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July 29, 2019 by Marissa Gunther

Running Upstream: A Call to Action this World Day Against Trafficking in Persons

By Marissa Gunther, Director of Growth Strategies, Shared Hope International

Perhaps you’re familiar with the fable of the man and the river?

The story is commonly told like this: A man sits peacefully on a grassy slope that rolls into a river’s edge, his family picnicking and playing nearby. As he listens to his children’s laughter, their shrieks of joy echoing off the hillside, a different more desperate sound breaks through.

A scream. Help!

Alarmed, the man frantically looks for the source and finds it coming from the river. A girl, no older than his own young daughter, is fighting for her life as the current sweeps her downstream.

Without thinking, the man takes off running down the slope into the icy waters and grabs the young girl before it’s too late.

Now, back at shore, the man wonders with wild confusion…How did this happen?

But before he can ask the frozen and exhausted child any questions, he hears another scream. Then another. And then another. The man looks back at the river to find dozens of children, girls and boys, hopelessly clambering to stay afloat as the river washes them away.

He quickly realizes that he can’t save all of the children alone. He needs more help.

He yells for other picnicking families from his village to join him in the rescue attempts – the village begins swimming as quickly as possible to rescue each child.

Soon rescue teams and fire trucks arrive, and out jumps the fire chief. She takes one long look at the situation and begins to run up the river, realizing that somehow, for some reason, the children keep falling in the river upstream. There is where she will find the source of the problem.

Like the fire chief, we too must hurry upstream and address the source.

Pictured, children at our Village of Hope, Pune India

For over 20 years, Shared Hope has been pulling children out of the deadly river that is child sex trafficking through restoration and empowerment. Currently, we’re providing funding and technical assistance to partners in India, Nepal, Jamaica and in the United States that provide safe housing, medical care, education, vocational training, and therapeutic services.

But someone – somewhere – is creating a demand for the children and vulnerable adults we’re helping. More and more children will fall into the river unless someone fixes the source.

We will not quit until every child is safe.

And so, we support the United Nation’s global plan of action and will celebrate World Day Against Trafficking in Persons on July 30. We see this day not just as an occasion, but as an opportunity to educate the public about the scourge of human trafficking, to mobilize a political force and the resources needed to truly address the source of the problem, and to celebrate the achievements of the abolitionists of today and survivor leaders who bravely speak out and stand up to this evil. [easy-tweet tweet=”We support the United Nation’s global plan of action and will celebrate World Day Against Trafficking in Persons on July 30.” user=”SharedHope” hashtags=”SharedHope, StoptheInjustice” url=”https://www.un.org/en/events/humantrafficking/” template=”dark”]

Research spanning multiple decades, including data collected by both Shared Hope and the UN reinforce the fact that human trafficking is a global problem and no country is immune to it. Millions of victims fall in to the hands of traffickers, lured by fake promises and deceit, and fueled by the economics of market demand.

Data also shows that trafficking happens all around us. According to the 2018 UN Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, the number of victims trafficked within their own country has doubled in recent years to a staggering 58% of all detected victims. Note that these numbers exclude the millions of suspected unreported cases.

In response, government entities around the globe have passed laws that aim to protect victims and hold offenders accountable. However, even with laws on the books, including laws passed at the state and federal level in the United States, victims continue to be trafficked and criminalized while the crimes of traffickers go unpunished.

Astonishingly, over one third of the states in the US lack laws that would prevent minor victims of sex trafficking from being criminalized for the crime of prostitution rather than ensuring they receive a protective response and specialized, trauma-informed services.

Yes, you read that right.

Child sex trafficking victims in the US are still being arrested for the crime committed against them.

So tomorrow, Shared Hope stands with the United Nations and celebrates their decision to focus 2019 World Day on highlighting the importance of government action in the interest of justice for victims.[easy-tweet tweet=”Shared Hope stands with the UN and celebrates their decision to focus 2019 World Day on highlighting the importance of government action in the interest of justice for victims.” user=”SharedHope” hashtags=”SharedHope, StoptheInjustice” url=”https://www.un.org/en/events/humantrafficking/” template=”dark”]

And, like the fabled man and his village, we are running full speed towards UN’s call to action – PREVENTION. Everyone, not just government entities, can take action to stop children from ever falling into the dangerous and brutal river that is sex trafficking.

We can, together, mobilize our own village of hope.

