On April 10, the 14-member Faith-Based Advisory Council , of which Katharine Jefferts Schori, Leith Anderson and Lynne Hybels are members, announced the completion of a 36-page report, nearly one year after its first meeting on the issue.
The document, entitled “Building Partnerships to Eradicate Modern-Day Slavery,” recommends that:
The Obama Administration lead the effort to elevate and bring to scale the fight against modern-day slavery at home and abroad
The Obama Administration lead the effort to eliminate slave labor in the purchase and consumption of goods and services
The federal government elevate anti-trafficking work at the agency level
The White House convene a National Summit to raise awareness and inspire action to combat modern-day slavery
The Obama Administration develop and announce a National Call to Action for civil society to increase and align efforts to eradicate modern-day slavery
The Obama Administration produce a toolkit on how religious and community-based organizations can learn more about and take steps to join the fight against trafficking
The Obama Administration work with the Ad Council to create a public awareness campaign on how to spot and report signs of trafficking
The Obama Administration designate the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) Hotline as the primary national human trafficking hotline promoted to the public
U.S. Embassies and USAID Missions work with civil society leaders to develop comprehensive strategies to combat human trafficking and
The Corporation for National and Community Service create a pilot partnership to place national service members in Mayors’ and Governors’ offices to help map and coordinate local responses to human trafficking.
“Now that the Administration has received the Advisory Council’s report, its job is to review these recommendations carefully and to respond… Many who now live in the shadows are counting on us to see them and to make changes that will help them to reclaim and restore their lives. This report will be an invaluable resource for us as we continue to work to achieve those aims.”
Cause for Concern?
Even as the Faith-Based Advisory Council contributed to the United State’s anti-trafficking strategy, a specter of dismissal lurked. Leading up to the third annual Easter Prayer Breakfast in April, the council’s future was uncertain. On April 5, Christian Post reported, President Obama issued an executive order that extends their work through 2015. Then, unless the president intervenes again, the group will be disbanded.
In March Congress reauthorized the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), which languished in its halls after expiring in 2011. The bill was previously reauthorized in 2003, 2005, and 2008. After a year and a half of negotiations, America’s federal anti-trafficking legislations cleared both houses as part of the Violence against Woman Act. The latest TVPA, as Concerned Women for America’s Janice Shaw Crouse and Brenda Zurita write, contains controversial provisions.
Read the Faith-Based Advisory Council’s full report here.
Editors note: Janice Shaw Crouse is Chair of the Board of Directors at the Institute on Religion and Democracy.
On Monday, April 29, Washington Wizards center Jason Collins publicly announced that he was gay. Hours after Collins’ announcement, the career of ESPN writer Chris Broussard hung in the balance for remarks he made on Outside the Lines that were deemed a “distraction” by the network. Amid public praise for Jason Collins, Broussard, a Christian, spoiled the party with his principled commentary on the 34-year old NBA player’s announcement.
The revelation, Broussard said, was met with a “mixed bag of reactions [among NBA players and coaches], just like there is throughout America.”
In his Outside the Lines interview, the reporter said:
“I’m a Christian. I don’t agree with homosexuality. I think it’s a sin, as I think all sex outside of marriage between a man and a woman is… In talking to some people around the league, there’s a lot Christians in the NBA and just because they disagree with that lifestyle, they don’t want to be called bigoted and intolerant and things like that.”
In short order MoveOn, a left-leaning advocacy group, crafted a petition calling for Broussard’s suspension. Of course, a Christian organization hoped on the hate-the-hater bandwagon.
Jason Collins, who wears the number 98 to honor slain gay student Matthew Shepard, was formerly engaged to a player on Stanford’s women’s basketball team. Carolyn Moos, who later played in the WNBA, was as surprised as everyone else with the news about Collins. The two met during freshman year and their romance bloomed until he terminated the relationships for reasons that are now clear.
