human trafficking Archives - Shared Hope International

July 3, 2014 by SHI Staff

Thank You Walt Schulcz

We would like to take time this month to affirm and recognize a true Defender and an incredibly influential Ambassador of Hope. Through his actions, Walt Schulcz has shown that he is a true Defender that brings a message of hope to all. Over time, Walt has influenced thousands of people. From schools to churches, and individuals to small groups, Walt and his wife are committed to addressing the issue of domestic minor sex trafficking. Their work is incredible, and for that we are forever grateful. Let Walt be an example to us all.

Walt has shown us that any man can do something about human trafficking. Walt is the perfect example of a Defender who utilizes Shared Hope resources so that he can save the lives of those around him.

In just a small period of time, Walt and his wife have shown countless showings of the documentary Chosen (well over 20 presentations). In just one month alone, they showed the documentary to over 600 teens and adults. In this time, they also got Chosen into a school system for kids in 7^th-12^th grade. Walt is consistently thinking about how he can reach out and raise awareness about trafficking.

By showing so many screenings of Chosen, Walt has got into his “awareness groove” and he has created an effective presentation style that works for him. Walt is doing lots of effective communication as a result, and he is even working on getting Chosen into his local movie theater!

The list doesn’t end there, however. Walt has also helped identify potential victims of trafficking, he’s made relationships with school superintendents, he has presented to DHS workers—the list goes on and on.

Please, take the time to thank Walt today in the comments section of this blog. Walt, you are truly setting an example, and for that we are grateful. Together, with men like you, we can end the demand for domestic minor sex trafficking.

June 26, 2014 by SHI Staff

Buyer Beware, Or Not. Operation Cross Country Slams Traffickers, Rescues Victims, But Where Are The Buyers?

cross-country-8-map — Source: http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2014/june/operation-cross-country/operation-cross-country

One of the most successful national operations targeting child sex trafficking was conducted by the FBI and local, state and federal law enforcement agencies as part of the week-long Operation Cross Country initiative to combat child sex trafficking. Under this initiative, 281 traffickers were arrested and 168 children were recovered. The most recent sting operation was the eighth of its kind and netted the most victims and perpetrators to date, bringing the lifetime total impact of this operation to 2,600 children rescued and 1,450 perpetrator convictions resulting in lengthy sentences and seizure of more than $3.1 million in assets. And while this operation remains a shining example of how 392 agencies in 106 cities can collectively work to disrupt illicit trafficking operations guised as, still illegal, prostitution businesses, buyers were not represented in official sting statistics. In fact, buyers were barely mentioned despite their role as the root cause for this crime.

The trafficking market follows the basic economic principles of supply and demand. As demand increases, so does supply. In the case of child sex trafficking, as demand for sex with children increases, traffickers strive to supply trafficking victims to those willing to pay. Many buyers operate on a common false assumption that the payment they make to the prostituted victim contributes to the victim’s financial well-being. False. A buyer’s payment is simply handed over to traffickers who use it as incentive to further victimize and exploit more children to meet the demand.

So why did buyers escape exposure for their arguably largest contribution to the crime? Online public buyer forums were abuzz with warnings of police activity in cities around the nation during the sting, sharing news and location information about law enforcement activity to help their mongering peers avoid criminal detection. These apparently invisible offenders seemed to have little to fear as they were a rare mention in operation reports. Perhaps law enforcement agencies prioritized the most imminent threat, traffickers. Or perhaps buyers went unreported due to their underestimated role in the crime. Whatever the reason, it was a major miss in the fight to end child sex trafficking. If the source of the crime is not addressed, it will continue to flourish. New traffickers will realize the economic potential in selling children. New children will be victimized to meet the demands of the buyer. The cycle of supply and demand will continue unabated until demand is recognized and prioritized as the most immediate threat to our nation’s children.

The FBI Innocence Lost Task Force Operation Cross Country initiative has had big wins in the fight against child sex trafficking. Add buyers to the operation focus and Operation Cross Country has the potential to be the anti-trafficking juggernaut, crushing the selling and buying that perpetuates the victimization of children through sex trafficking.

