for prostitution offenses based on commercial sex acts is irreconcilable with the fact that the commercial sex act, itself, constitutes the abuse, rape, and exploitation of the child, rendering that child a victim in need of restorative services. Arresting, charging, detaining, and prosecuting child sex trafficking victims can re-traumatize these vulnerable victims. Additionally, arresting youth can strengthen trauma bonds with traffickers who have warned victims that they would be arrested and blamed if they were to seek help from law enforcement or were “found out.” Youth are often further bound to their trafficker and feel isolated from society when they are arrested. In her book, Walking Prey, Holly Austin Smith shares the harmful effects of her arrest and detention:

When I was arrested by law enforcement for prostitution, I was made to feel like a criminal, like a juvenile delinquent. I felt stupid, ashamed, and ostracized by society. Days later, alone in my bedroom, I felt so abandoned, so forsaken by society, that I attempted suicide.

Implementing non-criminalization and ensuring safety for commercially sexually exploited children is a consistent concern, and states have taken varied approaches in shifting from punitive to service-focused responses. Shared Hope’s field guidance document, Justice for Juveniles – A Field Guidance Report, surveys promising approaches to implementing non-criminal responses for juvenile sex trafficking victims.

Ensuring that comprehensive, trauma-informed, individualized services are provided to these victims is vital. As the trend of non-criminalization grows, states must simultaneously increase avenues to specialized services for commercially sexually exploited youth. According to the Protected Innocence Challenge, as of August 1, 2015, 29 states plus DC have enacted some sort of protective system response to direct minors away from punishment or detention and towards services, including responses of non-criminalization and other mechanisms, such as diversion or mandatory referrals by law enforcement to child welfare. Dollars are better and more justly spent on providing services to child sex trafficking victims, instead of arresting, prosecuting and punishing.

We look forward to the day where no commercially sexually exploited child in the U.S. can be charged as a “prostitute.”

March 7, 2016 by Guest

Society’s Persistent Misconception: Women Sell Sex Because They Should and Men Buy Sex Because They Can

Commercial sexual exploitation can be viewed, simply, as a two-part system: supply and demand. Under an economic theory, supply (prostituted persons) follows demand (purchasers of sex). In theory, one would surmise that if demand could be eliminated, commercial sexual exploitation would cease to exist. In order to refocus efforts on eliminating the demand, society must shift its conception of what fuels commercial sexual exploitation. Society’s current views glamorize the selling of sex, normalize purchasing sex, and reinforce the status quo of unequal policing of prostituted persons.

Girls are taught from a young age that “sex sells” and is, therefore, glamorous. This message is pervasive in our society. From a very young age, girls are over-sexualized and taught that their worth is tied to their sexuality and perceived attractiveness by men. With this message ingrained, girls grow up to become women with low or diminished self-esteem and rely on men for validation. Craving attention, praise, and affection, girls become prime targets for men to sexually exploit them.

Too often men are taught that using women for their sexuality is normal. From a young age, aggression and foul play are justified based on the idea that “boys will be boys.” Some boys seemingly never outgrow this phase, as this adage continues to justify the actions of men long into adulthood. As men, they buy sex because society has not yet been willing to recognize the role that demand plays in the victimization of prostituted persons. Purchasers of sex are seen as “typical” men, and not as criminals. Societal views reinforce that men who purchase sex will suffer no consequences for their actions.

Despite legislative changes that open the door for the prosecution of the demand, the unequal policing of the crime of prostitution reinforces gender-based inequalities. Archaic views that women voluntarily enter into the life persist. Accordingly, prostituted women are routinely arrested and convicted, while the demand are rarely targeted by law enforcement and even more rarely arrested or convicted.

Earlier this month was Super Bowl 50, the golden anniversary of the Super Bowl and a golden opportunity to shift society’s focus to the demand. In recent years, the Super Bowl has become a large platform for educating the public on the realities of commercial sexual exploitation. Prior to this year’s game, Denver Broncos rookie Ryan Murphy was detained and questioned by police during an investigation into prostitution. Even though he was released by the police and never charged in the incident, the Broncos promptly decided to send Murphy home. The team and its management, from a high-profile stage, shouted to the world that demand for sex cannot and will not be tolerated.

