John,
Shared Hope International looks forward to attending the Summit on Human Trafficking at the White House on Friday, January 31 on behalf of the countless groups of people working tirelessly across the country to restore the lives of survivors of this violent crime.
We are pleased to be among those honoring the 20th anniversary of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), bipartisan legislation that serves as the foundation of today’s fight to eradicate the sexual exploitation of children. Shared Hope's Founder and President, Linda Smith, was instrumental in the development of TVPA while she was serving as a Congresswoman in the U.S. House of Representatives. Her focus on trafficking dates back to the mid-90s when she was serving on a human rights caucus.
Shared Hope was the first organization to do research on sex trafficking as an epidemic affecting American youth. We’ve dedicated our resources to changing the way state laws are written and applied to ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice while also ensuring the victims are protected and receive the services they need for restoration.
Domestic minor sex trafficking is a national epidemic that has no party affiliation. In fact, it’s a cause that has benefitted greatly from bipartisan support for the last two decades. The next phase of the fight to end trafficking is about creating true victim-centered justice, including proper protections and restoration for survivors. We won’t give up until we eliminate the bias in the way we look at, respond to and care for sex trafficking victims in this country. We just opened the Shared Hope Institute for Justice and Advocacy, situated a few blocks from the White House, for this very reason.
Tragically, 20 states in the nation can still arrest and charge youth survivors of sex trafficking with the crime of prostitution, the very crime committed against them.
Our Stop the Injustice Campaign is dedicated fighting this injustice by...
- Ending the criminalization of child sex trafficking survivors, and;
- Ensuring that all survivors have access to comprehensive, trauma-informed services, instead of jail time
When you sign the Stop the Injustice petition, you will be counted as a part of the national groundswell of voices standing with us at the White House calling for change. We will share this growing number of signatures as we advocate at the capitol and around the nation for laws to strengthen protections for survivors.
Sign the petition and raise your voice with us at the White House Human Trafficking Summit.
