In the presence of female leaders and Congressmen, Linda Smith encourages Congress to properly address child sex trafficking in America and set the precedent for other countries to follow.
On October 21, SHI President and Founder Linda Smith testified before the Subcommittee on Foreign Relations to represent hundreds of thousands of silent voices across the world. These voices are unheard because they belong to bodies that are abused multiple times a day for months or years at a time. Each year, millions of women and girls are enslaved into sex trafficking within their own borders or smuggled across one or multiple borders for sexual exploitation. These voices are the victims of sex trafficking, crying out from every nation around the globe.
Linda joined the Honorable Janice D. Schakowsky (U.S. House of Representatives), the Honorable Melanne Verveer (Ambassador-at-Large Office of Global Women’s Issues, U.S. Department of State), Ms. Mallika Dutt (Founder and Executive Director of Breakthrough) and Ms. Nicole Kidman (actress and UNIFEM Goodwill Ambassador to Congress to raise concern for the abuse and mistreatment of women around the world.
The hearing wasn’t your usual meeting on human rights: five women stood before the United States Congress standing proud before Congress to seriously consider the laws, including the enforcement of those laws that keep thousands of women locked in captivity and exploitation through forms of domestic violence. As Melanne Verveer said, quoting Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, “You cannot have vibrant civil societies if half the population is left behind.”
Linda Smith goes (back) to Congress, encouraging lawmakers to properly address child sex trafficking in the United States before taking the battle abroad!
Though the primary focus of the hearing was to discuss internationalviolence against women, Linda boldly asked Congress members how the United States can claim to be a leader and set international standards for the treatment and protection of women when 100,000 children in the United States are forced to perform commercial sex acts each year within our own borders.
Linda Smith goes (back) to Congress, encouraging lawmakers to properly address child sex trafficking in the United States before taking the battle abroad!
Linda’s remarks were well received from Republican and Democrat members alike. Several members of Congress, including Congressman Poe and Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Congressman Delahunt agreed with Linda on the importance of addressing the issue of domestic minor sex trafficking. In addition, Congressman Rohrabacher stated that we must impose sanctions and take action when nations don’t comply with legislation that involves violence against women, or when grave abuses against women are taking place.
Linda’s testimony in Congress was a historic day for Shared Hope International. Not only did Linda remind Congress to prioritize U.S. efforts to fight sex trafficking within their borders, she also requested that the DEMAND and National Reports be added to the Congressional Record! Approved immediately by Congressman Delahunt, we are proud to say that two of Shared Hope’s reports are now recognized by U.S. Congress.
Many thanks to the supporters who waited patiently in line and packed the hearing room to support Linda’s message. Your presence served as an unwavering voice for the thousands of women and children whose bondage denies them the opportunity to speak against the crimes committed against them. Read the National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking to learn more about sex trafficking in the United States.
Linda Smith, Samantha Healy Vardaman and Melissa Snow with the newly released report, "The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking"
Linda Smith, Founder and President of Shared Hope International, spoke on the Congressional Briefing on Domestic Human Trafficking on Tuesday July 21. Below are excerpts of her remarks that cover the findings of the National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking, also released on July 21, in addition to recommendations to Congress from Shared Hope International.
The foundation of The National Report lies in the assessments on the identification and response to domestic minor sex trafficking in ten site locations under a project supported by the U.S Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance.
The video we played demonstrates the reality of the market places of victimization here in the United States. The footage in this video was obtained by an independent human rights investigator and veteran researcher in the field of sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children whom we have been fortunate to work with as part of Shared Hope’s Predator Project. The video reveals how very easy it is to buy an American child for sex – for the right price, a child is available for rent in nearly every city in America.
The National Report reveals the startling facts that at least 100,000 children are used in prostitution every year in the United States and the average age of entry into prostitution is 13 years old. We learned through our research that in Las Vegas, 226 juveniles came before the Juvenile Court judge in just 20 months; in Miami, 21 girls were prosecuted for prostitution in one year; and in Dallas, 165 juveniles were detained on prostitution and related charges in 2007. These are just the children that were discovered and the cases documents – the real numbers are much bigger. In nearly every case the child rather than the buyer is arrested. The minor defined by the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) as a victim is arrested for the crime committed against her.
