5 Facts about the ‘Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act’

By Joe Carter

Apr 5, 2018

Last month the U.S. Senate passed the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA), legislation intended to limit online sex trafficking. (A similar bill—the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA)—was also passed by the House, and the combined legislation is known as FOSTA-SESTA.) Here are five facts you should know about this anti-trafficking legislation.

1. For more than twenty years, a loophole in a federal law has allowed sex trafficking to thrive online. In 1996 Congress passed the Communications Decency Act, which attempted to regulate the exposure of indecent and obscene material directed toward children. The effectiveness of the Decency Act, though, was undermined because the law has been interpreted to say that “operators of internet services” (such as websites) are not to be legally liable for the words of third parties who use their services.

2. Because of this loophole, online content providers that post classified ads have been allowed to advertise prostitution with near impunity. A prime example is Backpage.com, which, according to the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, posts one million sex ads a day. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children previously testified in a Senate subcommittee that 71 percent of all suspected child sex trafficking cases have a link to Backpage. When challenged in state courts, Backpage has repeatedly prevailed based on the interpretation that the Decency Act protects them from prosecution for the criminal wrongdoing of their customers.

3. FOSTA-SESTA amends federal law to specify that the Decency Act does not prevent websites from being subjected to civil action or criminal prosecution under state or federal criminal or civil laws relating to sex trafficking of children or sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion. Additionally, the legislation amends the federal criminal code to specify that the violation for benefiting from “participation in a venture” engaged in sex trafficking includes knowingly assisting, supporting, or facilitating the violation.

4. FOSTA-SESTA also allows state attorneys general to bring civil actions in U.S. district courts on behalf of the state’s residents if the attorney general believes an interest of the residents has been or is threatened or adversely affected by any person who knowingly participates in sex trafficking.

5. Even though the legislation has not yet been signed into law, it is already motivating online content providers to change their policies. According to Susan Yoshihara of the Center for Family and Human Rights,

Cityvibe shut down completely, the Erotic Review, the ‘Yelp of the sex trade’ where men rate their experiences with trafficking victims, shut down advertisement boards in the United States, NightShift shut down to review policies, VerifyHim shut down its ‘newsreel,’ Craigslist personals section was shut down, Reddit’s prostitution-related “subreddits” were marked private and the site instituted new policies banning the sale of sex acts and drugs, Google reportedly deleted its publicly shared commercial sex-related advertising, WordPress.com reportedly removed its commercial sex-related advertising sites, Paypal reportedly disabled advertised accounts for commercial sex-related payment, Rubmaps, Erotic Monkey, and USA Sex Guide had extended maintenance periods over the weekend, suggesting upcoming changes due to the new law, Microsoft is issuing new Terms of Service effective May 1st covering all of its platforms, including Skype and Xbox, to urge users not to use the services to share pornography or criminal activity.

The fight against sex trafficking in the U.S.

By Helen Taylor and Laila Mickelwait

Oct 13, 2017

Sex trafficking is happening all around us every day, and many people don’t even realize it. From California to New York, the United States is not immune to the horrors of trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of men, women, and children. Some of the most horrific stories of abuse at the hands of pimps and traffickers have happened right in our own backyards.

Jane’s story

I recently heard the most harrowing journey of a woman named Jane* who was sold to sex traffickers almost every night by her father, who happened to be a pastor. From the age of 11 to 14, she was sold along with dozens of other young girls in what she called a “warehouse.” No, this sex warehouse wasn’t in Cambodia; it was in Portland, Oregon. Men from all walks of life lined up to sexually abuse and consume her. Doctors, lawyers, fathers, priests, teachers, cops, and other men who seemed trustworthy, were the ones purchasing these young girls night after night. After being trafficked in prostitution, she was then trafficked in pornography until she finally escaped at the age of 17.

Thankfully, by the grace of God, Jane was able to find healing, and we at Exodus Cry were honored to be part of her restoration process. Now she is a strong advocate against sexual exploitation and even reaches out to others being sexually exploited and trafficked.

The church is called to engage those being exploited in the sex industry.

Fighting trafficking through texting

Sadly, Jane’s story is one of thousands who are being sold for sex in America, many of whom are underage. One place where exploitation in prostitution abounds is online. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children estimates that 73 percent of all its child trafficking reports stem directly from Backpage.com, a site that enables the explicit advertising of human bodies for sale. A Senate investigation concluded that Backpage knowingly profited from prostitution and the sexual trafficking of minors, increasing its revenue from $5.3 million in 2008 to $135 million in 2014.

In 2013, our Intervention team at Exodus Cry pioneered a new model of outreach, texting girls from online Backpage ads where girls are sold for sex. According to this model, if a girl is open to meeting with us, we take her out for lunch in a public setting. From there, the relationship begins, and we come alongside her, offering support and empowering her to escape exploitation. The journey to freedom is sometimes long, but we are committed to being there with each girl, every step of the way.

