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June 22, 2012 by Guest

SEX+MONEY

“Have you ever heard of the issue of human sex trafficking?”

The trailer for the documentary “Sex + Money” opens by asking this question. Most people don’t know or don’t understand the scope of the problem. Most people who have heard of sex trafficking couldn’t possibly imagine it happening here … not in America, no way.

It is here. It is in every city across the U.S. If you can’t find it in one location, you just aren’t looking hard enough.

In 2011, five young journalists set off on a mission across the United States. They were on a mission to spread awareness about domestic minor sex trafficking by hosting screenings of the “Sex + Money” documentary.

Shared Hope partnered with the Sex + Money team to raise state grades through the Protected Innocence ChallengeReport Cards. Together we have started a wildfire of states introducing and enacting laws and legislation that will help rescue, restore, protect, and defend girls — while strengthening laws that serve justice to traffickers.

Will you join us? Will you watch the video and be inspired to action? Or will you brush it off? You can make a difference. Together, we can change the world.

www.sexandmoneyfilm.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsY93C8cm54

June 18, 2012 by SHI Staff

Can Johns Be Turned Into Defenders?

Fifteen to twenty percent.

That’s the number of American men who will buy sex at some time during their lives. That number may seem exaggerated, but not when you look at the fact that 100,000 children will be trafficked in the U.S. this year.
That means that there are a lot of men out there who buy children for sex.
But this doesn’t have to continue. We can stop this.
But how?
How do we stop these men from buying sex? And how do we ensure that they won’t fall back into their old ways?
Several means of deterring buyers, “johns”, have been tried:

Attending an educational “john school”
Community service
Greater penalties
Putting their names in the newspaper, on a billboard, or on the internet
More jail time
Adding them to the sex offender registry

What’s the most effective method? What will stop these men from continuing to destroy the lives of these young girls?

According to a 2011 study on Boston buyers of sex, adding buyer’s names to the official sex offender registry is the greatest deterrent for johns. It beats out jail time, greater penalties, and community service. Unfortunately, it is also more effective than putting these men through “john school.”
Right now, it seems like cold, hard sentencing, and registering these men on the sex offenders list is the best way to deter buyers of sex.

But who’s to say that couldn’t change?
Could these men be reeducated? One john who went through a reeducation program in Tennessee said: “I’m so embarrassed … These girls are somebody’s daughters. I have a daughter.” He changed. Could other men be effectively taught that these girls they’re buying are someone’s daughter or sister?
We hope so.
What about you? What can you do today to turn johns into Defenders?
Give time, give money, and educate yourselves and others about America’s serious problem of sex trafficking. Spread the word.

June 12, 2012 by Guest

Fighting Fire with Fire: Using Technology to Thwart Human Trafficking

Guest Post By: Cleo Tung
Master of Philosophy, Criminological Research University of Cambridge

Cleo Tung holds a Master of Philosophy in Criminological Research from the University of Cambridge. As a 2010 Gates Scholar, Ms. Tung focused her dissertation on exploring different NGO perspectives on human trafficking in the US. She is the former Vice President of the United Nations Children’s Fund at the University of California, Irvine, where she completed her BA in Criminology, Law & Society.

Although human trafficking predates information and communication technologies (ICT’s) such as the Internet, mobile phones, and social networking sites, there is little doubt that trafficking activity now takes place in the digital domain. Indeed, traffickers increasingly rely on ICT’s to recruit, advertise, and sell their victims. As the United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking notes, ICT’s are ideal conduits for trafficking because they “…provide a degree of anonymity and/or disguise which allows them [traffickers] to commit their crimes with reduced risk.”

Indisputably, ICT’s exacerbate the trafficking problem. The upside, however, is that the same technologies can ameliorate anti-trafficking efforts, as recently noted by Mark Latonero’s study at the University of Southern California, Human Trafficking Online. For example, ICT’s have proven critical to public awareness campaigns including the DNA Foundation’s “Real Men Don’t Buy Girls” campaign, which has helped educate the public on child slavery via social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. In fact, organizations are increasingly cognizant of ICT’s as an effective tool for expanding public understanding of human trafficking. Shared Hope International’s YouTube channel, the Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking’s webinars, and this very blog are but a few examples of such recognition.

Smartphone applications like the International Justice Mission’s IJM Mobile also signify the emergence of ICT’s as a useful anti-trafficking tool. Through IJM Mobile’s “Make Some Noise” feature, users can easily help raise public awareness and galvanize support for anti-trafficking policies by posting the latest trafficking-related news in their social networks.

Technological innovation in the anti-trafficking field is further exemplified by Survivors Connect, a California-based organization dedicated to leveraging ICT’s against human trafficking. Like IJM, Survivors Connect employs mobile technology with its SMS: Freedom helpline service, through which users can reduce their risk of victimization by connecting to professionals and resources (e.g. information about trafficking scams, safe migration, child protection, and emergency support) via text messaging.