Something Old, Something New
Jason Collins’ announcement and Chris Broussard’s response are non-issues for two reasons. First, the term “first” is a bit deceptive. Second, Broussard has shared his views on homosexuality before.
While Collins is the first active athlete in a major American sport to come out, he is certainly not the only one or the first player in the U.S. or the world to do so. Officially, the term “major sports” refers to football, basketball or baseball, which is a very narrow qualification.
On February 2011, English cricket hero Steve Davies came out publicly while he was still representing his home nation. Davies, then 24, found it difficult to keep his sexual orientation a secret on tour with the national team.
In February of this year Robbie Rogers, an American soccer player for the British club Leeds United, came out and temporarily sidelined his professional ambitions. The promising young athlete, 25, has since begun training with Major League Soccer side L.A. Galaxy.
In March, former NFL player Kwame Harris, openly discussed his sexuality in a CNN Newsroom interview. This came after his court trial for assault noted an altercation with his then boyfriend over soy sauce and underwear.
To my second point, Chris Broussard has not wavered on his stance about homosexuality, which he calls a “lifestyle.” In a 2007 piece, the Oberlin College alum pushed back on Mark Cuban’s claim that John Amaechi, another gay NFL player, was “an American hero.” Consequently, his Outside the Lines comments are very much in line with previous statement.
According to L.Z. Granderson, an openly gay sports writer and friend of Chris Broussard, the significance of Jason Collins’ announcement is not about whether the 34-year-old free agent came out but whether he signs with another team:
“Right now he is an openly-gay player in the off-season, so everything we are talking about is still hypothetical. What we need… is for him to actually be signed, to have a team say we want him for his skill set… and [to say] we don’t care about his sexual orientation. That’s the move that is actually going to tell us progress.”
On April 30, 24 hours after the initial row, Broussard took to Twitter with clarifying remarks:
“Today on OTL [Outside the Lines], as part of a larger, wide-ranging discussion on today’s news, I offered my personal opinion as it relates to Christianity, a point of view that I have expressed publicly before. I realize that some people disagree with my opinion and I accept and respect that. As has been the case in the past, my beliefs have not and will not impact my ability to report on the NBA. I believe Jason Collins displayed bravery with his announcement today and I have no objection to him or anyone else playing in the NBA.”
The timing proximity of Collin’s coming out is noteworthy. In February, Supreme Court judges heard arguments on the Defense of Marriage Act and Prop 8, two decisions that could have massive ripple effects in Christendom and culture. During the same month, sports reporters were astounded when Phil Jackson stated that he had never known of any gay players in the NBA during his nearly 20-year coaching career. For the non-sports fans, Jackson coached the Chicago Bulls and the LA Lakers to an astounding 11 NBA championships.
Transparency under Fire?
This is not the first time a media personality has been fired for stating his opinion, even with carefully articulated qualifications.
In October 2010, former NPR reporter Juan Williams was shown the door after he appeared on the O’Reilly Factor – for the umpteenth time – after he honestly shared how 9/11 impacted his view of Muslims.
On Friday, I heard a 2011 interview with Parks and Recreation cast member Aziz Ansari from Time’s 10 Questions,” a recurring video series featuring winsome interviews with celebrities. Ansari, a rising star in comedy and an affable TV personality, illuminated why one of his favorite comedians is so popular among my generation. When asked about Chris Rock’s influence, the South Carolina native explained, “He hit the zeitgeist with those [HBO] specials… He really kind of said what everyone was thinking about a lot of different topics”
While Chris Rock should not be recommended listening for children, Broussard, like Rock before him, echoed the sentiments of traditional Christians and the clear language of scripture regarding how we ought use our bodies.
Comedy and sports punditry function in nearly identical manners. In either case you are elevated or expelled based on the perceived accuracy of your comments. The checks and balances are largely based on potential ridicule.
