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December 15, 2020 by Guest

The Gifts that Give

As I reflect on the last year, I consider my journey that included cancer, COVID-19, kids, and raising domestic minor sex trafficking awareness.

The past year, I simultaneously battled and beat breast cancer during a pandemic, while homeschooling my four children under age 9. And I continued to fight against child sex trafficking because I felt none of those obstacles could stop me from exercising my God-given gifts, talents, and abilities. I had a calling and I knew I had to pursue it.

It started about three months before my breast cancer diagnosis. I read the book “Renting Lacy” by Linda Smith and felt compelled to become an Ambassador of Hope. Once I completed my online Ambassador training, I jumped on the fast track to raise awareness by becoming involved with local Anti-Trafficking committees, hosting an event at my church, and openly sharing my passions on social media. Knowing what I now knew, I had to act to take action. As I learned more about DMST, the more I wanted to stop it. It felt exhilarating serving with others who had a similar calling in life. It felt rewarding doing the work with a sense of purpose.

That’s how my journey as an Ambassador began. I felt a sense of satisfaction and purpose and passion again, beyond my role as a mother. I love my four children (ages 7, 3, and 18-month-old twins at the time), but I longed to utilize and exercise my gifts, and to share them with others. I embrace my role as mommy, but knew I had another calling in life – to do more, be more, say more. I knew I had to set an example for my kids, my friends, my community. I knew that children and other victims of sex trafficking needed a voice. I had that voice, and the faith and confidence to use it. I knew that I had to speak up and exercise my God-given gifts!

But then came a breast cancer diagnosis. Everything I wanted to pursue halted. I had to begin chemotherapy treatments and focus on my health and my family. The work had to go on hold and it devastated me. But the work didn’t really stop. My team of fellow advocates kept working and raising awareness and I stood by cheering them on. I couldn’t wait to get back in the game. Cancer couldn’t stop me, but it temporarily slowed me down.

I continued supporting the cause throughout my chemotherapy treatments. In between surgery and radiation treatments, I facilitated virtual meetings and events amidst the shutdown. I juggled motherhood and cancer treatments and covid craziness while continuing the fight against human trafficking. Victims of trafficking don’t have the luxury of taking a break, so I felt I needed to continue advocating for them, to the best of my ability, no matter what was going on in my own life. This is not to boast but to share with you what empowered me: it is a disservice to ourselves and the world to suppress our gifts and talents! I knew I had a calling from God and I couldn’t take that lightly. I had to live out my faith, one of my greatest and most treasured gifts in life. I had to show my friends and my community, that no matter my circumstances, the issue of child sex trafficking matters enough to keep talking about it and doing something about it. I felt God was with me to do that.

So now a year later, I have battled and beat cancer living the verse in Psalm 71:7 NLT: “My life is an example to many, because GOD has been my strength and protection.” I reflect on the chaos of the year and how God continued to give me strength for His Good and His Glory. I moved my faith to action by decisions, and as a result, He has produced in me perseverance, character, and hope as in Romans 5:4 NLT.

Can you think of obstacles in your life that have prevented you from using your gifts? There are so many ways that you can pursue your calling and exercise your gifts too. Take a leap of faith and see where it takes you.

Consider and identify your talents and abilities. What gifts has God given you? How can you use them for good?
Answer the calling, whatever that is for you, and it will show your faith through your actions. Shared Hope has so many ways to take action https://sharedhope.org/takeaction/
Who can you invite to also become an Ambassador of Hope? This is a great place to start building a team. https://sharedhope.org/aoh/

I promise your gifts will be a gift to others.

By Grace Witchey, Ambassador of Hope

December 4, 2020 by Guest

Combating Human Trafficking in and out of Uniform

My name is Mary Kate (Donnell) Soliva and I am a volunteer Ambassador of Shared Hope International. I am also a Special Operations soldier currently serving in the US Army. I joined the fight to combat human trafficking in 2012 while a student at the University of Guam.

After hearing about the first known human trafficking case on Guam, I felt called to do something. I empowered others to spread awareness, volunteered as a victim advocate, and started a fund for survivors. I stood alongside students, local leaders, and members of the community at main intersections in Guam with a message saying, “It’s Happening”. This prompted people to ask what was happening and we would proceed to explain that human trafficking exists. We worked tirelessly to meet with local Rotary Clubs and Politicians to discuss the myths that often surround human trafficking, how to support survivors, and resources to educate others. I volunteered to assist the US Attorney of Guam and the local Human Trafficking Task Force. It was during our trip to Palau where I first met former Congresswoman and founder of Shared Hope International, Linda Smith. I was amazed at the work she was doing globally and continue to support her efforts to this day. As a soldier, I was able to help establish a Human Trafficking Task Force outside of Fort Detrick, Maryland. Throughout my career as a soldier, I coordinated training for hundreds of military personnel on the impact and signs of sex trafficking.

