Governor Reynolds signs HF 425 Addressing Elicit Massage Businesses and Sets New Penalties for Owners who Rent to Human Traffickers

On May 20th the Governor held a public signing of HF 425 which addresses massage business investigations. HF 425 creates statewide uniform local law enforcement authority to inspect massage businesses in order to uncover human trafficking. The Legislation also establishes a crime for knowingly letting your property to be used for human trafficking. It targets not only massage businesses but also hair and nail salons and spas. This bill was one of the few to receive bipartisan support from the 2021 Iowa Legislature and passed the House and Senate unanimously.

The massage bill was initiated by the American Massage Business Association (AMBA) and the Network joined forces to support this bill. For the last four years, the Network has been promoting local anti-trafficking ordinances in cities and counties across Iowa in order to allow local law enforcement to monitor massage businesses. The AMBA had resisted these Network efforts. Despite this, 25 cities passed and enforced local ordinances. The AMBA then realized that this was a benefit to legitimate massage businesses and suggested that it be implemented statewide, which HF 425 accomplished.

Above are a few photos that were taken. The middle photo shows Maggie Tinsman, who leads the NAHT Legislative Advocacy Committee, with Governor Reynolds and the board president of the Iowa chapter of the American Massage Business Association (AMBA), Robert Campbell. The photo on the right shows the Governor giving the signing pen to Tinsman as she did so much advocacy in the Legislature regarding this bill.

Here is a TV news story about the bill including a interview with the Assistant Director of the Iowa Department of Public Safety, Pat Waymire: Iowa bill aims to strengthen laws for prosecuting human trafficking.

Iowa Man Pleads Guilty to Sex Trafficking Eight Victims Including One Minor

A Des Moines man admits to sex trafficking a 14-year-old runaway and plead guilty to six counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion. Sentencing will take place September 12, 2021. Tap Here for more details.

Iowa’s First Trafficking Free Zone is Proclaimed

The Trafficking Free Zone Program was created by the U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking (USIAHT). It is a community-based initiative to reduce the number of buyers, whose continuous financial investments create an illicit market for traffickers to exploit young victims. The Trafficking Free Zone program is implemented in collaboration with community members and leaders, law enforcement, businesses, schools, healthcare organizations, churches and the media, all while using technology to reach buyers and victims on a massive scale. The program helps communities come together to arrest and prosecute sex buyers instead of the victims who are being sold, educates people on sex trafficking, and uses technology and research to reduce demand.

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The Franciscan Peace Center learned of the program from the Iowa NAHT and created a committee to promote it in the Clinton area. Thus far, the Sisters of St. Francis, the cities of Fulton, IL and Clinton, IA, the Fulton Police Department and Eastern Iowa Community College have all passed resolutions declaring themselves a Trafficking Free Zone. This is a first for the state of Iowa. When this proclamation is made, the employees of those entities take on-line training on the USIAHT website and learn more about human trafficking. When more and more people know about human trafficking, what it looks like, where it is occurring and how to help prevent it, the demand for victims will decrease, and this heinous crime will come to an end.

The Iowa Network Against Human Trafficking commends the Franciscan Peace Center for its leadership and commitment to fighting human trafficking. The NAHT has added a new goal to its strategic plan for 2021-22. The goal reads as follows: explore becoming the first state in the nation to become a Trafficking Free Zone. Encourage and support Iowa cities and counties that wish to become Trafficking Free Zones.

The Franciscan Peace Center and Iowa NAHT encourage you to get trained by going to https://usiaht.org/training/. There is an easy 10 question quiz following the approximately 30-minute video, and then you can print out your own individual certificate of completion. The Iowa NAHT hopes that other parts of Iowa will follow the Peace Center’s lead and locally promote the creation of Trafficking Free Zones.

For more information about how to get started, feel free to contact the director of the Franciscan Peace Center, Lori Freudenberg (pictured in this article) at lfreudenberg@clintonfranciscans.com or the co-chairs of the NAHT Dr. Joe Moravec at JMoravec@mercydesmoines.org and Shirlee Reding at Shirlee421@gmail.com.

