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March 3, 2017 by Guest

Bringing Students to the Table

Texas State Senator Zaffirini’s proposed Senate Bill seeks to require the Texas State Board of Education to develop a training program and curriculum on sex trafficking prevention to be included as part of a school district’s health curriculum. The creation of this curriculum not only creates vital information-access points for children, it requires educators and administrators to acknowledge their role in protecting children and responding to vulnerabilities that are inherent to the population that they serve. Equipping children with information related to the realities of sex trafficking, avoiding high-risk activities or harmful relationships, and strategies for recognizing and reporting suspected sex trafficking, recognizes that empowered children are less vulnerable to the manipulation and coercion that offenders may employ. Additionally, children are oftentimes the best “eyes” and “ears” for identifying vulnerable or at-risk friends or peers; armed with the right information, educated and aware children can play a vital role in preventing child sex trafficking in their communities, schools, and homes.

[easy-tweet tweet=”Empowered children are less vulnerable to manipulation and coercion.” user=”SharedHope”]

Shared Hope supports Senator Zaffirini’s bill, as it statutorily builds on the practices that Shared Hope has engaged in over the last 15 years. Working closely with schools and educators across the country and internationally, Shared Hope’s Senior Director, Nancy Winston, Director of Training, Elizabeth Scaife, and hundreds of Ambassadors of Hope have presented Chosen, a training for students, teachers, and administrators. At its crux, Shared Hope’s school trainings build awareness as to what domestic child sex trafficking looks like, how teachers, parents, and students can prevent it. Perhaps most importantly, however, Shared Hope’s training seeks to equip children with information so that they will be informed adult citizens who ideally work to ensure future generations are not facing the same plights of violence and exploitation that our current children face.

To date, Chosen has been shown to 15, 525 students across the U.S. and countless teachers have continued the conversation on child sex trafficking, building it into their own curriculum. This has not only increase national understanding and prevention efforts, it has also aided in the identification of children who are victims of commercial sexual exploitation, sexual violence, or recognize such victimization in their peers. One of Chosen’s major themes is the importance of telling some “if something seems wrong.” Following the presentation in one Midwestern school, an eighth grade student revealed a child trafficking situation occurring at her neighbor’s house. In another school, following an Ambassador presentation, a teacher from that school contacted the Ambassador several weeks after the Chosen viewing to alert the Ambassador that one of her students had revealed that she had been raped by her father but that Chosen had allowed her to feel safe enough to talk about it and seek help.

[easy-tweet tweet=”Chosen has been shown to 15, 525 students across the U.S., helping to prevent child sex trafficking. “]

Curriculum and trainings such a Chosen are crucial for connecting our front line folks– our children, educators, and parents– with important information for responding to and, ultimately, preventing children sex trafficking in our communities. Please join Shared Hope in supporting Senator Zaffirini’s efforts in requiring Texas public schools to provide sex trafficking education as part of the health curriculum. If you are interested in scheduling a showing of Chosen in your local school or community, you can find more information here.

March 1, 2017 by Sarah Bendtsen

Why does it matter?

Wrestling with the intersectionality of language and response

As lawyers and activists, Shared Hope’s Policy Team is frequently fielding the question, “Why does it matter?” “Why does it matter what language we use?” “Why does it matter who responds to the plight of a trafficked child?” “Why does this specific law matter?” These questions are sound—in fact, we are grappling with the same. These questions are at the heart of every bill we write, every testimony we provide, and every conversation we have. If we fail to uncover and respond appropriately to the “why,” we will fail in our efforts to respond appropriately, through law and policy, to the victimization of our nation’s trafficked children.

Ultimately, language shapes how we view a person or issue. Referring to a commercially sexually exploited child as a prostitute not only conjures up a plethora of stereotypes and assumptions, it lays the foundation for the responses that a child will receive. Whereas a “prostituted” child stirs up the misplaced idea of an incorrigibly wild tween who deserves correction and punishment, a child victimized by a serious and systemic sexual crime properly identifies that child as requiring and deserving of protection, sympathy, and services.

More bluntly, the underlying crime of child sex trafficking is the raping and sexual molestation of a child. Our society and legal systems rightfully identify this type of sexual conduct between an adult and child as sexual abuse and violence; money neither sanitizes this crime, nor reverses the role of offender and victim. Language matters. Our commercially sexually exploited children are not criminals, they are victims of a crime, victims of circumstances, and in too many states, victims of a criminal justice system that punishes, rather than protects.

[easy-tweet tweet=”Language matters. Our commercially sexually exploited children are not criminals, they are victims of a crime. “]

This year, ten states sought legislation that demands protection not punishment for commercially sexual exploited children. If passed, these ten states would join the 19 other states to clarify that a minor cannot be prosecuted for prostitution offenses. These states understand that children, facing unimaginable plights, are victims, not “prostitutes,” “delinquents,” or “rebels.”