May 19, 2014 by Guest

Traveling Sex Offenders Pose Significant Risk to Destination Countries

By: Eion Oosterbaan

In May 2014, the United States Mission to the European Union in Brussels, Belgium hosted a strategy meeting focused on information-sharing regarding traveling sex offenders (TSOs), who play a large role in the ever-growing presence of International Sex Tourism and Human Trafficking. Eion Oosterbann attended as an observer on behalf of Shared Hope.

In attendance were more than 70 people from over 15 countries representing government, law enforcement and non-governmental agencies. The purpose of this strategy meeting was to discuss the activities of the countries represented with respect to tracking the travel of TSOs from one country to another and notification of that travel to destination countries. It should be noted that it was accepted as a premise that the problem of TSOs is linked to the problem of human trafficking, particularly the trafficking and sexual abuse of children.

It was clear at this meeting that U.S. law enforcement is tracking TSOs and providing notice to destination countries with a great deal of effectiveness (offenders against children). The U.S. is aided by its sex offender registration laws. The United Kingdom, Australia and Canada have similar laws and also address the problem effectively. Most other countries do not, but there seems to be broad interest amongst these countries in finding ways to provide and receive notice of TSOs. This universal determination is due to a recognition amongst governments that child sex offenders who travel to foreign countries pose a real risk to children in destination countries, particularly in destination countries with significant trafficking problems. However , the European Commission is not likely to enact legislation to register sex offenders due to privacy rights concerns. Without such legislation in countries, it would be difficult to track and provide notice of TSOs.

There are a number of legal and practical impediments to establishing a global notification system. The legal issues include privacy rights, which is a critical issue for certain European countries. The practical issues include problems of availability of data, lack of central control of data, reliability of data, and the timeliness of delivering of data and, accordingly, notice to destination countries.

By the end of the meeting it was clear that many gaps and needs must be resolved before a global notification structure and process for TSOs can be developed. Having discussed the diversity of conditions among the countries present, it was agreed that going forward the group’s strategy must be bifurcated to address countries that can and will monitor sex offenders on the one hand and those countries that cannot on the other. For the countries with privacy concerns standing in the way, arguments must be put forth that show the interests of protecting children outweigh privacy interests of offenders. Countries with an effective track record in registration and monitoring will help put forth these arguments with compelling examples and outcomes to be used by advocates in non-registration countries. For the countries already registering and/or monitoring, it was agreed that certain principles and objectives discussed at the meeting would be set out, drafted and shared by organizers with a view toward further discussion on specific steps and measures going forward. It is expected that this document will be shared shortly.

Due to Shared Hope International’s mission to prevent, restore, and bring justice in the effort to eradicate human trafficking worldwide, this issue lies directly within its realm. Looking at it from a macroeconomic perspective, Shared Hope has identified and targeted the demand for victims (buyers) as the entity that allows human trafficking/ sex tourism to exist and thrive. Simply put, without demand there would be no supply. Therefore, the establishment of a global notification structure for Traveling Sex Offenders would serve as a significant obstacle to the demand and source of revenue for human trafficking.

July 22, 2013 by Guest

State Department reaches out to Interns to Spread Trafficking Awareness

Written by: Jessica Garber – Intern at Shared Hope International

An overview of the Fifth Annual Intern Roundtable on Trafficking in Persons, hosted by U.S. State Department, to which Shared Hope International sent representation.

TIP-roundtable — The official Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons’ Twitter account: @JTIP_State

Monday, July 22^nd, Senior Advisor to Secretary Kerry and head of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons of the U.S. Department of State, Ambassador Luis CdeBaca hosted the Fifth Annual Intern Roundtable on Trafficking in Persons. Representatives from organizations across the Metro area were gathered for the event, some of whom had never learned about the issue of human trafficking until that very day. The unique part of the event is that it was about far more than numbers and more than the tier-rankings that appeared in the 2013 Trafficking in Persons Report—it was purely about the importance of joining the effort to combat worldwide human trafficking.

