Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Kristi House newsletter highlights Project GOLD
Project GOLD is featured on the front page of Kristi House's most recent newsletter. Click here and check out our latest successes.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
State Representative Maria Sachs Appointed to the Statewide Task Force on Human Trafficking
PRESS RELEASE
CONTACT: Rep. Maria Sachs, 561-266-6645
For Immediate Release--Tuesday, July 28, 2009
TALLAHASSEE – State Representative Maria Sachs (D-Delray Beach) will serve on the Statewide Task Force on Human Trafficking, under an appointment made by Florida Governor Charlie Crist.
The Statewide Task Force on Human Trafficking is a 19-person panel created to evaluate the problem of human trafficking and to recommend strategies and actions for reducing or eliminating the unlawful trafficking of men, women and children into Florida.
“I am honored to be appointed to serve on the Statewide Task Force on Human Trafficking for the state of Florida,” said Representative Sachs. “Human trafficking has become the number one crime issue in South Florida and one that impacts all of us. It has truly become a problem and Florida is at the center of this global epidemic.”
CONTACT: Rep. Maria Sachs, 561-266-6645
For Immediate Release--Tuesday, July 28, 2009
TALLAHASSEE – State Representative Maria Sachs (D-Delray Beach) will serve on the Statewide Task Force on Human Trafficking, under an appointment made by Florida Governor Charlie Crist.
The Statewide Task Force on Human Trafficking is a 19-person panel created to evaluate the problem of human trafficking and to recommend strategies and actions for reducing or eliminating the unlawful trafficking of men, women and children into Florida.
“I am honored to be appointed to serve on the Statewide Task Force on Human Trafficking for the state of Florida,” said Representative Sachs. “Human trafficking has become the number one crime issue in South Florida and one that impacts all of us. It has truly become a problem and Florida is at the center of this global epidemic.”
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Shared Hope International Exposes Child Sex Trafficking In South Florida
Posted on: http://www.robertstevenduncan.com/2009/07/shared-hope-international-exposes-child.html
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
(RSD) -- Shared Hope International will release a report and training video on domestic minor sex trafficking at the upcoming Child Slavery in Our Community Leadership and Training Summit.
The Assessment of Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking in Broward and Dade Counties, Florida reveals that child victims of sex trafficking are being arrested for prostitution in Broward and Miami-Dade counties. These severely victimized and traumatized children are being misidentified as juvenile delinquents and punished for the crime that is being committed against them.
In fact, the report documents more than 500 juveniles were arrested for prostitution in Miami-Dade County from 1998-2008. A lack of training for social service providers and first responders is noted as the primary gap causing the misidentification of child victims of sex trafficking.
"Many service providers currently work with victims of domestic minor sex trafficking, but are not aware of how to properly identify and respond to these children. Misidentification of just one child victim of sex trafficking is too many. However, I believe that the upcoming training we are hosting this Thursday will provide a springboard for response and action as the communities of Broward and Miami-Dade Counties come together to find a solution," said former Congresswoman Linda Smith, President and Founder of Shared Hope International.
On July 9, 2009 law enforcement officers, social service providers, and child advocates from Broward and Miami-Dade counties convene at St. Thomas University School of Law for the Child Slavery in Our Community Leadership and Training Summit. Organized by Shared Hope International, the summit will bring an exclusive focus on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking - the commercial sexual exploitation of children through prostitution, pornography, and stripping.
Shared Hope International said it will use this event to release video with surveillance footage, survivor interviews, and expert testimony to educate and inform social service providers on how to identify and respond to American children who are commercially sexually exploited.
The new training video INTERVENE: Identifying and Responding to America's Prostituted Children, reveals how American children are recruited and tricked into prostitution in the United States and will assist social service providers in understanding who these victims are and how to better serve them.
In the video, child sex trafficking survivor "Maya" who was trafficked in South Florida said this of surviving prostitution as a child, "I would tell a social worker that she needs to be understanding and when she's talking to the girls to really focus on more or less why they want to be out of the life... If I had someone like Sandy from Kristi House years earlier I could have probably spared me a lot of years of abuse - of all the trauma and negativity."