Words matter. Our responses matter. Your support matters.

States who introduced Non-Criminalization Legislation in 2017:

Massachusetts
Wisconsin
Rhode Island
South Dakota
Louisianan
Indiana
Maine
Missouri
Pennsylvania
West Virginia

Take action at our Legislative Action Center

February 17, 2017 by Sarah Bendtsen

Buyers of Sex with Children are Trafficking Offenders

On January 27^th, Shared Hope launched the Stop the InJuSTice campaign to advocate for state laws that prioritize victim protection and buyer accountability. Since the Protected Innocence Challenge (PIC) commenced in 2011, state action on domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST) has increased exponentially. Shared Hope has worked with over half of the U.S. states to craft, enact, and strengthen bills that address state-specific recommendations made in the Protected Innocence Challenge (PIC) Analysis and Recommendation Reports. The result has been an unceasing increase in state grades, and most importantly, a national trend towards more comprehensive and protective responses for child victims of sex trafficking.

While many states have committed to tackling some of the more nuanced areas of DMST, nationally, we need to reaffirm our vow to addressing the complexities of this violence. 44 states and D.C. have child sex trafficking laws that differentiate between the sex trafficking of adults and children, and have shifted the evidentiary burden accordingly. However, of those 44 states and D.C., only 11 states have included language within their core sex trafficking law that specifically applies to buyers of sex with children. This gap conflicts with the reality of DMST— buyers play a fundamental role in the crime of sex trafficking—without buyers there would be no victims. Failing to recognize the equal role buyers play in creating a marketplace that survives on the sexual abuse, violence, and commercial exploitation of children, also limits which children can be identified as victims of sex trafficking. This limitation directly impacts which children can receive the protection, services, and access to justice that is specifically provided for victims of sex trafficking.

[easy-tweet tweet=”As a nation we need to reaffirm our vow to addressing the complexities of this violence.” hashtags=”StoptheinJuSTice, PIC” url=”http://bit.ly/2kGNljL”]

We are thrilled to announce that, through the Stop the InJuSTice campaign, Shared Hope is currently supporting five states that have introduced legislation this session that, if enacted, would include buyer conduct in the law as a core human trafficking offense:

Colorado HB 1072 (Sponsor: Representative Lawrence)
Connecticut HB 6632 (Sponsor: Representative Kokoruda)
Georgia HB 341 (Sponsor: Representative Reeves)
Nebraska LB 289 (Sponsor: Senator Pansing Brooks)
Oklahoma HB 1832 (Sponsor: Representative Osborn)

[easy-tweet tweet=”Shared Hope is currently supporting bills in 5 states that would clarify that buyers are trafficking offenders.” url=”http://bit.ly/2kGNljL “]

We need your help to ensure these bills pass! You can support these bills, and many more, at our Stop the InJuSTice campaign site. Simply go to the site, find your state on our interactive action map, and take one of these actions:

Call your legislator with our call script.
Share our social media posts about your state legislation.

Together we can ensure that buyers of sex with children are culpable offenders under your state’s human trafficking offense!

February 10, 2017 by Guest

I Am Jane Doe Film Premier

Opening in Theaters Friday, February 10^th

I Am Jane Doe chronicles the epic battle that several American mothers are waging on behalf of their middle-school daughters, victims of sex-trafficking on Backpage.com, the adult classifieds section that for years was part of the Village Voice. These mothers have stood up on behalf of thousands of other mothers, fighting back and refusing to take no for an answer. I Am Jane Doe is a gut-wrenching human story and fresh look at a social and legal issue that affects every community in America.

As I Am Jane Doe opens this weekend our Senior Director, Nancy Winston shares her thoughts on the film.

Along with many others advocating to end the unimpeded internet advertising of sex for sale, I watched incredulously as the principals of Backpage.com and their lawyer all asserted protection under the first and fifth amendments before the Permanent Sub-Committee on Investigations last month. We were then stymied by the Supreme Court refusal to hear the case of the Jane Does trying to hold Backpage.com liable for financial reparations for the suffering and devastation the victims endured.

Backpage.com and other internet sites that carry sex for sale ads, often of minors, impudently and confidently hide behind the immunity provided by the Communications Decency Act. And clearly there is a closed door for any remedies through the court system.

The question that hangs heavy—where do we go from here?

But hope is dawning by way of the grassroots, often a more reliable generator of change. On February 6 there was a screening in Washington DC of the new film by Mary Mazzio of 50 Eggs productions called I AM JANE DOE. The film thoroughly recounts the nearly decade long efforts of the mothers of sex trafficked “Jane Does” to bring attention to the terrible reality of their minor daughters’ experiences and to obtain reparations from the internet companies that boldly published ads for sex with their daughters.