Beyond mobile technology, Survivors Connect offers a range of data mapping programs, notably Freedom Datamap, which crowd sources information about where anti-trafficking organizations work and provide services globally. Freedom Datamap enables professionals, lawyers, service providers, government agencies, and international organizations to share critical trafficking information in a single space. Users submit their information through various media (e.g. email, Twitter, web reports), which is then aggregated into direct reports and plotted on an interactive map. With this program, users can easily access and share data, thereby empowering them to enhance collaboration efforts, learn best practices, and identify gaps in knowledge.

As we have seen here, technology can play a critical role in combatting the trafficking problem. Whether it’s raising awareness of the issue through Facebook or sharing the latest research through a webinar, anti-trafficking work has great potential to improve as technology continues to advance. For many, this could mean a life free from the violence, exploitation, and abuse endured under the conditions of modern-day slavery.

Special thanks to Founder and Executive Director of Survivors Connect, Aashika Damodar, who agreed to discuss her organization’s anti-trafficking work.

June 4, 2012 by SHI Staff

Story of Hope: Shamita and Kala Flee From Trafficking to Open Tea Shop

In the mountains of Katmandu, Nepal up a winding cobblestone street surrounded by ancient Nepalese buildings, garlic cloves hang from windows and hay bales dry in the sun. Women dressed in traditional garb spin yarn on the side of the road and children dressed in matching uniforms scuttle by on their way to school. Smoke from the chimney stacks can be seen in the distance as brick makers are hard at work. There on that winding road in the hill country sits a quaint tea shop. To the average passerby, it might appear to be a typical tea shop consisting of nothing more than a small front kitchen and several tables. Yet to Shamita and Kala, this tea shop signifies strength, success and freedom from Nepals’ brutal sex trafficking industry.

The owners, Kala and Shamita, are two female business leaders in Nepal—a rarity in a culture that often devalues women as property of men. Shamita and Kala once thought their lives were no more valuable than providing their bodies to man after man in the brothels of Mumbai. Even after they escaped the horrors of sex slavery through the support of Shared Hope’s partner, they were shunned by their village upon returning to Nepal. The life they never chose now banned them from those who were supposed to love and respect them most- their own father forced them to leave.

This story is all too common for women in Nepal. There is big money for traffickers who trick the women to leave through the false promise of love or a better job. Sometimes the trafficker exploits a family’s poverty- convincing parents sell their own daughters. Even if these women find a way to pay off their “debt,” the payment that the brothel owner paid the trafficker, or escape from the violent, forced situation, they often have no home to return to in Nepal. This lack of options forces many back into the violent arms of the brothel.

But Shamita and Kala did have another option. After leaving their village their next stop was Asha Nepal. “Asha” translates to “hope” in Nepalese, and this is exactly what our partner provided to the sisters.

Shared Hope staff originally met Kala and Shamita in Mumbai. They were living in an apartment that our President and Founder, Linda Smith, had secured while our partner was still building a permanent home for women and children in Nepal. Previously, their home had been one of Mumbai’s infamous brothels in the red light district. They were one of many women who desired to return to the home they knew before their exploitation, Nepal.

To meet this need, Shared Hope partnered with a visionary leader in Nepal and a team in India to develop a Village of Hope in Nepal. This home allows women from Nepal who were trafficked to India to return to their home country, even if they are banned from every returning to their family again. Together, Shared Hope Founder Linda Smith and our Nepalese partners built a home and a nurturing family for these women.

Now, moving beyond restoration, Shamita and Kala are breaking barriers in the community, showing they are more than survivors; they are thrivers. Their success is helping to shift cultural norms in Nepal. Their lives are testament that life beyond the brothel is possible. Success is possible. Freedom is possible. Anything can be possible.

May 26, 2012 by SHI Staff

Back to Our Beginning: Montego Bay, Jamaica

“We call it a different name, we call it survival.”

In one simple sentence our partner in Montego Bay, Jamaica defined the challenge to combatting sex trafficking in the country. With the widespread prevalence of poverty and sexual abuse, buyers and traffickers are eager to exploit Jamaican youth with offers of provision and protection.

Today, we had the opportunity to meet with our partners in Montego Bay, tour their new home, meet a shy but sweet young boy who is currently seeking adoptive parents, talk about the issue of sex trafficking to teenagers attending a life skills class, and meet with board members and leadership to discuss challenges and explore solutions to effectively respond to sex trafficking in Jamaica.

During our discussion with students we asked if they ever knew anyone who traded sex for a place to live or were forced by a violent boyfriend to have sex in exchange for goods or money. The answer was an overwhelming, YES! They explained that despite its prevalence, sex trafficking was hardly ever discussed by media or the community. We are working with our local partner to develop awareness and education strategies to inspire prevention and increased care for at-risk or victimized youth.

Tomorrow, we have the opportunity to educate students and staff members at a local community center on the issue of sex trafficking. We will explain indicators of trafficking and offer response solutions to mobilize a community of new activists.