The Protected Innocence Challenge is based on the Protected Innocence Legislative Framework which was informed by research performed by Shared Hope International and compiled in “The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking.” Domestic minor sex trafficking is the exploitation of U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents under the age of 18 in the United States for purposes of prostitution, pornography, or sexual performance.

Recognizing that most of the gaps in responding to domestic minor sex trafficking must be addressed at the state level, the Protected Innocence Legislative Framework sets out the basic policy principles required to create a safer environment for children. The steps necessary to create this safer environment include the following: preventing domestic minor sex trafficking through reducing demand, rescuing and restoring victims through improved training on identification, establishing protocols and facilities for victim placement, mandating appropriate services and shelter, and incorporating trauma-reducing mechanisms into the justice system. Broken systems of criminal justice and child welfare responses to victims must also be fixed to ensure that commercially sexually exploited children are treated as victims and provided with remedies through the law.