BREAKING: First Age Verification Bill in the U.S. Goes into Effect!  

On January 1st, history was made when the first law in the U.S. requiring pornography sites to verify the age of their users, and therefore prevent children from being exposed to pornography, went into effect. House Bill 142 (now Act 440) passed in the state of Louisiana and was sponsored by Representative Laurie Schlegel, with bipartisan support.  

The passing of HB 142 is a truly momentous victory. While U.S. law has long held that pornography must not be distributed to individuals under 18-years-old, until now, this principle has not been applied in the online world. While pornography vendors are required to ask for ID of anyone purchasing a pornographic magazine or DVD, there was previously nothing holding pornography websites accountable to verify the age of online users. Online, any child could access hardcore pornography that depicts violent and discriminatory acts.  

This contradiction between pornography regulation in the online and offline worlds is a baffling and unacceptable gap in U.S. law – and Louisiana has stepped up as the first state to resolve it!  

 
 

If She Was Sold to Judges and Policemen, Who Should She Turn To?

Jessica* made eye contact with a man sitting at the nearby hotel bar. Clean-cut, suit and tie, with a hint of grey around his temples. To other guests, he was the local judge. A man of honor and respect. 

But her stomach sank. She knew the truth—that he regularly paid her trafficker for access to sexually abuse her. 

“If you ever ID me, just know I’m friends with every cop and lawyer in town,” he told her the first time he’d exploited her. 

Of course, he didn’t need to say that at the time. Because Jessica knew cops and lawyers in town regularly assaulted her as well—in fact, one was upstairs in the hotel room waiting for her right now. 

Who was she supposed to reach out to, when the powerful men in town were sex buyers? 

*Jessica’s story is a composite of common survivor experiences expressed to NCOSE staff and is not any one individual’s story. 

Safeguard Webinar: The Connection Between Porn, Relationships & Connection

Mark your calendars for January 12th! The Safeguard Alliance is hosting another session of their free webinar series and you won't want to miss it. John Fort and Lisa Shanklin will be presenting on Help for Families: The connection between emotions, relationships, and pornography use in kids. 

Parents will gain a greater understanding of how to incorporate emotional resilience training to help kids better resist pornography. The webinar will be held at 2 PM EST / 11 AM PST on January 12, 2023. Register here.

SPOTLIGHT: Street Grace Initiative Transaction Intercept

January is Human Trafficking Awareness month, and we want to highlight some great work done by ally organizations to reduce human trafficking by combatting the demand for commercial sex.

Do you know about Street Grace's innovative project "Transaction Intercept"?

Transaction Intercept works to combat the demand for commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC). The initiative identifies potential buyers of sexually exploited children and communicates with them using an artificial intelligence chatbot, "Gracie". Once the intent to purchase a sexually exploited child is confirmed, "Gracie" informs the potential buyer of the risks and consequences of his actions. 

Transaction Intercept also provides trauma and therapy resources to sex buyers to aid them in taking the first step in receiving help.

Learn more about Transaction Intercept here!

Sincerely,

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