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November 29, 2012 by SHI Staff

National Study Reveals Top Seven States that Protect Against Child Trafficking

A National Call To Action Spurs 44 States to Strengthen Child Trafficking Laws

Press Release: Protected Innocence Challenge Grade Announcement 11 29 12

Arlington, VA—Sweeping national legislative advancements proved successful for Louisiana, Florida and Georgia who will join the ranks of Illinois, Missouri, Texas and Washington in leading the nation with laws that provide protection and justice to child victims of domestic minor sex trafficking, according to research released Nov. 29, 2012 by Shared Hope International.

Recent findings from the 2012 Protected Innocence Challenge Report, the first comprehensive study on state child sex trafficking laws, show 15 states have raised their grades by enacting legislation that strengthened laws that impact or relate to domestic minor sex trafficking. In addition to the seven leading states listed above that scored a “B” on the 2012 report, nine states earned a “C,” compared to only six in 2011. In 2012, 35 states received grades of “D” or lower, including 18 failing grades— a significant improvement from the 2011 scores with 41 states receiving a grade of “D” or lower and 26 failing states.

The release of the Protected Innocence Challenge report is being hosted in conjuncture with Sharing the Hope 2012, a three-day event that includes training, the National Colloquium, a forum of national experts on the issue of shelter and service provision for child victims of trafficking, and the Sharing the Hope Gala and Pathbreaker Award Ceremony honoring Ernie Allen, President and CEO of the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children; Drew Oosterbaan, Chief, Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) of the U.S. Department of Justice; Amy O’Neill Richard, Senior Advisor to the Director in the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons; and Deborah Richardson, Executive Vice President of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights.

“In 2011, Shared Hope International challenged each state to review the laws on its books and the impact they are having on local children.” Linda Smith, President and Founder of Shared Hope International said. “Advocates around the nation united, forming coalitions, legislative review committees, and petitions to strengthen their states laws. Citizens showed they want stronger laws on the books and their efforts proved successful.”

“For me the Protected Innocence Challenge signifies liberation from a life of slavery with the opportunity for the oppressed to pursue the American dream of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Shamere McKenzie, Program Assistant, Shared Hope International and Survivor Advocate said.

Every year in the United States, experts estimate at least 100,000 children are exploited in the U.S. commercial sex industry. The average age a child is first exploited through prostitution is 13 years old.

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

1. 15 states improved their grades from 2011

2 states went up two grades: AK and MA went from F to C
13 states went up one grade
3 new “B” states: LA, FL, GA
6 new “C” states: AK, IN, MA, OH, OK, WI
6 new “D” states: CO, MD, NE, NV, SC, UT

2. 7 states improved their Protected Innocence Challenge scores by 10+ points

MA went up 29.5 pts
WV went up 21 pts
LA went up 17 pts
SC went up 17 pts
AK went up 14.5 pts
OH went up 12 pts
WI went up 10 pts

3. States were scored based on six categories of law. Scores by area of law – states have achieved perfect scores in sections 1 and 6, with “near perfect” scores in the other areas of law:

Section 1 (Criminalization of Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking): IL and TX have perfect scores (10 points possible)
Section 2 (Criminal Provisions Addressing Demand): LA now has a “near perfect” score with 24.5 points (25 points possible)
Section 3 (Criminal Provisions for Traffickers): MS, KY, FL and AL have a “near perfect” score with 14.5 points (15 points possible)
Section 4 (Criminal Provisions for Facilitators): LA and WA have a “near perfect” score with 9.5 points (10 points possible)
Section 5 (Protected Provisions for Child Victims): IL is the closest to a “near perfect” score with 24.5 points (27.5 points possible)
Section 6 (Criminal Justice Tools for Investigation and Prosecution): AL, MN, OH and TX have perfect scores (15 points possible)

4. Most Improved = MA
5. Highest Score = LA
6. Worst score = WY

GRADES:

B (7) – FL, GA, IL, LA, MO, TX, WA
C (9) – AK, AZ, IN, MA, MN, OH, OK, TN, WI
D (17) – AL, CO, DE, IA, KY, MD, MS, NE, NJ, NV, NY, NC, OR, RI, SC, UT, VT
F (18) – AR, CA, CT, DC, HI, ID, KS, ME, MI, MT, NH, NM, ND, PA, SD, VA, WV, WY

2012 Legislative Progress:

One year after the release of the 2011 Protected Innocence Challenge:*

240 state and 38 federal bills were introduced that relate to domestic minor sex trafficking.
78 laws were passed that relate to domestic minor sex trafficking.
40 states had legislation introduced that relates to the Protected Innocence Framework.
33 states enacted legislation related to the Protected Innocence Framework.

