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February 13, 2019 by Guest

Survivors of Child Sex Trafficking are Never the Aggressor

Joint Statement by Shared Hope International and Center for Combating Human Trafficking on Sentencing by Kansas Judge Michael Gibbens

Under Federal and Kansas state law, persons who purchase sex from minors commit child sex trafficking; in fact, Kansas law specifically criminalizes such conduct as “Aggravated Human Trafficking.” Therefore, by definition, minors who are purchased for commercial sex are victims of sex trafficking. Yet, in 25 states, including Kansas, an alarming legal paradox exists that oftentimes prevents child sex trafficking victims from being identified and treated as victims of the heinous crime.

A February 3, 2019 sentencing by Kansas Judge Michael Gibbens has once again reminded us of the detrimental status of our nation’s non-criminalization laws. In reducing the sentence of a 67-year-old buyer, and referencing the 13 and 14-year-old victims, Judge Gibbens stated,

“So, she’s uncomfortable for something that she voluntarily went to, voluntarily took her top off for, and was paid for? . . . . I do find that the victims in this case in particular were more an aggressor . . . [t]hey were certainly selling things monetarily that it’s against the law for even an adult to sell. . . . Normally, I would think that the harm that would have been done by this kind of conduct would very, very substantial. I’m not convinced that that is so in this case.”

This case illuminates a culture that allows half of the country’s laws to regard minors engaged in commercial sex as offenders of prostitution, despite their status as victims of sex trafficking. Shared Hope International and the Center for Combating Human Trafficking at Wichita State University adamantly and unequivocally assert that survivors of child sex trafficking are never the aggressors or blameworthy for their own victimization. Together, we challenge the laws and culture that support penalizing, rather than protecting, youth who have experienced and survived commercial sexual exploitation.

We share the collective outrage for the reduction in the buyer’s sentence while daring the conversation to go further; we must amend our laws and shift our beliefs to ensure that no child is deemed a “prostitute” and prevented from receiving imperative protections and specialized services. We believe that when laws, practices, and beliefs are transformed in tandem, true perpetrators will be held accountable and survivors will be appropriately identified and protected; justice will be served.

Be part of a movement that seeks genuine change to both the laws and practices that address exploited youth; together, we can ensure that youth survivors of sex trafficking are protected, not punished:

Education: The Center for Combating Human Trafficking offers training and technical assistance and also has a significant amount of free resources available.
Action: Sign Shared Hope International’s petition to Stop the Injustice and end the criminalization of child sex trafficking victims.
Continued Contribution:
- Slow down, pay attention, think critically, and seek solutions that move beyond technical, short-term responses and address the more complex root causes of trafficking.
- As states across the country, including Kansas, continue to develop their anti-trafficking and child sexual exploitation laws this legislative session, support legislation that offers true “Safe Harbor” protections for minors, ensuring youth survivors of sex trafficking are protected from criminalization and have access to critical forms of post-conviction or post-adjudication relief, including vacatur and records expungement.
- Many state laws, including Kansas, ensure that there is increased training for law enforcement officers and commercial truck drivers who might assist in identifying individuals who are trafficked. However, without adequate and accessible resources, increased identification can lead to increased criminalization of the very victims we seek to assist. Thus, improved legislation should consider training for those who are charged with determining outcomes and trajectories for youth survivors, especially stakeholders within the justice system, including prosecutors, probation officers, and public defenders.
- Hold elected officials accountable in applying the law as it was intended. This requires all of us to invest through time, talent, and treasure in our own local communities.

February 8, 2019 by Guest

Ohio Ambassador in Action

There is a lot of work and time required of Ambassadors as they support the work of Shared Hope in communities across the nation. Regional Coordinator, Amy Ryan Rued, and her husband, Jack, work closely with the Ohio Ambassadors, and specifically Greg Pace: “Here in central Ohio we do everything we can to create speaking opportunities.

With each presentation comes a commitment of time to show up and deliver our message to those we speak with. Greg is passionate about educating and helping to prevent child sex trafficking and it is a pleasure to have him on our team.”

Greg shares how he began working with the Ohio group in 2014, which was made up of concerned friends. His decision to become involved was based on a desire to help change our society in meaningful ways. “Working to move our society to become a safer place for women, and especially children, is extremely important. I see domestic minor sex trafficking as the lowest common-denominator of our dark side, and now that we have social science data behind us, we can work and demand that it ends.”

