WASHINGTON, Jan. 8, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- At an anti-human trafficking event held this morning at Google's Washington, DC office, Members of Congress joined Rights4Girls, a human rights advocacy organization, and the McCain Institute in holding a conversation about combating child sex trafficking in the United States. In addition to Google's Vice President of Public Policy and Government Relations Susan Molinari, the McCain Institute's Chair of the Human Trafficking Advisory Council Cindy McCain and Rights4Girls' Executive Director Malika Saada Saar, speakers included Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Rob Portman (R-OH), Representatives Karen Bass (D-CA), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Ted Poe (R-TX), Dave Reichert (R-WA) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), as well as technology experts.

Also at the event, Rights4Girls launched a new effort titled the "No Such Thing" campaign to eradicate the term "child prostitute." The initiative will be supported by Google and the McCain Institute. Over the next year, the No Such Thing campaign will call on members of the media and policymakers to no longer use the term "child prostitute" because of the negative implications it has for the victims of child sex trafficking and their legal rights. Rights4Girls, the McCain Institute and Google had the following to say about the announcement:

"Rights4Girls is excited to launch the No Such Thing campaign," said Executive Director of Rights4Girls Malika Saada Saar. "Every day, young girls are bought and sold across America. All too often, these girls are called child prostitutes in the media and in law even though most are not even of legal age to consent to sex at all, let alone commercial sex. There is no such thing as a child prostitute. These girls are victims of child sex trafficking and should be treated as such. Over the next year, we will engage members of the media, state and federal lawmakers and other elected officials to make sure the term and notion of a child prostitute is eradicated."

"It was an honor to be joined today by so many Members of Congress who are dedicated to stopping child sex trafficking in the United States," said Cindy McCain, Chair of the Human Trafficking Advisory Council at the McCain Institute. "The McCain Institute is looking forward to working with Rights4Girls and Google to protect these vulnerable children who are being abducted or lured by pimps and traffickers at bus shelters, outside schools or through social media. The No Such Thing campaign will help bring awareness to this very important issue and ensure that we are doing everything we can to protect them."

"Google is proud to support the No Such Thing campaign," said Susan Molinari, Vice President of Google's Public Policy and Government Relations. "These horrific crimes are happening in our backyards and we must work together to send a strong message to these perpetrators that our children are not for sale. Eradicating the term child prostitute will help move us closer to providing victims and survivors of child sex trafficking the protections and services they deserve."

Rights4Girls is a human rights organization focused on gender-based violence and its impact on vulnerable young women and girls in the U.S. Based in Washington, D.C., Rights4Girls works to make the lives of U.S. young women and girls a human rights priority. They advocate for the dignity and personhood of young women and girls—so that every girl may possess the right to be safe and live a life free of violence and exploitation. For more information about Rights4Girls, please visit: rights4girls.org.

Located in Washington, D.C. and Arizona, the McCain Institute for International Leadership at Arizona State University (ASU) is a non-partisan do-tank dedicated to advancing character- driven leadership based on security, economic opportunity, and human freedom and democracy in the United States and around the world. The Institute seeks to promote leadership and decision-making in the best American tradition of open inquiry, spirited debate, and practical action, and to embrace technology in producing better designs for better decisions in national and international policy. For more information about the McCain Institute for International Leadership, please visit: http://www.mccaininstitute.org.

To learn more about the No Such Thing campaign, click here.

SOURCE Rights4Girls; The McCain Institute

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