*Statistics are based on Congressional Quarterly State Track accounting for legislation introduced or passed between August 1, 2011 and August 1, 2012.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Taryn Mastrean

Communications Director

703.351.8062 office / 602.818.3955 cell

Taryn@sharedhope.org

ABOUT THE PROTECTED INNOCENCE LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK: The Protected Innocence Legislative Framework is the legal analysis tool of the Protected Innocence Challenge, a comprehensive strategy to promote zero tolerance for child sex trafficking. Shared Hope International conducted a 41-component comprehensive analysis of each state’s existing laws as a basis for the Report Card. The Protected Innocence Legislative Framework solely evaluates a state’s existing laws and does not evaluate enforcement or implementation.

The methodology was vetted by experts in the anti-trafficking field including Ambassador Mark Lagon (U.S. Department of State, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons 2007-2009) and directors from the following organizations: the National District Attorneys Association; American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law; the Protection Project at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies; ECPAT-USA; Children at Risk, Houston, Texas; and A Future. Not a Past., Atlanta, Georgia

MEDIA MATERIALS

For media convenience, a variety of video clips and resources, including sex trafficking survivor comments, are available upon request.

ABOUT SHARED HOPE INTERNATIONAL: Shared Hope International was founded in 1998, by former U.S. Congresswoman Linda Smith, and exists to rescue and restore women and children in crisis. We are leaders in a worldwide effort to prevent and eradicate sex trafficking and slavery using a three-pronged strategy: prevent, rescue & restore, and bring justice. For more information about Shared Hope International, and the Protected Innocence Challenge, go to www.sharedhope.org.

October 29, 2012 by SHI Staff

Sharing Your Adventure: Loving One Another Enough to Hold Each Other Accountable

Love. Care. Tenderness. Support. These are all character qualities that are essential to the Defenders. These qualities in my mind all describe one important value of the Defenders: accountability. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, accountability means “an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one’s actions.”

I always grew up with the term “brother’s keeper.” Brother’s Keeper is a simple term that means you love someone enough to hold them accountable to their actions. In my experience, accountability is only successfully done when both parties hold each other accountable out of common love for the wellbeing of the other person. Part two of The Defenders Pledge says “I will hold my friends accountable for their actions towards women and children.”

Women and Children deserve respect. They deserve to be honored, and we should treat them with that in mind. Human Trafficking and commercial sex takes advantage of women, makes them our objects, and that in no way is right. Out of love for our friends and the women and children who are involved in the industry, should we not hold each other accountable and stay away from that? Out of love and care for the wellbeing of our fellow men, should we not hold each other accountable to our actions? Should we not challenge each other? That’s why part two of the Defenders pledge exists. Out of love and respect for women and children, indulging in the commercial sex industry is clearly not an option.

But as I’ve said in previous blog posts, commercial sex can be an addictive indulgence. It can consume our lives, and pretty soon, quitting this terrible indulgence is harder than we thought. That is also where accountability comes in.Accountability can work as a powerful sword. Holding our fellow men accountable to their actions can fight those desires to indulge, and for some, completely eliminate them. For many, accountability also becomes a shield, which defends our hearts and restores our minds. I’ve experienced this effect personally through a Men’s group which I’ve called Men Mentoring Men.

This group consists of 5-8 men who are committed to meeting once each week to talk about life. We talk about the highs, lows, and struggles of the past week–both sexually and relationally. This group helps men grow in relationship with each other, and restore a healthy view of relationships and sexuality. We laugh, we cry, and we celebrate. This group creates a sword and shield for men who are struggling with commercial sex. It allows men to be vulnerable, and to acknowledge the pain in their life. Ultimately, this group effectively restores our desire to honor and respect women and children.

