Five of Ten Human Trafficking Bills Still Alive After Second Funnel

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The 2024 Legislative Session is about two-thirds of the way through their work this session with approximately four weeks to go! This gives us time to get the remaining human trafficking bills across the finish line while turning our attention to the budget process. The Revenue Estimating Committee met on March 15^th indicating a reduction in available funds for the legislature to spend. The silver lining is that the budget process should start in earnest sooner rather than later as we expect leadership to provide their budget chairs with their Fiscal Year 25 budget targets. Below you will find a list of the five human trafficking bills that are still alive and the NAHT is tracking. These five bills passed the second funnel and one of them SF 2243 passed the legislature unanimously and is on the Governor’s desk for her signature. To read more about the five bills, tap here.

Office to Combat HT Annual Report

The NAHT worked hard to educate the Iowa legislature to recognize the need to create the Office to Combat Human Trafficking (OCHT) within the Iowa Department of Public Safety. More recently, the Network urged the legislature to pass the hotel/motel employee training program and to fund a full-time OCHT coordinator position to implement Iowa Code Section 80.45A. In March of 2022, Ray Fiedler was hired as the OCHT Human Trafficking Coordinator.

The 15-page 2023 OCHT annual report is now available by tapping here. The report details the eight 2023 human trafficker arrests and prosecutions. The report describes a shift in human trafficking tip reporting away from the National H.T. Hotline to the newly created OCHT tip reporting website, stophtiowa.org, for the general public to report suspicion of potential trafficking.

Since the 2022 implementation of Iowa Code section 80.45A, the OCHT has certified more than 680 lodging providers and provided human trafficking awareness training to approximately 21,988 employees. The Iowa OCHT is in the process of developing a multi-media outreach campaign to notify and educate businesses and the public on how to identify human trafficking victims. The OCHT has recently partnered with the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union and the Iowa High School Athletic Association to educate Iowa high school athletes and school officials on the dangers associated with human trafficking and how to identify and report human trafficking incidents.

Iowa Businesses Against Human Trafficking Reaches 93/99 Iowa Counties

The NAHT and the Iowa Secretary of State are calling on all Iowans in Osceola, Worth, Audubon, Taylor, Wayne, and Davis Counties to help us recruit new IBAT members today! Iowa Business Against Trafficking (IBAT) now has members in 93 out of 99 counties. If you know of a business in these six Iowa counties, encourage them to join and help in the fight against human trafficking in Iowa.

IBAT is a statewide recognition and education program from the Iowa Secretary of State’s (SOS) office, empowering businesses to help in the fight to end human trafficking through training and outreach opportunities.

As IBAT celebrates its presence in 93 of Iowa’s counties, the Iowa SOS is dedicated to adding members from the remaining six Iowa counties to achieve statewide coverage. The SOS’s commitment to combating human trafficking through the active involvement of Iowa businesses and organizations remains unwavering, and the SOS is eager to expand its impact across all of Iowa’s 99 counties.

If you are a business or nonprofit organization in any of Iowa’s 99 counties, IBAT wants to send you more information and encourage you to participate in its program. Join today and help make Iowa a trafficking-free state. Learn more by tapping here.

The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) – This Bill Protects Kids on Social Media

Some Big Tech players are reading the writing on the wall and realizing that common sense reforms to protect children online are vital and inevitable at the legislative level. Snapchat has just endorsed the Kids Online Safety Act, a bill the National Center on Sexual Exploitation and other national organizations have been working to pass which holds social media platforms accountable for protecting children.

We hope and expect more tech companies will recognize it is better to be on the side of child safety than profit at any cost. Action you can take: Ask our Iowa senators to co-sponsor KOSA.

AI-Generated Pornography isn’t Something to Shake Off; Taylor Swift and Other Survivors Deserve Justice

AI-Generated sexual abuse is a growing threat and we are saddened that it has happened to Taylor Swift. Telegram, X, and other sites like Mr.Deepfakes and Celeb Jihad are responsible for perpetuating this horrific abuse. Anti-trafficking advocates should be grateful that Taylor Swift is speaking out to confront this abuse, and we hope that she can receive justice for these crimes.

Congress must urgently work to protect all survivors of AI-generated deepfake pornography by passing the PROTECT Act, which aims to compel tech platforms to implement stringent age and consent verification, significantly reducing the spread of child sexual abuse and image-based sexual abuse. The PROTECT Act fills a gap in existing laws that allow pornography to be created, uploaded, and distributed online without the consent of the persons depicted in the material with little or no concern for consequences. Microsoft’s GitHub is the go-to place for creating AI-generated sexual abuse images. Anti-trafficking advocates need to demand Microsoft crackdown on this egregious violation of human rights.

No-cost Training for Iowa Law Enforcment, ER, EMT and all First Response Teams

Submitted by: Melody Stone MA, LMHC (C 808-430-5710), prairiemelody@gmail.com
Founder, North & Central Iowa Coalition Against Human Trafficking
Ambassador & Trainer, Shared Hope International

My name is Melody Stone and I’m a licensed trauma-trained therapist and founder of North & Central Iowa Coalition Against Human Trafficking. I am working with two expert law enforcement human trafficking investigators, David Gonzales and Greg Hall, who work with Hope for Justice. They have provided training at our Iowa State Police Academy and have extensive investigative experience.

As a team, we are offering no-cost professional trauma training for all Iowa first response teams including law enforcement, ER, and EMTs. This training focuses on complex trauma in human trafficking, identifying possible victims and best practice protocols using trauma-informed practices.

