It’s Time to #ListenToSurvivors & Update CDA 230
The Honorable John Thune
Chairman
U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Bill Nelson
Ranking Member
U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation
Washington, D.C. 20510
September 18, 2017
Dear Chairman Thune, Ranking Member Nelson, and Members of the Committee,
We are an alliance of survivors of sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation from all across the country writing to express our strong support for S.1693, Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act of 2017 (SESTA). This critical legislation would correct a legal loophole in the Communications Decency Act (CDA) that shields websites that knowingly facilitate sex trafficking.
A law originally drafted in 1996, the CDA simply cannot address the reality of violent crime on the internet today. Every day, thousands of women and children are marketed online where buyers purchase them with ease, anonymity, and impunity. As survivors of sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation, we know the deep and profound harm caused by this crime. Many of us are survivor leaders of organizations working to provide safety and healing to others, including American children who were bought and sold online. For years, we have tried unsuccessfully to hold these websites accountable, but court after court has made it clear: Congress must correct the blanket immunity provided by CDA.
This legislation is vital. Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act of 2017 represents an incredible bipartisan effort to seek justice for countless survivors who are sold on websites that shamelessly profit from our exploitation. As survivors of sexual exploitation and trafficking, we ask you to please prioritize the safety and rights of our nation’s most vulnerable women and children and pass SESTA to at long last, provide us a pathway to justice. As the father of a child sex trafficking survivor perfectly stated: “Children are not acceptable collateral damage. They are our hope, our future, America’s conscience.”
Sincerely,
- Trudee E. Able
SEY and Youth Outreach Specialist
Minneapolis, MN - Nikolaos Al-Khadra
Survivor Leader, National Survivor Network (NSN)
Los Angeles, CA - Kimmi Alona
Rebecca Bender Initiative
Denver, CO - Jason Alva*
Advocate
San Diego, CA - Barbara Amaya, PhD
Author, Advocate, and Senior Technical Advisor, EPIC (Education Prevention and Intervention Center)
Arlington, VA - Brooke Axtell
Founder/Director, She is Rising
Austin, Texas - Ann Marie Babb
VP Business Operations, WCWT Center
Middletown, OH - Heidi Balogh
Milwaukie, OR - Trisha Baptie
Community Engagement Coordinator, EVE
Vancouver, BC - Jewell Mikaela Baraka
Kansas City, MO - Cathy Bauer
Phoenix, AZ - Alyssa Beck
Advocacy Specialist, Delores Barr Weaver Policy Center
Jacksonville, FL - Nicole Bell
Executive Director, Living In Freedom Together Inc.
Worcester, MA - Rebecca Bender
CEO & Founder, Rebecca Bender Initiative
Grants Pass, OR - Alisa Bernard
Survivor Advocacy Coordinator, The Organization for Prostitution Survivors (OPS)
Seattle, WA - Wendy Berry
Survivor/Advocate
Fruitland, ID - Ellen Blair
Knoxville, TN - Jennifer Brooks-Hardy
Peer Support Coordinator, Healing Action
St. Louis, MO - Kathy Bryan
Director of Elevate Academy, National Trainer, Author, Mentor, Rebecca Bender Initiative
Heber Springs, AR - Autumn Burris
Founding Director, Survivors for Solutions
Denver, CO - Kathleen Campbell
Puxico, MO - Vednita Carter
Founder, Breaking Free and Vednita Carter Ministries
St. Paul, MN - Christine Cesa
Survivor Leader/Advocate
Los Angeles, CA - Maui Chacon
Survivor Advocate
Anaheim, CA - Penny Christopoulos
Norfolk, VA - Angie Conn
Survivor Leader
Buffalo, WV - Amber Copeland
Morgantown, WV - Laurin Crosson
Founder/Director, Rockstarr.org
Salt Lake City, UT - Jeanine Daley
Worcester, MA - Ne’cole Daniels
Founder, Survivors on the Move
Olympia, WA - Delores Day
Executive Director, Restore Innocence Ranch
Waukesha, WI - Emily Dickson
Empowerment Advocate, Family Assistance Program
San Bernardino, CA - Kelly Dore
Executive Director, Colorado Human Trafficking Survivor Coalition
Denver, CO - Eva Eakins
Hesperia, CA - Jerome Elam
President and CEO, Trafficking in America Task Force
Gainesville, FL - Amy Engle
Marriage and Family Therapist, Phoenix Dream Center
Phoenix, AZ - Telisia Espinosa
Be A Voice
Tampa, FL - Natasha Falle
Co-founder / Director, Sex Trade 101
Toronto, ON - Hazel Fasthorse
Case Manager /Advocate, Beloved Atlanta
Atlanta, GA - Kailee Favaro
East Nassau, NY - Danielle Trinity Foreman
Attleboro, MA - Allison Franklin
Houston, TX - Freitag
LADC, Director of Action169
Fairmont, MN - Jessika Fuhrmaneck
Writer/Speaker/Advocate, Treasures Ministry
Nashville, TN - Noel Gomez
Advocate, The Organization for Prostitution Survivors (OPS)
Seattle, WA - Danielle Goodwin
Survivor Leader
Seattle, WA - Jessica Groghan
Fort Collins, CO - Jennifer H.