Why, when gravitas is introduced, do we snuff out a respected voice that disagrees? The unabashed intolerance of aspects of tolerance argument is an inconvenient truth indeed. Not only is Broussard paid to give his opinion, it is a right protected under the constitution and a privilege that we are blessed to have honored in our society.
The ESPN commentator did not use marginalizing language or slurs regarding sex orientation that regrettably crop up in some arguments for a biblical view of human sexuality. Instead he stated his conviction and stated it well.
Does the media response to Chris Broussard’s statements mean the death of free speech in America? No. However the incident is yet another example of how the “consensus” on certain issues regarding sexuality can silence legitimate dissenting opinions.
Despite the vicious attacks on his character, Broussard’s is still buoyed. As the Christian Post reported, he said, during a recent prayer call, “I believe God is getting all the glory from this and I’ve been resting on the scriptures, ‘blessed are you when you are persecuted for righteousness sake.’ So I know this is a blessing.”
Watch the full Outside the Lines interview. Share your thoughts below:
On February 19, former Democratic National Convention Committee CEO and ordained Pentecostal minister Reverend Leah Daughtry delivered one of Black History Month’s most honest and thought-provoking talks at Wesley Theological Seminary. The fifth generation preacher’s comments addressed sexuality, intolerance, and race relations in the church.
Sexuality and (In)Tolerance
Responding to intolerance she sees in the Democratic Party, Daughtry regretted the modern view of friendships as “like who I like, hate who I hate” arrangements.
Our society has increasingly becoming intolerant of those who do not believe the same as us, Rev. Daughtry asserted. A Twitter attack directed at Rick Warren by other users embodied the public square’s shifting mores around acceptable discourse. Reverend Daughtry challenged the detractors on Twitter, who had “cut [Warren] out of conversation,” referencing his humanitarian work and positive social influence. Why did Warren come under fire? He stumped for George W. Bush and opposed same-sex marriage, she said.
Rev. Daughtry knows what it is like to be on the receiving end of invectives. In 2008, liberals in the Democratic Party attacked the effusive Pentecostal minister for affirming marriage as a union between a man and a woman. (“The Blade,” a GLBTQ newspaper, originally reported this in an article that has since been removed.)
That same year, the former Harvard fellow came under fire when she announced that non-religious groups would not be admitted to the DNC’s first interfaith caucus.
Attacked by those outside of the church, Rev. Daughtry recalled a situation with a Wesley Theological Seminary student from earlier in the day. The seminarian, who supports same-sex marriage, delivered a vigorous and emotional apology for redefining marriage. While passionate, the diatribe squelched any opportunity for those “whose opinions are unsettled” to dissent. It is become “in” to be intolerant of those with are not the same as your own.
“It is an issue that I struggle with personally,” Daughtry admitted. The church and her party, she posited, need to be a place for the “unsettled” to think through their stance on sexuality in the context of faith.
The Myth of the Color Blind Society
Ethnicity and race no longer exist, it has been asserted. Responding to the politically correct refrains that one does “not see color” and “color does not matter,” Rev. Daughtry inquired how a woman would respond if a man did not notice her sex. “I want you to know I am a woman,” she joked.
“To say that you are color blind,” is akin to saying, “you do not see people,” she said.
“When you tell me you are color blind, you are saying that you don’t see me. You are seeing what you want to see and you are negating my experience. Why do we feel that is okay?”
Dr. Martin Luther King famously opined that he wanted his children to be known for the content of their character, not the color of their skin. This, Rev. Daughtry contends, is not an invitation to erase cultural and phenotypical realities from our interactions. “[Dr. King] meant he wanted you to see them and for their color not to matter – for good or for bad,” she explained.
“To say that you are color blind, is to negate my existence. [It is] to negate my experience,” the Brooklyn native continued.
Race pervades human interactions and, in some cases, indicates social location. “Your skin color has shaped your experience in the way that it has shaped mine. We should acknowledge and celebrate how our skin color has carried us through our lives.” For it has given us “advantages and disadvantages and the experiences that make our lives richer, fuller and interesting.”
