On March 24, 2021, Pope Francis appointed Juan Carlos Cruz, a survivor of child sexual abuse, to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, which was established in 2015 to formally address the scandal of sex abuse of minors within the Catholic church. Pope Francis is facing perhaps the greatest crisis of his papacy […]
Charges against Zephi Trevino must be dropped
Zephi Trevino was 16 years old when she was first trafficked by a young adult, Philip Baldenegro, who originally posed and acted as her boyfriend. Just prior to meeting Baldenegro online, Zephi had been abused and introduced to drugs by another boyfriend, resulting in trauma that manifested in depression and anxiety, a significant departure from […]
Shared Hope International launches Report Cards on Child & Youth Sex Trafficking: State Action. National Change., an advanced legislative framework and blueprint for action.
Building on a decade of successful advocacy through the Protected Innocence Challenge, Shared Hope International’s Report Cards on Child & Youth Sex Trafficking will advance the standards for grading states on delivering legal solutions that address this vulnerable population. Washington, DC, Nov. 18, 2020 – Since 1998, Shared Hope has worked to inspire lawmaking that […]
After 10 Years, We Are Changing How We Grade States
Ten years ago, when Shared Hope developed the nation’s first legal framework to comprehensively analyze state laws addressing the crime of child sex trafficking, our field research on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking had indicated that there were fundamental gaps that needed to be addressed in states’ laws. That was confirmed when we launched the inaugural […]
Bridge to Success– National Foster Care Month
Bridge to Success May marks National Foster Care month, prompting an annual focus on a system response that impacts nearly half a million children and youth in the U.S. at any given time. During a normal year, advocates and policymakers highlight promising trends, practices, and challenges for supporting foster care youth, including those transitioning out […]