The arrest and prosecution of buyers must be made a priority across the nation and at all levels of law enforcement. The sex trafficking of U.S. children is driven by demand for the commercial sex acts they perform. The supply of women and children in the sex industry serves as the fuel for this crime. As the demand increases, traffickers must increase the supply of victims.
How do we fight this demand? Innovative investigative techniques, technology, and protocols are needed to combat domestic minor sex trafficking. One example of this innovation and focus in action is in the Western District of Missouri which includes Kansas City. A pioneering Assistant U.S. Attorney in that district, Cynthia Cordes, with the support of her office has pursued buyers of commercial sex with children by working with the task force to plan and implement an operation designed to satisfy the evidentiary requirements of the TVPA, specifically sections 1591 and 2224(b) using the words “obtain” and “entice” to charge, indict and secure a guilty plea in three cases of attempted domestic minor sex trafficking to date. Since this operation netting indictments of seven men seeking to buy sex with a minor, five other U.S. Attorney’s Offices from Virginia to Alabama have initiated similarly modeled operations. In the model indictment the lead count is the crime of “obtaining” a minor for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
What can Congress do? The defense bar is positioning for an appeal asserting the inapplicability of the TVPA to buyers of commercial sex. With no intention of slowing down the filing of indictments, a formal appeal to the 8th Circuit is certain to come in the near future. It is critical that Congress express its intent to reach all facets of the sex trafficking crime with the TVPA, including the demand facet – the buyer. This intent is not clearly articulated in the Congressional history underlying the TVPA. A clear statement by Congress is needed to enable the federal prosecutors to continue to indict the buyers of commercial sex from minors, bringing to bear the tremendous deterrent value of the heavy federal penalties.
The enormous disparity in penalties between a state conviction and a federal conviction make the TVPA the key to deterring demand. Faced with a mandatory minimum of 15 years for a child under 14 and 10 years for one over 14, the buyer is likely to think twice before proceeding with the crime of child sex trafficking. Comparable state convictions reflect penalties in the range of 3-5 years in comparison. Also, federal prosecutors can seek restitution – a moral and financial victory for the victim of domestic minor sex trafficking.
Congress must speak to the intent of the TVPA to reach the demand component in the criminal markets of sex trafficking.
A second issue that is prevalent across America is the widespread arrest of victims of domestic minor sex trafficking for the crime of prostitution. One stunning example is found in the following declaration of arrest completed by a police officer in 2006. The declaration states:
“After watching the truck slow down and the female approach the truck, then later finding the truck on a side street with the female in the truck, through my training and experience I know this is a common practice for prostitution related crimes. We then approached the vehicle and came on a juvenile (DOB 3-19-1994) and male (DOB 11-4-1959) involved in a sex act. Due to the above circumstances, the stated agreement for $40 for a hand job, observation that he had $45 in U.S. currency hanging from his left front pocket of his pants, had lotion on both of his hands, she stating she was engaging in an act of prostitution…. she was placed under arrest for soliciting prostitution and was transported to CCJH. … probable cause exists to hold said person pending plea and trial.”
The outcome of this arrest: a 12 year old girl was handcuffed, placed under arrest, and transported to the juvenile detention facility in Las Vegas. The man, nearly 48 years old, was allowed to drive away.
Our research revealed hundreds of children arrested, charged and prosecuted for prostitution, despite their status as minors and, therefore, as victims of child sex trafficking. Appropriate protective shelter and services are critical for the protection and restoration of child sex trafficking victims – but they do not exist.
What can Congress do? There are two actions Congress can take to overcome this primary barrier to the proper response to the victims of domestic minor sex trafficking.First, Congress must appropriate the federal funds authorized in the TVPA for services and pilot shelters in the TVPA. You have the opportunity and obligation to send a strong message to the fifty states that Congress intends for these children to be treated as victims and be given the all of the services and justice which the TVPA provides. The dichotomy between the funded and provided services and shelter for foreign victims and those mandated but not funded for domestic victims must be cured. We are providing greater protection and care for non-citizens than for our own children.