The message of the film is very clear: Congress needs to address the problem through a modification to the CDA. John Montgomery, legal expert in one of the JANE DOE cases describes the choice before Congress…”[they] could decide to protect the Internet or protect kids”.

Technology has outpaced the legal framework that was originally intended by that law. Enacted in 1996, in the early days of the internet, it was intended to be a business saving framework that would protect the nascent tech industry from defamation suits for content posted by third parties. But it was never intended to shelter criminal activity or to create a lawless internet. Incredibly, this 20 year-old law now protects an on-line slave auction, a point so clearly brought home in I AM JANE DOE.

Clearly, any proposed change to the immunity Internet Content Service Providers enjoy under Section 230 of the CDA will be vigorously opposed by many, including all the tech giants, who will divert the argument to one of first amendment rights. We will be facing off against a multibillion dollar industry, but it has become clear this is the only route. I AM JANE DOE will be premiering in theaters around the country and then will soon be available via Netflix. It gives a powerful voice to the grassroots advocacy that will bring the needed change to this law.

As one mom in the film said, “No matter how often you come against CDA, it’s always gonna shut you down”. It’s time to end that shutdown.

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Support this film and find a theater near you: www.iamjanedoefilm.com

February 3, 2017 by Susanna Bean

Voices from the Field Part 2 – Survivor Interviews on Backpage.com

Since news broke that Backpage.com was shutting down the “adult services” section of its website, reactions have ranged from joy to concern. These reactions prompted conversations about the effectiveness of the shutdown in preventing child sex trafficking, concerns for potential detrimental effects, and questions about next steps. We have written about our perspective on the shutdown and the report released by the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, “Backpage.com’s Knowing Facilitation of Online Sex Trafficking.” But the discussions that the news prompted are important, and to add to this dialog we are beginning a blog series featuring the voices of survivors and law Enforcement on the issue of Backpage.com and the online facilitation of sex trafficking. Tomorrow we’ll publish the last blog featuring these four survivors of sex trafficking on their perspectives on the Backpage.com debate. This is the second blog in that series. Read Part 1 here.

In this blog we interview four survivors of sex trafficking:

Tara Madison is a published author, speaker and a full time college student whose chief aim is to educate the public on the dynamics of human trafficking.
A Female Survivor
Kathy Bryan–A talented speaker, mentor, and author, Kathy attributes God’s amazing mercy and grace for the wisdom, joy and freedom she’s found after surviving two years of sex trafficking as a young teen. Kathy currently serves as Program Director and National Trainer for Rebecca Bender Initiative, passionately equipping thousands across the U.S. She has mentored hundreds of women, encouraging them as they journey towards truth, identity, and worth. kathybryan.com.
A Male Survivor

Critics of the closure of Backpage.com’s “adult services” section have voiced concern that exploitation will take place in much more dangerous conditions, such as on the street, rather than via the anonymity of the Internet. What is your perspective on that argument?

Tara Madison: This is a biased argument. The concept that illegal sexual exploitation is safer from one’s own living room than on the street is only protecting the perpetrators of these illicit acts and not the victims. Victims of sex trafficking are in grave danger, regardless of the sale conditions! The anonymity of the internet only makes it harder to recover these victims whose lives are at risk!

A Female Survivor: “Conditions more dangerous?”—no. When you are in a hotel room you don’t know who is going to walk in the door. On the street, she actually has others around that might tip her off to the danger of a “bad trick”. She will be more alert and will size up a person for danger.

Kathy Bryan: I would never negate the fact that the comfort of a motel/hotel room is far better than the street, it totally is. The truth is trafficking is incredibly dangerous wherever it occurs. The main danger is from the trafficker and buyer, who will be present no matter the location. Trafficking has been occurring since the beginning of time. Telling ourselves that Backpage.com’s advertisement services somehow makes it safer and less harmful is an illusion at best, and a travesty at worst. Yes, the victim didn’t have to go procure the buyer, which is much nicer, and could add a small measure of safety. However, nothing makes the fact that you are being raped several times a day by someone, who paid to do it, easier to live with. Not to mention, there are, unfortunately, a great number of other sites on which to advertise.

A Male Survivor: The argument is that Backpage prevents pimping under-aged youth from happening on the streets? The only analogy I can think of is methadone and in that scenario, the fact that a person is using methadone instead of heroin, doesn’t change the fact that they are still a drug addict. And to assert that Backpage makes pimping children safer, is simply outrageous. This is another argument to assert Backpage should be allowed to facilitate illegal activity because they mean well. Really? Backpage wants to continue their facilitation because they mean well and cooperate with law enforcement? It’s nothing to do with the billion dollar industry, it’s just because they care so much about the children, right?