In a few weeks a new resource will be made available to all men. This resource, which I have compiled and created myself, will walk any guy through the process of creating a Men Mentoring Men accountability group. It is my strong belief that every guy needs at least one other guy to hold them accountable. Every guy needs support, care, and love. Every guy needs a close, supportive friend. Every guy needs accountability.

October 29, 2012 by SHI Staff

It’s a Drug

In the past week, two large events have taken place in Portland to help end human trafficking. Exactly a week ago, the 2-day Do You Know Lacy? sex trafficking awareness training took place. The training had over 200 attendees. Just yesterday an event called ConnectPDX took place, where organizations from all over the Pacific Northwest gathered to create a common plan to end human trafficking. This next blog post is a compilation of my thoughts from these events.

I could write pages and pages about the wisdom that was shared, but today i’m going to focus on something related to the Defenders. But before I begin, here is a reminder of what our Defenders pledge is:

1. I will not participate in pornography, prostitution, or any form of the commercial sex industry.

2. I will hold my friends accountable for their actions toward women and children.

3. I will take immediate action to protect those I love from this destructive market.

Shamere McKenzie, a sex trafficking survivor, says this about men:

“Men–Understand. Understand what it is to be a man. Understand why a woman was created from your rib. Understand that a women was not taken from your head to be on top of you, or your feet to be below you, but from your rib to be beside you. Men need to stand up and be Defenders for women.”

Ultimately, as Shamere pointed out, it’s men that need to stand up and defend women. These girls are being violated, and we cannot just sit here. Men have to rise up and stop this issue. After all, are we not the demand for this brutal business? And if we are the demand, are we not the cure as well? We are the ones that have to stop this problem. (For more information on the supply and demand culture, I recommend you watch this video by our friends at the EPIK Project)

Men, when it comes to ending the trafficking in this world, it’s our job. As a fellow Defender pointed out at the Do You Know Lacy? training, we have absolutely no right–ever–to disrespect any human being. When we look at pornography, go to the strip club, or purchase a prostitute, we are objectifying these women. We are completely taking away their rights, saying that they are ours for the taking.

I want to take some time to talk about pornography. After all, that’s not related to trafficking at all, right? Well, as I’ve done my research on pornography, I’ve found that they are completely intertwined. As it turns out, you cannot have one without the other. To put it simply, pornography is simply the pictures or videos of the prostitution. Ultimately, if you are supporting pornography, you are supporting trafficking. in some way.

What if I told you that pimps used pornography to train the little innocent 12-year-old girls on how to treat the client? What if I told you that pornography is used by pimps to advertise their girls, and what if I told you that buyers often demand that the little girls do the acts that they saw in the pornography they viewed? All of these are true. It happens, and It’s real.

If that doesn’t convince you pornography and trafficking are intertwined, lets talk about science.

In the drug world, marijuana is referred to as the gateway drug. People call it this because of a thing called habituation. When a person experiences the high that marijuana offers, their brain falls in love with it, and of course they continue to use it because it satisfies them so much. Eventually, habituation kicks in and his/her brain gets used to the high that marijuana offers. After a while, the marijuana high no longer satisfies the person, so he/she has to move on to something more powerful. This cycle continues on forever.

Pornography works the same way. It’s actually proven that the same chemicals are spinning in your brain when you indulge in pornography. When you view pornography, you get a certain “high,” but eventually that kind of pornography doesn’t please you anymore, and you have to move on to something even more hardcore. Pretty soon, pornography won’t even please you, and that’s when people move on to the more physical things, like prostitution and private strip clubs shows. This is not a slippery slope argument; this is a scientific fact.

So, where do we go from here? I hope you have realized that pornography is deeply intertwined with human trafficking. If you have, and you struggle with sexual addiction, know that there is hope. As Defenders we can support each other, and acknowledging that you have this addiction is the first step towards healing. If you haven’t already, take the pledge, and then get friends to join you. Support each other. Create a men’s support group.

In the words of a fellow Defender, Nick Lembo, “We are supposed to be sexual beings. But when you take it outside of what it’s supposed to be, lives are ruined.”

