December First Saturday Prayer

 State of Washington Anti-trafficking Engagement Day

Training and Advocacy Day Monday, December 6, 2010

The South Puget Sound Chapter is participating in the State of Washington Anti-trafficking Engagement Day on January 13,2011.  In preparation for that day, there is a gathering in Olympia on Monday, December 6, 2010 of a delegation of representatives from 16 organizations who will be presenting the anti-trafficking legislative proposals and request to legislators and advocating for their support. 

Information: Washington Anti-Trafficking Engagement Day Legislative Proposals and Request
I. (Top Priority) A Victim-Centered Approach to Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) Police Investigation

We seek to provide an exemption to the current two-party consent privacy act for CSEC police investigation in WA State so as to further protect and prevent re-victimization of CSEC victims.

Reason for this exemption request:
When a police officer finds an alleged CSEC victim, the priority is to protect the victim. The second priority is to obtain incriminating evidence of the trafficker (her pimp), but there is only a window of about 30 minutes to accomplish this goal. The best incriminating evidence against the trafficker is to record the phone conversation or the text message between the victim and the trafficker after an alleged act of prostitution. Currently this recording is prohibited by the state’s privacy law under RCW 9.73.

Due to current limitations from the State, then, the police officer has to re-victimize the child by sending her back to the trafficker to obtain incriminating evidence, or risks letting the trafficker go to prey on another victim. Therefore, we propose an exemption similar to what the current law permits for drug trafficking under RCW 9.73.230 for CSEC investigation under RCW 9.68A.100-103.)

Benefits of this exemption
• Immediate protection to the victim.
• Provide incriminating evidence against the trafficker (sex trafficking does not have objective evidence to support a conviction like finding cocaine for drug trafficking charges, so recording a CSEC victim’s conversation with a trafficker provides evidence acceptable in a court of law.
• Provide justice to the victim.
• Prevent further victimization of other children.
• Enable implementation of a standardized victim-centered approach to CSEC investigation.
• Relief to victims because the recording minimizes the need for prosecutors to question victims multiple times even before trials.
• Increase in conviction of traffickers because recording provides hard evidence against traffickers.

Questions or potential objections to this exemption request:
• Does the exemption violate the Constitution?
No. Only 12 out of the 50 states have similar two-party consent recording requirements, and our State is one of them. In fact, federal law enforcement in our State can record such this type of evidence upon approval while a local police is completely prohibited to do so under our current law. (CA, CT, FL, IL, MD, MA, MI, MT, NV, NH, PA) http://www.rcfp.org/taping/states.html
• Is the exemption unprecedented?
No. Our Privacy Act under RCW 9.73 provides exemptions under four circumstances.
o For national security. RCW 9.73.050.
o Common carrier (telephone services) and emergency personnel exemptions. RCW 9.73.090-095.
o Drug trafficking investigation for the sole purpose of law enforcement’s safety, but it cannot be used as evidence in court. RCW 9.73.200-210.
o Drug trafficking investigation with the authorization of the jurisdiction’s chief law enforcement officer or the designee. Judicial review of the authorization is required, and the recording can be used in judicial proceedings. RCW 9.73.230.
• Will the exemption deprive us further of our liberty?
No. The exemption requires stringent review of an independent magistrate that is similar to the warrant issuing process. Besides, the benefits for trafficking victims far outweigh this concern.
• What if the victim claims to be underage or the police make a mistake that the victim is underage, but is actually over 18 when the police apply the exemption to do the recording?
o The Legislature will have to decide the standard to apply if a mistake occurs, but the standard should be similar to the reasonable belief standard used in RCW 9.68A.100-103. Police’s good faith mistake is usually not a bar to using the recording as evidence.

II. Utilizing the HT hotline poster further in WA State?
Pass a resolution that all govt agencies, especially school and public facilities are encouraged to post the Human Trafficking Hotline poster at places of employment and/or public notice boards. (The poster is a joint effort of various government entities and non-governmental organizations.)

