Petition: Support the Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act

[Shallah Kali]

http://www.change.org/petitions/support-the-domestic-minor-sex-trafficking-deterrence-and-victims-support-act

he Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act of 2011 (S.596) sponsored by U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), authorizes large block grants to create a comprehensive, victim-centered approach to addressing child sex trafficking and calls for improvements to the National Crime Information Center system to track information about missing and exploited children.

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-- developed a plan to combat sex trafficking that includes provisions for victims' shelter and services, training of law enforcement and service providers, and prosecution and deterrence of traffickers.

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- Requiring state reporting of missing children to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and encouraging the Attorney General to change the NCIC to facilitate protection of missing children.

Encouraging states to enact safe harbor laws that presume a minor found in prostitution is a victim of a severe form of trafficking.

41,017 signatures as of now.

Playground - documentary trailer. George Clooney coprpdocued this doc:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utjtLRqQuJI

Ashley Judd: Children Are Not for Sex - A Hidden Epidemic: Child Trafficking in the U.S.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOF28tCodcY

March 11, 2011 - Actress and activist Judd introduced the panel "'No Such Thing': Trafficking of Girls in the United States" with a heart wrenching personal anecdote about a young woman who was forced into prostitution in Atlanta.

A Hidden Epidemic: Child Trafficking in the U.S.
Activist Malika Saada-Saar: “These girls are not hookers. They are victims of child rape. We have to name that.”
http://www.thedailybeast.com/women-in-the-world/connect/2011/3/11/women-in-the-world-ashley-judd-and-child-sex-traff

Between 100,000 and 300,000 children—primarily girls between the ages of 12 and 14—are victims of the sex trade right here in the United States. But instead of being helped, they’re being prosecuted—arrested for prostitution, thrown in juvenile detention, vilified in the media as bad girls, instead of victims. It is, as Saada Saar said, “the only incidence of child abuse where we put the child behind bars.”

Trafficking is, of course, illegal, but police and prosecutors often perceive girls as “compliant victims,” and since the sex trade largely happens behind closed doors, there’s little impetus to go after it. The result? An astoundingly large-scale industry that hundreds of thousands of girls fall victim to every year, and precious few prosecutions. In 2009, just eight cases were prosecuted in New York City, one of America’s primary hubs. The combination of impunity and the anonymity provided by the internet has let the trade spin into epidemic proportions.

Meanwhile, the girls and women who survive the trade go on to battle post traumatic stress disorder (which, according to Cooper, occurs at higher levels than that for veterans returning from Iraq), eating disorders, and dependency issues like substance abuse and alcoholism.

According to Saada Saar, the first step towards a solution is in re-framing the issue. “These girls are not hookers,” she said. “They are victims of child rape. We have to name that. And then we have to stop putting them in the criminal justice system.” Noting that the Federal government doesn’t allot a single dollar to domestic victims of the sex trade, she emphasized the importance of both prosecuting johns and pimps, and of providing safe havens to survivors.

Judge finds hurdles to helping young victims of sex trafficking
http://articles.cnn.com/2011-01-23/justice/siu.selling.girl.next.door.judge_1_trafficking-victims-protection-act-underage-girls-american-girls?_s=PM:CRIME

According to the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, there are anywhere from 100,000 to 300,000 underage girls being sold for sex in America.

For those hundreds of thousands of girls, according to a Justice Department report released in the fall, there are 50 beds in facilities capable of dealing with their complex and deeply entrenched problems.

For five years, Voy has been trying to change that in his city by building a specialized residential home for the hundreds of girls who go through his court every year.

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He has private donors willing to pay for the building and the land, but Clark County has so far refused to come up with the $750,000 needed to staff the place with uniformed officers.