trafficking Archives - Shared Hope International

April 19, 2013 by SHI Staff

Advocating: Will You Join the Cause to End Demand?

Guest Blog Post by Ethan Morrow

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of attending a lobbying event at the Oregon capitol building, in Salem, OR. At the event, hundreds of people advocated for two bills that would help crack down on buyers, and offer better protection for victims of human trafficking. It was very encouraging to see the variety of people that showed up. From pastors and ministers, to college students and children — who took a day off of school to make a difference, a very diverse crowd of people showed up.

It was very encouraging for me to see so many people show up and engage in the process of politics in order to make a difference and protect women and children. In addition to this encouragement, the process of this event was also fascinating. I say this because I got an inside look into the political system. Everyone who lobbied, including myself, got the opportunity to enter into the offices of individual politicians. We got to speak with senators and representatives personally. We got to have a regular conversations, and we got to share our own personal experiences with human trafficking, and why it is important we end it.

I realized that politicians are people too, and they are highly influenced by the power of personal, individual story. A group of students from a Warner Pacific College student club delivered a large stack of hand-written, individually addressed letters that encouraged the politicians to support the bills. People showed up, conversations were had, and we made a huge influence!

That is a testament to the power of taking action. It truly shows that together, we can end demand. Together, we can change society and make a difference. At this lobbying event, the idea of changing the world wasn’t just an idea—it was becoming a reality.

Defenders, we can make a difference. Our stories have impact. We just need to share them. I want to issue a challenge to all Defenders: show up and share your story. At this lobbying event, it was probably 90% women—maybe even more. What if we had a lobbying event that was 50/50, or even 90% or 100% men? Imagine the impact we could make in supporting bills that target the johns and buyers. My fellow Defenders, together, we can end demand. Will you join the cause?

February 26, 2013 by SHI Staff

Defenders Guest Post: Stop Traffick Fashion

Guest Blog Post by Melissa Wuske

“I have found great freedom. I want to give God thanks. He has given me good things—health, peace, a good husband, a good family.”

—Ashoka, survivor of the sex trade in Kolkata, India

At Stop Traffick Fashion, we’re all about women around the world like Ashoka. Started in 2009, Stop Traffick Fashion provides opportunities and hope for survivors of human trafficking, while offering women stunning ethical fashion. Survivors and those at-risk of human trafficking make all of our products and are paid a fair wage for their work. This empowers them to create a sustainable income and live a free, happy life. In addition, a portion of all sales revenue is donated back to organizations that rescue victims and provide rehabilitation and training for victims of human trafficking. So whatever you buy, from T-shirts to handbags to jewelry, you’re helping someone make a fresh, free start in life—and freedom is a beautiful thing.

We’re working toward cultivating and expanding our custom line of bags, jewelry, and t-shirts in order to bring socially conscious, fashion conscious women products that tell a story of freedom. We want every piece in our collection to be so striking that it starts a conversation, opening an opportunity for people to talk about human trafficking.

At STF, we’re passionate about helping people use their unique skills and interests to fight against human trafficking and become everyday abolitionists. We’re not all lawyers and social workers living on the frontlines of the fight against trafficking, but each one of us can take small steps toward big change. Our founder, Emily Hill, lives out her love of ethical fashion and social justice through STF. As the communications director, I combine my writing skills with my compassion for exploited people. It’s exciting to know that I can equip people to end trafficking by blogging about ethical fashion, human trafficking, and empowering women.

This excitement to mobilize all types of people makes us so excited for The Defenders movement. Men are a powerful and needed part of the anti-trafficking movement, and while STF’s approach is decidedly ladylike, we love to see men taking a pledge to action.

Melissa Wuske, Communications Director at Stop Traffick Fashion. Melissa loves merging her passions for writing and for helping provide restoration for exploited people. She graduated from Miami University with a degree in Adolescent English Education and is a former middle school language arts teacher. She now works full time as a freelance editor and lives in Boston, Massachusetts. Melissa has visited Fresset, one of STF’s partners, in Kolkata, India.

December 12, 2012 by SHI Staff

Overcoming the Past: Understanding Through Renting Lacy

Guest Blog Post by Zen Loveall

False beliefs: I use to think that porn, strip clubs, and affairs were all O.K. I thought this was just part of being a guy. I use to think that my wife’s inability to satisfy me sexually was due to a problem with her. I am not hurting anyone. Women in porn and strip clubs want to do what they are doing and I am helping my mistresses by giving them the sex that they need. TV, movies, bars, clubs, advertising, magazines, and the Internet all fully supported these false beliefs.

What was my reality? I was using sex and fantasy for the wrong things and so too much would never be enough. Regular porn, and small amounts use to be O.K., but over time I needed more and more. Eventually, I was a walking dead man that lost total control of his sexual desires, living a fantasy life in my head, destroying my marriage, causing deep harm to the women that came into my life, all while supporting an industry that destroys women and children.

I was afraid of feeling my feelings and I had a lot of bad feelings. I did not understand that you can’t stop the bad feelings without stopping the good ones. I used the objectification of women and fantasy as an escape. Eventually I had no feelings…I was like a walking dead man. I wanted intimacy but bought into the myth that sex with a woman was intimacy. Sure it is a form of physical intimacy, but it is not real intimacy. You cannot have true intimacy with an object and that is what women had become for me. When I was out with my wife or friends I would just check out all the women in the room and spin fantasies in my mind around how these “objects” could satisfy me.

After I started to come out of my delusion, it took me years to turn this around. For over 15 years in my marriage, I made my wife feel less than and defective because she could not meet my insatiable sexual needs. I will have to spend the rest of my life trying to make up for that crime. I spent years in recovery groups around sex and I always use to wonder why don’t I see more strippers and prostitutes in recovery? The book “Renting Lacy” helped me to understand this. Very few of these young women make it into recovery because most of them die. The movie “The Whistleblower” also helped me to understand what I was contributing to.

When I read the book “Renting Lacy” and contemplated all the women and children suffering from this I cried and cried. I can never make that right, but I can support groups like Shared Hope and The Defenders and continue to come out of my delusion, learn to respect women as people, and continue to learn to be present and truly alive.

– Zen Loveall

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.

March 6, 2012 by SHI Staff

Maelie could tell you how it happens…

She wasn’t grabbed and thrown in the trunk of his car. She hadn’t run away from home in search of thrills on the street. No, she was lured away…charmed away…friended away. For him, it was easy enough, with a bit of patience–a promise of something she needed, or something she wanted bad enough to take a chance. Her body, young as it was, would bring in lots of cash; she was worth the time it took to recruit her. For her anguished parents, distraught and desperate to locate that “normal” child who disappeared into a dark relationship, the nightmare had begun.

You see, there is an insatiable market for sex with children and there is a lot of money to be made off eager buyers–it’s a matter of supply and demand.

But it’s also a matter of evil. This evil is thick and rank along the crowded brothel allies; it smirks as it describes the ‘high’ of taking away a child’s innocence; it slashes her with a box cutter when she refuses; it tells her what happened to her was all her fault; it reminds her that she is nothing but trash. The sheer weight of such evil is stunning and threatens to immobilize us…but for the stories of those that have overcome, like Maelie and the family that loved her and brought her home again!

Together we must act to protect our children and take back those who have been lost. Please go online today and download your state’s Protected Innocence Challenge Report Card, then share it with your state legislators. You have a powerful voice for change. Use it!