Friends.
Imagine being kidnapped and forced into prostitution or drug sales.
For years.
Then imagine being "rescued" by law enforcement only to be prosecuted for prostitution and drug sales and possibly sent to prison.
For years. Imagine having that happen to your child, sister, nephew or grandchild.
It's something perhaps hundreds of thousands of victims of human trafficking face in states where there are no "safe harbor" laws to protect those who should be treated as victims, not criminals.
My personal experience with this problem is isolated to Central America, where I have known many young men and women who have gone to prison for refusing to testify against gang members and other people against whom they were justifiably afraid to testify. In fact, a 24-year-old friend in San Salvador has recently -- under pressure from a gang as well as prosecutors -- pleaded guilty to drug possession charges. The catch? She was forced to sell drugs. She is awaiting a sentence of up to eight years, a sentence which will make her young daughter an orphan.
There's nothing I can do for my friend in Central America. But we can do better in the States than they do in El Salvador. Once upon a time we enacted tough laws against domestic violence. They have helped. This time around, we need to protect a different kind of victim.
Today I'm using this blog, as well as social media accounts, to ask you to sign this petition by the Polaris Project to push state lawmakers to enact safe harbor laws.
I want to ask you for three favors.
First, sign this petition.
Second, post the petition to Facebook or on Twitter.
Third, consider giving a donation to Polaris Project, a straight-up organization tackling what is becoming an all-too-frequent 21st Century form of injustice all over the world.
Let's start in the States and hope that the example we set spreads to other countries.
Keep watching this blog. I'll be spreading to word about human trafficking issues all week.
Thanks for your hope, faith, and most importantly, your action.
JS
Imagine being kidnapped and forced into prostitution or drug sales.
For years.
Then imagine being "rescued" by law enforcement only to be prosecuted for prostitution and drug sales and possibly sent to prison.
For years. Imagine having that happen to your child, sister, nephew or grandchild.
It's something perhaps hundreds of thousands of victims of human trafficking face in states where there are no "safe harbor" laws to protect those who should be treated as victims, not criminals.
My personal experience with this problem is isolated to Central America, where I have known many young men and women who have gone to prison for refusing to testify against gang members and other people against whom they were justifiably afraid to testify. In fact, a 24-year-old friend in San Salvador has recently -- under pressure from a gang as well as prosecutors -- pleaded guilty to drug possession charges. The catch? She was forced to sell drugs. She is awaiting a sentence of up to eight years, a sentence which will make her young daughter an orphan.
There's nothing I can do for my friend in Central America. But we can do better in the States than they do in El Salvador. Once upon a time we enacted tough laws against domestic violence. They have helped. This time around, we need to protect a different kind of victim.
Today I'm using this blog, as well as social media accounts, to ask you to sign this petition by the Polaris Project to push state lawmakers to enact safe harbor laws.
I want to ask you for three favors.
First, sign this petition.
Second, post the petition to Facebook or on Twitter.
Third, consider giving a donation to Polaris Project, a straight-up organization tackling what is becoming an all-too-frequent 21st Century form of injustice all over the world.
Let's start in the States and hope that the example we set spreads to other countries.
Keep watching this blog. I'll be spreading to word about human trafficking issues all week.
Thanks for your hope, faith, and most importantly, your action.
JS
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