NEWSBYDANA LIEBELSON

This is part two of an interview with Jessica Dickinson Goodman, a student activist at Carnegie Mellon University who is doing research on anti-trafficking issues and helping rally support for a proposal that would help end sex trafficking in Pittsburgh massage parlors. Here, Dickinson Goodman outlines how you can get a similar ordinance passed in your own community. To read part one, click here.

1) Investigate. Read through the johns’ boards; see how many massage parlors are in your area. Making a map helps; ours was color-coded by city council district to make it easy for people to see how close these places are to our homes and schools. Be warned: these boards can be extremely graphic and disturbing.

An ordinance that would strengthen regulations on massage parlors in Pittsburgh will be voted on within the next couple weeks. If this bill passes, it has the potential to seriously curb sex trafficking in Pittsburgh and provide a model to the rest of the country. Change.org spoke with Jessica Dickinson Goodman, a student activist at Carnegie Mellon University who is doing research on anti-trafficking issues and helping rally support for this proposal.

Liebelson: How did you get involved with anti-human trafficking advocacy?

Dickinson Goodman: I worked on human trafficking during two summers in Washington, D.C. with the World Organization for Human Rights USA. There, I spent weeks reading the legal documents about their clients, some of whom were survivors of sex trafficking, and writing layperson-accessible stories about their lives for the website. Additionally, as a fellow with the Polaris Project last summer, I had the privilege of supporting their incredible staff and running my own high-impact projects.

A Pittsburgh city councilman is taking on sex trafficking in his hometown by targeting massage parlors. The innovative piece of legislation, proposed by Councilman Doug Shields, would regulate the businesses in an effort to prevent trafficking of employees. It might seem cliché to point fingers at massage parlors as contributing to the sex trade — but the reality is, these places are players in the sex trafficking industry and increasing regulations is only a good thing. To show your support, sign this petition by May 2, which is when the Pittsburgh City Council will vote on the proposal.

When is a massage parlor not just a place to get a peppermint-scented scrub? According to the Polaris Project, when the business uses “force, fraud, and/or coercion to maintain control over women.” And unfortunately, this isn’t a rarity. The victims of massage parlors are primarily Asian women, both documented and undocumented. These businesses claim to offer legitimate services, but instead force women to have sex with 6 to 10 men a day, 7 days a week. It is estimated that there are more than 5,000 brothels disguised as massage parlors in the United States.

Over 800 Change.org readers are asking a Missouri paper to apologize for printing a sensationalist story that places blame on a woman tortured in a horrific sex trafficking case — and you should too. Last September, five Missouri men were indicted for trafficking a 16-year-old mentally deficient girl and forcing her to sign a “sex slave contract.” For four years, the men allegedly made her work as a stripper, sexually abused her and tortured her on webcam. She had a barcode tattooed on her neck, and the letter “S”—for slave.  So far, two of the men have pleaded guilty (if you have a strong stomach, go ahead and read this press release on the plea, published by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. It’s disgusting.)

But on November 5, 2010 The St. Louis Post-Dispatch published a story by Todd C. Frankel about the case that is sensationalist at best, dangerous victim-blaming at worst. Entitled, “A Missouri Town's Doubts About a Sex Torture Case,” the article reports the story from the traffickers’ point of view. Frankel paints the married Bagley couple — who have since both been charged for sex trafficking — as loving adoptive parents with an unorthodox sex life. Marilyn Bagley is described as a woman who believes “family is everything,” and relates her “wonderful relationship” with the trafficking victim to the HBO Show, “Big Love.” It’s all rather touching until one remembers that Bagley has since been accused of helping her husband, Edward Bagley, “beat, whip, flog, suffocate, choke, electrocute, cane, skewer, drown and mutilate” a 16-year-old girl.

