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Announcing Report Cards on Child & Youth Sex Trafficking; grades based on an advanced legislative framework. Coming Nov 18, 2020

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 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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Continuum of Care: To break the cycle of exploitation, state laws must provide victims access to funded, trauma-informed services.
  4. Access to Justice for Trafficking Survivors: A range of civil and criminal justice remedies must be available for victims under the law.
  5. Tools for a Victim-Centered Criminal Justice Response: Criminal justice procedures for the benefit and protection of victims must be provided under the law.
  6. 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 18th!

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.

  1. 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).

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Earned Immunity: How the EARN IT Act Balances Protections for Children and Innovation Online

Register Button and Picture of United States Capitol

Over the past several weeks as the COVID-19 crisis has spread across the nation, students have moved from schools to online learning platforms, thousands of employees have moved from office buildings to home offices, and many organizations that serve and support child victims of sexual exploitation must now rely on the internet to reach out to and counsel exploited children. While these online platforms have provided essential access for those seeking to support and protect children, these same platforms provide predators and exploiters unprecedented access to groom and exploit children, and many refuse to take commonsense steps to prevent exploitation or even to quickly identify and end it when it occurs.

As concerns about child safety online have increased, caregivers must now add the role of “online protector” to the many other roles they are currently playing during this pandemic. What this highlights is the need to establish online protections for children at the source, rather than shifting this overwhelming burden to caregivers, teachers, service providers and law enforcement. Those who develop online platforms should be employing that same innovation to help stop predators and exploiters who misuse these platforms and to quickly identify and interrupt exploitation when it happens.

On June 3, join sponsors of the EARN IT Act, and NGOs combating human trafficking and child exploitation, to hear how the EARN IT Act provides a path to accomplishing that goal. EARN IT would bring together leading experts in the tech industry with leaders in the fight against sexual exploitation of children in a new national commission. This bipartisan commission is tasked with developing innovative and groundbreaking best practices for preventing and responding to child sexual exploitation online while fostering an open internet. By extending Section 230 immunity to providers of online services that implement the Commission’s best practices, a new framework would be established—in place of the blanket immunity currently enjoyed by online service providers regardless of whether they prevent child exploitation or profit from it, immunity would be provided to those who have earned it.

Click Here to Register for the June 3 Webinar, 1 – 2:30 PM ET

Click Here to support the EARN IT Act by contacting your legislators.

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Shared Hope International Releases Sex Trafficking Victim-Offender Intersectionality Report, Promoting Just Responses to Victims in the Criminal Justice System

The collaboration with the Institute to Address Commercial Sexual Exploitation at Villanova Law follows a three-year study of the phenomenon of treating sex trafficking victims as criminals

WASHINGTON, Jan. 23, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Shared Hope International, a non-profit leader in the fight to eradicate domestic minor sex trafficking, today announced the release of “Responding to Sex Trafficking Victim-Offender Intersectionality: A Guide for Criminal Justice Stakeholders”. A collaboration of Shared Hope’s JuST Response Council and the Institute to Address Commercial Sexual Exploitation (CSE Institute) at Villanova Law, the report will serve as a field guide for criminal justice stakeholders, supporting an overall shift toward a victim-centered approach that recognizes a survivor’s underlying victimization when facing sex trafficking charges.

Shared Hope unveiled the report during a presentation and panel discussion at its Institute for Justice & Advocacy, a Washington, D.C.-based education, research and training center, which opened today.

The report provides resources for anyone who interacts with a sex trafficking victim-offender within the criminal justice system, including law enforcement, judges, defense attorneys, probation officers and victim witness advocates. It seeks to mitigate the risk of injustice when the control exerted by sex traffickers and the influence of trauma on a victim’s decision-making and behavior are not considered.

“A sea change is still needed in how our world looks at, responds to and cares for sex trafficking victims,” said Linda Smith, Shared Hope’s founder and president, and a former U.S. Congresswoman. “This report is a long-overdue resource for understanding and addressing the circumstances that result in treating victims as criminals.”

The CSE Institute educates and provides technical assistance to those who respond to commercial sexual exploitation, promoting victim-centered, trauma-informed multidisciplinary collaboration.

“As a former prosecutor who now routinely educates prosecutors and engages in policy and legislative reforms, I consistently remind prosecutors that the most powerful tool they have is the one of discretion,” said Shea Rhodes, director and co-founder of the CSE Institute. “When making decisions about which cases to charge and bring to trial, it is critical that prosecutors investigate trafficking cases using victim-centered trauma-informed strategies to ensure that the outcomes are fair and just for all involved.”

For the last decade, Shared Hope has graded states on the strength of their child sex trafficking laws through its Protected Innocence Challenge. While the national average grade rose from an F to a B since the Challenge began, the grade for victim protection laws is barely a C at 71.2 percent.

“While we recognize the challenges that arise when trafficking victims are alleged to have engaged in trafficking conduct, approaches such as charging victims as co-conspirators, which effectively deny their underlying victimization and prevent access to comprehensive services, harm victims as well as the effort to bring their exploiters to justice,” said Christine Raino, Shared Hope’s senior director of public policy. “The progress made crafting new legislation that properly punishes sex traffickers is undermined when the laws are implemented in a way that is not victim-centered and trauma-informed.”