So you might be thinking…

Yes, yes, YES! Trafficking is a big problem and it will take a big village. So where is my place in all of this?

Shared Hope has a pathway to action for you. Right where you are, as you are.

Consider the following actions as a great place to start:

Become well educated on the issue and learn as much as possible about what life is really like for trafficking victims. Take time to learn about the conditions that foster trafficking, and how this dark marketplace is fueled by buyers who pay traffickers to supply victims to meet their demand. Then educate others. As a place to start, we recommend reading or listening to the audiobook Renting Lacy by Linda Smith, which details eye-opening information based on real victim stories of youth bought and sold within the American commercial sex trade. Share the book with others when you’re done.
Learn the warning signs and how to respond responsibly. To get you started, you can visit SharedHope.org to access several downloadable, free resources on warning signs and how to take action. You can report suspected child sex trafficking to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) at 1-800-THE-LOST (843-5678).
Volunteer your time and talents. Shared Hope offers many on-ramps to taking action. Easier still, you can get started in any place that is comfortable to you, at your school, faith community, social media group – even in your own home. Our Ambassadors of Hope are trained and supported volunteers who carry the torch of prevention education into their communities, their voices causing a culture changing ripple effect across the nation. Join our team today!
Your voice matters and can make a difference. Legislative advocacy is an effective tool that can strengthen legal protective responses to victims, ensure pathways to social services for survivors, and hold buyers and traffickers accountable. If you feel moved to learn more about the laws combating sex trafficking in your state, visit our legislative action center.
Give a gift of hope. Your giving empowers Shared Hope to continue our work to eradicate child sex trafficking through prevention, restoration and bringing justice. You can make an impactful, tax-deductible donation to Shared Hope here.

We hope you’ll join us tomorrow, the 30^th Day of July, as we run upstream, carrying forward our mission to end child sex trafficking.

We believe that together we can end human trafficking once and for all.

July 29, 2019 by Guest

VICTIMS OR OFFENDERS? How the Criminal Justice System Needs to Shift Its Perspective

Octavis Lampkin will be presenting, “Victim or Offender? Peer Recruitment and Drug Trafficking within the Sex Trafficking Experience” with Sue Aboul-Hosn, BSSW, CPSW, Regional Human Trafficking Coordinator, Florida Department of Children and Families, on Tuesday, October 15 at this year’s JuST (Juvenile Sex Trafficking) Conference in Cincinnati, OH. Visit justconference.org/just2019 to review our workshop agenda and for more information on how to register.

Read Octavis’ blog below:

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VICTIMS OR OFFENDERS? Why the Criminal Justice System Needs to Shift Its Perspective

By: Octavis Lampkin, Victims Advocate, Free Myself LLC

When I read about the 14 year old girl who was just convicted of capital murder in Fort Worth, Texas after being used as bait in a crime committed by her trafficker, I recognized the injustice. I myself, at the young age of 14, was also eager to please my pimp. At the time, I believed I was in control but in reality, I was grappling with a complex whirlwind of emotions and my understanding of my circumstances was completely shaped by his manipulation. The injustice in the Fort Worth case shows the gulf of misunderstanding between the reality faced by victims of sex trafficking and how their conduct is perceived by the criminal justice system.

The fact is that sex traffickers don’t just control their victims to coerce them into commercial sex. Traffickers don’t limit their criminal activity to the commonly understood concept of sex trafficking. When they see the opportunity, they manipulate their victims into a host of other crimes, sometimes even serious offenses like robbery, drug smuggling and even recruiting young girls and women to work for the trafficker. A young person in this situation may actually believe it is the right thing to do. A trafficker probably convinced her that as a female she needed someone to look out for her and that other girls actually want to be a part of his trafficking organization. She may also know by recruiting, that she wouldn’t have to sleep with as many strangers nor place herself at risk of being raped anymore. This is the complex reality that a trafficking survivor may face, but fails to be recognized by the criminal justice process.

Part of the problem is that it’s hard to convey the extent of control that a trafficker can exercise over a victim and how dramatically trauma can change the way a survivor may act. Often, children who experience trauma and come from broken homes long for love and affection regardless of who is providing it. When a child is given shelter, food, protection, and clothes, they feel obligated to the person who is meeting those basic needs. Traffickers exploit these vulnerabilities through coercion, mind control, guilt, and most importantly, through mental and physical abuse. Grooming may take place when the victim and pimp engage in intimate relations. This is often done to weaken the barriers of the victim. After the pimp succeeds in mentally controlling the victim, she begins to believe that their bond is genuine. The pimp then demands the victim return her loyalty by delivering whatever the trafficker demands. This could be anything.