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
(RSD) -- Shared Hope International will release a report and training video on domestic minor sex trafficking at the upcoming Child Slavery in Our Community Leadership and Training Summit.
The Assessment of Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking in Broward and Dade Counties, Florida reveals that child victims of sex trafficking are being arrested for prostitution in Broward and Miami-Dade counties. These severely victimized and traumatized children are being misidentified as juvenile delinquents and punished for the crime that is being committed against them.
In fact, the report documents more than 500 juveniles were arrested for prostitution in Miami-Dade County from 1998-2008. A lack of training for social service providers and first responders is noted as the primary gap causing the misidentification of child victims of sex trafficking.
"Many service providers currently work with victims of domestic minor sex trafficking, but are not aware of how to properly identify and respond to these children. Misidentification of just one child victim of sex trafficking is too many. However, I believe that the upcoming training we are hosting this Thursday will provide a springboard for response and action as the communities of Broward and Miami-Dade Counties come together to find a solution," said former Congresswoman Linda Smith, President and Founder of Shared Hope International.
On July 9, 2009 law enforcement officers, social service providers, and child advocates from Broward and Miami-Dade counties convene at St. Thomas University School of Law for the Child Slavery in Our Community Leadership and Training Summit. Organized by Shared Hope International, the summit will bring an exclusive focus on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking - the commercial sexual exploitation of children through prostitution, pornography, and stripping.
Shared Hope International said it will use this event to release video with surveillance footage, survivor interviews, and expert testimony to educate and inform social service providers on how to identify and respond to American children who are commercially sexually exploited.
The new training video INTERVENE: Identifying and Responding to America's Prostituted Children, reveals how American children are recruited and tricked into prostitution in the United States and will assist social service providers in understanding who these victims are and how to better serve them.
In the video, child sex trafficking survivor "Maya" who was trafficked in South Florida said this of surviving prostitution as a child, "I would tell a social worker that she needs to be understanding and when she's talking to the girls to really focus on more or less why they want to be out of the life... If I had someone like Sandy from Kristi House years earlier I could have probably spared me a lot of years of abuse - of all the trauma and negativity."
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Feds: Man promised to make girl a 'star,' instead turned her into prostitute
OrlandoSentinel.com
Amy L. Edwards
Sentinel Staff Writer
5:36 PM EDT, June 11, 2009
When Dwayne Lawson befriended a 17-year-old Central Florida girl on MySpace, he promised to make her a "star."
Instead, he made her a prostitute -- pimping her out on streets thousands of miles from home, and selling her services on Craigslist, according to a federal criminal complaint.
Now, the 28-year-old Orlando man is behind bars in a California jail, accused of one count of sex trafficking of children. Lawson, also known as "Christopher Young," "Christopher Yoong," and "Staydown," met the girl through her MySpace page in October, the complaint said.
Lawson told the girl, identified in the complaint as "FM," he had a house, cars and money.
"FM thought she was going to be a star," the complaint said.
Lawson bought the teen a bus ticket and she traveled to Las Vegas, where she met up with him and an 18-year-old woman who had been working as a prostitute for Lawson for several years. From there, the complaint said, Lawson took the teen and unidentified woman to Orange County, Calif.
Lawson told FM the rules -- like don't kiss men on the mouth -- and told her how much to charge.
Lawson and the woman took nude photos of FM, posted them on Craigslist advertising sex in that area, and coached the teen on how to talk to "customers," the complaint said.
After FM met with a customer, all of her money went to Lawson.
Eventually, Lawson put FM "on the track" in California and Las Vegas. She was twice arrested on prostitution charges, providing a fake ID to law enforcement on both occasions, and was ticketed and released, the complaint said.
While in San Diego, FM was experiencing severe pain and Lawson did not want to take her to the doctor. When he eventually dropped her off at a hospital, a doctor told FM she shouldn't have sex for at least one week. The complaint said the teen asked the doctor to put it in writing so she could show Lawson. But Lawson told FM she could still make money.
In February, FM bought a bus ticket to get away from Lawson, but the teen returned after he repeatedly called her and talked her into coming back. When she did return, the complaint said, he took off his rings and threatened to beat her if she left again. He then took her cell phone away.