The field guidance focuses on three primary objectives:

  1. To improve identification of sex trafficking victim-offenders who have come into contact with the criminal justice system
  2. To enhance understanding of victim-offenders’ conduct through a sex trafficking- and trauma-informed lens
  3. To identify alternative responses to victim-offenders that take into account the impact of their own victimization on their potential involvement in sex trafficking conduct

Shared Hope’s JuST Response Council comprises policy advocates, government officials, medical professionals, law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, academics and service providers. Several members are survivor leaders. Members share the goals of preventing juveniles from becoming sex trafficking victims and ensuring that youth who have been trafficked have access to the tools and support necessary to heal from the trauma they have endured and the skills to create and sustain a life away from trafficking.

To read the “Responding to Sex Trafficking Victim-Offender Intersectionality: A Guide for Criminal Justice Stakeholders” report, visit https://sharedhope.org/what-we-do/bring-justice/just-response-council/

ABOUT SHARED HOPE INTERNATIONAL
Founded in 1998 by then U.S. Congresswoman Linda Smith, Shared Hope International strives to prevent the conditions that foster sex trafficking, restore victims of sex slavery, and bring justice to vulnerable women and children. A non-profit Christian organization, Shared Hope engages in diverse activities that confront sex trafficking in communities throughout America. Our efforts include training first responders and community members to identify warning signs of trafficking and employ intervention techniques to rescue child trafficking victims; providing restorative services to affected children and women; and offering legislative support to those focused on strengthening laws that fight child sex trafficking. Our vision is to coordinate a national U.S. network of protection to improve the response to victims of trafficking. We believe we can create a world where every survivor is surrounded by trained professionals, an alert community, just law and policy, knowledgeable service providers and appropriate shelter options.

MEDIA CONTACT: Rosemary Ostmann, RoseComm for Shared Hope International, rostmann@rosecomm.com, 201-615-7751.

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Shared Hope International Launches Institute for Justice & Advocacy in Washington, D.C.

New center is a home for education, research and training of advocates and stakeholders in the fight to end sex trafficking and eliminate bias against victims

WASHINGTON, Jan. 23, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Shared Hope International, a non-profit leader in the fight to eradicate domestic minor sex trafficking, today announced the opening of the Shared Hope Institute for Justice & Advocacy in Washington, D.C. Located just blocks from the White House, the Institute concentrates the power of Shared Hope’s collective resources under one roof and amplifies the voice of sex trafficking survivors from across the country. It offers education, research and training for advocates and stakeholders – including law enforcement, social workers, lawyers, first responders, doctors, legislators and judges – working to eliminate bias against victims in the ways laws are both written and applied.

Founded in 1998 by then-U.S. Congresswoman Linda Smith, Shared Hope has a two-decade history working to prevent domestic minor sex trafficking, supporting restoration for trafficking victims and bringing justice to the vulnerable people it impacts. The organization also ensures the buyers who create the demand for commercial sex with a child are brought to justice. In 2011, Shared Hope introduced the Protected Innocence Challenge, an annual state-by-state report card that identifies gaps in laws and provides a blueprint for legislative action.

“Opening the doors of the Institute for Justice & Advocacy marks a seminal event in our nation’s battle against sexual exploitation of minors,” said Smith, Shared Hope’s president and a member of the President’s Public-Private Advisory Council to End Human Trafficking. “In this space, advocates from across the country will come together to dig deeper, tackling current and emerging challenges and influencing federal legislation to better protect vulnerable women and children.”

The Institute for Justice & Advocacy became a reality after Shared Hope raised $3 million in five months to purchase the entire second floor of 1016 16th Street NW. It provides an on-the-ground presence and close proximity to the nation’s seat of power, giving Shared Hope a platform to influence the government and reach the entire nation.

American girls and boys are sold and bought for sex by men in the U.S. every day. It’s a heinous crime and an epidemic that exploits countless victims each year.

Shared Hope believes trafficked young girls and boys are victims who need to be protected, not treated as criminals or delinquent youth. The bias in our laws allows 20 states to label a child victim of trafficking as a prostitute and lets a buyer walk without legal consequence while their victim is charged with a crime.

“The word ‘justice’ in the Institute’s name is critical, as both buyers and sellers continue to escape justice and survivors are denied justice,” said Smith. “This fight starts with bridging the knowledge gap. If you care about protecting vulnerable children in communities across the country, we urge you to educate yourself and other people in your life.”

Today, Shared Hope International’s JuST Response Council will also release the report, “Responding to Sex Trafficking Victim-Offender Intersectionality: A Guide for Criminal Justice Stakeholders” in partnership with the Institute to Address Commercial Sexual Exploitation at Villanova Law. The report explores the phenomenon of victims facing criminal consequences for offenses that result from their trafficking, and provides tools criminal justice stakeholders can use to deal with cases in a just and trauma-informed manner.