When you look closely at the circumstances of a trafficking case, victims are not the masterminds but followers. Any request of the predator is perceived as a privilege to the victim. And as such, the victim follows through with the request to win over their predator’s love and trust. This is similar to when a child seeks trust and privileges from their own parents; but trafficking victims may lack the ability to differentiate between the two. Traffickers are aware of the sensitivity and vulnerability of minors in sex trafficking and have been for a very long time. That is why traffickers keep a very low profile, making it very difficult to identify them as they use victims as their bait. It doesn’t take long for mind control to become effective. Then, the longer time that a victim is under control, the more likely that the victim does not see an alternative to carrying out the demands of the trafficker.

In fact, some of the factors that the prosecutors and the court relied on as evidence that the minor in the Fort Worth case was a willing participant are actually indicators of her victimization. In that sense, this case is not unusual. Sadly, when the judicial system fails to respond to trafficking victims in an appropriate, trauma-informed way due to a lack of understanding of the trauma that the victim has experienced, the child victim seeks other ways to cope with our system’s failure, often by not cooperating or lashing out. Then that child begins to be seen as an offender rather than the victim they truly are. There are many signs in this case that went unnoticed of this little girl’s hopes and dreams going down the drain. First, she was clearly under the control of her trafficker. Most importantly, she had been stripped of her identity, independence, and the ability to think critically or logically. She suffered physical and mental abuse, which creates immense and unexplainable fear, preventing her from doing the right thing even if she feels it’s wrong. The minor in the Fort Worth case was manipulated by a predator, leading her to believe they had an intimate relationship. This would confuse any child victim, especially as that child continues to be taken advantage of by her exploiter.

And so I see here another child who has been failed by the system; just as I was failed by the system and found myself alone on the streets with no one to turn to except a predator who held out his hand with a motive. And I also see the immense injustice of the criminal justice system’s response to this case – that the consequence of the trafficker’s exploitation of this child is that this child must pay for the trafficker’s crime.

[clear-line]

Since 2009, Octavis Lampkin has provided awareness for Florida Department of Children and Families, law enforcement, Human Trafficking Task Force and many other organizations. She recounts her own experiences of being involved in Human Trafficking to at risk youths, maturing them on different tactics to prevent them from becoming victimized. In recent years, she has presented at various summits regarding the Life, peer recruitment and drug trafficking, and about being a survivor of DMST and the complex issues associated with their own exploitation. Octavis is a capable, unique individual who has overcome many obstacles and irregular dysfunctional cycles. She is a mother elevating a gifted and talented young teenager, teaching him morals and critical values of life. This courageous mother has completed her Bachelor of Science in Psychology and continues to strive to her maximum potential as a Victim Advocate Consultant.

July 10, 2019 by SHI Staff

2019 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report – Our International Reflection

2019 Visit to new Village of Hope in India

By Nancy Winston, Vice President, Shared Hope International

Each year at this time the TIP report lands with a thud. The huge undertaking by the U.S. Department of State to define the state of human trafficking world wide used to represent a couple pounds of paper on my desk and now is a virtual thud on my computer. While I have interest in this report and trafficking writ large, I am always drawn to look more closely at those where Shared Hope has had a presence. While the report talks mostly about what the governments are doing, there is always acknowledgement of NGO activity at some level within the sections that discuss Protection and Prevention—and yet, it is impossible to see in a report like TIP the real difference that an NGO like Shared Hope has made and is continuing to make.

Human trafficking awareness was only beginning to impact the global conscience, beginning with books like Kevin Bales’ Disposable People, about 20 years ago. Remarkably, that is also when child sex trafficking came to the attention of a member of Congress who would found Shared Hope, making us one of the first NGOs to establish programs for protection and prevention in India and Nepal. Those early efforts were quickly followed by establishing resources in Fiji, South Africa and Jamaica. It is gratifying and humbling to realize how much Shared Hope was already doing by the time the first TIP report was produced 3 years later. While certainly not able to do the extensive evaluation that the Department of State subsequently did, Shared Hope learned enough to quickly address needs for protection and prevention —not for all, of course—but for some, giving birth to our motto of “one life at a time.” [easy-tweet tweet=”Shared Hope learned enough to quickly address needs for protection and prevention —not for all, of course—but for some, giving birth to our motto of one life at a time.” user=”SharedHope” hashtags=”SharedHope” url=”https://sharedhope.org/2019/07/10/2019-trafficking-in-persons-tip-report-our-international-reflection/” template=”dark”]