Local and federal law-enforcement agents compared photos of FM on Craigslist to that of a girl depicted in an endangered runaway poster through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and determined it was the same teen.
Lawson, who is listed as a fugitive with the Florida Department of Corrections for absconding felony probation, was arrested and is slated for trial in August.
Amy L. Edwards can be reached at aledwards@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5735.
Copyright © 2009, Orlando Sentinel
Amy L. Edwards
Sentinel Staff Writer
5:36 PM EDT, June 11, 2009
When Dwayne Lawson befriended a 17-year-old Central Florida girl on MySpace, he promised to make her a "star."
Instead, he made her a prostitute -- pimping her out on streets thousands of miles from home, and selling her services on Craigslist, according to a federal criminal complaint.
Now, the 28-year-old Orlando man is behind bars in a California jail, accused of one count of sex trafficking of children. Lawson, also known as "Christopher Young," "Christopher Yoong," and "Staydown," met the girl through her MySpace page in October, the complaint said.
Lawson told the girl, identified in the complaint as "FM," he had a house, cars and money.
"FM thought she was going to be a star," the complaint said.
Lawson bought the teen a bus ticket and she traveled to Las Vegas, where she met up with him and an 18-year-old woman who had been working as a prostitute for Lawson for several years. From there, the complaint said, Lawson took the teen and unidentified woman to Orange County, Calif.
Lawson told FM the rules -- like don't kiss men on the mouth -- and told her how much to charge.
Lawson and the woman took nude photos of FM, posted them on Craigslist advertising sex in that area, and coached the teen on how to talk to "customers," the complaint said.
After FM met with a customer, all of her money went to Lawson.
Eventually, Lawson put FM "on the track" in California and Las Vegas. She was twice arrested on prostitution charges, providing a fake ID to law enforcement on both occasions, and was ticketed and released, the complaint said.
While in San Diego, FM was experiencing severe pain and Lawson did not want to take her to the doctor. When he eventually dropped her off at a hospital, a doctor told FM she shouldn't have sex for at least one week. The complaint said the teen asked the doctor to put it in writing so she could show Lawson. But Lawson told FM she could still make money.
In February, FM bought a bus ticket to get away from Lawson, but the teen returned after he repeatedly called her and talked her into coming back. When she did return, the complaint said, he took off his rings and threatened to beat her if she left again. He then took her cell phone away.
Local and federal law-enforcement agents compared photos of FM on Craigslist to that of a girl depicted in an endangered runaway poster through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and determined it was the same teen.
Lawson, who is listed as a fugitive with the Florida Department of Corrections for absconding felony probation, was arrested and is slated for trial in August.
Amy L. Edwards can be reached at aledwards@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5735.
Copyright © 2009, Orlando Sentinel
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Girls on Our Streets
NEW YORK TIMES
May 7, 2009
Op-Ed Columnist
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
ATLANTA
Jasmine Caldwell was 14 and selling sex on the streets when an opportunity arose to escape her pimp: an undercover policeman picked her up.
The cop could have rescued her from the pimp, who ran a string of 13 girls and took every cent they earned. If the cop had taken Jasmine to a shelter, she could have resumed her education and tried to put her life back in order.
Instead, the policeman showed her his handcuffs and threatened to send her to prison. Terrified, she cried and pleaded not to be jailed. Then, she said, he offered to release her in exchange for sex.
Afterward, the policeman returned her to the street. Then her pimp beat her up for failing to collect any money.
“That happens a lot,” said Jasmine, who is now 21. “The cops sometimes just want to blackmail you into having sex.”
I’ve often reported on sex trafficking in other countries, and that has made me curious about the situation here in the United States. Prostitution in America isn’t as brutal as it is in, say, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Cambodia and Malaysia (where young girls are routinely kidnapped, imprisoned and tortured by brothel owners, occasionally even killed). But the scene on American streets is still appalling — and it continues largely because neither the authorities nor society as a whole show much interest in 14-year-old girls pimped on the streets.
Americans tend to think of forced prostitution as the plight of Mexican or Asian women trafficked into the United States and locked up in brothels. Such trafficking is indeed a problem, but the far greater scandal and the worst violence involves American teenage girls.
