The post The Necessity of Safe Harbor Legislation and Its Implementation appeared first on Renewal Forum.
]]>Since the law’s passing in 2008, 11 states have followed suit and passed similar Safe Harbor laws. While some states have passed some measures that fall in line with some of the Safe Harbor provisions, there are still a total of 38 states that have yet to pass true “Safe Harbor” laws. That means in 38 states children can be arrested, prosecuted, and convicted as criminals when they are being sold for sex. The government recognizes the fact that children do not have the mental capacity to consent to a sexual act, but at the same time is holding them responsible for a criminal act. On top of their lack of the ability to consent, these children are immersed in an environment of constant duress, suffering from physical and sexual abuse from their trafficker or pimp. When these children are committing these acts they are doing so in a very confused and damaged mental state created by their trafficker or pimp.
With increasing awareness of the sex trafficking of children it has been acknowledged that these children are not criminals but victims, but both the laws and enforcement of child sex trafficking have not yet been modernized thus these children are not always treated as the victims they are. It is imperative that Safe Harbor laws are passed and implemented in the 38 states that have not already done so.
Even though there are 12 states that have Safe Harbor laws, few of them have yet to properly enforce their laws. Minnesota, one of the states to pass such a law, has been the first to make substantial efforts to enforce the legislation. “Safe Harbor laws go into effect August 1, 2014 and will shift the paradigm for at risk and sexually exploited youth, viewing them as crime victims rather than criminals,” said Linda Riddle, the program manager of Safe Harbor at Life House, a grantee agency in Duluth [2]. Since the law’s passing, Minnesota has allocated 2.8 million dollars for the provisions of the Safe Harbor laws which include training for law enforcement when dealing with child trafficking victims as well as housing for rehabilitative services for child victims [1]. While this is a substantial amount of resources diverted to these necessary programs, the estimated amount of money required to fully implement the Safe Harbor laws is 13.5 million dollars [1]. “The 2.8 million the Legislature allocated last session is about 21% of what we need to fully fund Safe Harbor,” stated Vednita Carter, executive director of Breaking Free [2]. Even Minnesota which has been pushing Safe Harbor into implementation can be doing more to increase and improve its efforts.
While New York was the model for the law itself, Minnesota will be the model for the law’s enforcement. Hopefully other states will follow Minnesota’s example and realize how essential Safe Harbor laws are for our children.
Sources
[2] https://www.breakingfree.net/files/breakingfree/files/Safe%20Harbor%20Press%20Release.pdf
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]]>The post Operation Cross Country and the Way Forward appeared first on Renewal Forum.
]]>Each year, Operation Cross Country increases awareness of child sex trafficking around the country with its annual campaign. Operation Cross Country grows regularly every year; last year the operation spread across 76 cities with 105 children rescued and 150 pimps arrested (2); the year before that 57 cities were investigated with 79 children rescued and just over 100 pimps arrested (3). The large increase of the operation’s size can be attributed to the realization of how effective the operation is and can be. The operation continues to expand to better fight child sex trafficking in more cities around the country. Yet for all the expansion of the operation it still only occurs during one brief week during the year.
The FBI reports that the total number of children it has rescued with its Innocence Lost National Initiative, which also runs Operation Cross Country, is 3,600 (1). The total number of children that have been rescued by Operation Cross Country is almost 600. That means nearly 1/6th of the children rescued by the FBI over the course of 11 years since the founding of the Innocence Lost National Initiative were rescued in only about 5 weeks (not including the assumed months of preparations and intelligence gathering), the combined length of all Cross Country operations. These numbers attest to the incredible success of the operation. Because of the effectiveness of these operations by the FBI, it is a surprise that this operation is contained to only one week a year. There needs to be a continual and focused effort of responding to child sex trafficking by law enforcement. This operation rescued an average of 24 children a day. 24 children are now off the streets and are receiving much needed help after one day. Imagine what it would be like if this was an ongoing operation, everyday hearing in the news that dozens of children have been saved from the horrors of sex trafficking. With an average of 24 children rescued a day, a full year Operation Cross Country would result in 8760 children rescued, which is a small proportion of the 250,000 kids estimated to be in trafficking (4), but still has a much larger impact than 168 children rescued from a one time annual enforcement action.
Operation Cross Country should be encouraged and pursued on a more regular basis than annually. The operation has done invaluable work for many children who have been abused and taken advantage of and will hopefully continue to combat the sex trafficking of children.
Sources
(1) https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2014/june/operation-cross-country
(4) https://renewalforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Victim-Population-Estimates.pdf
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]]>The post And Boys Too… appeared first on Renewal Forum.
]]>With limited research already available, it is difficult to know just how prominent the problem of male trafficking is. Very few female victims are reported each year compared to the actual number of cases, and males are reported even less. Often it is the fault of the law enforcement officer and the perception of boys being strong and able to avoid this type of situation. There is also shame associated with a boy being a victim of trafficking, and the victim may be worried of the stigma associated with his situation.
Vulnerability in boys showed similar trends to vulnerability in girls. Many are runaway or “throwaway” children introduced into the trade to meet their basic survival. Others begin in the industry to support a pre-existing drug habit or a habit forced upon them from their traffickers. Those pimping boys are not often referred to as pimps but as “market facilitators” finding work for the boys. The research showed that boys are often introduced into the trade slightly earlier than girls. The average age is between 11-13 for boys and 12-14 for girls.
