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January 14, 2016 by SHI Staff

Human Trafficking: What You Need To Know – Focus on the Family Best of 2015

On January 19 and 20, Shared Hope International will return to Focus on the Family radio network. Our 2-part series, Human Trafficking: What You Need to Know, was selected for the Best of 2015 lineup, airing this month. We invite you to tune in, and invite everyone you know to tune in as well.

Recently, Focus on the Family sent us this note from one parent who
happened to tune in at just the right time. What happened next will bring you to tears.

“When I heard your broadcast on human trafficking, my heart broke. My daughter, who was 13 years old at the time, was experiencing all the signs that the guest described, and I was truly worried. I decided to search my daughter’s room and much to my alarm, I found stripper clothing and wads of money. When I discovered these things, I knew that it was no accident that I just ‘happened’ to be driving and I clicked on the radio at the exact time of your radio program. I knew that God had specifically provided for me. My father’s heart was pierced, and I called and spoke to one of the [Focus on the Family] counselors, who helped me contact help and place my daughter into a residential treatment center. Thank you for airing this broadcast because through it you have saved the life of a precious child from the chains of slavery.”

Please join us and invite everyone you know. You don’t know the impact it will make and the lives it might save. Join us January 19 and 20. Find a station in your area or listen online.

December 30, 2015 by webdesigner

3 Reasons Why Every Pastor Should Attend the JuST Faith Summit

A national epidemic has been ignored for too long, a dark addiction fueled by instant access to pornography, spawning a commercial sex industry that is consuming our children. And everyone pays the price—the child whose innocence is stolen, the man who can’t overcome his addiction, and the society that bears the loss of both. Our world has been helpless to stop the tide because we, the church, have remained silent. Frozen in fear, in ignorance, in disillusion. But, together in our many faiths, we have the power to push away the darkness.

It’s there, and it’s waiting for you to notice..

Children are being bought and sold for sex every night—in America. We, the church, have a mighty role in addressing and stopping this tragedy, if we are ready and willing.

On April 20-22, 2016, we invite you to join us for the JuST Faith Summit in Orlando.

Here are 3 reasons why every pastor should attend the JuST Faith Summit:

1. Get Equipped – You want to help but don’t know where to start. We do. Join us to learn practical tools for getting started and finding a dynamic and sustainable way to leverage your community’s resources to tackle trafficking.

2. Get Connected – There is a committed, dedicated team across the nation making meaningful strides in the fight against sex trafficking. We want you to meet them. Learn from others and share resources to make the biggest impact possible.

3. Get Inspired – Hear amazing stories of freedom, restoration, and change. We are launching a movement within the church to face the overlooked and ignored issue of sexual perversion and abuse and want you to be a part of it.

Please join us and together, let’s bring an end to this epidemic.

December 17, 2015 by SHI Staff

Four Ways to Give to Shared Hope International

In this season of Christmas cheer, spread a little love to Shared Hope to help us fight trafficking all year through. Here are four simple ways to donate to Shared Hope (and some won’t cost you a dime)!

1. Shop on Smile.Amazon.com

When you start your shopping at smile.amazon.com instead of amazon.com, you will access the exact same shopping experience, products and prices, but .5% of your purchase will be donated to Shared Hope! Simply visit smile.amazon.com, select “Shared Hope International” as your selected charity (you will be prompted upon your first visit or you can change your supported charity under the search bar) and Amazon will donate a part of your purchase to Shared Hope!

2. Shop our Store!

Visit www.sharedhope.org/store to purchase books, movies, training resources and apparel! Consider gifting Renting Lacy to your sister and her daughter so they can read the book together and discuss the dangers of trafficking. Team up with a few parents from your child’s class to purchase the teacher a copy of Chosen, a youth sex trafficking prevention video and resource, which makes talking about trafficking easier! Proceeds from the store helps fund our prevention, restoration and justice work all year long!

3. Purchase a Brick!

Help us build the Path to Freedom at Shared Hope’s restoration home, Terry’s House, by donating $250 for an engraved paver stone with your name on it! Engrave the name of a loved one for an extra special Christmas present this year and give the gift of love and encouragement to women at Terry’s House for years to come!