A Missouri bill that would toughen penalties for human trafficking has unanimously passed through the Senate. Although newspapers reported that the Senate gave first-round approval to SB394, the bill actually passed 32-0 on Thursday, according to Margaret Howard, an anti-trafficking lobbyer closely involved with the legislation. This isn’t just breaking news—it’s fantastic go-dance-on-the-table news. This bill will significantly up the jail time given to traffickers, fine traffickers for the crime and institute a statewide training and victim identification program.

But the work isn’t quite done yet: the Senate Judiciary Committee will hear the House version of this bill on Monday. If it passes both bills will be sent to Governor Jay Nixon to sign into law. Over 500 Change.org readers have already signed the petition to support this bill — let’s make it 1000. Doubling the support of this bill would send a strong message to the governor that it’s time to boot trafficking out of Missouri for good. Sign the petition here and then Tweet/Facebook/Flickr/YouTube it!

Need inspiration? Here’s what fellow Change.org readers are saying about this bill: Mary Drummond wrote, “Let us not be the ones to allow people to get off free for making slaves from children.” Kai Lancaster said, “By making human trafficking offenders pay stiff sentences, hopefully we can break this cycle of damaging human beings.” Amber Huntzinger wrote, “It makes me sick reading all of this. We need to end this. Period.”

Specifically, the bill would raise the penalty for trafficking to 20 or 30 years in prison, and life in some cases. It would also fine traffickers up to $250,000. It also empowers the government to establish procedures for identifying victims of trafficking and to develop training programs for law enforcement. In short, this legislation would make a major difference in how trafficking is dealt with in Missouri and it is this close to passing — with your support!

“I am proud of my state legislators. It’s wonderful to see both sides of the aisle working together to make substantial progress on this vital human rights issue,” said Howard.

Photo By: Lightsurgery

Speak with anyone who helped pass Georgia’s anti-trafficking bill and one word resonates the most: disbelief. Despite the fact that House Bill 200 was an urgently needed piece of legislation that will finally equip Georgia with the tools to combat human trafficking — no one can quite believe this groundbreaking bill passed. Georgia has historically lagged in the fight against human trafficking and up until the passage of HB 200, criminals convicted of trafficking a person over eighteen faced as little as one year in prison. But thanks to the help of more than 300 Change.org readers and some passionate and dedicated representatives and lobbyists, a comprehensive trafficking law in Georgia isn’t just a pipe dream anymore — it’s reality.

“I am over the moon. I still can’t believe it,” Stephanie Davis, the executive director of Georgia Women for a Change, told Change.org.  The bill cleared the Senate with a unanimous vote on Tuesday. It was written and passed in the same session—without any amendments. Julianna McConnell, Street GRACE advocacy chairperson said, “I’ve been a lobbyist for 20 years and this is probably one of the most fulfilling moments of my career.”

Texas received so much trafficking-related attention during the Super Bowl, it was easy to forget that SB 98 was quietly making its way through the state’s legislative process. But four months and 370 Change.org supporters later, the anti-trafficking bill passed without a hitch. What does this mean for the Lone Star State? For one thing: tougher laws on sex and labor trafficking and harsher penalties for child trafficking. But the passage of this bill might also be the bellwether needed to convince other states to pass their own trafficking legislation. Texas has a strong track record of preemptively combating trafficking issues — Virginia, Georgia and Missouri? Not so much. As you’re toasting the (real) champagne, don’t forget to pick up a (virtual) pen and support these other great pieces of legislation.

This Texan law was created from the recommendations of a statewide 47-member Human Trafficking Prevention Task Force. It increases the minimum jail time for offenders to 25 years in prison, makes it a felony to force children into prostitution and gives automatic life sentences to repeat offenders. It expands the definition of human trafficking to include both sex and labor trafficking. The law will also provide a certain measure of legal protection for victims, giving children forced into prostitution provisions similar to sexual assault cases.

This is part two of an interview with Margaret Howard, an anti-trafficking advocate who has testified for Missouri’s anti-trafficking bill, and is committed to getting the legislation passed. To read part one of the interview, click here. To show your support for the bill, click here.