The second key action Congress can take to remedy the failure to protect the young victims of domestic minor sex trafficking is to tie standards of protection and services for the protected class of domestic minor sex trafficking victims to current federal funding streams to the states. Congress can ensure the proper victim rights and treatment for the child sex trafficking victim by requiring certain standards of care and the development and provision of certain protections for the victims through conditioning federal funding to states.
To help guide the states in this endeavor, the federal government can promote the enactment of legislation similar to the newly enacted New York Safe Harbor Act which decriminalizes a juvenile who comes before the court for the first time on a prostitution charge and instead classifies the youth as a child in need of supervision, providing services and appropriate shelter.
The lack of appropriate shelter is cited as the biggest problem first responders face in protecting the child victims of sex trafficking and prevents further advancements in breaking the cycle of violence and victimization the child sex trafficking victim faces. Those first responders who want to help feel they cannot as their only options are a runaway youth shelter or juvenile detention without a safe, secure facility to protect these children.
We urge you to take aggressive action to protect our nation’s children, providing them with the safety to live and to grow and to follow their dreams.
Please visit www.sharedhope.org for more information on our current National Awareness Campaign.
Shared Hope Founder and President Linda Smith with Ernie Allen, President and CEO for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Eliza Thurston is currently a summer intern at Shared Hope Arlington office. Eliza is a student at Grove City College, where she is studying Politics and French. During her internship, Eliza has been working on college awareness materials addressing Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking.
This past week, after taking the Capitol by storm with our National Report deliveries, the Capitol took us by storm! Pounding the marble paid off (see Kelly’s post), packing Rayburn 2226 Tuesday morning for the Congressional Human Trafficking Briefing. Not only was this the first ever Briefing on domestic minor sex trafficking–focusing specifically on trafficking happening here in the United States–but it was also the official release of our National Report. Definitely an exciting day for Shared Hope!
When we arrived around 9:30 to do last minute preparations, we found the staffers from Congressman Poe’s office already adding chairs to make more room for attendees. After preparing Reports for each panelist and arranging Shared Hope material on the information table, the other interns and I took a place at the door to greet people as they walked in. By 10AM people were lining the walls, standing wherever they could find a spot. Even while Ambassador Louis deBaca, one of the first speakers, delivered his remarks, people were still squeezing in! The sense of urgency and excitement in the room was powerful.
Congressman Christopher Smith, Co-Chair of the Human Trafficking Caucus, opened the Briefing with a passionate introduction. Among other things, Rep. Smith asked the Caucus to appropriate funds for safe houses for domestic minor sex trafficking victims. The National Report found a severe lack of restorative homes for these victims, and recommends that Congress release money to support existing homes and make funds available for new ones. We were very grateful to hear Congressman Smith echoing our concerns.
Allison Hollabaugh, a representative from Congressman Smith’s office, then introduced Ambassador Luis deBaca, Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. Ambassador deBaca’s energy and enthusiasm shined through his speech, and his introduction set the tone for a constructive and informative dialogue. Having just returned from a visit overseas, he focused on the progress being made in the international fight against human trafficking. He wrapped up by returning the focus to United States, and on the trafficking–particularly the sex trafficking of children–that happens right here in our own cities. Bret Rumbeck, representing Congressman Jim Costa’s office, then introduced the Department of Justice panelists: Andrew Oosterbaan, Chief of the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section; and Robert Moossy, Director of the DOJ’s Human Trafficking Protection. Both explained what the Department is doing to fight sex trafficking domestically, and emphasized the need for greater partnership among the government, law enforcement as well as with NGOs such as Shared Hope.
The NGO panelists (that’s us!) were next. Along with our very own Linda Smith, the panel included Ernie Allen, president and CEO of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and Bradley Myles, Deputy Director of Polaris Project. Whereas the DOJ panel gave a government/law enforcement perspective, the NGO panel really dug into the victim side of trafficking. Their stories revealed the human side of what the victims go through, and the hope that organizations like Shared Hope are shining into the dark world of trafficking.
The presentation was made particularly moving when the lights dimmed and the shocking footage from our undercover investigations flashed across the TV screen. Not only did the video show the trafficking transactions that happen nightly on our streets, but it also put a real face on the victims. “Tonya’s” interview closed the video with a heart-wrenching question, challenging all of us in the audience. Describing the exploitation and abuse she suffered night after night after night at the hands of her pimps, she asked “Who was there to stop them? No one…no one was there.”
