Christmas Tree The Iowa Network Against Human Trafficking and Slavery thanks all of our blog post subscribers for your support of our goal to end human trafficking in all its forms in Iowa. Please stay safe from Covid-19 infection over the holidays. We wish you a joy filled, healthy, and blessed holiday season and a happy and healthy new year, 2022.

Governor’s Proclamation Signing Event Declaring January 2022 “Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month” and You are Invited!

Iowa Capitol Building in the winterThe NAHT will host the public signing of a proclamation by Governor Kim Reynolds designating January 2022 as Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. The proclamation declaration will take place on Thursday, January 13th at 11:00 a.m. in the Rotunda of the State Capitol Building in Des Moines. To download a copy of the “Save the Date” flyer, click here.

Due to the risk of Covid-19 infection, all anti-trafficking advocates attending this annual event are encouraged to wear masks, however, there is no state requirement to wear masks.

Proclamation invitationDuring “Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month”, the NAHT asks all modern abolitionists to recommit themselves to eradicating the evil of enslavement. Human trafficking is a modern form of the oldest and most barbaric type of human exploitation. It has no place in our state. During the month of January 2022, let’s not simply reflect on this appalling reality. We must also pledge to do all in our power to end the horrific practice of human trafficking that plagues innocent victims around the world.

An estimated 40.2 million people are currently victims of human trafficking. Human traffickers prey on their victims by promising a life of hope and greater opportunity, while delivering only enslavement. Instead of delivering people to better lives, traffickers profit from the labor and toil of their victims who they force – through violence, drugs, and intimidation- to work in the sex trade in hotels/motels and illicit massage businesses, and as slave laborers, in factories, on farms and fishing vessels, in private homes, and in countless other industries.

Five 2022 Anti-Trafficking Service Awards will also be presented by the Governor and NAHT on January 13th, immediately following the proclamation signing. We will announce the five anti-trafficking heroes in the January blog post.

A Homeless Des Moines Teen Who Killed her Rapist Faces Prison Despite Being a Victim of Sex Trafficking

The NAHT is asking the 2022 Iowa Legislature to adopt legislation to protect minors from being prosecuted for any crimes committed while they were being trafficked. This type of public policy is commonly called a Safe Harbor Law. Thirty states have adopted similar laws but this does not include Iowa.

Pieper Lewis was age 15 when she stabbed a Des Moines man aged 30 as he slept. Pieper and others allege that she was being trafficked. She has been in custody since her arrest and is now age 17. Iowa frequently treats teens ensnared by sex trafficking as offenders rather than victims. The NAHT believes that this is an injustice and has made passage of a Safe Harbor Law one of the three major Iowa Legislative Priorities in 2022.

Here is a November 28th Des Moines Register article and interview with Pieper Lewis. Click here to read about Pieper Lewis (PDF).

Ask Your City Council to Adopt a Local Proclamation for January 2022

Another important request to all Iowa anti-trafficking advocates is to approach your city council and/or county board of supervisors about declaring January 2022 as Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. A copy of an example fill-in-the-blank proclamation that you could propose to be adopted is found by clicking here: Example Proclamation (PDF)

Some city and county local governments are still meeting via Zoom, however, you can still attend the meeting virtually and interact with your council or supervisors. What a great way to create public awareness and recognition of this growing problem across the globe, Iowa and within your own home community.

An example proclamation acceptance script for you to respond to your city council is found by clicking here: Sample Acceptance Script (PDF). When you speak to the city/county please share the fact that Covid has played into the hands of traffickers. For more information click the editorial about Covid-19 increasing the risk of child sex trafficking (PDF).

Iowa Secretary of State to Launch the new I-BAT Program on January 13th

Iowa Secretary of State, Paul Pate, will be launching a new trafficking prevention program on January 13th, 2022, called Iowa Businesses Against Human Trafficking (IBAT). The Iowa NAHT is partnering on the development of the SOS office under a Memorandum of Agreement signed in July 2021. IBAT will offer Iowa’s 300,000 businesses unique opportunities to learn something and to do something to help combat human trafficking in our state of Iowa.

2022 NAHT Legislative Priorities

Maggie Tinsman, chair of the NAHT Legislative Advocacy Committee also invites anti-trafficking advocates from across Iowa, like you, to speak to your local legislators on January 13th. Here are the three NAHT legislative priorities for 2022:

  1. Request the Iowa Legislature to allocate $10M in state funds for victim services and amend the victim service budget line to include human trafficking, homicide and other violent crimes.
  2. Request the Iowa Legislature to adopt legislation requiring schools to provide child sex abuse awareness and prevention for students, parents, and school employees as requested by Prevent Child Abuse in Iowa.
  3. Request the Iowa Legislature to adopt a Safe Harbor Law, protecting minors against prosecution for any crimes committed while they were trafficked and enact expungement of crimes by adult survivors which occurred while being trafficked.

Monday, January 11th is Wear Blue Day

Wear Blue DayOn Monday, January 11th we ask that you wear blue to show your support for human trafficking awareness. The color blue is the international color of human trafficking awareness. The Department of Homeland Security created this initiative to draw attention to this horrific crime. The NAHT is asking all anti-trafficking advocates to wear blue clothing in order to increase awareness. We also ask you to encourage your friends, classmates, and family to participate and share pictures of you wearing blue on social media with the #WearBlueDay hashtag. You can find more information about this here: https://www.dhs.gov/blue-campaign/wearblueday

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By on December 10, 2021   /   News