[easy-tweet tweet=”I see domestic minor sex trafficking as the lowest common-denominator of our dark side, and now that we have social science data behind us, we can work and demand that it ends.” user=”SharedHope”]

We asked Greg what it means as a man to be involved in fighting sex trafficking. “As a man, I have watched and lived the ‘boys will be boys’ attitude that so many of us use to excuse ourselves. It’s culturally acceptable to treat women as if they were carved out and laying in the grocery butcher’s case.” He points out that he emphasizes the dark side that this kind of treatment of women feeds into. “Personally, had I known, I would not have behaved at times towards women as I did as a young man. Being an Ambassador of Hope has an aspect of penance for me; giving back to this younger generation so they won’t hold the same attitudes I used to hold. At this stage in my own life it is a no-brainer … men MUST stop sexually degrading women, and must defend their safety and well-being from predators.”

Greg puts his Ambassador time and energy into speaking to high school students, and when there is time, he highlights the men’s Defenders program. He adds passionately, “ The ‘boys will be boys’ attitude begins when guys are young, so it is never too early to instill in them the harmful effects that too often result from seemingly harmless sexual banter and behavior toward girls. Once given this information, just being one of the boys entails an element of knowledge that can no longer be completely ignored.”

[easy-tweet tweet=”The ‘boys will be boys’ attitude begins when guys are young, it’s never too early to instill in them the harmful effects that too often result from seemingly harmless sexual banter & behavior.” user=”SharedHope”]

And that’s why it’s important for men to be Ambassadors and change the culture by mentoring young men to change their attitudes.

February 7, 2019 by Susanna Bean

Why Present at the 2019 JuST Conference?

This year the 2019 JuST (Juvenile Sex Trafficking) Conference will be hosted October 15 – 17 Cincinnati, OH! In the center of Cincinnati, a few blocks from beautiful views of the Ohio river, we’ll gather anti-trafficking professionals, experts and advocates from around the country for 3 days of inspiring and empowering training.

Interested in contributing to the national conversation on fighting juvenile sex trafficking? Consider presenting a topic at the JuST Conference!

Why Present?

Present on thought-provoking and innovative topics that directly impact the work you do with today’s leading professionals in the movement
Share your expertise and network with professionals from across the country; making connections that expand into communities you aren’t reaching
Receive up to two complimentary presenter registrations per session and a discounted registration rate for additional presenters
Expand your portfolio
Receive recognition and feedback in your area of expertise

Who will be your audience?

JuST Conference attendees are leaders in their communities, many with over 10 years of experience. They have diverse professional backgrounds including, but not limited to survivor leadership, law enforcement, social services, criminal justice, policy, social work, healthcare, community activism and education. They are interested in specialized and advanced presentations including core subjects as well as hot topics and criminal trends.

Topics of Interest

JuST conferences feature a wide range of critical topics relating to juvenile sex trafficking. Click here to check out last year’s program for a better idea of what content we have hosted in the past. We will review and consider all topics submitted but we are particularly interested in applications featuring:

Prevention and interdiction of familial sex trafficking
Statewide collaboration models
Development and implementation of non-criminal responses to child sex trafficking victims
Intersection of DMST and ICSE (Images of Child Sexual Exploitation)
Social media and internet safety
Encountering DMST in the medical field
Addressing underserved victim populations
Trauma-informed intervention and care
Addressing demand
Survivors as stakeholders in prevention, criminal justice and service responses

While these are topics of interest, they are not the only content we hope to host at the JuST Conference. We encourage presenters to submit topics not listed above, too. Preference will be given to Advanced workshop topics.

How do I apply?

Interested in joining us at the 2019 JuST Conference as a presenter? Wonderful! Check out our new online application here. Be sure to review all of the application instructions, as some of our policies have changed from previous year.

We look forward to seeing you in Cincinnati!

Questions? Please contact us at brittany@sharedhope.org.

January 14, 2019 by Jo Lembo

Ambassadors of Hope Share their Stories

As a part of Human Trafficking Awareness we want to bring you the stories of Ambassadors of Hope, our trained volunteers, who are working hard on the ground to prevent sex trafficking. Follow our series, releasing every Tuesday this month! You can apply to become an Ambassador here.

