Policy Archives - Page 8 of 11 - Shared Hope International

May 26, 2020 by Christine Raino

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

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.

January 23, 2020 by SHI Staff

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:

To improve identification of sex trafficking victim-offenders who have come into contact with the criminal justice system
To enhance understanding of victim-offenders’ conduct through a sex trafficking- and trauma-informed lens
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.

January 23, 2020 by SHI Staff

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/

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

January 23, 2020 by SHI Staff

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

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.

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

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

December 20, 2019 by Christine Raino

When Difficult News is the Most Important News

Sometimes the most important news is the most difficult to hear. On the same day that Shared Hope International celebrated the release of our 9^th annual Protected Innocence Challenge report cards, we heard that the Kansas Prisoner Review Board had decided not to recommend Hope Zeferjohn, a child sex trafficking victim, for a pardon. After working all year to advocate for victim-centered, trauma-informed legislation, produce in-depth analysis reports, and support our partners in translating their strong laws into practice, this was indeed difficult news to hear. But it was also important to hear because it challenges us and reminds us of the challenge we face as a nation: how do we keep our focus on the purpose of passing human trafficking laws?

That purpose is, and always should be, to protect those who have been victimized and prevent others from being exploited. Most would agree that purpose seems clear and uncontroversial. However, as this relatively new area of law has developed and the knowledge gap about human trafficking persists in broader society, the implementation of laws developed for this important purpose has become increasingly complex and sometimes disconnected from the very purpose behind passing those laws.

Where this has become painfully relevant is in the context of sex trafficking victims charged with crimes as a result of their trafficking victimization. Trafficking victims charged as co-conspirators alongside their traffickers, or in lieu of their traffickers, is a phenomenon appearing in headlines, leaving many of us shaking our heads. We know this is not moving the fight forward, yet we also recognize the complexity of this intersecting victimization and criminal conduct. Simultaneously, we are also facing the fact that this is not an outlier case. Based on Shared Hope’s ongoing research into this issue, these cases are even more common than the headlines would indicate.

Evidenced by Hope Zeferjohn’s case, minors are not exempt from facing serious criminal consequences as a result of their trafficking victimization – far from it. Not only can minors face potential prostitution charges in 20 states, but the headlines also show that child sex trafficking victims are being picked up and charged as co-conspirators alongside their traffickers (e.g., see this and this), or are facing other serious charges that directly resulted from their victimization (e.g., see this, this, this, this, this, this and this). And yet, these cases are proceeding through the criminal justice system despite language enshrined in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, the groundbreaking law that established the federal crime of sex trafficking, indicating that trafficking victims should be protected and not punished as a result of their victimization. According to the “Purposes and Findings” enshrined in Section 102(a)(24) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000:

“Trafficking in persons is a transnational crime with national implications. To deter international trafficking and bring its perpetrators to justice, nations including the United States must recognize that trafficking is a serious offense. This is done by prescribing appropriate punishment, giving priority to the prosecution of trafficking offenses, and protecting rather than punishing the victims of such offenses.”

The Protected Innocence Challenge, which has focused on analyzing child sex trafficking laws in all 50 states and DC every year since 2011, seeks to advance that protective purpose of anti-trafficking laws at the state level. However, Shared Hope’s grades do not analyze the implementation and enforcement of those laws, including whether the laws are being implemented in a victim-centered and trauma-informed manner. For example, Kansas’ ‘A’ grade reflects the strength of the laws enacted to address child sex trafficking and respond to victims, including whether the law allows for child sex trafficking victims to be criminalized. For the last three years, Kansas has earned an “A” for having passed legislation that comprehensively addresses the crime with one glaring exception: Kansas state law fails to protect survivors of child sex trafficking from facing criminal consequences as a result of their own victimization. For the last nine years, Shared Hope has relentlessly called on legislators to develop statutory tools for recognizing and appropriately responding to sex trafficking victimization all in the hopes of ensuring that exploited children, like Hope Zeferjohn, are protected, not punished.

Recognizing that policy must be shaped by the realities of implementation and enforcement, hearing from those in the field who are on the front lines of fighting this crime is essential. To that end, Shared Hope’s policy work involves engaging with survivors, law enforcement, service providers, and policymakers. For several years now, Shared Hope has been convening the JuST Response Council, a group of individuals from around the country with expertise on issues related to juvenile sex trafficking. This group is geographically varied and they bring to the table a diverse range of professional and lived experience perspectives, including that of service providers, survivor leaders, government agencies, law enforcement, prosecutors, clinicians, policy experts, attorneys and others. Currently this group is working on field guidance for criminal justice stakeholders to help shift away from the type of retributive, victim-blaming, and not trauma-informed response that we see occurring in Hope Zeferjohn’s case. This field guidance has been the central project of the Council for over 3 years and we are excited to release the report in January 2020.

In addition to convening the Council to work through difficult policy issues, we have also been convening and consulting with stakeholders in the field for the past several months, including conducting a national survey/poll this summer, to understand how the Protected Innocence Challenge laws are being implemented. The field input we’ve gathered, along with a growing collection of unjust cases and a persistently low national score on victim protections, indicate there is a need to revise the Framework to deepen our focus on victim protections.

Therefore, perhaps it is the tragedy of Hope Zeferjohn’s case that answers our initial question. Human trafficking laws are designed to protect survivors; to keep our focus on that purpose, it is clear that we, as stakeholders, must make that the core purpose and goal of our work.