If a middle-class white girl goes missing, radio stations broadcast amber alerts, and cable TV fills the air with “missing beauty” updates. But 13-year-old black or Latina girls from poor neighborhoods vanish all the time, and the pimps are among the few people who show any interest.
These domestic girls are often runaways or those called “throwaways” by social workers: teenagers who fight with their parents and are then kicked out of the home. These girls tend to be much younger than the women trafficked from abroad and, as best I can tell, are more likely to be controlled by force.
Pimps are not the business partners they purport to be. They typically take every penny the girls earn. They work the girls seven nights a week. They sometimes tattoo their girls the way ranchers brand their cattle, and they back up their business model with fists and threats.
“If you don’t earn enough money, you get beat,” said Jasmine, an African-American who has turned her life around with the help of Covenant House, an organization that works with children on the street. “If you say something you’re not supposed to, you get beat. If you stay too long with a customer, you get beat. And if you try to leave the pimp, you get beat.”
The business model of pimping is remarkably similar whether in Atlanta or Calcutta: take vulnerable, disposable girls whom nobody cares about, use a mix of “friendship,” humiliation, beatings, narcotics and threats to break the girls and induce 100 percent compliance, and then rent out their body parts.
It’s not solely violence that keeps the girls working for their pimps. Jasmine fled an abusive home at age 13, and she said she — like most girls — stayed with the pimp mostly because of his emotional manipulation. “I thought he loved me, so I wanted to be around him,” she said.
That’s common. Girls who are starved of self-esteem finally meet a man who showers them with gifts, drugs and dollops of affection. That, and a lack of alternatives, keeps them working for him — and if that isn’t enough, he shoves a gun in the girl’s mouth and threatens to kill her.
Solutions are complicated and involve broader efforts to overcome urban poverty, including improving schools and attempting to shore up the family structure. But a first step is to stop treating these teenagers as criminals and focusing instead on arresting the pimps and the customers — and the corrupt cops.
“The problem isn’t the girls in the streets; it’s the men in the pews,” notes Stephanie Davis, who has worked with Mayor Shirley Franklin to help coordinate a campaign to get teenage prostitutes off the streets.
Two amiable teenage prostitutes, working without a pimp for the “fast money,” told me that there will always be women and girls selling sex voluntarily. They’re probably right. But we can significantly reduce the number of 14-year-old girls who are terrorized by pimps and raped by many men seven nights a week. That’s doable, if it’s a national priority, if we’re willing to create the equivalent of a nationwide amber alert.
May 7, 2009
Op-Ed Columnist
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
ATLANTA
Jasmine Caldwell was 14 and selling sex on the streets when an opportunity arose to escape her pimp: an undercover policeman picked her up.
The cop could have rescued her from the pimp, who ran a string of 13 girls and took every cent they earned. If the cop had taken Jasmine to a shelter, she could have resumed her education and tried to put her life back in order.
Instead, the policeman showed her his handcuffs and threatened to send her to prison. Terrified, she cried and pleaded not to be jailed. Then, she said, he offered to release her in exchange for sex.
Afterward, the policeman returned her to the street. Then her pimp beat her up for failing to collect any money.
“That happens a lot,” said Jasmine, who is now 21. “The cops sometimes just want to blackmail you into having sex.”
I’ve often reported on sex trafficking in other countries, and that has made me curious about the situation here in the United States. Prostitution in America isn’t as brutal as it is in, say, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Cambodia and Malaysia (where young girls are routinely kidnapped, imprisoned and tortured by brothel owners, occasionally even killed). But the scene on American streets is still appalling — and it continues largely because neither the authorities nor society as a whole show much interest in 14-year-old girls pimped on the streets.
Americans tend to think of forced prostitution as the plight of Mexican or Asian women trafficked into the United States and locked up in brothels. Such trafficking is indeed a problem, but the far greater scandal and the worst violence involves American teenage girls.
If a middle-class white girl goes missing, radio stations broadcast amber alerts, and cable TV fills the air with “missing beauty” updates. But 13-year-old black or Latina girls from poor neighborhoods vanish all the time, and the pimps are among the few people who show any interest.