This spring I had the privilege of returning to India, Nepal and Jamaica to evaluate our support of partners in those countries doing the work on the ground. Our relationship with these groups goes back over much of these two decades of the anti-human trafficking movement and illustrates the value of Shared Hope’s investment in protection and prevention. In India, one partner established an academy specifically for young women who were little ones rescued from the brothel when we first met them; now they are being trained in disciplines specifically intended to equip them (academically, emotionally, psychologically) to be some of the first females to go from the brothels of India to leadership in the country. Another partner in India has taken on the role of legal guardian for children whose mothers are still trapped in the brothel until those moms can get free. During the period of guardianship (which for most is many years), they make sure the moms and children continue to have regular times to spend together and work on their relationship with the hope of re-unification someday. In Nepal, the rescued children we met in those early years have graduated college, or married, or pursued careers of service to give others the gift of freedom. In Jamaica, our partner is teaching 13 year olds who have had babies due to incest or rape how to mother, and helping take care of those babies as well. [easy-tweet tweet=”In Nepal, the rescued children we met in those early years have graduated college, or married, or pursued careers of service to give others the gift of freedom.” user=”SharedHope” hashtags=”SharedHope” url=”https://sharedhope.org/2019/07/10/2019-trafficking-in-persons-tip-report-our-international-reflection/” template=”dark”]

I’m proud of the fact that our Department of State continues to challenge the world to do better, but what is most inspiring to me is the privilege of seeing how improvements are occurring on the micro-level such as the ones Shared Hope has been able to touch, one life at a time.

June 27, 2019 by Christine Raino

Research to Action Stakeholder Survey

Since 2011, Shared Hope International has been grading state laws related to the commercial sexual exploitation of children under the Protected Innocence Challenge Legislative Framework, which establishes the basic policy principles required to comprehensively address child sex trafficking under six key areas of law:

Criminalization of Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking
Criminal Provisions Addressing Demand
Criminal Provisions for Traffickers
Criminal Provisions for Facilitators
Protective Provisions for the Child Victim
Criminal Justice Tools for Investigation and Prosecution

During this time, states have closed gaps in critical areas, including enacting laws that specifically criminalize child sex trafficking, ensuring buyers of sex with children are treated as serious offenders, and increasingly recognizing the need for comprehensive, trauma-informed services. In fact, when Shared Hope first began grading each state, the national average was 59.1%; by 2018, it was 82.9%.

Yet, even as Shared Hope celebrates these achievements, there is much work to be done. To support the innovative work of those in the field and to drive the next wave of smart and sustainable policy change, Shared Hope is working towards the release of a new legislative framework in 2020 that will address some of the more nuanced and challenging issues related to child sex trafficking.

Since its inception, Shared Hope has been committed to doing research that leads to action. In keeping with this tradition, the revised framework will be informed, in part, by information obtained through a nationwide survey.

As a stakeholder in the fight against child sex trafficking, we hope you will participate in this 10–15 minute survey to provide valuable insight into the challenges and successes of implementing laws that combat this crime and address the needs of survivors. This research will be critical for developing a revised framework that connects Shared Hope’s policy work with emerging and established promising practices.

The survey will close on September 16, 2019. Thank you in advance for your participation in this process. We look forward to receiving your response!

June 20, 2019 by Guest

2019 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report Release

By Matthew Quandt, Legal Fellow

Today, the U.S. Department of State released the 19^thannual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who was joined by John Cotton Richmond, the Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking-in-Persons, and Ivanka Trump, Advisor to the President, honored 8 individuals as TIP Report Heroes in recognition for their unique contributions to fighting human trafficking worldwide.

The TIP Report is a federally-mandated annual report instituted by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA). The report collects information from U.S. embassies, government officials, nongovernmental and international organizations, published reports, news articles, studies, and research to evaluate the efforts of 187 countries around the world in the fight against human trafficking. Shared Hope contributed to the report.