3 things to know about the human trafficking report

By Travis Wussow

Jul 7, 2017

On Tuesday, June 27, the U.S. State Department released its 17th annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, which analyzes the extent to which 188 countries combat human trafficking and slavery. Each country is given a score of either Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 2 Watch List, or Tier 3, based on the extent to which that country prevents human trafficking, protects the victims of human trafficking, and prosecutes perpetrators of human trafficking.

This year, 21 countries were downgraded on the list, while 27 countries were upgraded. Twenty-three nations were placed on the Tier 3 list, which indicates a lack of compliance with the bare minimum standards of prevention, protection, and prosecution. The 36 countries included on the Tier 1 list not only meet the minimum standards but are increasingly more effective in doing so.

The report was released with a significant press release featuring Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Ivanka Trump, First Daughter and Advisor to the President. Such high-profile releases are an encouraging signal and ensure that these reports receive the attention they deserve in the United States and the international community.

Here are three things to know following the release of the report:

1. China was downgraded to Tier 3 status.

In 2014 and 2015, China was listed on the Tier 2 Watch List. A country can only remain on the watch list for two years before either being upgraded or downgraded. In 2016, China received a waiver to remain on the Watch List after submitting a national action plan that, if fully implemented, would have significantly contributed to efforts to eliminate human trafficking. This year, China joined countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Russia, and North Korea on the Tier 3 list.

The report highlighted the fact that thousands of North Koreans are forced to work in Chinese labor camps, where their wages are sent to fund the Korean government. In drug rehabilitation centers, individuals are indefinitely detained without a proper trial. Law enforcement does not properly screen individuals arrested for prostitution to see if they are victims of human trafficking. Bribery and collusion continue amongst police and traffickers. Access to necessary rehabilitation services are limited based upon a victim's location and gender. Finally, Chinese law does not fully criminalize prostitution of minors, and promotes definitions of human trafficking that vary with international law. Fortunately, the Trump administration has condemned the misconduct within China.

The demotion of China to Tier 3 is the Trump administration's first major rebuke of Chinese human rights violations. Being labeled a Tier 3 country comes with real consequences that could affect China-U.S. relations for the next year. Non-humanitarian foreign aid may be limited. Chinese government officials may not receive funding for educational programs. And the U.S. may oppose China's requests for assistance from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. President Trump has the ability to waive these sanctions if he views they threaten United States' interests, but the consequences looming for China are very real. This could become an issue in negotiations over finding solutions for the crisis over North Korea’s nuclear program.

2. Myanmar and Iraq were upgraded from Tier 3 to Tier 2.

The TIP report indicates that neither Burma nor Iraq meet the minimal standards of protection, prevention, and prosecution, but that both nations are making significant efforts to do so, upgrading both nations from Tier 3 to Tier 2. A number of human rights groups are upset by this decision, considering the use of child soldiers, a form of human trafficking, within the past year by both countries.

Reports indicate that there is disagreement amongst State Department officials over the inclusion of Iraq and Myanmar on the Child Soldier Prevention Act List. A June report from the United Nations indicates that children are being released from combat in Myanmar, as nations feel international pressure to cease the practice. Still, eight different Burmese groups recruit and utilize child soldiers for combat. In the geo-politically complex nation of Iraq, the United Nations documented the government-use of child soldiers in 2016 in the fight against terrorism, forcing the State Department to make difficult decisions about engagement with Iraqi officials.

3. The Gulf States are taking steps to reduce human trafficking.

The Gulf States, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates, are historically notorious for violating human rights, including failing to take human trafficking within its borders. Within the last year, there have been some encouraging signs although much work remains to be done.

Saudi Arabia, the United States’ closest ally in the region, received a waiver to remain on the Tier 2 Watch List for a third year after drafting a national anti-trafficking action plan for 2017–2020. The plan allocates $9.6 million for its permanent committee on combating trafficking in persons. Qatar, which was on the Tier 2 Watch List in 2016, was upgraded to Tier 2. Within the past year, it increased the number of prosecutions and convictions for trafficking-related offenses, and establishing a coordinating body to facilitate anti-trafficking initiatives and enact legislation to significantly reduce vulnerability to forced labor. Kuwait was placed on the Tier 2 Watch list for the second year in a row, after spending six years on the Tier 3 list. The Kuwaiti government, along with Oman, are making “significant efforts” to combat the problem of labor and sex slavery according to the State Department report.

Despite these improvements, injustice is still reality for scores of trafficking victims across the Middle East. Kuwaiti law enforcement remains a corrupt institution that discourages victims of trafficking from reporting their abuses. The Omani judicial system attempts to mediate forced labor reports in labor court rather than prosecute the criminal activity of slavery. And Saudi officials identify only a fraction of the trafficking victims that live within the country. As we pray for our persecuted Christian brothers in the Persian Gulf, may we also remember the oppressed and enslaved.