Run the Runway 5K Against Human Trafficking a Huge Success

The University of Dubuque’s Spartan Nation Liberation Foundation, a student organization committed to combatting human trafficking, and the Dubuque Regional Airport, hosted its third annual “Run the Runway 5K Against Human Trafficking” on Saturday, April 17, 2021, at the airport. Over 215 individuals participated in the trafficking awareness event with over 30 volunteers helping to make it a success.

“Run the Runway” raises awareness about human trafficking and is an opportunity for people to come together and show support to fight this serious issue. The event also raises funds to support organizations fighting human trafficking. Proceeds supported three local not-for-profit organizations that fight to end human trafficking and included the YWCA Women’s Shelter, Friends of the Family, and the Tri State Coalition Against Human Trafficking. Each agency received $700 to off set operating costs.

“The Dubuque Regional Airport was proud to partner with the Department of Transportation’s Transportation Leaders Against Human Trafficking Initiative” Said Todd Dalsing, Regional Airport Director. This initiative is comprised of transportation and travel industry stakeholders working jointly to maximize their collective impact in combating human trafficking.

Run the Runway Against Human Trafficking

For more information about the Spartan Nation Liberation and this fundraising project, contact their faculty advisor Kim Hilby at khilby@dbq.edu.

Instagram Efforts to Protect Kids from traffickers

The National Center On Sexual Exploitation has been quite successful in their efforts to protect children on social media platforms such as Instagram. For an article that shows some of the many ways children are vulnerable to exploitation on social media, and specifically, what Instagram is doing and what they still need to do, go to ncose.com and under Victories, go to the yellow Victory! Instagram article.

The National Center on Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) reports that in 2020 their Cyber Tipline received more than 21.7 MILLION reports of child sexual exploitation – up 28 % from 2019!

Three Trafficking Awareness Projects Underway in Dubuque

Recently, the Tri-State Coalition Against Human Trafficking collaborated with the Dubuque Jule Transit Company to offer human trafficking awareness training sessions to approximately 70 local Jule bus drivers. Now, the Tri-State Coalition is funding a bus wrap which will highlight the need to end human trafficking, especially among vulnerable young persons; the message includes the National Human Trafficking Hotline number. The idea of the wrap came from Catholic Sisters in Wisconsin who purchased space on buses in Green Bay, Oshkosh and Milwaukee County. Beginning in June, the Dubuque wrap will be displayed on both sides of a medium heavy duty city bus which will take a different route throughout Dubuque every day for one full year. Funds for this awareness project will come from the Tri-State Coalition’s budget and generous donors to the project.

Large public events like athletic contests and fairs are a magnet for traffickers, and in Dubuque County, none will be bigger this summer than the major league baseball game on Aug. 12 between the Chicago Cubs and the New York Yankees at Dyersville’s iconic “Field of Dreams”. Bleacher seating for 8,000 fans is under construction, and ancillary events are also full-throttle ahead after last year’s cancellation due to the coronavirus. The Tri-State Coalition will take its message to a billboard on Highway 20 enroute to the Dyersville site from July 26-Aug. 22. (see photo) This location is also near the road to the Dubuque County Fair, which runs from July 27-30. The Coalition will also have a booth at the Fair with anti-trafficking information for all ages.

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With a population of nearly 100,000 residents in Dubuque county alone, the Tri-State Coalition members are hopeful that these three awareness projects will help to prevent vulnerable individuals from becoming trafficking victims. For more information or to join the Tri-State Coalition Against Human Trafficking contact Kim Hilby at Khilby@dbq.edu.

Webinar Recording: Ending Modern Day Slavery in Our Communities

More than 800 people participated in this live webinar three weeks ago. Now, you can too. This one-hour video is a great way to broaden your knowledge of modern slavery and efforts to fight it. The webinar was produced by Free the Slaves, a well known national anti-trafficking organization. The three primary speakers include: Timothy Patrick McCarthy, Harvard University professor and board chair of Free the Slaves, Bukeni Waruzi, executive director of Free the Slaves, Ashley Moody, Florida attorney general. To watch the webinar, tap here: https://vimeo.com/539646112

Information, Articles, and Resources

By on May 28, 2021   /   News