California Against Slavery (CAS) is a human rights organization directed at strengthening California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 state laws to protect victims of sex trafficking, particularly minors, and to increase law enforcement efforts. The organization focuses on the specific goal to put an initiative on the 2012 California ballot.

Philosophy

The CAS charter is founded on the philosophies that:

• Every person has an inherent dignity which society and laws must uphold and protect.
• Human trafficking, which is by definition a crime against a person also deprives the victim of basic and fundamental human and civil rights.
• Allowing any form of slavery to exist is a detriment to our society and communities; the offense reaches beyond the individual.

Ballot Initiatives

CAS is a currently active organization that seeks to initiate a ballot that would (1) make stiffer criminal penalties (2) aid to district attorneys in prosecuting human trafficking offenses, (3) increase protection for human trafficking victims, (4) mandate two-hour human trafficking training for law enforcement officers, and (5) increase allocation of certain seized assets and fines to organizations that serve human trafficking victims. CAS was unable to reach the required 600,000 signatures required before the March 31, 2010 deadline for automatic placement on the ballot. Still, the organization remains active to bring awareness to get the initiative on the ballot in 2012.

Raising Awareness

CAS’s efforts have been the subject of numerous news programs and news articles. In addition to media exposure, CAS raises awareness throughout California by hosting awareness events. The location of the events are popular trafficking hubs such as San Francisco and San Diego and Sacramento

Sacramento

Sacramento is the capital of the state of California, in the United States of America.Sacramento may also refer to:- United States :*Sacramento County, California*Sacramento, Kentucky*Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta...

, the state capital. The most notable event was hosted on June 28, shortly after the ballot deadline in front of the State Capital in Sacramento which included notable appearance in support of CAS including speakers Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg

Darrell Steinberg

Darrell Steven Steinberg is a Democratic politician from Sacramento, California. He is currently serving his second term in the California State Senate, representing the 6th District. He has been the Senate President Pro Tem since 2008...

 (D-Sacramento), Jenny Williamson, founder of Courage to Be You, Nola Brantley, executive director of MISSSEY, Randy Harrell, senior pastor of New City Church and performances by musicians: The Coalition Fight Music

The Coalition Fight Music

The Coalition is a company that composes and produces a broad variety of music with heavy involvement in the Mixed Martial Arts community and with several charitable organizations. CFM's sound is a dynamic mixture of styles that range from metal to electronica and hip hop to UK grime...

, Freddy Wachter and Kristie White. This event brought people together to hand deliver petitions to the State Capital in furtherance of the inclusion of CAS's anti-trafficking initiative on the 2012 ballot.

CAS and Other Anti-Slavery Organizations

CAS’s goal is set for 2012 with efforts to propose an initiative to California’s 23 million eligible voters. CAS works alongside other organizations such as Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking

Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking

Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking is a Los Angeles-based anti-human trafficking organization. Through legal, social, and advocacy services, CAST helps rehabilitate survivors of trafficking, raises awareness, and affects legislation and public policy surrounding human trafficking.CAST...

, Courage To Be You, Stop the Traffik

Stop the Traffik

STOP THE TRAFFIK was founded in 2006 by Steve Chalke MBE as a campaign coalition which aims to bring an end to human trafficking worldwide. Initially STOP THE TRAFFIK was set up as a two year campaign to coincide with the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade...

, and Standing Against Global Exploitation.

Endorsements

CAS has obtained police endorsements from San Diego Police Officers Associaiton, Southern California Alliance of Law Enforcement, National Latino Peace Officers Assocation, San Diego Chapter, and Peace Officers Research Association of California.

External links

• http://www.ktla.com/videobeta/20077aec-1cdb-448c-9683-906283a12a49/News/KTLA-Special-Report-Teens-Sold-as-Sex-Slaves-in-Southern-California-Cher-Calvin-reports
• http://oaklandlocal.com/article/youth-trafficking-series-index
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erQwP69Hhks (KRON Channel 4 San Francisco)
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wa_Wo4hbh50&feature=player_embedded (NBC Bay Area)
• http://humantrafficking.change.org/blog/view/california_against_slavery_anti-trafficking_initiative_deadline_approaches
• http://oaklandnorth.net/2010/03/13/as-more-oakland-youth-join-the-sex-trade-law-enforcement-explores-alternatives-to-incarceration/
• http://www.fox40.com/videobeta/cfeb5478-171e-4f51-930f-b1b6ea5f99ee/News/Push-To-Make-Sex-Trafficking-Laws-Tougher
• http://www.ktla.com/videobeta/?watchId=322c7df1-7bf4-4ce8-9d61-2f10d66a2ded
• http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/san_francisco&id=7212507
• http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=72771