Tuesday’s Briefing demonstrated that there is someone working to stop them–countless NGOs, concerned individuals, Congressmen, law enforcement, the State Department and the Department of Justice, to be exact. It is an uphill battle, but if the passion and creativity displayed by those participating in the Briefing is any indicator, we are definitely a force to be reckoned with!
This was the topic of an unprecedented congressional briefing on Capitol Hill that took place yesterday. Co- sponsored by the Caucus on Victims’ Rights and the Caucus on Human Trafficking, Congressman Chris Smith, Congressman Ted Poe, and Congressman Jim Costa were attentively listening to the challenges and recommendations of the panelists in addressing child sex slavery in America. In addition to the Congressman in attendance – the room was packed with nearly 80 congressional staffers and professionals. A clear message was sent that we are concerned about every victim exploited through the crime of human trafficking and that includes hundreds of thousands of American kids – every year.
The congressional briefing was spurred by the National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America’s Prostituted Children written by Shared Hope International. The report reveals the shocking findings of three years of intensive research on the issue of child sex trafficking in America from ten locations across the U.S. While the research locations ranged from areas as diverse as Salt Lake City, Utah to Clearwater, Florida and Las Vegas, Nevada the findings were hauntingly similar – underage American girls are the bulk of victims in commercial sex markets and are too often being arrested rather than rescued. Additionally, nearly every interview revealed that American child sex trafficking victims were being misidentified or not identified at all by Child Protective Services and social service providers who are responsible for providing proper treatment and care. The arrest and lack of specialized services for these children is causing revictimization.
Important key findings:
At least 100,000 children are used in prostitution every year in the United States.
The average age of entry into prostitution is 13 years old.
Prostituted girls are often controlled by a pimp who recruits them into sex trafficking by posing as a boyfriend, caretaker, and protector.
The 3 primary manifestations of child sex trafficking in America is: pimp-controlled prostitution, familial prostitution, and/or survival sex.
The business of sex trafficking of America’s youth is flourishing as demand for commercial sex with young, innocent girls and boys continues to occur with little and low punishment.
Child sexual slavery is fueled by a cultural of tolerance which glorifies pimping and normalizes the sexual exploitation of children.
Domestic minor sex trafficking is a serious problem in the U.S., and one that will not be solved overnight. But the first step is admitting to ourselves that it’s not just foreign kids who are vulnerable- it’s our kids. And this report is the first step to learning to admit that.
Kelly Smith is a summer intern in the Arlington office at Shared Hope. Kelly has been working on legislative issues regarding child sex trafficking victims. Kelly is a student at Pepperdine University where she is involved with human trafficking awareness programming.
After today, I have realized that dreams have no bounds.
This summer has been a dream in itself. Embarking on Capitol Hill, visiting EVERY Congressman and Senator’s office, fighting to end sex trafficking—everything came crashing together, full speed on Wednesday, when Shared Hope International (SHI) reached out to the Capitol with important reading materials in preparation for the Congressional Human Trafficking Briefing to be held on July 21, 2009.
Although I knew that my summer internship with Shared Hope would bring some unexpected surprises, I never anticipated that I would be roaming the halls of Congress to raise awareness about child sex trafficking. In one day, we marched through the halls of both the Senate and House buildings, providing over 500 Congressmen and Senators with a copy of our National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking.
Walking into every office, we conversed with each Congressman’s staffers to voice the importance of a little-known message: U.S. children are being sold into sexual slavery in America. Indeed, after handing them our report, a common response was “I’ll hand this to our Legislative Assistant for International Relations.” However, human trafficking is not just an international issue. Some of us refuse to believe it, but human trafficking is also a national issue. America’s kids are being trafficked right here, in our own cities.
Because the issue of trafficking is SO huge and broad, the focus has been unclear. But one message needs to be understood: any child exploited through prostitution is a victim.