These domestic girls are often runaways or those called “throwaways” by social workers: teenagers who fight with their parents and are then kicked out of the home. These girls tend to be much younger than the women trafficked from abroad and, as best I can tell, are more likely to be controlled by force.
Pimps are not the business partners they purport to be. They typically take every penny the girls earn. They work the girls seven nights a week. They sometimes tattoo their girls the way ranchers brand their cattle, and they back up their business model with fists and threats.
“If you don’t earn enough money, you get beat,” said Jasmine, an African-American who has turned her life around with the help of Covenant House, an organization that works with children on the street. “If you say something you’re not supposed to, you get beat. If you stay too long with a customer, you get beat. And if you try to leave the pimp, you get beat.”
The business model of pimping is remarkably similar whether in Atlanta or Calcutta: take vulnerable, disposable girls whom nobody cares about, use a mix of “friendship,” humiliation, beatings, narcotics and threats to break the girls and induce 100 percent compliance, and then rent out their body parts.
It’s not solely violence that keeps the girls working for their pimps. Jasmine fled an abusive home at age 13, and she said she — like most girls — stayed with the pimp mostly because of his emotional manipulation. “I thought he loved me, so I wanted to be around him,” she said.
That’s common. Girls who are starved of self-esteem finally meet a man who showers them with gifts, drugs and dollops of affection. That, and a lack of alternatives, keeps them working for him — and if that isn’t enough, he shoves a gun in the girl’s mouth and threatens to kill her.
Solutions are complicated and involve broader efforts to overcome urban poverty, including improving schools and attempting to shore up the family structure. But a first step is to stop treating these teenagers as criminals and focusing instead on arresting the pimps and the customers — and the corrupt cops.
“The problem isn’t the girls in the streets; it’s the men in the pews,” notes Stephanie Davis, who has worked with Mayor Shirley Franklin to help coordinate a campaign to get teenage prostitutes off the streets.
Two amiable teenage prostitutes, working without a pimp for the “fast money,” told me that there will always be women and girls selling sex voluntarily. They’re probably right. But we can significantly reduce the number of 14-year-old girls who are terrorized by pimps and raped by many men seven nights a week. That’s doable, if it’s a national priority, if we’re willing to create the equivalent of a nationwide amber alert.
Monday, April 27, 2009
"Very Young Girls" Documentary Available to the Public
Many of you have asked me how you can see the documentary "Very Young Girls"; the film about the young ladies of Girls Educational and Mentoring Services (GEMS) in New York City and their journey to be free from lives of sexual exploitation and violence. This is a fabulous film about human trafficking right here in the United States. The part I like most is that the girls themselves were fully empowered and involved in the creation of the film. Kudos to Positive Youth Development! We should all take a page from Rachel Lloyd's (GEMS Ex. Dir.) book on how to be youth-centered and inclusive of the youth in programming meant to benefit them.
Oh and, by the way, if you like the film, and are looking for ways to do something about the issue of domestic minor sex trafficking, GEMS will accept your contributions in New York City. Kristi House is also working with girls locally, here in Miami, and you can contact them for ways to help out. Lastly, make sure everyone you know sees the film.
Here's the update on the film:
The film is now being shown on Showtime on Demand. It's available on DVD via Netflix. You can also buy a copy of the film or other great products from GEMS by visiting their online store.
Oh and, by the way, if you like the film, and are looking for ways to do something about the issue of domestic minor sex trafficking, GEMS will accept your contributions in New York City. Kristi House is also working with girls locally, here in Miami, and you can contact them for ways to help out. Lastly, make sure everyone you know sees the film.
Here's the update on the film:
The film is now being shown on Showtime on Demand. It's available on DVD via Netflix. You can also buy a copy of the film or other great products from GEMS by visiting their online store.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
CSEC Working Group Meeting
Our next Commercially Sexually Exploited Children's (CSEC) Working Group meeting is:
Wednesday
June 10th
2:30-4pm
Kristi House
1265 NW 12th Ave.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Wednesday
June 10th
2:30-4pm
Kristi House
1265 NW 12th Ave.
We look forward to seeing you there.
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