An Inhuman Industry: Responding to Sex Trafficking in Arizona

Posted on February 19, 2018 by Matt

Every year, from late January to mid-February, the city of Tucson hosts upward of 50,000 visitors, as the annual Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase — more commonly known as the Tucson Gem Show — draws exhibitors, traders, and tourists from around the globe. It is the biggest show of its kind, and the economic impact is considerable. This year’s show, which officially wrapped last week, was projected to bring $120 million in spending to local businesses.

Effective sex education arms young people with information about consent, negotiating proper boundaries, and forming healthy relationships.

In recent years, media coverage has also put the Gem Show in the spotlight for its alleged impact on an underground economy. The annual event has become a news hook for activists, victim advocates, and social workers who believe it serves as a boon to the nation’s $3 billion sex-trafficking industry.

Although the Arizona Republic rated the claim as “mostly false” when Martha McSally made it in 2015 — noting that evidence was mostly anecdotal — the idea that large events like the Gem Show lead to a spike in sex trafficking has remained a popular talking point. For example, at an awareness event last year, held shortly before the Gem Show’s kick-off, Tucson city council member Steve Kozachik commented, “Every time you have an outside event coming to any community, whether it be a sporting event or the gem show, the numbers of trafficking incidents spike.” He added, “That means the young in this community are vulnerable.”

Federal law defines sex trafficking as recruiting, harboring, transporting, or otherwise inducing a person to perform a commercial sex act against their will — or before they are legally old enough to consent. Last year, KGUN9 suggested that, during the show, as many as 100 women are “sold for sex” every night. The report, however, did not specify if it was referring to commercial sex as a whole or to trafficked sex exclusively — and whatever role the Gem Show plays in the trade is also a murky subject. Continue reading →

Meet Our Candidates: Rosanna Gabaldón for State Representative, LD 2

Posted on August 8, 2016 by Matt

The Arizona primary election will be held on August 30, 2016. Reproductive health care access has been under attack, both nationally and statewide, but Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona has endorsed candidates who have shown strong commitment to reproductive justice. To acquaint you with our endorsed candidates, we are running a series called “Meet Our Candidates.” In order to vote in the primary election, you need to have been registered to vote by August 1. Missed the deadline? You can still register online for November’s general election. Make your voice heard in 2016!

[W]hen Rosanna Gabaldón and her family moved to Sahuarita in 2004, the town was transforming from a quiet bedroom community of a few thousand people to a town that, six years later, had a population of more than 25,000 people, according to the 2010 Census. Witnessing the evolving needs of her Southern Arizona town — and taking seriously the idea that she should give back to her community — propelled Gabaldón into the political career that she has now. In 2009, she was elected to the Sahuarita Town Council, and in 2012 she took her service to the regional level when she decided to run for Arizona State Legislative District 2, which covers an area from South Tucson to Nogales.

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

As a State Representative, Rep. Gabaldón has been an advocate for women and reproductive health, earning the endorsements of Arizona List, the Arizona Women’s Political Caucus, and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona.

Rep. Gabaldón is seeking reelection to continue representing LD 2, and she took time for an interview on July 31, 2016, to tell us more about her background and her campaign.

Since we last spoke in 2012, how has your commitment to serving Arizona grown? What has happened during that time to give you hope, and what has happened to strengthen your convictions?

My commitment to serving Arizona has increased. When I was first elected to the House of Representatives, I made a commitment to do my homework on the issues, and to take ideas from Southern Arizona to the Capitol. That is what Arizona needs, some common sense straight from the heart. In my second election in 2014, I recommitted to continue the fight for our values. Continue reading →

Meet Our Candidates: Rosanna Gabaldón for State Representative, LD 2

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Tori

The Arizona general election will be held on November 6, 2012, with early voting starting on October 11. After the many recent legislative challenges to reproductive health care access, both nationally and statewide, the importance of voting in November can’t be overstated. To help voters, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona has endorsed candidates who have shown strong commitment to reproductive health and freedom. Along with those endorsements, we are spotlighting our endorsed candidates in a series called “Meet Our Candidates.” Make your voice heard in 2012!

[A] resident of Southern Arizona since 1973, Rosanna Gabaldón is knowledgeable about the people and priorities of the region. As a member of the First Things First South Pima Regional Council and a member of the Friends of the Green Valley Library, she has demonstrated her commitment both to families and to information access. Gabaldón is currently seeking to represent Legislative District 2 — an area that runs from South Tucson to Nogales — in the Arizona House of Representatives.

“I want to see legislation that we as a state can be proud of.”

Gabaldón took the time for an interview with Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona on October 5, 2012.

Tell us a little bit about your background.

Because my father served in the U.S. Air Force, I grew up with the rich experience of having lived in many different places. In 1973, when my family and I moved to Southern Arizona from Panama, I fell in love with the desert. I have traveled to many different places, but the desert has my heart.

I believe in community service, and it has been my honor to give my time and talents for local art projects, literacy programs, the community food bank, and in support of early childhood development. My biggest challenge and highest award was in 2009 when I won my election to serve as a council member for the town of Sahuarita. I look forward to serving the citizens of Southern Arizona as their next state representative for LD 2. Continue reading →

Meet Our Candidates: Andrea Dalessandro for State Representative, LD 2

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Tori

“I moved to Arizona to retire,” Andrea Dalessandro said in a recent telephone interview with Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona. But when the former teacher saw the legislature cutting funding from public education — first from English language learners in Nogales, then from everyone — it inspired her to take action. She ran for the Arizona House of Representatives in both 2008 and 2010, in what was then Legislative District 30. With the recent redistricting, what’s changed is Dalessandro’s district number; she now seeks to represent LD 2, an area that includes much of southern Tucson, Sahuarita, Green Valley, and all of Santa Cruz County. What hasn’t changed is Dalessandro’s commitment to representing the people she cares about.

Andrea Dalessandro was kind enough to take the time for an interview on October 2, 2012.

“I’m tired of the war on women.”

Having lived here since 2004, Dalessandro considers herself a “naturalized Arizonan.” She is also a retired math teacher and certified public accountant. She had a tax practice for a number of years that she closed in 2006 to prepare to run for office.

Of her family, Dalessandro is married to a disabled Vietnam veteran. Moreover, she said, “I’m a mother — and a grandmother of five.”

When asked about the bad bills introduced in the legislature during the last session — the ones that negatively affected access to birth control and abortion as well as funding for family planning — Dalessandro responded that she didn’t know when politicians had declared a right to get involved with a woman’s personal medical decisions. She said, “They don’t have any right to talk to me about a mammogram or cancer treatment,” and similarly felt that other areas of reproductive and sexual health care were “a personal issue, a private issue … I don’t know how politicians got caught up with it.” Continue reading →