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Big Picture Media - Index

Big Picture Media - KS CHRONICLE 0708 - Index

8B
THE CHRONICLE ■ JULY 2008 TheChronicleOnline.net
BROTHEL
From page 1B
pornography and sex related
material to young boys has
provided for the normalization
of sex trafficking. “The
marketing technique looked
an awful lot like Joe Camel.
It was not for adults, it was
targeted for kids,” Smith
observed. In attempt to counter
marketing efforts by
the human trafficking
enterprise, SHI assembled
a team of men to
develop a solution for
men - a call to action.
Research showed
that men are driving
demand, globally. So,
men stepped up to the
challenge, determining
that God intended men
to be defenders, protectors.
The Defenders
USA was conceptualized
and created as a focus
of information and education
awareness for men. More than
that, The Defenders USA is a
network of accountability for
men.
SHI is committed to building
awareness in order to
activate a grassroots movement
among individuals.
In 2006 SHI spearheaded
the U.S. Mid-Term Review
on the Commercial Sexual
Exploitation of Children
(CSEC). SHI came to the
conclusion that if there were
no buyers, there would be no
marketplace. In order to stop
the demand, an initiative to
‘rebrand’ the product in the
minds of the general public
must prevail. Currently when
local authorities get involved,
in most cases, reports show
that the female (even when
underaged) is arrested for
“The marketing technique
looked an awful lot like
Joe Camel. It was not for
adults, it was targeted
for kids.”
prostitution and immediately
branded as a criminal. The
buyer is rarely cited and
continues to instigate commercial
sex acts. Teenage girls
who have a criminal record
no longer fall into the care
of Child Protective Services.
So, a fifteen year old female
who is bought and sold for
commercial sex is arrested
(for prostitution) and then
abandoned. She is legally able
to be claimed by ANY adult
without a criminal record.
And so, the cycle perpetuates
itself, as effective as physical
shackles around her ankles, a
teenage girl becomes a slave
and no longer feels hope for a
different life.
So, what can ordinary
people do? Just being aware
of the issue and being careful
to use language that clearly
defines matters of compromise.
The key to grassroots,
says Linda, is when
you have a critical
mass of people who
are in the habit of taking
action on issues of
importance, that group
will activate when they
become aware of an
issue. “It’s knowing
that the little bit you
can do can change
something,” Smith
says, “why not with
something so important
as the buying and selling
of our children?”
Erica Monge is a Creative
Consultant, Coaching Writers
and Publications. Her business
is based in Orange
County, CA. She has been
writing for publication over
15 years. She is a graduate of
Fuller Theological Seminary
(MA-Theology) and a wife and
mother. Contact: ericar@mongewriter.com.
DENT
From page 1B
could write.
“Everywhere I went, I kept
hearing that kids get taken
because they don’t know any
better,” she explains. “They
really think they’re going to
be models or waitresses in
the big city. Parents believe
the lies of traffickers
who promise to educate
their daughters at
far-away schools—and
never see them again.”
Scimone was meeting
with counselors and
safe-house directors in
northern Thailand when
she had an idea. “If I
write awareness materials
for kids and parents,”
she asked, “could
you use them?”
The answer was an enthusiastic
yes. “Whenever kids
get awareness training,”
Scimone says, “the rate
of trafficking plummets.
There’s just not enough of it
or in languages for kids who
are most at-risk.”
Scimone came home,
launched the Not For Sale
child-trafficking awareness
campaign, and started writing.
When she was done she
had a 35,000-word novel for
kids called Born to Fly about a
caterpillar who has a dream to
soar. In her journey from caterpillar
to cocoon to butterfly,
she learns important lessons
about following her dream.
“It’s a parable for trafficking,”
Scimone says. “The
take-aways for kids are right
out of the mouth of a safehouse
director I interviewed in
“Whenever kids
get awareness
training, the rate
of trafficking
plummets.”
Thailand: Choices have consequences,
you are valuable, it’s
important to know who your
true friends are, and more.”
Scimone is now looking
for an agent to help publish
the book in the U.S. to raise
awareness and funds for the
project.
Meanwhile she and illustrator
Leah Wiedemer are working
on the next stage of the
Not For Sale campaign: taking
the plot of Born to Fly and
turning it into a small picture
book for at-risk children
around the world —a wordless
picture book.
Why wordless? “So we
don’t have to get it translated
and printed in hundreds of
languages. A wordless picture
book will save millions
of dollars on translation and
printing,” explains Scimone,
who’s also taken on the
task of raising funds
for the project—about
$500,000.
Once the wordless
picture book is printed,
PawPaw’s Pals will
partner with schools
and non-profit organizations
around the
world to distribute it to
at-risk kids. A companion
curriculum will also
be available for teachers
and counselors.
“Education and awareness
can make a huge dent in the
international sex slavery
industry,” Scimone says,
“because it helps cut off
the pipeline. Awareness is
not the only answer, but it’s
a large part of the answer.
It’s something we can do—
now—to stop the traffic, and
prevent more little girls from
being enslaved.”
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