Group Facilitator, Prevent Child Abuse NJ
New Brunswick, NJ - Athena Haddon
Port Huron, MI - Kathi Hardy
Freedom From Exploitation
San Diego, CA - Denise Harris
HSTSI Facilitator And Survivor Advocate, Convergence Resource Center
Milwaukee WI - Marian Hatcher
Senior Project Manager/Human Trafficking Coordinator, Cook County Sheriffs Office
Chicago, IL - Keisha Head
Lead Case Manager, Salvation Army
Conyers, GA - Hollerbach
Monroe, WA - Jolene Hollis
Mentor, Trainer, Case Manager
Long Beach, CA - Margaret Howard
LCSW
Saint Louis, MO - Corina Hernandez
Hemet, CA - Jeanet T. Ingalls
Survivor Advocate, Shout Out Loud Productions, Inc.
Lenox, MA - Beth Jacobs
Field Instructor, Truckers Against Trafficking
St. Cloud, MN - Cherie Jimenez
Director, EVA Center
Boston, MA - Jeri Jimenez**
Co-founder, Survivor 2 Survivor
Portland, OR - Ann Marie Jones
Peer Mentor, Dawns Place
Philadelphia, PA - Judith
Beverly Hills, CA - Kristine
Tacoma, WA - Kathleen Kruger
Mount Olive Lutheran Church
Minneapolis, MN - Jessica Lamb
Founder and Director, Atlanta Redemption Ink, Inc.
Atlanta, GA - Judith Latner*
Buckeye, AZ - Maryann Lennon
Survivor, Rebecca Bender Initiative
Palm Bay, FL - Marcela Loaiza
Survivor and Writer, Marcela Loaiza Foundation
Las Vegas, NV - Jacquelynn Loos
Peer Support Specialist, REST
Seattle, WA - Shawnee Love HHD, PhD**
Doctor/Advocate/Survivor/Warrior/Movements Maker, Purple Hearts Missions Possible & Healthy Horizons; Native American Warriors Task Force
The Americas - Megan Lundstrom
Executive Director, Free Our Girls
Greeley, CO - Marti MacGibbon
Speaker, Author, Survivor Leader
Sacramento, CA - Jasmine Grace Marino
Director, Bags of Hope
Boston, MA - Emily Martin
Mission 21
Rochester, MN - Jennifer Martin
Social Media and Events Coordinator, Rethreaded
Jacksonville, FL - Courtney Mattinson
Marietta, GA - McKinley
Austin, TX - Manon Michaud
Activist
Montréal, QC - Robin Miller
Vancouver, BC - Kathleen Mitchell
Founder, DIGNITY Programs
Phoenix, AZ - Jeri Moomaw
Executive Director, Innovations HTC
Olympia, WA - Audrey Morrissey
Associate Director, My Life My Choice
Boston, MA - Emmy Myers
CEO & Founder, Lacey’s Hope Project
Slinger, WI - Darlene Pawlik
Speaker, The Darling Princess
Raymond, NH - Alexandra (Sandi) Pierce
President, Othayonih Research
Saint Paul, MN - John Price
Reverend
Kansas City, MO - Sharon Robbins
Jubilee Havens
Ocean Springs, MS - Dr. Katariina Rosenblatt, PhD
Founder, There Is Hope For Me, Inc.
Orlando, FL - Rosseland
Survivor Mentor, Delores Barr Weaver Policy Center
Jacksonville, FL - Marjorie Saylor
Founder/Executive Director, The Well Path
Escondido, CA - Andrea Shields
Marceline, MO - Carrie Smals
Supervisor of a non-profit organization for survivors of human trafficking
Jacksonville, FL - Tina Smithee
Caseworker, Catholic Charities
Macon, GA - Elle Snow
Founder & Board President/Public Speaker, Game Over
Eureka, CA - Joli Sparkman
RIA house
Millis, MA - Lorena Spencer
Owosso, MI - Jen Spry
RN, Being A Voice LLC
Douglassville, PA - Cassandra Strom
Public Relations Director, New Life Refuge Ministries
Trophy Club, TX
100. Brittani Stugart
Los Angeles, CA
101. Carolyn Sunseri
McKinleyville, CA
102. Shelley Sylvester
Madison Heights, MI
103. Kristen Tebow
CEO, Founder, Youth Trust Project
Lawrence, KS
104. Melanie Thompson
Survivor Advocate
Queens, NY
105. Tori Thompson
Free Our Girls
Greeley, CO
106. Rosalyn Vasquez
Survivor Advocate
Seattle, WA
107. Jeanette Westbrook, MSSW
Speaker and Advocate, SPACE International
Louisville, KY
108. Pamela A. White
Shared Hope International
Washington, DC
109. Pamela Willisaa
Survivor Leader/Expert
Atlanta, GA
110. Shandra Woworuntu
Director, Mentari
New York, NY
111. Erin Wright
Carson City, NV
112. Sarah Zalonis
Consultant, Polaris Project
Washington, DC
113. Tammy Bitanga
Peer Support Specialist/Community Outreach manager, Ho’ola Na Pua
Honolulu, HI
* Parent of a child sex trafficking survivor
** Survivor and parent of a child sex trafficking survivor