What if you had the resources to conduct training with those in your local community? If you are in the military, will you take the opportunity to train other servicemembers about human trafficking? Many of us lead busy lives, but there is a way to support and get involved in the fight against human trafficking. As a volunteer Ambassador of Shared Hope International, I provide knowledge and training to other servicemembers and my community. I am just one person but imagine how much more we could accomplish if we all answered the call to stop the demand of sex trafficking. While I was deployed, I had the privilege of providing awareness about human trafficking to fellow servicemembers and the host nation. Having a conversation is a great start in prevention and it could make all the difference to someone. This is not a fight just for those wearing the uniform, but a call to serve for everyone around the world.

Things you can do right now:

Have a conversation with those you know about human trafficking and find out how much they know.
Learn about local resources and services in your area that help survivors of sex trafficking.
Become a volunteer Ambassador of Hope and join the fight against human trafficking.

Other Resource: Renting Lacy

Mary Kate (Donnell) Soliva
Special Operations/ US Army
Trained Ambassador of Hope

November 18, 2020 by Mark Porter

Shared Hope International launches Report Cards on Child & Youth Sex Trafficking: State Action. National Change., an advanced legislative framework and blueprint for action.

Building on a decade of successful advocacy through the Protected Innocence Challenge, Shared Hope International’s Report Cards on Child & Youth Sex Trafficking will advance the standards for grading states on delivering legal solutions that address this vulnerable population.

Washington, DC, Nov. 18, 2020 – Since 1998, Shared Hope has worked to inspire lawmaking that brings justice and ensures protective responses to victims. Beginning in 2011, the organization leveraged its position as a nationally recognized leader in the fight to end domestic minor sex trafficking through the Protected Innocence Challenge–report cards grading states on the fundamental fabric of laws that address child sex trafficking. Now, Report Cards on Child and Youth Sex Trafficking will motivate states to move beyond fundamentals and consider effective protection and services. This project, announced on Wednesday, November 18, 2020 serves as the blueprint for the next phase in Shared Hope’s campaign for State Action. National Change. and the catalyst for stronger state legislation to protect commercially sexually exploited youth.

“When Shared Hope first issued state grades in 2011, 26 states earned failing grades. Many did not have a child sex trafficking law or make it a crime to buy sex with a child; today, just a decade later, all states have a child sex trafficking law and a legal framework for holding buyers of sex with children accountable” said Linda Smith, founder and president of Shared Hope. “Analyzing state laws for a decade revealed where gaps remain. Report Cards on Child and Youth Sex Trafficking addresses those gaps by shifting focus to the inadequate protections being provided to these survivors.” This video showcases the look towards the future.

With states playing a critical role in eradicating child and youth sex trafficking, the original framework sought to lay the foundation for transformational policy, practice, and culture change by advocating for laws that protect victims and hold perpetrators accountable. Through grassroots mobilization, legislative advocacy, technical assistance, and consistent collaboration, this vision has largely become a reality. Critical gaps in state laws have been addressed, with thirty-five states, and D.C., earning an “A” or “B” grade in 2019.

Looking towards the next decade, with the support of stakeholders, Shared Hope International will build on the strong legal foundation laid over the last 10 years to push states further, with a more robust focus on policies that strengthen victim protections and prioritize true prevention. This includes addressing and funding specialized services for victims as well as focusing on gaps in demand enforcement.

Report Cards on Child & Youth Sex Trafficking consists of 40 key points of law, grouped into six issue areas, that are needed under state law to provide a protective response to child and youth survivors of sex trafficking.

The six key issue areas are:

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 victim-witnesses must be provided under the law.
Prevention and Training: To help prevent trafficking and promote just responses to child sex trafficking victims, training must be required by law for child welfare, juvenile justice, law enforcement, prosecutors and school personnel, and prevention education required for students.

“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 fully respond to child and youth sex trafficking,” said Smith. “At the core of this shift is stopping the victim-blaming that prevents children from being recognized as victims and accessing needed services. There is clearly much work to be done. Nineteen states still allow child victims to be charged with prostitution; in nineteen others the buyer can assert a defense that he didn’t know how old the child was; in nineteen more, buyers are not considered offenders under the child sex trafficking law. While we recognize changing laws to ensure greater protection for victims can be a heavy lift for states and providing services presents resource challenges, we’ve seen some states take the lead on this and we’re confident others will learn from their example.”