To learn more about the Shared Hope Institute for Justice & Advocacy, visit https://sharedhope.org/what-we-do/bring-justice/

ABOUT SHARED HOPE INTERNATIONAL
Founded in 1998 by then U.S. Congresswoman Linda Smith, Shared Hope International strives to prevent the conditions that foster sex trafficking, restore victims of sex slavery, and bring justice to vulnerable women and children. A non-profit Christian organization, Shared Hope engages in diverse activities that confront sex trafficking in communities throughout America. Our efforts include training first responders and community members to identify warning signs of trafficking and employ intervention techniques to rescue child trafficking victims; providing restorative services to affected children and women; and offering legislative support to those focused on strengthening laws that fight child sex trafficking. Our vision is to coordinate a national U.S. network of protection to improve the response to victims of trafficking. We believe we can create a world where every survivor is surrounded by trained professionals, an alert community, just law and policy, knowledgeable service providers and appropriate shelter options.

MEDIA CONTACT: Rosemary Ostmann, RoseComm for Shared Hope International, rostmann@rosecomm.com, 201-615-7751.

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Shared Hope International Launches Institute for Justice & Advocacy in Washington, D.C.

New center is a home for education, research and training of advocates and stakeholders in the fight to end sex trafficking and eliminate bias against victims

WASHINGTON, Jan. 23, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Shared Hope International, a non-profit leader in the fight to eradicate domestic minor sex trafficking, today announced the opening of the Shared Hope Institute for Justice & Advocacy in Washington, D.C. Located just blocks from the White House, the Institute concentrates the power of Shared Hope’s collective resources under one roof and amplifies the voice of sex trafficking survivors from across the country. It offers education, research and training for advocates and stakeholders – including law enforcement, social workers, lawyers, first responders, doctors, legislators and judges – working to eliminate bias against victims in the ways laws are both written and applied.

Founded in 1998 by then-U.S. Congresswoman Linda Smith, Shared Hope has a two-decade history working to prevent domestic minor sex trafficking, supporting restoration for trafficking victims and bringing justice to the vulnerable people it impacts. The organization also ensures the buyers who create the demand for commercial sex with a child are brought to justice. In 2011, Shared Hope introduced the Protected Innocence Challenge, an annual state-by-state report card that identifies gaps in laws and provides a blueprint for legislative action.

“Opening the doors of the Institute for Justice & Advocacy marks a seminal event in our nation’s battle against sexual exploitation of minors,” said Smith, Shared Hope’s president and a member of the President’s Public-Private Advisory Council to End Human Trafficking. “In this space, advocates from across the country will come together to dig deeper, tackling current and emerging challenges and influencing federal legislation to better protect vulnerable women and children.”

The Institute for Justice & Advocacy became a reality after Shared Hope raised $3 million in five months to purchase the entire second floor of 1016 16th Street NW. It provides an on-the-ground presence and close proximity to the nation’s seat of power, giving Shared Hope a platform to influence the government and reach the entire nation.

American girls and boys are sold and bought for sex by men in the U.S. every day. It’s a heinous crime and an epidemic that exploits countless victims each year.

Shared Hope believes trafficked young girls and boys are victims who need to be protected, not treated as criminals or delinquent youth. The bias in our laws allows 20 states to label a child victim of trafficking as a prostitute and lets a buyer walk without legal consequence while their victim is charged with a crime.

“The word ‘justice’ in the Institute’s name is critical, as both buyers and sellers continue to escape justice and survivors are denied justice,” said Smith. “This fight starts with bridging the knowledge gap. If you care about protecting vulnerable children in communities across the country, we urge you to educate yourself and other people in your life.”

Today, Shared Hope International’s JuST Response Council will also release the report, “Responding to Sex Trafficking Victim-Offender Intersectionality: A Guide for Criminal Justice Stakeholders” in partnership with the Institute to Address Commercial Sexual Exploitation at Villanova Law. The report explores the phenomenon of victims facing criminal consequences for offenses that result from their trafficking, and provides tools criminal justice stakeholders can use to deal with cases in a just and trauma-informed manner.

To learn more about the Shared Hope Institute for Justice & Advocacy, visit https://sharedhopesstg.wpenginepowered.com/what-we-do/bring-justice/

ABOUT SHARED HOPE INTERNATIONAL
Founded in 1998 by then U.S. Congresswoman Linda Smith, Shared Hope International strives to prevent the conditions that foster sex trafficking, restore victims of sex slavery, and bring justice to vulnerable women and children. A non-profit Christian organization, Shared Hope engages in diverse activities that confront sex trafficking in communities throughout America. Our efforts include training first responders and community members to identify warning signs of trafficking and employ intervention techniques to rescue child trafficking victims; providing restorative services to affected children and women; and offering legislative support to those focused on strengthening laws that fight child sex trafficking. Our vision is to coordinate a national U.S. network of protection to improve the response to victims of trafficking. We believe we can create a world where every survivor is surrounded by trained professionals, an alert community, just law and policy, knowledgeable service providers and appropriate shelter options.

MEDIA CONTACT: Rosemary Ostmann, RoseComm for Shared Hope International, rostmann@rosecomm.com, 201-615-7751.

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