Modern Slavery News Round-up

South Orange Recognizes Human Trafficking Awareness Day
In honor of National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, which is Friday, January 11, The South Orange Board of Trustees presented a proclamation to the New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking during its Dec. 9 meeting.

NJ coalition warns Kearny pols about human trafficking at Super Bowl
The New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking is gearing up to fight what a representative called “modern day slavery.” At a recent meeting of Kearny’s governing body, Jersey City resident Stephen M. DeLuca told officials that large sports events like the Super Bowl are breeding grounds for human trafficking in the form of prostitution and forced labor. An estimated 30 million people worldwide are victims of the practice, according to DeLuca.

Labor and sex traffickers practice modern slavery in Colorado
The FBI's Rocky Mountain Innocence Lost Task Force rescued 59 teen prostitutes from flesh peddlers in the state this year, up from 49 in 2012. In July, Operation Cross Country, a nationwide sweep that targeted victims of underage prostitution and their pimps, recovered 105 juveniles and bagged 150 pimps in 76 cities. Denver ranked fourth in the number of teens rescued, with nine juveniles, fewer than only San Francisco, Milwaukee and Detroit. These are chilling statistics that indicate modern-day slavers continue to ply their trade in Colorado.

Sudan: UN strengthens support to combating human trafficking, smuggling
The United Nations refugee agency is working with the Government of Sudan and partners to reduce the number of kidnappings and incidents of trafficking and smuggling in, through and out of the country. “Those most vulnerable are the newly arrived asylum-seekers, mainly of Eritrean origin, who cross the border into Eastern Sudan,” according to a joint news release by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The strategy, which strengthens the capacity of the Government, also provides care and psychosocial support for victims, and builds awareness of risks among the families in camps and urban areas.

Maine joins national effort to combat human trafficking
Maine has joined other states in asking Congress to fund anti-human trafficking measures. Maine Attorney General Janet Mills and attorneys general in 46 other states sent a letter asking Congress to fund a measure passed in 2000 designed to protect human trafficking victims and help prosecute people doing the trafficking. The letter says human trafficking is tied as the second largest and is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world, generating roughly $32 billion each year. According to a study of Department of Justice human trafficking task force cases, 83 percent of sex trafficking victims identified in the United States were U.S. citizens.