While serving as a prosecutor for the Philadelphia DA’s Office, Shea’s calling to devote her life to fight human trafficking started to come into focus when she was exposed to the senseless death of a prostituted person whose body was thrown away in the trash by her pimp. The dehumanization and violence that prostituted persons experience by “johns,” pimp traffickers and society, combined with the repeated cycling through the legal system, hit Shea Rhodes right in the heart and changed her life forever. Surely there must be a way that the legal system can help change the likely ending of the story, from cycling in and out of prison or death, to hope for the future and the fulfillment of dreams.
Shea discovered that the legal system can be used for much good beyond the administration of justice, and she ultimately became an Oversight Committee Member for Project Dawn Court. It is an innovative program that provides rehabilitative services through multi-disciplinary partnerships under close supervision for women with repeat prostitution offenses, and is the first program of its kind in the country. By developing a plan that is customized to each woman’s needs (which may include addiction, PTSD, sexual abuse, or other types of counseling and classes in critical life skills), Project Dawn Court has helped change the ending of the story for many women.
It is clear that Shea has it in her genes to fight for what’s right, and she has combined her brilliant legal mind with her passion for those who are victim survivors of sex trafficking in the work she does with Project Dawn Court, in her recent position as Director of The Villanova Law School Institute to Address Commercial Sexual Exploitation (http://cseinstitute.org/) and through her role on the Board of Dawn’s Place aftercare home in Philadelphia.
What a powerful and inspiring way to end this series of film shoots in 2014! Thank you Shea.