4. Put Shared Hope on Your Christmas List!

Every dollar donated to Shared Hope will be matched dollar for dollar until December 31! Your friends and family can donate in your name by selecting “Dedicate my gift to” and entering your name in the box “This gift is in honor/memory of:”. It’s an easy way to make their donation go twice as far and help support a great cause. They can donate online at www.sharedhope.org/donate.

December 7, 2015 by Guest

Exchanging Food for Sex with Children Amounts to Sex Trafficking

Society is quickly outraged by reports that peacekeepers or aid workers have sexually exploited children in areas of conflict or developing regions. This year, reports surfaced that peacekeepers in the Central African Republic elicited sex acts with young boys in exchange for food. Unfortunately, this scenario is not new. A 1996 study from the UN Secretary-General stated:

Children may also become victims of prostitution following the arrival of peacekeeping forces. In Mozambique, after the signing of the peace treaty in 1992, soldiers of the United Nations Operation in Mozambique (ONUMOZ) recruited girls aged 12 to 18 years into prostitution. After a commission of inquiry confirmed the allegations, the soldiers implicated were sent home. In 6 out of 12 country studies on sexual exploitation of children in situations of armed conflict …, the arrival of peacekeeping troops has been associated with a rapid rise in child prostitution.

When peacekeepers instruct hungry children living in war-torn countries, to perform sexual acts in order to receive life necessities, this resonates with many readers in America as patently exploitative and abusive. In fact, should such an exchange – sex with a minor for life necessities – occur in the United States, this commercial sexual exploitation by a buyer could amount to sex trafficking, under federal law and the sex trafficking law in 41 states and the District of Columbia.[1] Appropriately including the purchase of sex with a minor within sex trafficking definitions reflects the seriousness of this exploitative conduct.

Nonetheless, outrage like that expressed in response to peackeepers’ abuse, does not similarly resound when adults exchange life necessities for sex with minors in the United States. Instead, domestic children induced to perform a sexual act in exchange for food or transportation, or maybe as a form of “rent,” are often blamed for their own victimization. In fact, in 36 states, commercially sexually exploited children may be prosecuted for prostitution and are stigmatized as “prostitutes.” Why is moral or criminal fault assigned to a child who is sexually exploited, sometimes in order to survive?

In these scenarios, the buyer is the manipulator and offender, not the youth. In fact, in instances of sex trafficking, the buyer is the indispensable perpetrator, even more so than a possible trafficker. Without the buyer, there would be no commercial sexual exploitation, at all. However, sex trafficking often is still viewed as requiring a “pimp” or trafficker who controls the child victim. Accordingly, the sex trafficking laws in 14 states, unfortunately, do not accurately reflect the central role of the buyer-perpetrator; these states require the presence of a trafficker or third party control over minor victims.[2] A policy paper by Shared Hope, Eliminating the Third Party Control Barrier to Identifying Juvenile Sex Trafficking Victims, discusses social misperceptions and legal inconsistencies that result from misunderstanding the buyer’s central role and requiring that a trafficker be named. One devastating effect is that many juvenile sex trafficking victims are not identified, nor provided much needed services.

Buyers who prey on vulnerable children by withholding life necessities in exchange for sex should be held accountable. This conduct needs to be understood as the manipulation and exploitation that it is and included within sex trafficking definitions.

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[1] Statistic based on laws enacted as of August 1, 2014.

[2] Statistic based on laws enacted as of August 1, 2014.

November 16, 2015 by SHI Staff

Huffington Post: US States Are Getting Better At Combating Child Sex Trafficking

By: Eleanor Goldberg, The Huffington Post

View the original article on Huffington Post.

A number of states are cracking down on these crimes by better protecting victims, instead of criminalizing them.

It remains a crime largely hidden from public view, but U.S. states are at least starting to take a more forthcoming approach to combating child sex trafficking.

When Shared Hope, a nonprofit that fights sex trafficking, released its first assessment of the nation’s response to its youngest victims in 2011, 26 states received failing grades.

This year, no states failed and half the nation earned an A or B on their report card.

