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The mission of the Bucks Coalition Against Trafficking is to eradicate human trafficking in Bucks County through victim identification, community education, enhancement of arrests and prosecution of traffickers, changes to legislation and a coordinated response of victim services. |
Meet a BCAT Member Corner
- Richard Yahn
Richard Yahn is committed to harnessing the power of social media to bring issues of human trafficking not only to BCAT members but also to the world at large. For more than two years he has volunteered to create and expand BCAT's social media presence using popular tools such as Facebook. He recognizes that he and BCAT are competing with plenty of outside news sources for the increasingly limited time and attention span of the rest of us out there.
"I try not to bombard people with information," he said. "We are all competing for everyone's attention, and it seems that 90 percent of the news stories today are about negative things. Of course, BCAT's focus is human trafficking, and negative news is sometimes unavoidable, so my focus is to put a more educational spin on the news I share on Facebook and other media, a positive spin in that people can read the information and often do something about it." He tries to include trafficking information that has a local angle as well as national and international news.
Social media, which tend to attract a younger audience, are a perfect tool for BCAT, Richard said. "A large portion of our audience right now is female and young adults, although we do have a share of readers who are in their 40s and 50s as well as a number of men." Almost 400 people currently "like" the BCAT Facebook page, and Richard estimates the reach-based on likes and shares of BCAT news--to number in the thousands so far.
"Social media enables a younger generation to have a voice in influencing and fighting human trafficking," he said. "I was recently in a meeting, and a young woman stood up and was talking about BCAT and what a great organization it is and how to get involved. Social media is helping us increase our reach into so many areas and audiences."
Richard, who is currently pursuing a master's degree in psychology at Cairn University, became interested in connecting with NOVA and BCAT after meeting BCAT Co-Chair, Lucianna Alderfer. He has a social media and marketing background and does web site design, as well. He currently works at a psychologist's office and finds that the work is a good fit with his role with BCAT.
Richard encourages BCAT members to contact him with any information we feel might be appropriate to include in the social media BCAT manages. For folks who don't have a Facebook page, Richard can be reached at www.facebook.com/bcatpa. Those of us who have Facebook pages can find Richard by entering BCAT in the Facebook search field.
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E-mail/Call-in Campaign - Safe Harbor Legislation. Please Contact Your State Senator:
We need your help. Please take a moment to call or email your PA State Senator to advocate for the passage of Senate Bill 851, Safe Harbor for youths under the age of 18 who are victims of sex trafficking.
It is vital that our legislators hear from as many constituents as possible before mid October. The e-mail script and call-in scripts are below for your use.
Please be sure to call or email the legislators who represent you. You can call his/her Harrisburg office phone. Or you can copy and paste the e-mail script below into your legislator's e-mail contact. All contact information can be found on this website:
www.legis.state.pa.us.
CALL-IN SCRIPT:
Call your Senator's Harrisburg office number, let the receptionist know you are a constituent, and ask to speak with the Senator or a staff person about a piece of pending legislation relating to human trafficking.
Cover the following key points during your call:
- I am calling to ask for your support for SB 851, Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Youth, which is expected to come up for vote before the close of this legislative session.
- The legislature passed a comprehensive anti-human trafficking law in 2014, but we need to do more to protect child victims of sex trafficking.
- Right now, without the passage of SB 851, girls and boys Pennsylvania who are sexually exploited by traffickers become re-victimized when they are arrested and prosecuted for prostitution and other "masking crimes" arising directly out of their sexual exploitation.
- [If asked, the other "masking crimes" are: criminal trespass, disorderly conduct, loitering and prowling at night, obstruction of the highway, providing false identification to law enforcement, and simple possession of a controlled substance.]
- By granting immunity to child trafficking victims for the crime of prostitution and these limited related offenses committed as a direct result of their victimization, SB 851 recognizes that there is no such thing as a child prostitute.
- In addition to ensuring that we protect, rather than prosecute, the child victims of sex trafficking in our communities, the passage of SB 851 will also achieve three related goals.
- First, SB 851 will empower child welfare agencies to develop specialized victim services, such as housing, mental health, and substance dependency treatment.
- Second, the law will create a platform to provide training to law enforcement to both identify a sexually exploited child, and to coordinate appropriate victim's services.
- Lastly, SB 851 will establish a fund created through convicted traffickers' fines to enhance victim services and increase public awareness about human trafficking.
- You should also be aware that if Pennsylvania does not enact this Safe Harbor legislation, we will not be eligible for financial assistance pursuant to the federal Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act.
- Passing SB 851 will allow us to show compassion for sexually exploited children, and stay focused on the real criminals in our efforts to combat human trafficking
- As a concerned citizen, [INSERT IF APPLICABLE - and a member of NAME OF COALITION OR ORGANIZATION], I hope I can count on your vote in favor of SB 851.
