The United States is primarily a destination country for men,
women, and children trafficked for sexual and labor exploitation.
Victims often come from Mexico and Central America, Eastern Europe,
and Southeast Asia. In addition to being a recipient of trafficking
victims, the best data suggests that at least 100,000 American
children are being commercially sexually exploited in the United
States.
The U.S. has taken many steps
combating these issues. The PROTECT Act focuses on protecting
children from sexual predators such as American child-sex tourists
and foreign nationals who traffic children into the United States.
The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 and its subsequent
reauthorizations, include provisions targeting demand for trafficking
victims, and issuing more protective T-Visas to victims.
Strong legislation such as the
Trafficking Victims Protection Act confirms that America will
not tolerate those who exploit our youth. However, staggering
statistics and numerous stories from survivors indicate our work
is far from over.
Under a grant from the Department
of Justice, Shared Hope International
(SHI) is aligning with 10 newly
funded Human Trafficking Task Forces across the United
States. Together we are working
to better identify domestic
minor sex trafficking victims and provide them with needed resources.
SHI also created educational materials for
first responders in the field.
10 New DOJ Task Force Locations:
• Clearwater , Fla.
• Baton Rouge, La.
• Independence, Mo.
• Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , MP
• Las Vegas, Nev.
• Buffalo, N.Y.
• Salt Lake City, Utah
• Fort Worth, Texas
• San Antonio, Texas
• Dallas Metropolitan Police Department, Texas
U.S. Drop-in Shelters
SHI has partnered with and funded
outreaches and drop-in shelters for at-risk and trafficked women
and children in the U.S. Our partners in Baltimore,
MD and Toledo,
OH offer girls refuge, clothes,
food and the support they need to escape. Because of these partners
and compassionate individuals
like you, young girls like Cara
and Stacy and Yolanda are given dignity and hope.
SHI has also funded partners
in Atlanta, GA , Washington,
DC , Las
Vegas, NV , through the U.S. Department of State,
Office to Monitor and Combat
Trafficking in Persons.
Why We Do This
These partnerships are significant
steps toward responding to a
key finding revealed in the U.S.
Mid-Term Review on Commercial
Sexual Exploitation of Children
in America, a nation-wide project
spearheaded by SHI. The report
found that current resources for commercially sexually exploited
children
in the U.S. are insufficient.
SHI also established the WIN
Domestic program, training women
to re-enter the work force to support themselves and their families.
During this nine-month
program, we arrange “work-mentor” relationships through
U.S. businesses, and have a network
of business managers and owners who agree to give work opportunities
to women successfully completing
the program.
*****(I'd
like to support SHI's
efforts in the United States
now)*****
|