III. Host a Work Committee with business representatives in the Labor and Commerce Committee to explore the beginning of a business coalition against trafficking here in our State.

Reason - Establishing common understanding of the benefits of a slave-free Washington State and to be a launch pad of further cooperation and agreements of a win-win strategy. For example, “fair trade” labeling is already used by Starbucks and some other companies. The meeting will discuss how implementing anti-trafficking measures in employment policies and to promote a ‘slave-free’ environment will be rewarded by consumers because of the growing awareness.

Potential groups to invite: restaurant association, massage business groups, hotel industry, farming, tavern business, Microsoft, Alaska airline, Nordstrom, etc.

IV. Add Human Trafficking into the definition of the Criminal Profiteering Act (RCW 9A.82.010)
When the human trafficking criminal statute was passed, the Legislature intended to grant human trafficking victims a private right of action to claim damage from traffickers even when the conviction is pending. (Bill Report of SB 1175 in 2003) This intent, however, was omitted in the session law of SB 1175 and is still not in the current RCW. The Legislature needs to add this back and permit retroactivity for human trafficking victims as it permits victims claim damage from traffickers. It should also be referenced in the Human Trafficking statute in RCW 9A.40.100.

Information: Legislators:
The delegation have meetings scheduled with five senators on Monday, December 6, 2010. Senator Adam Kline is extremely influential in regard to this proposed bill because he could be the bill's main opposition.  He's a former ACLU attorney and sits as the chair of the Judiciary Committee, this means if he kills the bill, it won't go any further. The other senators that the delegation will meet with include Kohl-Welles (D), Stevens (R), Hargroves (D) and Delvin (R).

Information: 16 Organizations Represented

• Western Washington Coalition Against Human Trafficking
• The Genesis Project
• UW Against Slavery
• University Presbyterian Church Human Trafficking Task Force
• Seattle Against Slavery
• Soroptomist Northwest
• Shared Hope International
• New Horizons Ministries
• Ballarmine Preparatory School
• Women of Vision South Puget Sound Chapter
• International Justice Mission
• Zonta of South Sound
• Zonta of Olympia
• Seattle Prayer Against Slavery Movement
• Not For Sale Campaign
• Washington Anti-Trafficking Engagement

Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father,
We come before You in the Name of Jesus and ask that you would be honored and glorified next Monday at the Capitol as this delegation arrives to advocate on behalf of the victims of human trafficking in our State.  We pray that as they meet with the legislators that You would give them wisdom, boldness and peace as they present these proposals.  Help them to speak clearly and articulate the essence of the proposals and requests in a way that the hearers would receive them.  Open doors that only You can open and close doors that You want closed surrounding these proposals and requests.  We cast down anything that sets itself up against You and your will in these proposals.

We pray that each of the senators would listen carefully to the plea of the delegates and that they would see the wisdom in making our State an unwelcome place for predators.  We ask specifically for Senator Adam Kline that You would open his eyes to the severity of the problem and make him amenable to this bill.  Thank You that he will not resist it, but rather that he will present it and encourage others to pass it.  Thank You that the other senators will receive these proposals and request with the willingness to present them as a bill.  Thank you that they will see that this is an opportunity to do right to those who have been so wronged.

Lord we pray for the victims of human trafficking in our State.  We ask that You would set them free.  That they would see a hotline poster and call the number given and that they would be rescued from the horrific inhumane circumstances that they are enslaved to never to return to them.  That these proposals and this request would become a bill and that the bill would be passed into law to protect them and rescue them.  Give them hope even now as we pray, Lord, in their darkness.  Bring them your Light, Jesus.  Soothe their souls with the healing balm of your love and mercy.  