To stay up to date on this exciting project, sign up here to guarantee the Report Cards on Child and Youth Sex Trafficking will be delivered directly to you.

To support the implementation of this advanced framework, 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.

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, promote restoration for survivors of sex trafficking, 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 appropriately respond to 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: Mark Porter, Senior Director of Creative Strategies for Shared Hope International, mark@sharedhope.org, 202-963-2601 x408.

November 18, 2020 by Mark Porter

Shared Hope International launches Report Cards on Child & Youth Sex Trafficking: State Action. National Change., an advanced legislative framework and blueprint for action.

The six key issue areas are:

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 victim-witnesses must be provided under the law.
Prevention and Training: To help prevent trafficking and promote just responses to child sex trafficking victims, training must be required by law for child welfare, juvenile justice, law enforcement, prosecutors and school personnel, and prevention education required for students.

To stay up to date on this exciting project, sign up here to guarantee the Report Cards on Child and Youth Sex Trafficking will be delivered directly to you.

ABOUT SHARED HOPE INTERNATIONAL

MEDIA CONTACT: Mark Porter, Senior Director of Creative Strategies for Shared Hope International, mark@sharedhope.org, 202-963-2601 x408.

November 4, 2020 by Christine Raino

After 10 Years, We Are Changing How We Grade States

Ten years ago, when Shared Hope developed the nation’s first legal framework to comprehensively analyze state laws addressing the crime of child sex trafficking, our field research on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking had indicated that there were fundamental gaps that needed to be addressed in states’ laws. That was confirmed when we launched the inaugural Protected Innocence Challenge Report Cards in 2011 and the majority of states received an “F” grade. At that point many states’ laws failed to even recognize the crime of child sex trafficking. Over the last 10 years, we have been working to lay the foundation for transformational policy, practice, and cultural change by supporting state legislators and stakeholders to enact the minimum fabric of laws needed to address this heinous crime. Now, 10 years later, no state receives an “F” grade and a majority of the country receives an “A” or “B” on their report card. The Protected Innocence Challenge project was our vision for mobilizing collective state action to ensure national change. Ten years of grassroots mobilization, advocacy, technical assistance, and consistent collaboration has allowed this vision to become reality. All states now have a child sex trafficking law and, collectively, the country has made exciting progress to provide imperative protections and access to specialized services for child survivors.

However, 10 years has also led to new research and opportunities to listen to survivors, providing waves of information that require us to confront where we are and where we should be going. What we have heard, and responded to, is a call to raise the bar for states…to build on the foundation of progress by further improving protections for child sex trafficking victims. On November 18th, we will release an advanced legislative framework for the Report Cards on Child & Youth Sex Trafficking, which will be the basis for new state grades beginning in the fall of 2021. This advanced framework will build on the original framework, preserving the most fundamental components while including new policy priorities that reflect feedback and research from the field.

One noteworthy change that reflects cultural and legislative transformations is the advanced framework’s shift in focus; in 2011, 75% of the framework focused on criminalizing trafficking offenders, including traffickers, buyers, and facilitators, with the remaining 25% focused on victim protections laws. Recognizing that most states have enacted the keystone statutes – the basic laws necessary for criminalizing offenders – the framework’s focus will shift to focus on the area where the largest gaps remain – victim protections. Under the advanced framework for the Report Cards on Child & Youth Sex Trafficking, 75% of the policies will address critical victim protections, including access to specialized services, non-criminal responses to survivors, and avenues to comprehensive care and justice – with the remaining 25% focused on criminal accountability for offenders, and victim-centered tools for law enforcement and prosecutors.

Additionally, this advanced framework will offer extra credit opportunities for state laws that recognize the intersection of child sex trafficking and labor trafficking as well as the impact on youth and young adults. These advancements in the framework are the product of years of input from the field and the expertise of survivors, as well as Shared Hope’s own research and advocacy. We are truly grateful for the collaboration of our state partners over the years, and highly value the incredible work that state advocates have done to help us build this foundation of laws! We are confident that, together, we can better protect those exploited through trafficking and continue working towards true prevention of this crime.

We invite you to attend the release of the advanced legislative framework for the Report Cards on Child & Youth Sex Trafficking on November 18 at 1:30pm EDT. You can also sign up here to receive the new report and advanced legislative framework as soon as it’s available on 11/18!

Additionally, to support implementation of the advanced framework for Report Cards on Child & Youth Sex Trafficking, our team will remain available to provide rapid, technical assistance to support legislators, advocates, and state agencies; technical assistance requests can be submitted here.

We are thrilled to be starting this next chapter in advancing state laws and we hope you can join us in this effort!