SHI is encouraging our nation’s leaders to take action and address these concerns within our own neighborhoods. Sex trafficking continues to be one of the fastest growing criminal industries in the world. The truth is that the United States plays a role in this criminal industry—the US has become a large import and export destination for traffickers. It is occurring everywhere and can affect anyone. This problem must be addressed. It can no longer be ignored.
There must be sense of urgency. Encourage your local legislators, Senators and Congressmen to examine the issue of sex trafficking in your state by writing them a letter, or placing a phone call. Add your voice to the many others across America who are speaking out and making a difference.
Many people dream of changing the world. As ambitious as it seems, it is achievable. A mere ten years ago, we refused to believe that slavery still existed. But today, almost everyone is aware that human trafficking is happening all over the world. Together, we can work to raise awareness of sex trafficking and fight for its eradication.
Let us practice what we preach. Let us unite and stop sex trafficking in our own country, so we can set an example for others. We must start within our nation’s borders before we can work beyond. One small step at a time increases the potential for success—every step counts. Why dream it when you can achieve it? Everything begins with you. Educate yourself. Encourage others. Address the concerns in your neighborhood and take action.
On Tuesday July 21, Shared Hope International will release a groundbreaking report on child sex trafficking in the United States at the Congressional Human Trafficking Briefing on Capitol Hill hosted by the Human Trafficking Caucus and Victims’ Rights Caucus. The briefing was initiated and led by two long-time advocates for victims protections, Congressman Poe (TX) and Congressman Smith (NJ).
Linda Smith (1994-98), Founder of Shared Hope International, along with representatives from the Department of Justice and President of The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Ernie Allen, will present and comment on the findings of more than four years of research in America.
Shared Hope International’s National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking, America’s Prostituted Children highlights the harsh reality that hundreds of thousands of American children are victimized through sex trafficking in the United States driven by the demand for the commercial sex acts they perform. A child sex trafficking victim who is purchased for sex by 5 different men per night, 5 nights per week for an average of 5 years would have been raped by 6,000 buyers during her victimization through prostitution. Many of these child rapists are never charged or prosecuted while the young victims’ lives are destroyed. To watch a shocking human rights surveillance video instantly, click the link: http://www.sharedhope.org/what/dmst.asp
WHAT YOU CAN DO
1. Become familiar with the prevalance of Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking in your community. Visit http://www.sharedhope.org/dmst/ to view our assessments of 11 locations in the United States; each one illustrating the prevalance of domestic minor sex trafficking in the United States.
2. Raise awareness! Inform your friends, neighbors and relatives that American children being sold into sexual slavery EVERY DAY – in your state, your city, your town.
3. Follow our progress as we continue to battle against the trafficking of children. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, our website, and here on our blog.
4. Contact your Congressman. Encourage your Congressman to participate in Tuesday’s hearing and remind them the importance of protecting ALL of America’s children. Contact your state congressman and senator today!
Raising and spreading awareness of the issue of sex trafficking is, unfortunately, still a big element of the overall movement towards eradication. There are still many common misconceptions and a lack of knowledge about the extent to which sex trafficking occurs both abroad and in the U.S. The average person isn’t confronted with and doesn’t have to (or want to!) think about what a victim of sex trafficking must endure. Many people, including influential people in the media, use the word ‘pimp’ lightly or even with a positive connotation without any reference to the real horrors pimps inflict on the girls they control. And when it is often an average American man who is the consumer of sex in the sex trafficking equation, whether it be within our borders or abroad, it becomes incredibly important to raise these issues in everyday conversation.
The taboo that surrounds this topic must be broken and voices that highlight the basic human rights violations that are at the center of this issue must be raised.
This is perhaps an easy task for those that are deeply entrenched in the fight to end sex trafficking – those that work for any number of organizations that address the issue. But, another segment of the population must also be held accountable for spreading this awareness. There are many people who become aware of the realities of sex trafficking simply by reading a news article about it or by stumbling upon a sex trafficking organization’s website and maybe watching an informative video or two. Once information about the problem is gained, it can be part of a toolkit that each and every person who knows about sex trafficking holds in their back pocket. And each time it’s possible to do so, these people should brooch the subject with friends, coworkers, and family for this casual, person-to-person spreading of information is one pivotal way to make people think twice about their world. It may even influence one of those that choose to buy sex to step back and think about the damage they may be doing.
