The luncheon will be held at the Hilton Downtown Miami. For the full details and to register for a ticket, a table or a sponsorship visit the event page by clicking here.

Two Florida Legislators, Representative Erik Fresen and Senator Anitere Flores, have introduced HB 99 and SB 202: Sexual Exploitation respectively for consideration. Commonly referred to as the Florida Safe Harbor Act, both bills provide for presumption that placement of child alleged to have been sexually exploited in short-term safe house is necessary; provide requirements for findings in shelter hearing relating to placement of allegedly sexually exploited child in safe house; requires assessment of certain children; provides for use of such assessments; provides requirements for safe houses receiving such children; require annual report on safe-house placements; provide for training for law enforcement officials likely to encounter sexually exploited children; provide for increased civil penalty for soliciting another to commit prostitution or related acts & disposition of proceeds; allow victim compensation for sexually exploited children; and provide presumption against filing delinquency petition for certain prostitution-related offenses in certain circumstances.

Florida Senator Lizbeth has introduced SB 1816: Protection of Vulnerable Persons. This bill deletes the definition of the term “other person responsible for a child’s welfare”; requiring specified educational institutions and their law enforcement agencies to report known or suspected child abuse, abandonment, or neglect in certain circumstances; revising the definition of the terms “forced labor or services” and “human trafficking”; prohibiting knowingly or in reckless disregard of the facts engaging in certain acts relating to human trafficking; providing additional duties for the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission concerning instruction in human trafficking; requiring the Department of Children and Family Services to develop guidelines for serving children who have been the victims of human trafficking, etc.

Senator Anitere Flores has also introduced SB 1880: Human Trafficking. This bill provides additional jurisdiction for the Office of Statewide Persecution relating to human trafficking; increasing the criminal penalty for a person who knowingly engages in human trafficking from a felony of the second degree to a felony of the first degree; increasing the criminal penalty for human smuggling from a misdemeanor of the first degree to a felony of the third degree; providing additional authorization for the interception of wire, oral, or electronic communications, etc.

To read about these bills and to register for the Florida Senate and House “Track This Bill” bill service click here for the Florida Senate and click here for the Florida House.

The Children’s Trust and Women’s Fund of Miami-Dade today launched a powerful broadcast campaign to combat the trafficking and prostitution of children at a news conference at Miami-Dade Police headquarters.

The campaign features six of the region’s most influential leaders, lawmakers and law enforcement officials:  U.S. Congresswomen Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Debbie Wasserman Shultz and Frederica Wilson, as well as State Attorney Katherine Fernandez-Rundle, Miami-Dade County Commissioner Sally Heyman, and Miami-Dade Police Director, James Loftus.In addition these leaders plus Miami-Dade County School Board Member Dr. Martin Karp and Miami Beach Mayor Matti Herrera Bower are featured in a series of posters with the same powerful message.

Called, “Dear John”, this television and radio campaign is directed squarely at the men who are paying to have sex with children. The campaign also asks the public to take action now in support of bills pending in the current legislative session in Tallahassee that are designed to reduce sex trafficking in our state, as well as help the under-age victims when rescued.

“According to the FBI, Miami has one of the highest incident rates of child prostitution in the country and it must be stopped,” stated Modesto Abety-Gutierrez, Executive Director of The Children’s Trust. “As an organization devoted to the health and well-being of all our children, The Children’s Trust is committed to supporting this campaign.”

Advocacy groups estimate 300,000 children around the nation are at risk of being sold for sex and the average age at which girls first become victims of commercial sexual exploitation is between 12 and 14.

“Minor girls who are trafficked and forced into prostitution have been victimized,” said Debi Harris, CEO of Women’s Fund of Miami-Dade. “These television and radio spots focus on the real criminals, the ‘Johns’, and rightly expose the anger and outrage we as citizens feel against this atrocity.

More information about the pending House and Senate bills are available at http://www.womensfundmiami.org/take-action/

The Children’s Trust is a dedicated source of revenue established by voter referendum to improve the lives of children and families in Miami-Dade County.

Women’s Fund of Miami-Dade empowers women and girls through advocacy and funding for innovative initiatives that build equality, foster social change, and create community partnerships.

Women, War & Peace is a bold new five-part PBS television series challenging the conventional wisdom that war and peace are men’s domain. The vast majority of today’s conflicts are not fought by nation states and their armies, but rather by informal entities: gangs and warlords using small arms and improvised weapons. The series reveals how the post-Cold War proliferation of small arms has changed the landscape of war, with women becoming primary targets and suffering unprecedented casualties. Yet they are simultaneously emerging as necessary partners in brokering lasting peace and as leaders in forging new international laws governing conflict. With depth and complexity, Women, War & Peace spotlights the stories of women in conflict zones from Bosnia to Afghanistan and Colombia to Liberia, placing women at the center of an urgent dialogue about conflict and security, and reframing our understanding of modern warfare.

Featuring narrators Matt Damon, Tilda Swinton, Geena Davis and Alfre Woodard, Women, War & Peace is the most comprehensive global media initiative ever mounted on the roles of women in war and peace. Be sure to watch it or set your DVR. For specific air times in your market go to http://www.pbs.org/wnet/women-war-and-peace/.

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