[easy-tweet tweet=”Follow our series on Ambassadors of Hope, releasing every Tuesday this month in observance of Human Trafficking Awareness Month!” user=”SharedHope” hashtags=”HumanTraffickingAwarenessMonth”]

Ambassadors show Shared Hope’s Chosen film to educate kids to prevent trafficking. Most youth are completely unaware that sex trafficking occurs in their town, or that it could happen to them or their friends.

Here are a few stories from Ambassadors in the heartland of America about the impact of Chosen presentations:

One of the major themes of Chosen is to tell someone if something seems wrong. In one Midwestern school, an eighth grade girl was visibly upset and made concerning comments to the Ambassador presenters. They relayed their concerns to the principal and in following up with her to hear her story, he found that she was fine, but was scared because of a situation taking place at a neighbor’s home. Now she knew what she was seeing and was able to talk about it.
Our Ambassadors received an email after a Chosen showing from the leader of the group they presented to, asking about a girl who had viewed the film and left abruptly, saying nothing. Two weeks after that incident, she was picked up during an FBI sting in Detroit, MI, where she and 15 girls from across the state had been trafficked, and were rescued. When she saw Chosen, she was already involved with a guy and fell for the offer of $1000 to go to dinner with some men. The girls were sold, Saturday through Tuesday, until they were rescued. She is grateful she’s safe now.
In another school, a girl was so upset she asked the teacher if she could leave the room. The teacher followed her out into the hallway and the girl asked for help – her father had raped her and she had never told anyone. Now she felt safe enough to talk about it and is getting the help she needs.

Chosen gives teens the courage to speak up and tell someone instead of keeping dark secrets. These are just three stories we have from Ambassadors of Hope showing the Chosen video in their community, but there are so many more. During Human Trafficking Awareness month we encourage you to respond by becoming an Ambassador to reach the youth of your community and help end sex trafficking.

November 26, 2018 by Susanna Bean

Empower their dreams this #GivingTuesday

Giving Tuesday is here! We hope you’ll take part in this tremendous day of global giving on behalf of children like Ajay.

As a little boy, he had no hope. Dreams of a future? Not for this little Nepalese child. School wasn’t an option … and he had to keep his mind focused on merely surviving.

And then, a kind person helped this little boy get to the protection of our Village of Hope in Nepal. With your support, our partners offered him a safe home, fed him, helped him complete school (where he was a soccer star!), and watched him grow into a young man. When Ajay shared his dream of becoming a chef, we helped get him in college, where he is now working to make this dream come true.

And it started with you giving the gift of hope! Survivors of sex trafficking, and children who have been kept safe from sex trafficking, are dreaming of what they want to become. Help support their dreams with a gift on Giving Tuesday! Your gift will be tripled today as part of our Hope Restored Matching Challenge and Facebook and Paypal’s Matching Challenge as well!

3 ways you can give on #GivingTuesday

TRIPLE your gift – Thanks to a remarkable $150,000 Hope Restored Matching Challenge offered by several generous friends, your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar, its impact literally doubled. But in addition to this Facebook and Paypal are matching donations today given to Shared Hope on our Facebook Fundraiser here. This means your generosity will go three times as far to provide love and restorative care, a safe home, and hope for the future for young children and women all over the world — and yes, even here in the United States.
AmazonSmile – Knock out that Christmas shopping AND donate to Shared Hope! When you start your shopping at smile.amazon.com, you get the same prices as the regular Amazon.com, and Amazon donates 0.5% of your purchases to Shared Hope! Simply go to smile.amazon.com instead of amazon.com, enter “Shared Hope International” as the charitable organization you want to support, and shop as you normally would! We’ll get a check at the end of the quarter that includes the contribution from your purchase.
Donate through the Combined Federal Campaign – The Combined Federal Campaign allows Federal civilian, postal and military donors to pledge a financial contribution to support eligible non-profit organizations that provide health and human service benefits. The CFC is the world’s largest annual workplace charity campaign that helps to raise millions of dollars each year. To contribute to Shared Hope International through your organization’s CFC, submit this number: #60601 to your human resources or payroll department. The minimum monthly contribution is $1.00.