When considering boys as trafficking victims there is often an assumption that the boys are homosexual. However, the majority of boys identify as heterosexual or as not knowing their sexuality. Homosexual boys introduced into the sex trade have a different experience than heterosexual boys. Many end up in the streets because they were kicked out of their home for being homosexual. One boy said he entered sex trading on his journey looking for true love. This population of victims needs to have individual research conducted to really understand their vulnerabilities.
Boys being trafficked are present throughout the United States. On the west coast, the population is mostly Hispanic, in the mid-west Caucasian, and on the east coast the majority are African American. They suffer from hardships resulting from the industry such as STI’s, physical injuries from abuse, depression, and even suicide. But there are not as many resources available to boys as there are to girls in similar situations.
Many boys are not able to access the same services because they are not referred to them. Law enforcement officials find boys and do not see them as victims. A common thought is that they are boys so they could get away if they want to because boys are strong and girls are weak. However, this is not the case. Boys suffer from the same treatment as young girls, with threats of abuse and possible death if they try to escape. Another limitation to the services offered to boys is that the boys themselves sometimes do not refer to themselves as victims. Some identify as hustlers to cover the shame associated with being trafficked. By not being reported male trafficking victims are not referred to services and there are also fewer services available to them.
What could serve to help these boys is more education on the problem. Training should be given particularly to law enforcement officials, so that they know how to identify male victims as well as female victims and refer them to appropriate services. Additionally, not all services are currently available to boys, such as shelters. There will need to be more available for boys as well as girls who are victims. In order for more services to be available, there needs to be more research done on the topic. With more research, the need will be better assessed to determine the need.
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]]>The post Prostitution is Modern Day Slavery appeared first on Renewal Forum.
]]>“If prostitution is a free choice, why are the women with the fewest choices most often found doing it?”.
Physical and emotional abuse from childhood helps explain why many women (most beginning to prostitute as teenagers) enter into prostitution. In her article Prostitution, Trafficking, and Cultural Amnesia: What We Must Know in Order To Keep the Business of Sexual Exploitation Running Smoothly, Melissa Farley cites a study in which seventy percent of adult female prostitutes attributed childhood sexual abuse as their reason for becoming a prostitute. Many women in prostitution view themselves as nothing more than objects used for sex. Farley explains:
“One way women end up ‘choosing’ prostitution is that they are paid for the abuse they have already grown up with. They assume that’s all they are good for.”
Many females in prostitution not only experienced abuse as children, but also began prostituting at a very young age. The average age girls “choose” to enter into prostitution is between 12 and 14 in the United States. I agree with MacKinnon’s argument: “This is not a time when you are fully empowered to make a choice about the rest of your life”.
Melissa Farley conducted a survey of a sample of prostitutes from around the world. Her findings explain the current situation of most prostitutes around the world: “Of 854 people in prostitution in nine countries, eighty-nine percent wanted to leave prostitution but did not have other options for survival”. Poverty is most commonly cited as the reason for women’s entry into prostitution. Most prostituted persons struggle with extreme poverty and often entered prostitution as a means of paying the bills, helping support the family, and getting out of poverty. A majority of women “choose” prostitution because they have no sustainable job alternatives available to them. A survivor of prostitution, Nekome, in her essay How Prostitution Chose Me, explains how poverty was the deciding factor of her entry into prostitution:
“The first trick I turned was a week after my mother died. I had just moved out of a battered women’s shelter into the home my mother was renting before she died and if I wanted to stay there I needed to pay rent immediately. I had a two-year old baby to feed, no home, no car and I was presented with the choice to make money or not eat. I answered an ad on Craig’s list for online models. I had an eighth grade education and a learning disability. At the time I could barely fill out a job application and I had been refused work at McDonald’s because I couldn’t work the hours and afford childcare. In an instant I was asking myself, would you prefer to sell your body or prefer to live in poverty?”
Nekome’s story bares resemblance to many other women in prostitution today. The only choice that many prostituted individuals make is between survival and prostitution. If an individual is sold for sex before the age of 18 the act is legally considered human trafficking. Being that a majority of prostituted people begin selling their bodies before they are legally adults, it is rarely the case that prostitution is separate from human trafficking. Furthermore, due to the fact that most women lack any significant choice in being sold for sex, it is impossible to argue that most cases of prostitution are anything less than modern day slavery. If we’re going to truly combat human trafficking, we have to address the issue of prostitution in America.
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This paper uses peer-reviewed social science literature to estimate the number of minors victimized by human trafficking in the United States and, out of that amount, how many are runaways, homeless, and throwaway youth. Download the paper here. Tweet
The post How Many Juvenile Victims of Human Sexual Trafficking Are There? appeared first on Renewal Forum.
]]>This paper uses peer-reviewed social science literature to estimate the number of minors victimized by human trafficking in the United States and, out of that amount, how many are runaways, homeless, and throwaway youth.
The post How Many Juvenile Victims of Human Sexual Trafficking Are There? appeared first on Renewal Forum.
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