Modern Slavery News Round-Up

Britain's own child soldiersAccording to a report by the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, in 2010 at least eight of the under-18s who had gone awol were sentenced by court martial to military imprisonment. The report also calls into question the economic rationale of early recruitment: between 2006 and 2011, almost half of the recruits who had enlisted before their 18th birthday had left the armed forces without completing their minimum period of service.

Minister, wife guilty of human trafficking in forced labor of African woman“Human trafficking, while taking on many forms, consists primarily of those who prey on the vulnerabilities of others for personal gain,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Mr. Brian D. Lamkin said.
“That was, in fact, the case in this matter as a young woman from Swaziland was being forced into labor and was unsure of who to turn to for help.”

Italy Dismantles Human Trafficking RingItalian officials say they have dismantled an alleged human trafficking ring which smuggled migrants into Europe in life-threatening conditions. Officials said Wednesday they had issued arrest warrants for 35 people after raids were conducted.

Daughters of Indian sex workers unite
A filmmaker discusses the stories from the lives of sex workers and their daughters in an infamous brothel in the Indian state of Bihar that dates back some 300 years. This article and a related documentary look at Naseema, a girl raised amid the world of the brothel, but who was sent to school by the woman who raised her. Naseema has founded a group that works to free trafficked women, offers prostitutes alternative forms of employment, persuades sex workers to send their children to school and publishes a handwritten monthly magazine.