It doesn’t take experts or people that are heavily dedicated to the cause to spread important ideas and knowledge about the problem of sex trafficking. All it takes is a few minutes of research and the will to take a few minutes to talk about the findings with someone else. And isn’t that a small price to pay for the chance to mobilize others to eradicate the sex trafficking market and save the lives of millions of girls?
In most countries, a baby conceived in the agony of the sex-trafficking underworld – the disgrace and shame of rape – is simply an abortion waiting to happen.
Shared Hope International is a non-profit organization that exists to rescue and restore women and children in crisis.
We recently rescued a young pregnant girl named Sharmia from a terrifying life of sexual slavery. Through God’s grace and the compassion of people like you, she chose life for her unborn baby, and now she and her baby are in the safe refuge of our care.
This Christmas, you can join us, and be a part of giving hope, by changing the life of a young victimized girl trapped in the horrors of the sex slave industry.
And remember, through our “Mothers & Babies” Matching Challenge, your donation will be matched up to $50,000 … its impact literally doubled!
P.S. You may also want to honor your friends, family, and associates by giving a gift on their behalf. That person will receive a handwritten Christmas card with a picture of Sharmia and her baby from Shared Hope International, stating that a Gift of Hope was given in their name.
The first line is “There are now more slaves on the planet than at any time in human history.” It makes you wonder how something like this could be happening in our world today. Isn’t slavery illegal in every country? The answer is yes. But through lack of access to education and the desperation that poverty so often brings, modern day slavery is prospering. This article looks at mostly slave labor but also at people trafficked for sex. I think that it is key to know about the labor side of human trafficking because many times what begins as trafficked labored can turn in to a situation of sex trafficking. The article talks about purchasing a person in Haiti for $50. The seller asks him straight forward if he just wants someone to clean or if he would also like someone who could be a “partner.” The trafficker says he can get girls that are 11, 12, and 13.
It seems like we’ve come so far from the times of slavery. But the proof is undeniable that slavery still exists today and at such a scale as the world has never seen. Read the article. Think about it.
Creating safe havens for trafficked children in the U.S. and increasing legal enforcement against child sex tourism in Canada should be two of the highest priorities for policies in North America to protect children from sexual exploitation, according to a report published jointly by Canadian and U.S. non-governmental organizations (NGOs) this month.
The report is being submitted to the World Congress III Against Sexual Exploitation of Adolescents and Children – a major international conference taking place in Rio de Janiero, Brazil next week.
While the report found many important steps have already been taken in Canada and the U.S. to confront child sexual exploitation, notably the passage of strong laws in both countries, it also highlights gaps that must be filled.
“One of the major gaps in Canada highlighted in this report is our very weak and ineffective sex offender registry”, says Rosalind Prober, President of Beyond Borders. “If we are serious about child protection, this registry needs an immediate upgrade.”
The Canadian federal law that makes sexually exploiting a child in another country a crime punishable in Canada was found to not be adequately enforced.
“In Canada, the lack of legal action against child sex tourism is the most glaring law enforcement gap,” states the report. “While child trafficking is beginning to be recognized in Canada with several recent prosecutions, there remains significant room for further enforcement action against traffickers and commercial child sex abusers.”
According to Benjamin Perrin, Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia, “Canada convicted just one of its child sex tourists in the decade after promising to crack down on them in 1996 at the First World Congress Against Sexual Exploitation of Children.”
In the U.S. commercially sexually exploited children are too often arrested instead of offered assistance and protection, because there are so few shelters equipped to care for their special needs.“Police officers are really in a bind in most cities.Girls as young as 12 years old are rescued from their pimps, but there are so few places to bring them.They end up in jail, with a criminal record.This has to stop,” says Carol Smolenski, Executive Director of ECPAT-USA.
“It is a tragedy that a child who is prostituted in American almost always goes to jail for the crime that is committed against her, while her trafficker is sometimes punished and her buyer rarely faces any punishment at all,” said Shared Hope International President and Founder Linda Smith.
Other recommendations that emerged from the meeting include: creating a national plan of action in the United States, developing Child Advocacy Centers in Canada and focusing on prevention in both countries.
