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February 10, 2012 by SHI Staff

WA Senate Passes New Bill to Fight Child Sex Trafficking

SB 6251 Increases Online Accountability to Deter Commercial Sexual Abuse of Minors

The Washington state Senate unanimously passed a raft of Protected Innocence bills targeted at tightening the state laws against child sex trafficking, including the pioneering SB 6251, aimed at stopping the online facilitation of child sex trafficking. The bill sponsored by Seattle Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-WA) establishes a new crime of advertising commercial sexual abuse of a minor in Washington. Senator Kohl-Welles’ bill is a part of a series of eight bipartisan bills to combat human trafficking that passed in the Senate yesterday and are headed to the House of Representatives for approval.

Shared Hope International is a leader in the national initiative to bring greater accountability to online facilitators by rallying 17 activist organizations to call on over 60 mayors to encourage Village Voice Media to stop illegal forms of commercial sex advertisements on its website Backpage.com, the online classified giant. We have challenged mayors in every city where Village Voice media is operating to publically hold one of the nation’s leading source of online sex escort ads accountable to ensure that children are not sold for sex through Backpage.com.

“Backpage.com executives are hiding behind the protection of the Federal Communications Decency Act, claiming no responsibility for the hundreds of documented children that have been sold for sex on their site,” said Shared Hope International President and Founder Linda Smith and former U.S. Congresswoman. “Shared Hope International’s Protected Innocence Challenge reinforces the importance of state laws in reaching this facilitator of child sex trafficking. We will not continue to allow this grave omission to cause injustice for America’s children and we are in full support of Washington’s national leadership on this issue.”

Last year, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn requested Village Voice Media, owner of online classified site Backpage.com, take a stronger, more transparent action to protect women and children from being exploited through advertisements on their website. Shared Hope International’s mayor’s campaign was initiated to encourage others to follow Mayor McGinn’s leadership on this issue. According to an independent study by Advanced Interactive Media Group, Backpage.com’s adult services section is expected to earn Village Voice Media $24.8 million, accounting for over two thirds of the $36 million in revenue projected to be earned by all tracked online classified sites facilitating commercial sex. Despite pressure from religious groups, advocates, and state officials, Backpage.com is not responding with solutions.

February 9, 2012 by SHI Staff

WA Senate Passes New Bill to Fight Child Sex Trafficking

Read the Full Release

February 8, 2012 by SHI Staff

“The Life”: What Circumstances Walked Leah and her Sister into this Living Terror?

She was just 12 years old when she was led into “the life” by her 14-year-old half-sister. After several horrible weeks, she was rescued by police officers — they found her sister in a hotel room, engaged in a sex act with a man, with Leah naked and crouched in a corner, crying hysterically.

What circumstances walked Leah and her sister into this living terror? Did this scenario take place in conjunction with the Super Bowl or another major sporting event? Was her 14 year old sister one of those youngsters featured on Backpage.com as “young and fresh”? Was life at home simply a rehearsal for the abuse the girls would get on the street?

The arm that wrapped around them and pulled them close…the voice that whispered promises of hope and care…the hand that reached out with belonging…they suddenly turned into hot breath and a vice grip. No twisting out of its grasp. The grasp of DEMAND.

Regardless of how they got there, Leah and her sister were taken because young girls are seen as sex plums for the picking-and until there are real consequences for “picking”, there’s no stopping it. DEMAND.

Shared Hope is fighting DEMAND because even one girl is one too many. Our Protected Innocence Initiative is helping to change laws all over the country and bear down on that demand. Since December 1, 2011, when the Protected Innocence Initiative was announced, over 60 state laws have been introduced to address all aspects of the thriving marketplace of children for sale for sex. We applaud leadership in Indiana, host of this year’s Super Bowl, who moved aggressively to pass key anti-trafficking legislation in advance of the event.

And we are grateful to you for your encouragement and your support that have made the Protected Innocence Initiative possible and effective!

February 1, 2012 by SHI Staff

Media and News Coverage, January 2012

January 26, 2012 by SHI Staff

Washington State: Taking a lead in combatting the online facilitation of child sex trafficking

Backpage.com has been on the hot seat for months as policy makers, faith leaders, and advocates have intensified their efforts to hold the online advertising site, owned by Village Voice Media, accountable for its documented facilitation of child sex trafficking through online advertisement. Online facilitators have largely avoided liability as serious crackdowns on sex trafficking have hit the nation; however, today Washington state is taking a lead in the effort to combat online facilitation of commercial sexual abuse of children.

Today, Shared Hope International President and Founder Congresswoman Linda Smith will testify before Washington legislators on SB 6251 introduced by Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-WA), which would create criminal liability for media that allow advertisements of commercial sexual abuse of a minor, including prostitution, pornography and sexual performance. Together with Auburn Seminary’s Reverend John Vaughn, a leader in convening clergy to urge Village Voice Media to close its “adult services” section, Linda will advocate for this law that would deter child sex trafficking. Click here to watch the hearing live today at 1:30pm PST.

The Washington bill is a bold move in bringing accountability to –a growing venue for child sex trafficking. In a recent New York Times article, Nicholas Kristof cites a Brooklyn prosecutor’s claim that a majority of cases include girls aged 12 to 25 marketed through Backpage.com. According to an independent study by Advanced Interactive Media Group, Backpage.com’s “adult services” section is expected to earn Village Voice Media $24.8 million, accounting for over two thirds of the $36 million in revenue projected to be earned by all tracked online classified ads facilitating commercial sex.

Shared Hope International is leading a national campaign inviting mayors across the nation to join our efforts to encourage Village Voice Media to stop illegal forms of commercial sex advertisements on Backpage.com. Additionally, 51 state attorneys general, 53 anti-trafficking experts and organizations, and nearly 500 faith leaders from multiple denominations have publically called on Backpage.com to remove the “adult services” section. Yet the “adult services” section remains active on Backpage.com. Our fight will not end until the online advertisement of children for sex does.

Shared Hope International will continue to support efforts to combat the facilitation, sale, or purchase of a child for sex. We aim to hold states accountable through the Protected Innocence Initiative which grades each state on its level of protection against domestic minor sex trafficking. States must have adequate laws to effectively prosecute offenders, protect children, and accurately identify and track the crime. We offer advocacy resource tools including state Report Cards, an analysis of each state’s laws as it relates to or impacts domestic minor sex trafficking, policy recommendations for each state highlighting gaps in state law and offering solutions , and user-friendly issue briefs on key legal components to provide an understand and examples of the legal provision.