- [IF YOU WILL BE IN HARRISBURG ON 10/17, ADD: I expect to be in Harrisburg on Monday, October 17, 2016, to advocate for SB 851. Would it be possible for me to set up a meeting with the Senator or a member of [his/her] staff about the Safe Harbor bill?]
- Try to confirm next steps on setting up the meeting while you are still on the line and thank him/her for his/her time and consideration.
E-MAIL SCRIPT:
Dear Senator [INSERT Senator's Name],
My name is [INSERT YOUR NAME], and I live in [INSERT YOUR TOWNSHIP AND COUNTY].
I am writing to you today to urge you to support Senate Bill 851, Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Youth, which is expected to come up for vote before the close of this legislative session. SB 851 is vital to our efforts to protect sexually exploited children in Pennsylvania.
As you may recall, in 2014, the Pennsylvania Legislature enacted Act 105, a comprehensive anti-human trafficking law, but we need to do more to protect child victims of sex trafficking. Without the passage of SB 851, girls and boys in our Commonwealth who are sexually exploited by traffickers become re-victimized in the juvenile justice system when they are arrested and prosecuted for prostitution and other "masking crimes" arising directly out of their sexual exploitation, including criminal trespass, disorderly conduct, loitering and prowling at night, obstruction of the highway, providing false identification to law enforcement, and simple possession of a controlled substance. By granting immunity to child trafficking victims for the crime of prostitution and these limited related offenses committed as a direct result of their victimization, SB 851 recognizes that there is no such thing as a child prostitute.
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Rally and Advocacy Day in Harrisburg on October 17th
Calling all Anti-Human Trafficking Advocates from across Pennsylvania! Please join your fellow advocates and key supporters of anti-human trafficking legislation on
Monday, October 17, 2016 to urge our legislators to support the Safe Harbor Bill, SB 851, which will serve to
protect and support, rather than prosecute and convict,
child victims of sexual exploitation within our Commonwealth.
A rally will take place at
10:30AM in the East Wing of the Capitol Rotunda, and will feature elected officials and advocates determined to help improve the current laws for Pennsylvania's sexually exploited children.
While at the Capitol on the 17th, plan to stop by your legislators' offices to ask for their support of this important bill.
REGISTER HERE to join us on October 17th!
If you cannot join us in Harrisburg, additional information will be provided to you shortly so that you can call or email your elected officials to urge them to support SB 851.
This event is hosted by the Pennsylvania Anti-Human Trafficking Advocacy Work Group, representing Pennsylvania's anti-human trafficking coalitions and partner organizations.
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A New Jersey man who ensnared drug-dependent women into lives of
prostitution
, controlling them with financial quotas and threats of violence, was sentenced Monday to serve 11½ to 23 years in state prison.
Christopher DeGrasse, 32, pleaded guilty to trafficking in individuals for financial gain, promoting prostitution, corrupt organizations and drug trafficking. His sentence, the result of a negotiated plea, was accepted by Bucks County Judge Wallace H. Bateman Jr. Read More...
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Would you like to be part of the BCAT Outreach Sub-Committee?
The BCAT Outreach-Sub Committee wants your involvement! The Outreach Committee works to spread awareness to the community and provides tools to prevent and address human trafficking in Bucks County. We are planning events for Human Trafficking Awareness Day (January 11, 2017) as well as events during the month of January. The committee meets monthly on the fourth Monday of the month at 5:30 PM, NOVA office in Jamison PA. Contact Deirdre Blackburn at deirdre@novabucks.org for more information.
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Supreme Court Deals a Blow to Backpage on Child-Sex Ads
On Tuesday, Oct. 4, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Backpage.com, a website involved in a U.S. Senate child sex trafficking investigation, will have to comply with a subpoena issued by the US Senate's Permanent Committee on Investigations, chaired by U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH). Operators of the Backpage.com website had argued on First Amendment grounds that they shouldn't have to comply with the subpoena.
The Committee has tried since April of last year to investigate Backpage.com's classified advertisements and possible links to child sex trafficking, but Backpage.com CEO Carl Ferrer and the web site have blocked the investigation by refusing to turn over documents and records that would show how and whether it screens ads so as to avoid promoting child sex trafficking. By declining to review the decision of a federal judge to order Ferrer to turn over documents, the Supreme Court now forces Backpage.com to cooperate with the Permanent Committee on Investigations. After Ferrer had refused to comply last year, the Senate voted to hold Backpage.com in contempt of Congress.
Backpage.com's revenues have soared to an estimated $150 million per year since 2009, when Craigslist, another classified-ads website, stopped accepting ads for adult services, including escorts and strippers. Backpage.com picked up much of that advertising traffic.
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Don't miss the last BCAT meeting of 2016!
The next BCAT meeting is October 12, 5PM at the Doylestown Mennonite Church at 590 N Broad St., Doylestown, PA 18901. We will have two presenters: Christina Dominguez, Executive Director of VAST Coalition (Valley Against Sex Trafficking) and Obed Almeyda, Chairman of the Montgomery County Anti-Human Trafficking Coalition (MCAT)
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