See what Oprah says

Having been raped as a child herself Oprah has very strong feelings about this issue. I would encourage everyone to go to tinystars.org and hear what Oprah has to say about it.

Don’t forget to read my last post about BlogHers Act and post a comment there. Whether or not you have a blog you can vote on the BlogHers Act initiative. Everyone is welcome to vote, both men and women. The voting has been extended to July 8th.

To vote you go to www.blogher.org 

Click on Non-profits and NGO’s on the left of the home page.

Look for something like BlogHers Act Survey is live.

Click on that link and fill out the survey. It takes about three minutes.

Sexual exploitation of children and child abuse is the issue we hope you see as top priority.   If sexual exploitation of children is chosen this disease, which is spread by silence, will be pushed into the public eye in such a way that it cannot be ignored. People will start searching for solutions and they will find many of those solutions in what Tiny Stars is already doing.

I’m asking everyone who reads this to tell everyone they know about BlogHer Act and ask them to vote by the 8th of July.

Let’s stop the raping of children.

The issue I would like to see BlogHers Act support

BlogHer is a site where women bloggers can register and have their blog seen in a community of other women bloggers. They want idea’s for a global issue to support for one year. This would be a powerful and significant voice for what ever issue is chosen since it would be it will be heard and carried by thousands of bloggers

The one I would like to see voters choose is the multi-billion dollar industry of  sexual exploitation of children. This is a global problem and eighty percent of child predators that travel to other countries are Americans.  One child molestor will affect hundreds of children in their lifetime.  Or in many cases thousands. Such as with John W. Seljan, 85,  who before being caught molested tens of thousands of children.

The good news is that there are solutions. Under the Protect Act thousands of Americans can be caught in other countries (pick one they are there) and convicted in America. With harsher sentencing under the Protect Act (20 years for under 18, life imprisonment for under 14) it is an extremely effective way to get them off of America’s streets as well.  After this new legal precident has been put in place harsher sentences will be given to child predators who are caught in the states  also.

It is crucial that everyone know not only about the problem but the solution. There are so many things that individuals and groups can do,  join the global Family Watch Group, volunteer, monetary support, encouraging the company you work for to support the cause either corporately or through employee matching bonus programs the list goes on and on. We can make a difference. We can stop this industry in its tracks. A big push of awareness and action is needed.  The one organization that I know of that is using the Protect Act and undercover agents to expose and catch child predators is the non-profit Tiny Stars. For five years Jake Collins has worked to inform the public on this issue and is now rallying the support and assistance of caring people who want to stop the devastation of innocent children that is happening around the globe and in our neighborhoods. I started this blog to do my part.

I hope this issue is chosen by the BlogHer community but if it is not I hope that you will all visit this blog and Jake’s web site to increase awareness and help stop the silence that makes child molestation possible.

Voting will take place on Blogher www.blogher.org  until July 8th. on the home page scroll down a bit and on the left click on non-profits and ngo’s. Click that link. You should see or scroll down to see a link that says something like BlogHers Act survey is live.  It takes about 3 minutes to take the survey. The survey is your vote. 

Thanks for making a difference,

Gloria

From the mouth of Jake

	I copied this from Jakes Facebook
	Tiny Stars is a nonprofit organization committed to exposing the growing multi-billion dollar industry of the child sex trade and working behind the scenes alongside law enforcement to capture international child predators. Please join The Global Watch Group to show the world that we are serious about stopping Child Predators. This is similar to a Neighborhood Watch Group. To join the map, just add yourself as a friend. Who should you invite? Anyone and EVERYONE! We are not trying to build a network of good friends, we are building a Watch Group so please invite anyone and everyone, no need to be selective or only invite people you would like to get to know, this is a serious network of people that may see or hear something that could save a child from a predator. Our eyes and ears will save thousands of children’s lives.

You can find his Watch Group on his My Space

http://www.myspace.com/tinystars_org 

Strategic moves

I’ve been talking to Jake Collins, founder of Tiny Stars. He explained his strategy for catching child molesters. It makes sense.

 Thousands of american men go over seas every year to have sex with children. Why? because it is easier to get away with it than if they stayed in the States. In the past there were no laws in place to prosecute them in the states if they committed this crime out of the country. Thanks to the Protect Act, a law signed into law by President
Bush, that has changed.  Tiny Stars is the only agency using the Protect Act to it’s fullest advantage. They are catching americans who rape children, on both sides of the border, outside of the U.S..  These are people who molest children in the states as well, but with more stealth. When they are caught in another country their sentence is harsher then when they are caught here.

When they are caught molesting a child under 14 they get a life sentence. For under 18, 1st offence- 20 years. 2nd offencs -life sentence.

Often people want to know when they give to  Tiny Stars that it will help their community. If a company in Texas sponsors an agent in Costa Rica  that agent is likely to catch a pedophile from Texas. In fact they are likely to catch something like 50 ped0philes from the states in a year.  For example, if a company sponsors an agent in their community in Texas (or where ever)  for the same amount of money they will catch pedophiles and it is definitely effective. Just not as effective. For one thing it cost more to hire agents in the states and for another the perps are more careful. They might ended up catching more like five in one year.

Tiny Stars will work both ways, depending on what a company wants but donors should be aware of how to most effectively use their money to impact this issue in a big way.