The training is 3.5 hours however it can be broken down into several segments. We provide NO-COST continuing education hours for Law Enforcement and CEU’s for EMT’s.

Human trafficking is the fastest-growing worldwide criminal enterprise and is just as prevalent in rural Iowa. Recent statistics from the National Human Trafficking Hotline report an 1,800% increase in online solicitation in 2022 as well as labor and other types of commercial exploitation. Proper training for first response teams is critical to identifying and helping victims as well as supporting investigations and convictions of criminals. This training will give you essential resources and tools based on best practices for first responders.

Please contact Melody Stone at her email and cell number next to her name above if you have further questions and are interested in setting up trauma-informed human trafficking training for first responders in your Iowa county.

42 City and County Proclamations to Fight Human Trafficking

Many thanks to all the Iowa anti-trafficking advocates who approached their local city council or board of supervisors to secure a proclamation declaring January as Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. There were 42 local proclamations and the photo shown here is just one example.

The new mayor of Des Moines, Connie Bosemen, is shown reading the proclamation declaring January 2024 as Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. To the left in black is Becky Greenwald, Chair of the Des Moines Rotary Club. Next to her is Lyn Harrell, a Board Member of the Network Against Human Trafficking. To the right of Mayor Bosemen is John Chesser, Chair of the Network Against Human Trafficking. The photo was taken by Karl Schilling, a member of the Rotary District 6000 Prevent Human Trafficking Action Team.

Pornhub Bows to Pressure for Age and Consent Verification

The National Center of Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) recently announced a momentous step forward in the fight against Pornhub and its parent company Aylo (formerly MindGeek).

After facing several lawsuits brought by courageous survivors of sex trafficking and child sexual abuse… After losing nearly all their major corporate partnerships including Visa and Mastercard, Instagram, and Youtube… After being the subject of countless scathing media pieces… After a viral petition with more than 2 million signatures… Pornhub has FINALLY announced that it will be verifying the age and consent of all individuals depicted in videos.

Iowans fighting human trafficking should celebrate this victory for survivors, whose resilience and bravery have been unmatched as they brought lawsuits and global attention to this kingpin of sex exploitation. At the same time, NCOSE urges caution. The loopholes in Pornhub’s new verification measures are abundant, and the policy change does not go far enough in removing and preventing online sexual abuse. To read more, tap here.

Donate Airline Miles to Trafficking Survivors

The Polaris Project does so much in the area of human trafficking, especially running the National Human Trafficking Hotline. Polaris now has a program where one can donate air miles or hotel points for trafficking survivors to use. As they explain it, donated miles go directly to the U.S National Human Trafficking Hotline and are used to purchase flights for survivors of human trafficking who need to travel to escape their trafficking situation, enter a long-term recovery program, reunite with loved ones, testify in court against their trafficker, and more. Donated points are used to book rooms for survivors of human trafficking who are in need of immediate or emergency shelter options, while others are converted to monetary donations that go towards supporting the work Poralis does to end human trafficking and support survivors.

To donate, go to the Polaris Project website.

Compassion Fatigue Training | New Dates!

Join the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services for an online training that delves into the topic of compassion fatigue. Whether you’re a caregiver, healthcare professional, or simply interested in the subject, this event is for you! Discover practical strategies to cope with the emotional toll of caring for others. Trainers will explore the signs, causes, and ways to prevent compassion fatigue. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals and gain valuable insight. Pick one of the new dates (each date is the same training)!

April 3, 2024 | 10030 AM to11:30 AM | Register
April 10, 2024 | 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM | Register

There is no cost for the training and there will be 1.5 CEUs (April 3) or 1 CEU (April 10) along with a certificate of attendance.

Free Virtual Training on Child Sex Trafficking Prevention

The NAHT wants to share this training information about the NYC Administration for Children’s Services’ Office of Child Trafficking Prevention and Policy’s 2024 Child Trafficking Prevention Spring Training Series (virtual) which will occur between April 16 and May 2, 2024 in recognition of April as Child Abuse Prevention Month. The conference will provide six (6) professional-level workshops on a variety of trafficking-related topics presented by regional and national experts. They have four (4) completely new workshops and two (2) of their signature workshops are updated with new material.

All workshops are FREE and will be provided virtually through Microsoft Teams. All workshops are scheduled for Eastern Standard Time (EST), so if you are in another time zone, please adjust for EST. Please note that there are no CEUs or CLEs available for any of the workshops.

Registration instructions are located on page 1 of the program and the Microsoft Teams registration links for the workshops are on page 3.

The program is accessible through this link https://www.nyc.gov/assets/acs/pdf/youth/childtrafficking/2024/ct-prevention-conference-spring-training-series.pdf Please share widely!

Registration is ongoing and can occur right up to the start time of a workshop. After you register, you will receive an email with the workshop entry link. Save the email with the workshop entry link to enter the workshop on its scheduled day. Each Teams room holds up to 1,000 attendees, so there is space for all. Unfortunately, there are no CEUs or CLEs available.

The workshops are open to everyone! All child welfare providers; private, faith-based and community-based agencies; State and Federal agencies; community members, survivors, social services and medical professionals; legal and criminal justice professionals, parents, foster parents and youth over 18. They welcome attendees from other states including Iowa.They have found that the more diverse the attendees, the more information is shared in the Chat conversation and the Questions/Responses.

Please send any event-related questions to TraffickingTraining@acs.nyc.gov

TV News Clips & Articles

By Dr. George Belitsos on April 1, 2024 / News