A vulnerable approach to ending human trafficking

By Raleigh Sadler

May 17, 2017

“Together we can end human trafficking,” she said to a crowd of over 46,000 Christians in downtown Atlanta. As I sat in the nosebleed section of the arena, I found myself actually sitting in disbelief. I knew that I was supposed to immediately jump on board with a hearty “Amen. Let’s get to work!” But I had questions. You see, I’m not a lawyer or police officer. Nor am I Liam Neeson’s character, Bryan Mills, from the 2008 hit movie, Taken. With that said, it should be obvious to the reader that I do not possess a “particular set of skills.”

Rather, I am a pastor. I had sensed a calling to vocational Christian ministry and subsequently pursued a theological education. But as knowledgeable as my professors in seminary were, they could not prepare me for this moment. How could I, a Christian minister, fight human trafficking? For that matter, how could my church respond?

According to the Global Slavery Index, there are as many as 45.8 million people around the world held in what amounts to modern day slavery. Cases have been reported in every country, as well as every state in the U.S. Whether the victimized are trafficked into the commercial sex industry, the agricultural sector or the hospitality and service industries, each person has one thing in common: they are vulnerable. Human trafficking can be defined as the exploitation of vulnerability for commercial gain. For this reason, human trafficking can happen anywhere because there are vulnerable people everywhere.

The God of the vulnerable

Vulnerability should not be a new idea for the Christian community. As a matter of fact, it is a key theme throughout both the Old and New Testament Scriptures. A cursory reading will reveal that God identifies not with the earthly elite, but with those who lack power, protection and social status.

God, by virtue of his character, desires to bring “justice” to those who are in need of it. This concept can be clearly seen as the word “justice” is found over 200 times in the Bible. Its Hebrew form, mishpat, can mean “to treat people equitably,” or “to give them what they are due. In the Old Testament, God is so clearly known by this love for justice that he is identified as the “God of Justice” (Isa. 30:18; 61:6; Mal. 2:17). One particular Hebrew writer goes as far as describing him as the “Father of the fatherless and protector of widows” (Psa. 68:5; Exod. 22:21-24; Lev. 23:22; Deut. 24:19, 26:12).

In the New Testament, the reader discovers that the ministry of both Jesus and the early church is marked by this distinct attribute. In his inaugural address, Jesus quotes Isaiah 61 explaining that he is the messiah that has come to “proclaim good news to the poor.” This “good news” was that Christ was bringing a new kingdom to bear; a kingdom where justice, not injustice, had the final word (Luke 4:18-20). With this in mind, James, the brother of Jesus, wrote to the early Christian church, explaining that the “religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (James 1:27). In other words, not only does God identify with marginalized people, but he challenges his followers to join him by living justly.

Philippines' fight against trafficking

By CNN Philippines Staff

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) - The Philippines has been a notorious source of men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor in different parts of the world.

But the country recently reached a milestone in its anti-human trafficking efforts, which the U.S. Department of State recognized in its 2016 Trafficking in Persons Report (TIPR) released in June.

For the first time since 2001, the report gave the Philippines a Tier 1 ranking - the highest compliance level a government can achieve for its anti-trafficking measure to fully comply with the U.S.' minimum standards in fighting human trafficking, the report said.

The report defined human trafficking as "the act of recruiting, harboring, transporting, providing, or obtaining a person for compelled labor or commercial sex acts through the use of force, fraud, or coercion."

It commended the following efforts of the Philippine government:

Convictions. From 2015 to 2016, the Philippine government convicted 42 traffickers, including five for online child sex trafficking and two for forced labor, the report noted. It also convicted two immigration officers and charged five officials allegedly complicit in trafficking.

The Justice Department's Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) records that 232 traffickers were convicted from 2011 to August this year.

This is an almost six-fold increase from the preceding years which saw only 40 convicted offenders from 2005 to 2010. In these years, the country was under Tier 2, meaning it does not fully implement standards set by the U.S. Trafficking Victims Protection Act.

Increased budget. The government allotted more budget to the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO), under the Office of the President, to facilitate the anti-trafficking campaign.

The CFO received P86.18 million from the 2016 national budget - slightly higher than the P82.79 million it received last year.

Assistance for victims. The government opened and funded a temporary shelter for male Filipino trafficking victims in Saudi Arabia.

Prosecution. The Justice Department prosecuted eight cases against foreign child sex tourists in 2016, in a bid to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts, the report said.

"The Government of the Philippines fully meets the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking," the report said.

The bait

But much more needs to be done.

The report also revealed the dark fate of some Filipinos who left the country to look for supposedly greener pastures abroad.

Around 10 million Filipinos are working and residing abroad, and the report said a significant number could be victims of sex trafficking, forced labor, and other forms of exploitation.

The horror story begins with illicit recruitment.

The report said traffickers of today use the Internet, e-mail and social media to lure Filipinos to signing up for overseas work.

Baited individuals are then charged with excessive fees; their identity documents confiscated. They are transported to target countries using student, intern, and exchange program visas to skirt the governments' strict policies for foreign workers.

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