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05-10 Maine Becomes the 14th State to BAN CHILD MARRIAGE #18NoExceptions
Map Shows Where Child Marriage Remains Legal as Maine Ban Becomes Law
Child marriage remains legal in most states, many of which allow children as young as 15 or 16 years old to get married. A handful of states have no age requirements at all for marriage. About 300,000 children have gotten married since 2000, according to Unchained at Last, an organization that fights for laws banning child marriage.
Advocates to end child marriage say that married minors are left vulnerable on multiple fronts. Married minors lack the legal rights of an adult to obtain a lawyer and fight the marriage if they do not want to get married, advocates say, noting they also are more likely to face lifelong challenges surrounding poverty and abuse.
What to Know
Maine’s ban on child marriage means the practice is now banned in the entirety of New England, ending what advocates view as a potential child marriage haven. New Hampshire’s law against child marriage kicked in at the beginning of the year, though some in the Granite State are seeking to add an exemption to the ban.
05-09 May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Let’s Empower Our Kids & Teens, NOW.
Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day shines a spotlight on the mental well-being of kids across the world. It’s a day to encourage understanding, break down stigma, and promote support for children struggling with mental health issues. With more kids facing mental health challenges each day, early help and proper attention are vital.
Children’s mental health refers to how kids think, feel, and act as they grow. It impacts their ability to learn, make friends, and handle daily life. Usually, children show their feelings in ways that match their age. But when certain behaviors or feelings persist or worsen, it may signal a problem. Common issues include anxiety, depression, ADHD, or trauma. Recognizing these helps us support them early.
The Importance of Early Detection and Intervention
Spotting mental health struggles early changes everything. When concerns are caught quickly, children can get help before problems worsen. For example, a child showing signs of anxiety might start missing school or avoiding friends. With help, they can regain confidence and happiness. Experts suggest routine screening and assessment from a young age to catch issues before they become serious.
05-08 Do You Know About AngelQ? A Super Safe Browser for Kids. A Must in Your Home.
Tim Estes joins Haley for this week’s episode to discuss the launch of an incredible new platform: AngelQ. Among his many other accomplishments, Tim is the CEO and Founder of Angel AI. He chats with Haley about how AngelQ got started and what parents can do with this tool. They also discuss the recent report of a disturbing conversation that journalists from the Wall Street Journal were able to generate from the Meta AI chat service. This just emphasizes the need for smart and safe AI tools like the one that Tim and the team at AngelQ have created.
AngelQ is an AI-driven tool that creates safe and curated experiences for kids and gives parents peace of mind. It’s more than just a safety tool – AngelQ is designed to encourage and inspire kids as they use the internet to learn, have fun, and then hop offline to explore the world around them.
05-07 Thank You to ALL of the Warriors Who Attended Our Community Creates Change Event in NYC
We loved seeing everyone. A special thanks to all of our sponsors and those who volunteered and donated. Stay tuned for pictures. You are all Warriors.
05-06 Today is THE Day! Warriors Benefit – GIVING HOPE:Community Creates Change
NYC. Monday morn. In a few short hours, the celebration of HOPE begins. Please join us. #communitycreateschange It’s time. Tuesday, 5/6 at 5:30 PM. A Lynn’s Warriors Benefit – Support human trafficking education and survivor empowerment.
05-05 NYC. Sex Trafficking Trial Begins. Will #DirtyDiddy Be Held Accountable?
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial to delve into the seediest side of rap’s ‘bad boy’
Hip-hop impresario Sean “Diddy” Combs once presided like a prince over his White Parties in the Hamptons, attracting A-list celebrities, gossip columnists and photographers. But at a trial starting Monday, prosecutors will cast the entertainer as a criminal sexual deviant who exploited his fame to abuse women at gatherings held far out of public view.
For over two decades, prosecutors allege, the Bad Boy Records founder used the power and prestige he’d gained in building a hip-hop empire to destroy young lives.
He faces an indictment that includes descriptions of “Freak Offs,” drugged-up orgies in which women were forced to have sex with male sex workers while Combs filmed them.
05-04 NYC. The Countdown Is On! Please Join Us at the Lynn’s Warriors Benefit Empowering Human Trafficking Survivors & Education
05-03 The Diddy Allegations Are Shocking. Were They Also Business As Usual?