“If we were all the same, it just wouldn’t be fun,” the Wesley Theological Seminary alumna jested.
The issues Rev. Daughtry addressed are deeply personal, complex and controversial. However, she would argue this is cause for dialogue, not avoidance. While Rev. Daughtry spoke during Black History Month, her reflections, as did those of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, will certainly transcend the immediate moment.
Regent University’s Center for Global Justice, Human Rights and the Rule of Law, has raised the profile of human trafficking and child protection, such adoption, issues within Christian and secular circles. On January 11-12, the Center hosted its latest engagement of modern social issues with the second annual Seeking Justice of the Least of These symposium in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Appropriately delivered during National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, the message urged both compassion and caution for future parents of adopted children from abroad.
Over the past few years, international adoption has become en vogue among Christians. Citing verses such as James 1:27, which calls for us to look after the “widow and the orphan,” believers are encouraged to “rescue” children from unfortunate circumstances and into their loving home.
As Dr. David Smolin, Director at Samford University’s Center for Children, Law and Ethics, noted it takes more than good intentions for Christians to successfully add another person to the family unit. To stunned silence, the researcher asserted that there is no biblical mandate for adoption. Scriptures referencing the” widow and orphan,” he pronounced, instead refer to a fatherless family unit, which in ancient times, left the surviving dependents economically vulnerable. Thus, the command is not to adopt the child and leave the widow but to make provisions for both.
As Solomon famously opined, there is no new thing under the sun – not even adoption. Just as Christians are opening up to adoption, however, it seems like countries are barring the doors shut. In late 2012, Russia announced that it intended to halt all international adoptions to the United States. While American sources claim the Kremlin is retaliating after Congress passed the Magnitsky Act, a survey cited in The Washington Post indicated that 56 percent of Russians supported the move.
A Brief History of Adoption
According to Dr. Smolin, who is himself the parent of two adopted girls from India, families must account for cultural context.
Adoption in ancient Rome bore social and legal implications due, in part, to the patria potestas. This head of household possessed absolute authority over family decisions, even whether a child would live. While offspring did not age out of the patria potestas structure, adoption placed a child under the authority of another patriarch through a two part process. The mancipatio, whose root gives us the word emanicipation, was a symbolic sale that occurred three times. The father would sell and buy back the son from the guardian twice. On the third exchange, the father would not purchase his son. Nero, who succeeded Emperor Claudius, was adopted and became emperor after, Agrippa, disenchanted his mother had her husband assassinated.
In Japan, age is not a barrier to adoption. In fact, maturity is sometimes a benefit as moguls graft heirs into their fortune to perpetuate their lineage.
Trafficking Children for Adoption
The combination of private adoption agencies, under-resourced regulators, and eager American parents can create the perfect storm for illegal adoptions. The private entities are paid per successful adoption. Consequently, agencies have a massive financial incentive to increase the number of children available to interested parties from abroad.
Following Haiti’s 2010 earthquake, there were verifiable concerns about child trafficking in that nation. In January of the same year, I attended a briefing on Capitol where panelists identified adoptions as a primary source trafficking incidents. In at least one case, Americans reportedly flew to Haiti on a private jet, collected a small group of children and flew back to the Northwestern United States.
In Ethiopia, home to one of the world’s oldest Jewish communities, adoption is a bittersweet issue. Following a boom in Chinese adoptions during the 1980s and 1990, the East African nation has become a hotspot for international adoption. Couples seeking a child can easily find one here, where adoption times are among some of the lowest in the world. A 2012 Wall Street Journal article indentified a threefold increase in adoptions from Ethiopia between 2004 and 2010. However speedy approvals are a welcome invitation to child traffickers and other unscrupulous actors. Authorities in the East African nation surfaced their concerns in 2011, when they accused U.S. agency personnel of facilitating child trafficking through adoptions.