Liebelson: Why do you think this bill needs to pass in Missouri?

Howard: For me, if this law had been in effect when I was a child, maybe I would have gotten the help I needed to heal. As it was, I just assumed that what happened to me was my fault. Workers from across all service areas—domestic violence, health care, youth service—worry that they are seeing more and more children trafficked for sex, but that those children are falling through the cracks because neither they nor law enforcement have the training to identify and serve them. This law would mandate that law enforcement route a trafficked person to services. This is very, very important, because right now even children who are trafficked for sex are being sent right back to where they came from, and are of course then further abused.

Also, traffickers and predators are getting away with buying and selling our children. This law is the first step in addressing demand by sending a clear message that buying or selling human beings will be met with the full force of real law, law that has enough teeth to act as a true deterrent. This law also lets trafficked persons sue the trafficker in civil court for recovery of damages and wages. Right now, criminals are making a lot of money buying and selling human beings—more money than they are making selling illegal arms, and nearly as much money as selling drugs. We have to make the buying and selling of human beings just plain not worth the risk.

Liebelson: What challenges do you see facing the passage of this bill? How can they be overcome?

A bill that would give stronger penalties to human traffickers is headed to the Senate in Missouri. Change.org caught up with Margaret Howard, an anti-trafficking advocate who has testified for the bill and is committed to getting this legislation passed. To join her in support of the bill, click here.

Liebelson: How did you get involved in anti-trafficking advocacy?

Howard: I was kidnapped when I was 13-years-old, and turned over to a trafficker. I was very lucky, in that I got away from him fast. But the effects of that experience were profound. I never had a name for what happened to me, all I had was shame. And that trauma and shame haunted me my entire life. I cannot describe how profound it was to finally have a name for what I had gone through, and how healing it was to know that people were working hard to make and enforce laws against hurting people the way I had been hurt. When I told the story and heard someone say for the first time, “It was not your fault,” someone who really knew what had happened to me, it was like a door opened in my heart.

I have been a writer and teacher most of my life, and have worked on various community and political issues over the years, so I have some community organizing experience. It took me a while to work up the nerve to go back to school at 50-years-old, but events conspired in such a way that finally it seemed like the only sensible thing to do.

When I first went back to grad school [at the Washington University in St. Louis] I knew I wanted to change the world to make human trafficking go away, but I didn’t know how or where to start or what area I wanted to address, exactly. Human trafficking is such a huge issue -- global, cultural, legal, legislative, individual, spiritual. As I learned all this, it seemed overwhelming. How could I address all these areas?

March madness has hit state anti-trafficking legislation. The latest bill to steamroll through the House belongs to Missouri, and passed 155-0. Perhaps the “show-me state” caught some of the positive momentum snowballing in from Georgia and Virginia? Regardless, there’s work to be done before HB 214 passes. The bill, which was introduced by Rep. Jason Kander (D-Kansas City), would enhance the state penalties for trafficking to match federal penalties, and empower state law enforcement. The bill also requires offenders to pay restitution to victims who can’t afford mental and physical rehabilitation. In short, this is an awesome piece of legislation to get behind, and here’s how Sign this petition, and contact Missouri legislators.

“What was striking to me was the pervasiveness of this in Missouri,” said Rep. Jeff Grisamore (R-Jackson) during the House floor debate. Statistics back his statement up: the Western District of Missouri has prosecuted more people for human trafficking than any other region in the country. Additionally, Missouri is home to some particularly disgusting trafficking cases. Last September, five Missouri men were indicted for forcing a 16-year-old mentally deficient girl to sign a “sex slave contract.” In October, a man was accused of running a 14-state human trafficking ring in Kansas City. Another trafficker made more than $6 million off of luring foreigners to Missouri and threatening their families if they tried to escape slave labor.