CGJ Student Staff Update from Courtney Knox

As we finish the semester, my peers and I have continuously worked hard to provide Shared Hope with as much information as we can with regard to each of the 50 states statutes and how they may apply to victim-offenders. Our goal is that Shared Hope can take all of that information and use it to make recommendations to state legislators in order to improve state laws so that victim-offenders will be better protected. Working on this project has really opened my eyes to the complexities and nuances of sex trafficking. I have always had a heart for this issue and, at times, believed I had a decent understanding of it. However, I now know that what I had was a very basic understanding of it with so much to learn. Of course, there will always be something new to learn or understand and I am excited to continue in this process. Laws are continually changing and with such changes come new challenges and responsibilities in making sure that states laws are not unjustly targeting victims of sex trafficking, but are actually reaching those true facilitators and traffickers that the laws are intended to reach.

This semester has shown me the importance of keeping track of states’ trafficking (and related) laws, as well as asking the right questions regarding those laws: Who are the ones actually being targeted by the law? What are the far-reaching implications of the law, and how can the law be further developed or altered so that it reaches the true traffickers? Asking these types of questions and seeing the results it could have in affecting legislation has given me a deeper appreciation for policy and the role it plays in the fight against sex trafficking.