However powerful this message was, it merely scratched the surface. In order to curb demand, there needs to be a complete shifting of the paradigm where men are taught that purchasing sex is not a normal business transaction between consenting adults. Rather, society must accept that over-sexualizing girls and women and normalizing the demand perpetuates the problem of commercial sexual exploitation.

With comprehensive legislation that allows for the prosecution of demand, increased media attention, and the support of national anti-demand organizations, we are in the position to correct these misconceptions and make the statement that society will no longer tolerate the purchase of sex.

Shea M. Rhodes, Esq. is the Director of the Institute to Address Commercial Sexual Exploitation (CSE Institute) at Villanova University School of Law. Throughout her career, Ms. Rhodes has worked with survivors of sexual violence, human trafficking, prostitution, and commercialsexual exploitation,including operating her own law practice where she represents victims and survivors. She also serves as an advisor to multiple criminal justice initiatives focused on addressing the needs of child and adult victims of human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. Prior to her work with the CSE Institute, Ms. Rhodes served as an Assistant District Attorney for the City of Philadelphia for almost ten years where she helped to found Project Dawn Court, a diversion program for women who have been repeatedly charged and convicted of the crime of prostitution, a primary mode of sex trafficking, and developed a Law Enforcement Working Group to facilitate collaborative investigation and prosecution of cases of human trafficking between local, state, and federal agencies in the Philadelphia region. Before joining the District Attorney’s office, Ms. Rhodes served as a staff attorney for the Crime Victim’s Law Project where she provided legal assistance and advocacy for adult and child victims of rape, sexual assault, and stalking.

Ms. Rhodes currently serves on the Board of Directors for Dawn’s Place, the Greater Philadelphia region’s only residential treatment program for women who are victims of sex trafficking or commercial sexual exploitation, and sits on the Oversight Committee for the Project Dawn Court. She is also provides the administration for the Pennsylvania Alliance Against Trafficking in Humans, an initiative of Pennsylvania’s community partners, victim service organizations, and law enforcement working to implement Act 105, Pennsylvania’s comprehensive human trafficking legislation. Ms. Rhodes also sits on the Pennsylvania Anti--Human Trafficking Advocacy Work Group and is a member of Philadelphia’s Anti-Trafficking Coalition. Ms. Rhodes is a graduate of Villanova Law School and received her undergraduate degree from the University of Kansas. She is the Owner and Principal Attorney of the Law Offices of Shea M. Rhodes, LLC, specializing in working with survivors of Commercial Sexual Exploitation, Prostitution, and Human Trafficking on criminal, adjudicatory and child dependency matters, with a practice area in the Greater Philadelphia region.

January 19, 2016 by Guest

Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Briefing – Human Trafficking

Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Briefing
In Conjunction With Exodus Cry and Shared Hope International

The Demand Factor in the Global Sex Trade:
Human Trafficking as a Human Rights Crisis

This event is in the past. Please watch the video above or read the transcript.

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

2255 Rayburn House Office Building

Washington, D.C.

Please join the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission for a briefing on how the demand for commercial sex fuels the global human trafficking industry, perpetuating a human rights crisis.

International sex trafficking represents a serious human rights crisis affecting millions of people, primarily women and girls. It is a nefarious enterprise that generates nearly $100 billion in revenue annually worldwide.

The sexual exploitation that undergirds the industry is perpetrated by two key players: the trafficker (“pimp”) and the buyer (“john”). To downplay the role of either is a failure to grasp the basic dynamic of human trafficking. Yet, the buyer is often viewed through a lens of tolerance or even ignored, his actions tempered by cultural permissiveness or protected by outright legalization. Research has revealed that legalization or decriminalization of the purchase of commercial sex serves to drive the demand for sex trafficking and encourages buyers. By removing criminality along with the associated stigma, buyers experience few consequences and thus perpetuate their actions. A flourishing market in the trafficking of women and children develops to meet unsatisfied interests of buyers in the legal realm. Demand for commercial sex drives human trafficking and presents a dire human rights crisis for those who are violated and exploited.

The United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime of 2000 expressly addresses the requirement that nations make serious efforts to reduce demand for trafficked persons. Article nine, addressing prevention of human trafficking specifically directs that, “States Parties shall adopt or strengthen legislative or other measures, such as educational, social or cultural measures, including through bilateral and multilateral cooperation, to discourage the demand that fosters all forms of exploitation of persons, especially women and children, that leads to trafficking.”

