Families

I recently completed a series in the Tribune on Oakland's "dirty secret"of teen prostitution. Since then, Oakland police involved with an FBI sting rescued four child victims of human trafficking and arrested 12 people in connection with child prostitution charges. The arrests were part of larger federal sweep that lasted five days and targeted 16 cities across the country. Called "Operation Cross Country," the Justice Department-led effort capped five years of similar stings nationwide.

The children in Oakland peddled for sex are younger than ever before, and the problem is bigger than anyone imagined. Pimps can earn more for younger, healthier and prettier girls. Girls age 11 and 12 can earn as much as $500 a day for their pimps, police say.

Sexually exploited minors at Juvenile Hall: A twelve-year-old girl who has prostituted herself and is a victim of sexual abuse and exploitation writes on her arm, "I wanna go home." in Alameda County Juvenile Hall in San Leandro, Calif. (Alison Yin/The Oakland Tribune)
In addition, Assemblymember Sandré R. Swanson's (D-Oakland) landmark legislation to decriminalize sexually exploited youth gained unanimous support in the Senate Public Safety Committee Hearing with a bipartisan 5-0 vote.

The Chair of the Committee, Senator Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles) strongly endorsed the bill, and is now a principal co-author. “This is a very important issue, which has been in the news recently and I strongly support this legislation,” stated Senator Romero.

AB 499 will provide a vital safety net for children under 18 who have been forced into prostitution, child pornography, or have been victims of human trafficking by removing the standard law enforcement procedure that treats them as criminals rather than victims.

By Kamika Dunlap -- Oakland Tribune

I recently attended Silence the Violence Day at Defremery Park in West Oakland. The goal was to address problems of crime by lowering the homicide rate and empowering young people to get involved with social activism.

So far, there have been 66 homicides in Oakland this year. By comparison, there were 49 homicides at this time in 2007. About 150 other community leaders, victims and families gathered in the park to call for peace in the streets and to participate in a candlelight vigil. The event was organized by the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights.

By Kamika Dunlap -- Oakland Tribune

Silence the Violence 2008

About 3,000 residents and faith leaders are expected to attend a citywide forum at the Oakland Convention Center Thursday May 22, at 6:30 p.m.

Residents will talk about how they have been affected by homicide and propose a coordinate violence prevention and intervention strategy to city officials. The them of ethe meeting is "Save Lives Now!"

All Oaklanders are invited to attend.