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The Iowa Network Against Human Trafficking and Slavery (NAHT) thanks all of our 1500 blog post/ newsletter subscribers for your support of our goal to end human trafficking/modern slavery in all its forms in Iowa. We wish you a joy-filled, healthy, and blessed holiday season and a happy and healthy new year, 2024.

Governor’s Proclamation Signing Event January 11th Declaring January 2024 “Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month” and You are Invited!

The NAHT will host a public proclamation signing by Governor Kim Reynolds, designating January 2024 as “Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.” The proclamation declaration will take place on Thursday, January 11th at 11:30 a.m. in the Rotunda of the State Capitol Building in Des Moines. To download a copy of the “Save the Date” flyer, please tap here (PDF).

Before you depart for the State Capitol Building, please wear something blue. January 11th is also National Wear Blue Day. This is the international color for human trafficking awareness.

During “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 2024, let’s not simply reflect on this appalling reality. Instead, we must pledge to do all in our power to end the horrific practice of human trafficking/modern slavery that plagues innocent victims around the world.

Worldwide, an estimated 50 million people are currently victims of human trafficking. That’s a 10 million increase since 2019. 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.

Four 2024 Outstanding Anti-Trafficking Service Awards will also be presented by the Governor and NAHT on January 11th, immediately following the proclamation signing. We will announce these four anti-trafficking heroes in the January 2024 blog post/newsletter.

Iowa Trafficker Receives 40-Year Sentence

(Editor’s note: This article is courtesy of the Des Moines Register 9/25/23, written by William Morris)

A Des Moines man who “left a wake of destruction, trauma and pain,” according to prosecutors, has been sentenced to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to sex trafficking.

Richard Ball, 47, was charged last year with 17 federal sex, drug and kidnapping charges involving six victims, including three minors. He pleaded guilty in June to four charges: sexual exploitation of a child, conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, sex trafficking and kidnapping. On Tuesday, he received concurrent prison sentences of 40, 30 and 10 years.

Court filings paint a picture of horrific and protracted abuse by Ball. In his guilty plea, he admitted to pressuring or threatening multiple women into engaging in prostitution for him, and to sexually and physically abusing them himself. Ball “convinced (several victims) that she could demonstrate her love or contribute to their relationship by engaging in commercial sex acts,” he admitted in court filings.

In one case, he kidnapped and assaulted one woman whom he forcibly brought from Missouri to Des Moines. Prosecutors note in court filings that several victims at different times tried to escape by moving out of the state, only to be stalked or tricked by Ball into returning.

At the same time, Ball admitted to having sex with and soliciting explicit videos from underage girls. In court filings, prosecutors called it “particularly sickening” that Ball targeted women with minor children, whom he would groom and abuse alongside their mothers. One girl was abused by Ball for about five years, starting when she was 13, prosecutors said. Read more.

Ask Your City Council to Adopt a Local Proclamation for January 2024

Another important request to all Iowa anti-trafficking advocates is to approach your city council and/or county board of supervisors about declaring January 2024 as Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month in your local community/county. 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)

Once your city and county local governments vote to adopt the proclamation, they will publicly present it to you at a meeting. You can attend the meeting and interact with your council or supervisors. What a great way to create public awareness and recognition of this growing problem across Iowa and within your own home community. An example proclamation acceptance script for you to respond to your city council is found by clicking this link: Sample Acceptance Script (PDF).  When you speak to the city/county please share data as shown in the chart above.

Revised 2024 NAHT Legislative Priorities

The Legislative Advocacy Committee of the NAHT met on November 14th to revise the wording of the 2024 priorities for human trafficking legislators to set before the 2024 legislature. Below is the revised 2024 Legislative Agenda:

Allocate Funding to Combat Human Trafficking

NAHT requests an allocation of $5M in Justice System Appropriations for Human Trafficking Victim Services. Currently, Iowa does not allocate any state funding to support victims of human trafficking.

Implement Recommendations of Human Trafficking Interim Study

NAHT supports the implementation of appropriate recommendations made by the 2023 Human Trafficking Interim Study Committee.

Policy Statements

The NAHT supports:

    • The enactment of an expungement process of criminal records of survivors of human trafficking who were compelled or forced to commit illegal acts. This would include vacatur legislation to reverse the actual adjudication or finding of guilt.
    • Adopting legislation requiring schools to provide child sex abuse awareness and prevention for students, parents, and school employees as requested by Prevent Child Abuse Iowa.
    • Adopting legislation to require safe filter technology to prevent cell phones and tablets from accessing or displaying material that is harmful to minors.

We ask for your help to advocate for these priorities by communicating with your legislator and following an action plan prepared by Advocacy Strategies and Maggie Tinsman, Chair of the NAHT Legislative Advocacy Committee. This document also outlines justification for these proposed legislative priorities and the outcome of the three Safe Harbor workgroup meetings. Please tap here (PDF).

Wednesday, January 11th is Wear Blue Day

On Wednesday, 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: The Blue Campaign and Human Trafficking

Rotarian’s “Walk for Freedom” to Abolish Modern Slavery

A combined effort of two Rotary Districts (Iowa 6000 & Illinois 6420) resulted in a Quad Cities “Walk for Freedom” which took place on October 14th. Most participants wore black and walked single-file across the bridge between Iowa and Illinois. These Rotarians braved a cold and windy Saturday morning. The signs called on everyone to help to abolish human trafficking and modern slavery. Many drivers on the bridge honked their horns in support of Rotary’s fight to end human trafficking.

Two of the leaders in the walk (shown in the photo) are members of the NAHT Board of Directors. Maggie Tinsman and Deanna Jensen demonstrated their commitment as modern-day abolitionists.

Annually, A21 (an international anti-trafficking nonprofit) organizes walks for freedom across the world. This year, 425 communities across over 50 countries reached nearly 800 million people through media and awareness of human trafficking. Here is a link to a video that recaps the marches and tells you how your community can organize a “Freedom Walk” next year: Walk for Freedom 2023 Recap

Iowa’s Anti-trafficking Legislation Receives an “F” on Report Card

The Shared Hope state report cards were just released on November 15th, 2023. While Iowa made some progress in the last legislative session, we still have a long way to go! Currently we have an “F” on the National report card. A toolkit will show you Iowa’s areas of relative strength and also our deficits and how we compare with what other states are doing. A link to this 45-page report can be found here: https://reportcards.sharedhope.org/year2023/iowa/

Please take sme time to review this study and share this document with your legislators and representatives. NOW is the time to meet legislators and summarize the important points contained in this report card and advocate for the support of the NAHT legislative priorities.

TV News Clips & Newspaper Articles

By on November 28, 2023   /   News