[acb-hsp] Super Bowl: the Untold Story

[peter altschul]

Super Bowl: The Untold Story
  Michael Reagan
  There has been a lot of media buzz about the thousands of 
prostitutes, strippers and pole dancers streaming into the Dallas 
area for the Super Bowl weekend.  But what rarely gets reported 
is the alarming fact that hiding behind the push-up bras, false 
eyelashes and stilettos are children, some as young as 12 years 
of age, who are victims of human sex trafficking.
  Human trafficking is as much a part of Texas as cowboys and 
oil.  The business flourishes because of the state's geographic 
location, long stretches of interstate highways, international 
airports, numerous bus stations, the large shipping industry, and 
its shared border with Mexico.  This border is North America's 
number one supply site for young children used in sex and labor 
trafficking.  In the last quarter of 2007, 30 percent of the 
calls received by the National Human Trafficking Hotline were out 
of Texas and 25 percent of all international victims certified by 
the U.S.  Department of Health and Human Services were in Texas.
  The problem doesn't just affect children from outside U.S.  
borders.  Domestic child sex trafficking is on the rise.  
According to National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, 
Runaway, and Throwaway Children, an estimated one out of every 
three children that run away is lured into sex trafficking within 
48 hours of leaving home.  Research indicates that one in five 
girls and one in ten boys will be sexually victimized before 
adulthood.
  I know first-hand the pain of sexual exploitation.  As a child, 
I was sexually abused for a year by a trusted summer camp 
counselor.  I was molested and I was a victim of child 
pornography.  No child ever completely recovers from this form of 
abuse.
  I kept this awful secret for 32 years.  Then in 1987, during my 
father's second term as president, I finally spoke.  I told the 
horrible truth to my father Ronald Reagan and Nancy, my mother 
Jane Wyman and my wife Colleen, and then I told the world in a 
book I penned called "On the Outside Looking In." I was no longer 
fearful of how my experience would affect the image of one of 
America's most beloved actors and presidents.  I found purpose in 
the pain.
  Long before my father was an actor, he was an accomplished 
swimmer and he worked as a lifeguard at Rock River in Illinois.  
He was always proud of the fact that he saved 77 lives there.  It 
occurred to me that children caught in the waters of abuse and 
neglect are drowning too.  They need a lifeguard.  Time for 
another Reagan to jump in the water.  In 2005, I joined with 
Arrow Child and Families Ministries of Houston, Texas to create 
The Michael Reagan Center for Advocacy and Research.  The center 
conducts research in order to effectively advocate nationally for 
public policies that benefit the safety, stability and well-being 
of children and families, particularly those served by public and 
private child welfare systems.  Currently, we are focused on 
providing a fresh voice for children and families affected by 
deficiencies in the foster care system and those victimized by 
sex trafficking.
  I applaud the efforts of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and 
members of the Texas Human Trafficking Prevention Task Force, who 
are working to identify and assist children trafficked in for the 
Super Bowl.  But come Monday morning, there will be thousands of 
children still living in the darkness of the sex trade.
  Our research shows that although the federal government 
provides some funding to support victims of human trafficking, 
the vast majority of that money is directed to foreign nationals.  
Funding and services are especially scarce for the domestic minor 
victims of human trafficking.  Nationwide there are fewer than 70 
beds for the safe recovery of victims.
  Now more than ever, government funds must be directed toward 
the victims of this horrendous crime.  I urge you to contact your 
local representatives to ask their support of the Domestic Minor 
Sex Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act which could 
provide critical funds needed to support our children who are 
lured into this sick world.  But of course government cannot do 
it alone.  I am also calling upon churches and members of the 
faith community to visit wwwddArrow/mrcddorg and indicate your 
desire to be educated and equipped to address this issue and make 
an impact in your community.
  Arrow Child and Family Ministries and the Michael Reagan Center 
are participating in the Safe House Now Taskforce -- a model 
program that brings together representatives of the FBI, local 
law enforcement, the courts, the United States and District 
Attorneys, Child Protective Services and Juvenile Probation, 
womenbs groups, non-profits and faith organizations to develop a 
program that will provide therapeutic, educational, and housing 
to children caught up in sex trafficking.
  The task force has identified Arrow Child and Family Ministries 
as the organization that will house and provide the program 
needed for these children.
  We have developed a therapeutic and educational model that can 
be replicated nationwide.
  There's nothing magical about the Super Bowl.  Predatory 
monsters who destroy the innocent lives of children are 
everywhere.  It's time that caring adults take a strong stand 
against those who sexually exploit and abuse children.
  Michael Reagan, the eldest son of Ronald Reagan, is heard daily 
by over 5 million listeners via his nationally syndicated talk 
radio program, "The Michael Reagan Show."