By Antonio Ray Harvey | California Black Media
Vanessa Russell, founder and executive director of Love Never Fails, speaks at the California State Capitol during a press conference organized to observe Human Traffic Awareness and Prevention Month. (CBM photo by Antonio Ray Harvey.)
Vanessa Russell, the founder and executive director of Love Never Fails, a non-profit committed to ending human trafficking and supporting survivors, announced that it has partnered with California state lawmakers to tackle the violent crime affecting thousands of girls, boys, women and men every year.
On Jan. 27, Russell announced that Love Never Fails has launched the AI Advocate Panel, an app featuring a diverse group of 15 human trafficking survivors. She was speaking at a news conference held at the California State Capitol hosted by Sen. Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield). The event was organized to observe Human Trafficking Awareness and Prevention Month.
“It’s an application and panel of 15 survivors of human trafficking,” Russell said. “It will provide an application to average and everyday people, giving insight on legislative bills that have to do with human trafficking and domestic violence, and providing feedback from this panel of survivors on whether bills are harmful or helpful to survivors of human trafficking.”
The app will break down bills related to gender-based violence in easy-to-access language as they make their way through the Legislature, according to Russell. The panel of survivors featured on the app will provide insights and recommendations drawn from their lived experiences.
Russell said the voices of the survivors will help shape policies and drive progress in the fight against human trafficking.
Cassandra James, a Solano County Supervisor, said human trafficking has increased in her district and she sees that the crime is also surging across the state. (CBM photo by Antonio Ray Harvey.)
Love Never Fails was formed in December 2011 after Russell discovered that one of her teenage dance students was a victim of human trafficking in the San Francisco Bay Area.
At the news conference, Grove celebrated Senate Bill (SB) 1414 and SB 14 becoming law during the last legislative session. Both bills were authored by Grove.
Other speakers at the news conference were Sen. Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park), Sen. Suzette Martinez-Vallardares (R-Santa Clarita), and Solano County District 1 Supervisor Cassandra James.
SB 1414 was a bipartisan measure co-authored by Grove, Rubio and Sen. Anna Caballero (D-Merced). It was co-sponsored by Love Never Fails and 3Strands Global Foundation. SB 14 and SB 1414 increased penalties for people convicted of soliciting minors for sex and violating human trafficking laws, making the offenses serious felonies.
SB 14 went into effect on Jan. 1, 2024
“Love Never Fails and Vanessa Russell were instrumental (in the passage) of SB 1414,” Grove said. “They came back to tell us once the buyer pays that price — whatever the dollar amount is — it is one of the most brutal times for the individual who was trafficked, bought and sold.”
Grove shared data from a report issued by the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) that of all suspected human trafficking incidents across the country, 40% of sex trafficking victims were identified as Black women and girls.
Citing another study focused on Native American women, Grove highlighted that Indigenous women are extremely susceptible to go missing and become human trafficking and murder victims. She also noted that 60% of trafficked victims are alumni of the foster care system.
“Not one child or individual, regardless of their age, should be affected by this horrific crime,” Grove said.
Russell said she also created AI Advocate to oppose SB 357, the “Safer Streets for Act” authored by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) that proposed decriminalizing loitering for the intent to engage in sex work.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed that bill into law in September 2022. Russell told California Black Media (CBM) that the bill “legalizes prostitution” and that the act of exchanging sexual activity for money has increased since SB 357 became law in 2023.
“Once that bill went into law making it legal for loitering for the purpose of prostitution, it meant that survivors like the one you see today would be forced to go out and be sold,” Russell said. “We saw the demand for sex went up three times (than normal) once that bill was passed.”
Human trafficking and related activities like prostitution are commonplace on the streets of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, Stockton, San Diego, Sacramento and other large California cities, according to Public Policy Institute of California. Hotline data from 2015 through 2021 reveal that the reported number of people experiencing trafficking nationwide rose from 12,000 in 2015 to more than 22,200 in 2019 and then fell to 16,700 in 2021.
James, who said her supervisorial district covers most of Vallejo, said she has seen an increase in human trafficking among all women and girls, including immigrants who are not lawfully in the country.
“This is not just a local issue. It’s a regional and state issue. It requires a collaborative solution such as this bill,” James said. “SB 1414 is a critical tool that we can use as a building block to disrupt the cycle of exploitation.”
Emerald Rubio, one of the 15 panelists featured on AI Advocate, shared her experiences as a human trafficking victim and the horrors that come with forced labor and sexual exploitation.
“I am not just doing this for me. I am doing it for my sisters who are also survivors,” Rubio said.
Rubio, who is now a community leader, a wife, a mother, and a licensed marriage and family therapist, said she wanted to be a part of the panel to help others.
“It makes me sad that they thought that was the only option,” she said. “This issue doesn’t just impact kids. It impacts a lifespan. This is just the beginning because there is more to be done.”