In the interview, she recounted an alleged incident from 2018 — a crown prince of Brunei flew her from Los Angeles to Miami with a promise to help her singing career. Once there, he took her to a party on Star Island, an uber-exclusive, man-made enclave home to celebrities such as rapper Rick Ross, retired basketball star Shaquille O’Neal and Combs. The music mogul was throwing the party. Security guards took her phone before she could wander through the property.
05-02 ❌National Human Trafficking Hotline Accused of Failing to Share Tips with Law Enforcement | National Review
The National Human Trafficking Hotline is a vital resource for victims of sex trafficking looking for assistance and liberation, but the organization tasked with running it has been accused of mismanaging it by failing to report tips to law enforcement.
“The National Human Trafficking Hotline had long been an integral part of our work, until it was discovered a few years ago that the organization awarded the grant to run the Hotline, Polaris, was no longer sharing tips from concerned citizens and distressed family members with local law enforcement. Without those tips, our law enforcement loses critical leads to dismantling trafficking operations. We also lose valuable leads to rescuing the victims of trafficking and helping them begin the road to recovery,” the AGs told Kennedy.
Fortunately for Polaris, its co-founder and former president Katherine Chon is a senior adviser at HHS and its director of the Office on Trafficking in Persons, according to her LinkedIn profile. The notice of funding opportunity for the human trafficking hotline indicates that the Office on Trafficking in Persons within the HHS’s Administration for Children and Families is the awardee of the grant.
The attorneys general emphasized the importance of awarding the human trafficking hotline grant to an organization willing to cooperate with law enforcement by sending forward tips from the public. Despite their insistence, Polaris rejected the attorneys general’s advice and continued to operate without delivering tips to law enforcement.
“We cannot stress enough the importance of ensuring that this year’s awardee is committed to notifying law enforcement of tips it receives from a vigilant public. As Attorneys General, we spent years attempting to engage with Polaris in an honest dialogue about how vital those tips are to our efforts to help human trafficking victims. But in the end, we were unable to convince them of this necessity,” the AGs added.
The National Human Trafficking Hotline is a 24/7, confidential resource for victims seeking help or citizens with tips on potential trafficking activities. Since 2007, the hotline has identified more than 100,000 cases of human trafficking involving 197,000 victims, according to statistics the hotline compiled.
In January, Senator Ashley Moody (R., Fla.) highlighted the hotline’s failures when she questioned the Trump administration’s FBI Director Kash Patel at his confirmation hearing. Citing her experience as Florida attorney general, Moody said human trafficking exploded under former President Joe Biden because of his disinterest in enforcing federal immigration law at the southern border.
“It might shock you to know that the National Human Trafficking Hotline that was funded by Congress to report tips to law enforcement in the last four years decided that they would no longer report tips to law enforcement,” Moody said.
Polaris recently hired a new CEO after its previous executive Catherine Chen stepped down in December following four years of leading the organization. It is unclear if Chen’s departure was connected to the incoming Trump administration’s strong support for law enforcement.
Over two years ago, Moody was part of a similar group of 36 state attorneys general that sounded the alarm about the failures of the National Human Trafficking Hotline. The AGs lambasted Chen’s approach and said Polaris’s slow reporting system was hindering law enforcement’s ability to assist trafficking victims.
“Possibly more alarming, some states are reporting that they receive tips from the Hotline a month, sometimes two months, after a tip of suspected trafficking is reported to Polaris. If the Hotline is not promptly sharing tips with law enforcement, law enforcement cannot act to help victims of trafficking,” the National Association of Attorneys General wrote in a 2023 letter to congressional leaders of both parties.
After the attorneys general’s concerns were raised, then-HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra told Senator Cindy Hyde Smith (R., Miss.) that the department was working on restoring the hotline’s close relationship with law enforcement, the AGs said in the most recent letter.
The AGs are hoping to work with Kennedy on restoring the integrity of the hotline and partnering with it on tackling sex trafficking. The Trump administration’s top law enforcement officials have stated their intention to make sex trafficking a priority, especially in the context of curtailing illegal immigration and gang activities.
Recent Posts
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05-11 Lori Cohen Leads National Effort to Combat Child Exploitation Through PACT Initiative
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05-10 Maine Becomes the 14th State to BAN CHILD MARRIAGE #18NoExceptions
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05-09 May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Let’s Empower Our Kids & Teens, NOW.
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05-08 Do You Know About AngelQ? A Super Safe Browser for Kids. A Must in Your Home.
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05-07 Thank You to ALL of the Warriors Who Attended Our Community Creates Change Event in NYC