As in prior years, the Report categorizes countries into four tiers based upon their efforts to combat human trafficking (Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 2 Watch List, and Tier 3), and mandates as a significant penalty the restriction of U.S. foreign aid funds for those countries which fall within Tier 3. In line with the TVPA’s recommendations, President Trump restricted Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 foreign aid to countries designated as Tier 3 by the 2018 TIP Report, and will likely take similar action this fall against countries designated as Tier 3 by the 2019 TIP Report. With the release of the 2019 TIP Report, Bhutan, Cuba, The Gambia, and Saudi Arabia each fell to the Tier 3 designation, while Belize, Bolivia, Gabon, and Laos saw their recent efforts rewarded with an upgrade onto the Tier 2 Watch List from their prior position on Tier 3.

Differing from past TIP Reports, which have broadly focused on transnational human trafficking and the forced movement of people from one country to another, the 2019 TIP Report intentionally focuses on trafficking that remains within the borders of a single country. The Report explains that it is always “easier to look outward and call on other governments to act; it takes much more resolution and political will for governments to look inward and stop traffickers, including their own citizens, from exploiting victims who have not crossed an international border.” The Report cites findings that “the clear majority of traffickers were citizens of the countries where they were convicted” and that “traffickers exploit 77 percent of all victims in the victims’ countries of residence,” while acknowledging that victims of sex trafficking are more likely to face transnational human trafficking than are victims of forced labor.

This focus on internal trafficking supports Shared Hope’s strategic priority on policy efforts to counter domestic minor sex trafficking within the United States since 2005. Although human trafficking is unquestionably a global issue, and Shared Hope has continued to support efforts in many countries outside of the U.S., we chose to target the trafficking of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents on U.S. soil in an effort to make critical policy and services changes within our own country (estimates place the number of current trafficking victims within the United States at over 400,000¹). Our vision is to coordinate a national network of protection services to improve the quality of response available to sex trafficking victims while also bringing justice through criminal enforcement, deterrence of demand, and survivor involvement in the effort to end sex trafficking. Shared Hope also conducts trafficking-related research and publishes resources to aid federal and state legislators in drafting victim-centered legislation. See the Resources page for more information: https://sharedhope.org/resources/.

The United States has ranked itself as Tier 1 each year since its first inclusion in the TIP Report in 2010; receiving a Tier 1 ranking, however, “does not mean that a country has no human trafficking problem or that it is doing enough to address the problem.” While the TIP Report acknowledges the efforts made to-date by lawmakers, law enforcement, and service providers in combatting human trafficking locally, it also acknowledges there is still much work to be done. The Report urges that “officials across government should work to challenge stereotypes of a typical victim of human trafficking.” For example, the United States must continue to increase appropriate training and clarity provided to law enforcement and prosecutors in cases in which human trafficking victims are compelled by their trafficker to commit illegal offenses (“victim-offender intersectionality”). “Forced criminality takes the form of begging, prostitution, cannabis cultivation, and theft, among others. An untrained law enforcement officer or benefits adjudicator may not realize an individual is a victim of human trafficking before making an arrest or a decision on available benefits. These assumptions can also make victims more reluctant to seek help. Proactive efforts to recognize and mitigate these assumptions are therefore critical.”

Below is a summary of countries whose Tier status in the 2019 TIP Report changed from 2018. To read the entire TIP Report, visit the State Department website: https://www.state.gov/reports/2019-trafficking-in-persons-report/

Moves Up (24 countries)

From Tier 2 Watch List to Tier 2
Chad
Eswatini
Guatemala
Guinea
Haiti
Hong Kong
Kuwait
Macau
Madagascar
Mali
Mongolia
Niger
Nigeria
Senegal
Seychelles
Suriname
Tajikistan
Togo
Zimbabwe
St. Maarten* (*last year was a “Special Case” due to damage caused by Hurricane Irma)

From Tier 3 to Tier 2 Watch List
Belize
Bolivia
Gabon
Laos

Moves Down (25 countries)

From Tier 1 to Tier 2
Aruba
Denmark
Germany
Italy
Poland
Slovakia

From Tier 2 to Tier 2 Watch List
Afghanistan
Azerbaijan
Barbados
Brunei
Cambodia
Congo, Republic of the
Curaçao
Kazakhstan
Lesotho
Malawi
Marshall Islands
Romania
Sri Lanka
Tanzania
Vietnam

From Tier 2 Watch List to Tier 3
Bhutan
Cuba
The Gambia
Saudi Arabia

Sources

¹ https://www.globalslaveryindex.org/2018/findings/country-studies/united-states/