Second Chance News
June 6, 2008
Second Chance to Present at National Organization for Women Conference
On July 19, 2008 representatives from Second Chance will be presenting at the annual National Organization for Women conference. Dr. Celia Williamson Second Chance Founder and Advisory Board Chair and interns Lisa Fedina and Jessica Trease will be presenting on Domestic Child Sex Trafficking. The presentation will cover incarceration of children who are trafficking victims, the magnitude of the problem, why this issue must be at the forefront of the feminist agenda, current policy issues, and grassroots advocacy efforts that organizations can undertake.
June 4, 2008
Child Charged with Solicitation in Lucas County, Ohio
An advocate from Second Chance spoke on behalf of a child who was counseled by the prosecutor and her public defender to admit to the charge of soliciting. The advocate from Second Chance reminded the court and prosecutors that the Federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act states that minors involved in or arrested in acts of prostitution are victims of crimes, not criminals themselves. Stating that the child will be dead by the age of 18 if allowed to continue on this path, the prosecutor advocated that for the child's own safety, the child should be held in detention for 90 days. Second Chance believes that this is not the correct way to assist this child. Charging children with solicitation is an incorrect and harmful response to the involvement of children in prostitution. Our courts and other systems must recognize that many children involved in prostitution are victims of domestic sex trafficking and that all are victims of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children.
May 29, 2008
Second Chance Mentioned During Senate Testimony on Human Trafficking Legislation
Senator Fedor who the primary sponsor of Senate Bill 205 gave testimony on this legislation recently. Senate Bill 205 is one of three proposed pieces of legislation to address human trafficking in Ohio. During her testimony Senator Fedor stated that, "It is apparent that in addition to any forced sexual act or labor, any minor who is induced to perform a sex act is a victim of a severe form of human trafficking. Thus Toledo and Other Ohio cities and towns harbor unidentified victims of human trafficking.”
During her testimony Senator Fedor stated that she has been working with Second Chance to address human trafficking in Ohio and cited a Second Chance report titled Child Sex Trafficking in Lucas County: Preliminary Findings from Interviews with Survivors by Dr. Celia Williamson.
If Senate Bill 205 is passed then it will define human trafficking, create criminal provisions for trafficking in persons and promoting sex tourism, provide statistics on human trafficking, and ensure that children who are victims of trafficking are not incarcerated.