Sarah Hersh, 510-550-8170 (office)/510-759-2921 (cell)
Burlingame, CA – California Teachers Association endorsed the Californians Against Sexual Exploitation (CASE) Act today. Slated for the November 2012 ballot, the CASE Act is an initiative that will fight back against human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of women and children in the state. The initiative qualified for the ballot in May, after the Secretary of State certified the signatures submitted by the campaign.
California Teachers Association President Dean E. Vogel announced the endorsement, saying, “California Teachers Association wants all young people in California to have a bright future. As educators, we advocate and fight for kids in this state every day. That’s why we’re joining the effort to support the CASE Act and fight back against the sexual exploitation of our children by human traffickers. We urge voters to join us in supporting the CASE Act on the ballot this November.”
Founded in 1863, CTA is the voice of 325,000 educators in California’s public schools and colleges. Their members include teachers, counselors, school librarians, social workers, psychologists, nurses, community college faculty, California State University faculty, and education support professionals. With more than 1,100 local chapters in school districts throughout California, CTA is also the largest statewide affiliate of the National Education Association.
In California, many vulnerable women and young girls are held against their will and forced to sell their bodies. The victims are often girls as young as 12 who are sexually exploited for the financial gain of human traffickers. They are afraid for their lives and abused – sexually, physically, and mentally.
Human trafficking is said to be one of the fastest growing criminal enterprises in the world – and it is taking place right here in our own backyard. Three cities in California – San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego – are recognized by the FBI as high intensity child sex trafficking areas. In addition, a recent national study by a victims' rights group gave California an "F" grade for its weak laws dealing with child sex trafficking.
The CASE Act, a partnership of California Against Slavery and the Safer California Foundation, will protect children in California by:
• Increasing prison terms for human traffickers.
• Requiring convicted sex traffickers to register as sex offenders.
• Requiring all registered sex offenders to disclose their internet accounts.
• Requiring criminal fines from convicted human traffickers to pay for services to help victims.
The CASE Act has also been endorsed by organizations representing over 90,000 rank and file California Peace Officers, advocates for the protection of children, including Marc Klaas and the KlaasKids Foundation, and victims who survived sexual exploitation when they were children.
For comprehensive information on the CASE Act, visit www.caseact.org.
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About the CASE Act
The CASE Act is a joint partnership of California Against Slavery and the Safer California Foundation. Slated for the November 2012 ballot, the CASE Act is a ballot initiative to fight back against human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of women and children. It increases penalties against human traffickers and online predators, requires convicted sex traffickers to register as sex offenders, requires all registered sex offenders to provide the authorities with information about their internet accounts, and uses the fines against convicted traffickers to pay for victim services. For more information, visit www.caseact.org.
About California Against Slavery
California Against Slavery (CAS) is a non-partisan human rights organization dedicated to ending human trafficking, starting where we live. The organization’s mission is to defend the freedom of every child, woman and man by empowering the people of California to fulfill our obligation to stop human trafficking. For more information, visit www.californiaagainstslavery.org.
About the Safer California Foundation
The Safer California Foundation is dedicated to supporting efforts to protect Californians from all forms of criminal exploitation. Created by Chris Kelly, former Facebook Chief Privacy Officer and a Silicon Valley attorney and philanthropist, the Safer California Foundation looks forward to the day when every neighborhood in California is as safe as our most secure neighborhoods today.