Please join us to hear from experts on the frontlines in the fight against human trafficking as they discuss the danger caused by purchasers and purveyors of commercial sex and successful efforts employed to combat demand.

Panelists

Taina Bien-Aimé, Executive Director, Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW)
Ernie Allen, Allen Global Consulting
Rev. Dr. Marian Hatcher, Senior Project Manager/Human Trafficking Coordinator
Attorney General Sam Olens, Georgia
Kubiiki Pride, mother of a sex trafficking survivor and advocate against sexual exploitation of women and children

Moderator

Rep. Randy Hultgren, Executive Committee, Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission

The briefing will be open to members of Congress, congressional staff, the interested public and the media.

The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission is the largest bipartisan and bicameral congressional human rights working group, which was founded by the late Congressman Tom Lantos (D-CA) and retired Congressman John Edward Porter (R-IL) in 1983. The mission of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission is to promote, defend and advocate internationally recognized human rights norms in a nonpartisan manner, both within and outside of Congress.

December 7, 2015 by Guest

Exchanging Food for Sex with Children Amounts to Sex Trafficking

Society is quickly outraged by reports that peacekeepers or aid workers have sexually exploited children in areas of conflict or developing regions. This year, reports surfaced that peacekeepers in the Central African Republic elicited sex acts with young boys in exchange for food. Unfortunately, this scenario is not new. A 1996 study from the UN Secretary-General stated:

Children may also become victims of prostitution following the arrival of peacekeeping forces. In Mozambique, after the signing of the peace treaty in 1992, soldiers of the United Nations Operation in Mozambique (ONUMOZ) recruited girls aged 12 to 18 years into prostitution. After a commission of inquiry confirmed the allegations, the soldiers implicated were sent home. In 6 out of 12 country studies on sexual exploitation of children in situations of armed conflict …, the arrival of peacekeeping troops has been associated with a rapid rise in child prostitution.

When peacekeepers instruct hungry children living in war-torn countries, to perform sexual acts in order to receive life necessities, this resonates with many readers in America as patently exploitative and abusive. In fact, should such an exchange – sex with a minor for life necessities – occur in the United States, this commercial sexual exploitation by a buyer could amount to sex trafficking, under federal law and the sex trafficking law in 41 states and the District of Columbia.[1] Appropriately including the purchase of sex with a minor within sex trafficking definitions reflects the seriousness of this exploitative conduct.

Nonetheless, outrage like that expressed in response to peackeepers’ abuse, does not similarly resound when adults exchange life necessities for sex with minors in the United States. Instead, domestic children induced to perform a sexual act in exchange for food or transportation, or maybe as a form of “rent,” are often blamed for their own victimization. In fact, in 36 states, commercially sexually exploited children may be prosecuted for prostitution and are stigmatized as “prostitutes.” Why is moral or criminal fault assigned to a child who is sexually exploited, sometimes in order to survive?

In these scenarios, the buyer is the manipulator and offender, not the youth. In fact, in instances of sex trafficking, the buyer is the indispensable perpetrator, even more so than a possible trafficker. Without the buyer, there would be no commercial sexual exploitation, at all. However, sex trafficking often is still viewed as requiring a “pimp” or trafficker who controls the child victim. Accordingly, the sex trafficking laws in 14 states, unfortunately, do not accurately reflect the central role of the buyer-perpetrator; these states require the presence of a trafficker or third party control over minor victims.[2] A policy paper by Shared Hope, Eliminating the Third Party Control Barrier to Identifying Juvenile Sex Trafficking Victims, discusses social misperceptions and legal inconsistencies that result from misunderstanding the buyer’s central role and requiring that a trafficker be named. One devastating effect is that many juvenile sex trafficking victims are not identified, nor provided much needed services.

Buyers who prey on vulnerable children by withholding life necessities in exchange for sex should be held accountable. This conduct needs to be understood as the manipulation and exploitation that it is and included within sex trafficking definitions.

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[1] Statistic based on laws enacted as of August 1, 2014.

[2] Statistic based on laws enacted as of August 1, 2014.