But while figures are still concerning, with more than 100,000 children being exploited into sex trafficking every year, a number of states are cracking down on these crimes by better protecting victims, instead of criminalizing them, and closing up loopholes that enabled offenders to avoid jail time.

These 10 states scored the best for their efforts in combating child sex trafficking.

No. 10 Florida, 86.5

In an effort to better protect exploited minors, Google, the Human Rights Project for Girls (Rights4Girls) and the McCain Institute launched the “No Such Thing” campaign last January to urge authorities to stop criminalizing children who are victims of sex trafficking. Since by federal law anyone under 18 who performs a commercial sex act in exchange for compensation is a victim of trafficking, they shouldn’t, by definition, be able to be charged as prostitutes.

In Florida, sexually exploited minors are deemed victims of sex trafficking. and the law notes that “a minor is unable to consent to such behavior.”

No. 9 Oklahoma, 87

Oklahoma climbed from a “C” to a “B” grade and is working to go after all parties involved in child sex trafficking.

Assisting, enabling or benefiting financially from the crime are included as criminal offenses in the state sex trafficking statute.

No. 8 Illinois, 87

Illinois has also ramped up its efforts in protecting exploited children by deeming them“immune” from being prosecuted for prostitution. After an officer identifies a child victim, he’s then expected to connect with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services State Central Register, which is responsible for launching an initial investigation into child abuse or child neglect within 24 hours.

No. 7 Iowa, 87.5

A major flaw in the justice system is that the buyers who demand sex from minors often remain nameless and faceless and aren’t arrested at all.

Iowa is working to combat that issue by classifying anyone who solicits sexual services from a minor as guilty of a class “C” felony. A first conviction is punishable by imprisonment up to 10 years and a fine of up to $10,000.

No. 6 Minnesota, 90

Often, the law allows traffickers and buyers to claim consent as a defense, shifting the blame to the child trafficking victim. Minnesota has gone so far as to declare that when it comes to prostitution or sex trafficking, “consent or age of the victim is not a defense.”

No. 5 Texas, 90.5

Texas is now coming down particularly hard on people who knowingly or unknowingly solicit sex from children.

Engaging in prostitution is treated as a felony of the second degree if the person solicited is younger than 18 years of age, regardless of whether the offender knew the victim’s age at the time the crime was committed.

The charge carries a sentence of five to 99 years and a fine of up to $100,000.

No. 4 Montana, 90.5

The stringency of Montana’s child sex trafficking laws enabled the state to jump from a “D” to “A” this year.

Montana doesn’t allow offenders to claim they believed the child was an adult as a defense. The punishment carries imprisonment for a term of 100 years, a fine of up to $50,000 and requires offenders to complete a sexual offender treatment program.

No. 3 Washington, 92

Traffickers see the Internet as an optimal resource for identifying and luring in victims, since it’s challenging for authorities to monitor it.

But in Washington, if a person so much as communicates with a minor, or someone he believes to be a minor, for “immoral purposes,” which includes the purchase or sale of commercial sex acts through electronic communications, that qualifies as a class C felony. Such communication includes email and text messaging.

No. 2 Tennessee, 93.5

In Tennessee, soliciting sex from a minor is punishable as “trafficking for commercial sex acts”and comes with either a Class A or B felony charge. A Class A felony carries imprisonment from 15 to 60 years and a fine of up to $50,000. A Class B felony is punishable by imprisonment for eight to 30 years and a possible fine of up to $25,000.

Offenders who attempt to solicit minors over the Internet would constitute violating a number of offenses, including rape of a child, trafficking for commercial sex acts and aggravated sexual battery.

No. 1 Louisiana, 99.5

Commercial sexual exploitation of children laws make specific types of exploitation of a minor a criminal act.

A number of states, including Louisiana, employ CSEC laws when it comes to child sex trafficking cases, which is a “better” method of identifying victims and addressing these offenses, according to Shared Hope.

An offender in Louisiana who exploits a minor under 18 faces imprisonment at “hard labor” of 15 to 50 years and a fine of up to $50,000. If the victim is younger than 14, the sentence is between 25 and 50 years and carries up to a $75,000 fine.