While Christians and couples should consider adopting, the Regent University panel perspicaciously addressed hidden costs that both the child and new parents should consider before starting this process.
Shared Hope International President and founder Linda Smith testifies at a 2009 congressional hearing. (Photo credit: Shawn Duffy)
By Mikhail Bell (@Bellsworld)
As fall wound down, Shared Hope International, a faith-based anti-trafficking organization, released its annual Protected Innocence Challenge Report in Washington DC. The study, which assigns A thru F letter grades to all 50 states’ efforts to combat human trafficking, has quickly established itself as one of two dominant aids for non-federal legislatures to craft better anti-trafficking laws.
The second annual effort displayed a few interesting trends of note. In 2012, 35 states received grades of D or lower, including 18 failing grades. Comparatively, 41 states received a grade of D or lower and 26 failing states in 2011. Encouragingly, 15 states raised their grades this year by at least one letter, with Alaska and Massachusetts moving up two levels.
Polaris Project’s State Ratings Map also catalogues state level progress on human trafficking legislation using an online map. Its list, however, uses a Tier 1-4 system to rank how well each states responds to human trafficking.
Shared Hope International was founded in 1999 by Linda Smith, a Washington state congresswoman . After seeing trafficking first-hand on a trip to India in 1998, the Republican write-in candidate decided to start a non-profit to “rescue and restore women and children in crisis.”
The organization’s November 29 release coincided with Sharing the Hope 2012, a conference that convened shelter and social services providers to assess creative responses to domestic minor sex trafficking, or DMST.
The Role of Demand in Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking
Consumer demand drives a variety of commercial behavior – both good and problematic – around the world. This is especially true of child sex trafficking as it thrives on perpetrators’ anonymity and law enforcement’s unfamiliarity with indicators that suggest a minor is being exploited for commercial gain. The most vulnerable populations in the United States, however, are not only the estimated 14,500-17,000 internationals brought across America’s borders sex and labor trafficking purposes.
Ernie Allen, President and CEO of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), testified before Congress in 2010 about another demographic. There are “at least 100,000 American children are the victims of commercial sexual trafficking and prostitution each year, “ Allen sidd during the July 14 Human Trafficking Caucus hearing. University of Pennsylvania researchers, Dr. Richard Estes and Dr. Neil Alan Weiner derived this number in their seminal study on commercial sexual exploitation in the United States and Canada.
“We believe it reasonable to estimate a range of 100,000 – 300,000 per year with comfort and confidence,” Allen asserted in his testimony.
According to Shared Hope’s website, the average age at which a “John” first purchases sex is 21 years old. The early contact with offline commercial sex suggests that the pattern will continue throughout adulthood. However data the organization cites indicate the behavior can be changed with the existence of sufficient incentives. It is believed that 83 percent of buyers claim jail time and 79 percent indicated a letter sent to their family would deter them from purchasing sex from a minor.
Historic significance
Since its founding, the United States has inclined itself toward individual liberty. From the Declaration of Independence to the Trafficking Victim Protection Act America’s legislation has set international precedents on many issues.
In between, the Emancipation Proclamation, which marked its sesquicentennial on January 1, 2013, served as the United States’ official stance on exploitative human labor and human dignity. The ensuing Mann/ White Slave Traffic Act of 1910 codified the country’s opposition to interstate sexual commerce as it banned travel for this expressed purpose.
The Protected Innocence Challenge Report provides encouragement for all Americans but holds special meaning for others. “For me the Protected Innocence Challenge signifies liberation from a life of slavery with the opportunity for the oppressed to pursue the American dream of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” Shamere McKenzie, Shared Hope International staffer and survivor, said.
While its existence does not extinguish human trafficking, the Protected Innocence Challenge Report appears to be a commendable rubric for gauging the nation’s progress against modern-day slavery.