Ambassador CdeBaca spoke directly to my fellow interns and I, who are working with trafficking awareness groups, saying that many professionals in this area believe that they will one day be working next to us as colleagues. However, Ambassador CdeBaca inspired the audience by declaring that we have already joined the fight as colleagues by dedicating our time and energy to this stringent issue, empowering the future professionals in this area. He proceeded to tell a story of a young woman who was being trafficked and did not speak English, and every day when her trafficker would leave she would sneak the English dictionary and write a few words down on a piece of paper. After a few weeks, those groups of written words formed a note for help, which she tossed over the fence of the residence where she was being held captive. Because of her refusal to give up and determination to communicate this issue to others, help found her note and her life was forever restored.

It is groundbreaking stories such as this one that we don’t hear when we read a statistic that states the number of victims. Special Agent David Rogers, a panelist, remarked that this number of victims is in existence and it is not going away; therefore, we should remove our focus from trying to decipher this total and focus our energy on trying harder to eliminate the issue altogether. He advocated for a victim-centered approach to become the “norm” in our society, and that these women and children are being sold are victims, and if given the chance would give anything to lead a better life. Agent Rogers also discussed how human trafficking is so unique from other crimes because the damage that is imposed upon the victims is psychological—an extreme detriment to mental health, and even brain development in child victims.

Ambassador CdeBaca concluded posing a powerful inquisition: when these victims run toward freedom and walk into their new lives, will we walk with them? That is what we need to make our life mission—speaking for those who cannot.

June 24, 2013 by Guest

2013 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report Release

On June 19, Secretary of State John Kerry released the 2013 Trafficking in Persons Report, an evaluation of 188 countries’ efforts to combat human trafficking. by : Jessica Garber

Written by: Jessica Garber – Intern at Shared Hope International

On Wednesday, June 19^th, Secretary of State John Kerry released the 2013 Trafficking in Persons Report, concluding that there are approximately 27 million people enslaved worldwide. Throughout the past year, world efforts to end human trafficking shed light on 46,000 victims. While the fight to end modern-day slavery is an extensive one, Kerry announced a benchmark success: the number of global convictions of human traffickers has increased by 20 percent since the 2012 report release, displaying progress on a worldwide level.

The Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP Office) assessed 188 countries for this year’s report, and evaluates them based upon “the extent of their governments’ efforts to comply with the ‘minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking’ found in Section 108 of the TVPA” (U.S. Dept. of State Website). The countries can be ranked in three tiers, Tier 1 being the highest. However, just because a country may be ranked in Tier 1 does not mean that they do not have a human trafficking problem, but rather indicates that their government has acknowledged the existence of the problem and made efforts to address it. Thirty countries ‘made the grade’ for Tier 1, including the U.S and the U.K. Ninety-two countries made Tier 2, such as Switzerland, Romania, and Vietnam, meaning that they haven’t quite reached TVPA’s minimum standards. Lastly, 21 countries, including Russia and China, were classified as Tier 3 and are “found by law not to be taking the affirmative steps necessary to fight human trafficking.” The TIP Office also creates “watch lists” which alert the country that they might be making their way downward toward a lower tier. There are 42 countries on the Tier 2 watch list, meaning that they need to be cautious about slipping down to Tier 3.

Aside from the information release, Kerry shed a hopeful light on the issue of human trafficking, an issue that seems now to be taking on more of a presence in the public sphere:

“There is abuse that can take place in even the most improbable places in the most probable ways. And I learned then, looking in the eyes of young women who had been the victims of these crimes, that they were terrified of being victimized again, by the process, by the system. And nobody quite understood what it meant to a victim or the ways you could help victims through the system. Only when we started focusing on victims, not just as potential witnesses but as survivors, human beings entitled to respect and dignity, that’s when we started to provide people with a greater measure of justice. And that’s when we were able to give people a better chance at rebuilding the future.”

–John Kerry, 2013 TIP Report Release, 6/19/13

You can download the report, free of cost, from the State Department’s website: http://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2013/index.htm