Together, we can end demand. We are Defenders.

October 29, 2012 by SHI Staff

Trafficking Awareness: The Power of Education

Thanks for checking out this blog. I hope you walk away from this post learning a little about the commercial sex industry, and how to deal with personal addictions.

I just finished watching a TV Mini-series called Human Trafficking. Made in 2005, this fictionalized series brutally but authentically illustrated the seriousness of international human slavery.

I don’t think I’ve ever felt so overwhelmed while watching a movie in my life. I’d recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about the severity of trafficking, but keep in mind that it made my stomach churn, and at some points I felt nauseous. It is an incredibly raw series. Regardless of how hard it is to watch, it illustrates the brutality of the commercial sex industry so well.

This brings me to this week’s topic: education. When I say education, I’m not speaking of going to school (though I do think that is important!). Education is taking the time to learn the facts about a specific topic, and in our case, we are taking time to learn the brutal reality of sex trafficking. Through movies like Human Trafficking, survivor stories, and blogs like this, you can participate in very needed education.

As Defenders, we have all taken a pledge. Part one of that pledge says “I will not participate in pornography, prostitution or any form of the commercial sex industry.” Now, I think guys would all agree that part one of this pledge is way easier said than done. You see, the commercial sex industry works like a drug. The chemicals in your brain begin to spin as you indulge, and you leave the experience getting a very temporary wave of good feelings. This leads you to constantly desire more and more, and after a very short amount of time, your body can be addicted to the temporary good feelings that these experiences provide.

That being said, what if I told you that the addiction to the commercial sex industry could be avoided or healed? What if I told you that those temporary good feelings would no longer feel good? Thats where education comes in to play.

As a Defender, I hope you’ve realized that the commercial sex industry has more brutality to it than meets the eye (if you are unfamiliar with the common myths of the sex industry, go here). As you can see through videos like this, where survivors share the facts, the industry is awful. Girls are hurt. Girls are raped. Some girls even die. Girls are locked in rooms like prisoners. They are slaves. Through learning the facts and being willing to be educated on this topic, your feelings on the commercial sex industry will begin to change.

I can say from personal experience that once you are educated, the commercial sex industry begins to stop producing those very temporary waves of good feelings. When you go to indulge, you can remember the facts. You can remember the brutality. More importantly, you can remember the girls. And from personal experience I can say that when you go to indulge, remembering the education you have puts a halt to your desire to indulge in any kind of commercial sex, whether that be pornography, prostitution, or any method of commercial sex. Your mind goes from being a consumer to a person who cares. By remembering the facts, your heart can move from objectifying women to respecting them.

So, in conclusion, I know from personal experience the power that education offers. Be educated, and educate others. You’d be surprised what kind of difference it can make. Remember the facts. Lets honor part one of our pledge.

For more educational resources, you can see this article by Abolition Now.

October 19, 2012 by SHI Staff

Brianna’s Story of Hope

Brianna was a “good girl” from a stable, two-parent home.
And yet the three men watching her saw her as an ideal candidate. She had a dream to get out of her small town … needed to make money for college tuition. She was vulnerable and innocent.

And they took advantage of her in the worst possible way.

Naively, she was lured away from family and friends … and into a strip club, She quickly realized she was required to do more than just dance.

Thankfully, Brianna’s family did not give up on her. They enlisted the help of a local police officer who understood sex trafficking, and who, in turn, enlisted Shared Hope’s help to extract her from the situation.

Brianna was rescued!

Today, Brianna still has nightmares that “they” have found her again … but she has become an outspoken activist, sharing her personal experience to save others. She recently even allowed her story to be told on a billboard in Times Square, desperately hoping her warnings will be heeded.

THANK YOU for doing your part to rescue and restore girls like Brianna. Unknowingly, she was trapped … and almost lost forever. There are so many other girls just like her!

As you give generously today, you will help us continue to reach out with the love of God to rescue the enslaved and restore their once shattered lives. You will also help us reach others before they fall into a trap, preventing abuse and victimization before it happens!

You are so vital to this work. Your faithful giving makes an impact! God bless you for what you’ll do today to carry it forward.