We ask that your Holy Spirit would hover around all of the proceedings of the day and that your will and your way would be done.  In Jesus Name we pray. Amen

World Vision Hope Prayer Chain

 News-December 2010
The world that Jesus was born into could only be described as brutal. Life expectancies were low, the gap between the rich and the poor was massive, slavery was widespread, and human life had little value. Unfortunately, this is still the reality for millions of children around the world:

• 500 million to 1.5 billion children have been affected by violence.
• 15 million children have lost one or both parents due to AIDS.
• 4 million newborns die within the first month of life.
• More than a million children every year are trafficked for forced labor or sexual exploitation.
• One-third of infants in Sierra Leone don't receive routine immunizations.
• Almost 55 million children are underweight for their age in India.
• Approximately 1.1 million Mexican children under the age of 14 — the legal working age — are engaged in child labor.
• An estimated 1.5 million of Mozambique's 11 million children were orphans in 2008. (Source: World Vision and UNICEF'S "The State of the World's Children 2010.")

As we celebrate the birth of our Savior this month, let us remember Christ's deep love for children — and act as His hands and feet on their behalf.

Suggested prayer points
First week of December:
Pray for Aaron, 11, and his little sister, Marguerite, 9, who live in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Africa. They should be spending their days in school, learning history, math, and language. But since their father died two years ago, they must work beside their mother, Sylvie, digging gravel in a quarry to find rocks to sell. Sylvie also brings her 3-year-old daughter, Songa Songa, because there is no one at home to watch her. On a good day, the family earns the equivalent of about $2.20.

Ask God to open doors for Sylvie to obtain a microloan so that she can start a fish-selling business, which, if successful, would pay for the children's school fees. Pray that Aaron and Marguerite will one day achieve their dreams — Aaron to be a doctor, and Marguerite, a dressmaker.

Second week of December:
Pray for Mehak, 4, who lives in Pakistan. When floods surged toward her village in August, her father, Niaz, rushed the family to his mother-in-law's house — and then went back to try to save their belongings. Niaz hasn't been seen since. Mehak, living in a tent with her mother and siblings, doesn't understand where her father went or why she can't go home. She refused to eat and grew weaker by the day. "Mehak has lost her smile," says her mother. Then, World Vision opened a Child-Friendly Space in their camp. World Vision worker Afshan Mehtab managed to cheer up Mehak with a cartoon movie on his mobile phone, and now she enjoys painting, dramas, games, and playing with new friends.

Lift up Mehak and other children affected by the Pakistan floods who are mourning the loss of family members, and pray for their comfort and healing. Pray that children in other disaster zones around the world, like Haiti and Chile, would also receive the emotional support they need to recover.

Third week of December:
Pray for Rachida, 6, who is among the 7.8 million people in Niger, West Africa, to suffer from the food crisis. Rachida's family helplessly watched their food supply dwindle until they had nothing left to eat and nothing left to sell to buy food. Rachida was so hungry, she cried herself to sleep. She would flee from school and hide because she couldn't concentrate on her lessons. But recently, Rachida and her family received maize and beans from the World Food Programme and World Vision, and the girl is beginning to recover from malnutrition.

Ask God to continue to heal and strengthen Rachida, and pray for the end of drought and renewal of her family's farmland. Ask God to bless the efforts of the World Vision Niger staff members as they work to save millions of lives threatened by famine.

Fourth week of December:
Pray for 8-year-old Robert, a bright, happy second-grader living in Romania who has cerebral palsy. With the help of World Vision's program providing education access for children with disabilities, he is one of 35 children integrated into a regular public school. His teacher says, "It is not easy to be different from other children, but Robert compensates through his attitude and will. Because of his disability, he cannot write by himself, but he is very good at reading and adding numbers." Robert also participates in twice-weekly occupational therapy activities provided through World Vision's program, which have helped him overcome his shyness to become a sociable, active boy.

Praise God for Robert, who, like the Apostle Paul, has learned to be content, no matter what. Thank God for guiding you through the difficulties in your own life, and ask Him to give you faith, strength, and joy like Robert's.