PROTECT 773699 190637060 2008-02-11T15:39:13Z Bequw 1956452 [[WP:UNDO|Undid]] revision 187816985 by [[Special:Contributions/67.167.33.188|67.167.33.188]] ([[User talk:67.167.33.188|talk]]) {{selfref|For information on protected pages in Wikipedia, see [[Wikipedia:Protected page]].}} '''PROTECT''', or '''The National Association to Protect Children''', is a [[grassroots]] political [[Lobbying|lobby]] established in 2002 and dedicated to the protection of children from abuse, exploitation and neglect. It is a nonprofit, [[501(c)(4)]] membership association with members in every U.S. state and 10 nations. PROTECT achieved great success in its first three years, winning [http://www.protect.org/campaigns.html legislative victories] in eight state legislatures. It advocates a nonpartisan [http://www.protect.org/agenda.html "pro-child, anti-crime"] agenda, and works closely with both conservative and liberal constituencies and lawmakers. ==PROTECT Agenda and Campaigns== ===Pro-Child, Anti-Crime Agenda=== PROTECT advocates a "pro-child, anti-crime" [http://www.protect.org/agenda.html agenda], which combines traditionally liberal positions on child protection with traditionally conservative positions on crime. PROTECT's ''pro-child'' agenda includes legal advocacy for child victims and reform and adequate funding of child protective services. Its ''anti-crime'' agenda includes stronger criminal sentencing, surveillance and containment of released sex offenders and increased funding for law enforcement. ===PROTECT Campaigns=== PROTECT focuses its work on four principal campaigns: Circle of Trust Campaign: Since its creation in 2002, PROTECT has led successful legislative battles to eliminate laws that award preferential treatment to criminals who sexually assault their own children. PROTECT's [http://www.protect.org/coft_campaign.shtml Circle of Trust campaign] has successfully fought to reform and strengthen laws in North Carolina, Arkansas, Illinois, Virginia, California and New York. Real Safety Campaign: PROTECT also advocates intensive community supervision--or "surveillance and containment"--of convicted sex offenders released into communities. The Real Safety campaign educates the public and lawmakers about the dangers of relying upon sex offender registries and residency restriction laws to keep children safe, calling for long-term and lifetime probation and parole. Accountability Campaign: In 2006, PROTECT announced it was launching its Accountability Campaign to hold public servants accountable for their performance in combatting crimes against children. Child Pornography Campaign: In 2006, PROTECT also launched a national anti-child pornography campaign. ==Grassroots Support== In 2005, the [[punk rock]] [[record label]], [[Fat Wreck Chords]] released a [[charity record]] for PROTECT, entitled [[PROTECT: A Benefit for the National Association to Protect Children]]. == See also == * [[Child abuse]] * [[Child pornography]] * [[Child sexual abuse]] * [[Incest]] ==External links== *[http://www.protect.org/ PROTECT] *[http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=904100 Child Sexual Abuse and the State] by Ruby Andrew, ''UC Davis Law Review,'' vol. 39, 2006. Discusses U.S. incest laws in cases where victim is a minor. * [http://www.vachss.com/av_dispatches/nyt-11202005.html The Incest Loophole] by Andrew Vachss, ''New York Times,'' Nov. 20, 2005. Sentencing incest perpetrators when victim is a minor. {{DEFAULTSORT:National Association to PROTECT Children}} [[Category:Political organizations]] [[Category:Political advocacy groups in the United States]] [[Category:Lobbying]] [[Category:Non-profit organizations based in the United States]]