Sex Trafficking and the Superbowl

Last night was one of the biggest events of the year for American sports fans -and non-sports fans for that matter- as the Baltimore Ravens battled the San Francisco 49ers battled it out for Super Bowl XLVII. However as the Ravens worked to see their way into NFL history, countless people were the victims to the sex crimes - all directly associated with football’s biggest day.

America's biggest sporting event is also America's biggest day for sex trafficking. Only days before the Super Bowl XLVII, New Orleans police arrested eight people and rescued five women from a human-trafficking-related operation (Fox 8 News).  Busts such as this one are not only a small indicator to the large scale, but have now dubbed the sports event the “single-largest human-trafficking incident in the United States". Some 300,000 American women and children as young as 12 years old are sexually exploited each year. While it is possible for people to be abducted during the Super Bowl, most are likely taken beforehand and used at major, large-scale events like the Super Bowl.

Such incidents include the estimated 10,000 women and minors that were trafficked in the Miami area during the 2009 Super Bowl in Tampa, Fla., according to the Florida Commission Against Human Trafficking. The Tampa Bay Times provided details of a trafficker being arrested for offering two girls, one 14 and one 18, for $300 as "a Super Bowl special." The trafficker, Manuel A. Walcott, was apparently advertising the girls on Craigslist and was subsequently sentenced to 20 years in prison. The girls had been held captive as prostitutes for two years.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott told USA Today in 2011 -when his state hosted Super Bowl XLV- that; "The Super Bowl is the greatest show on Earth, but it also has an ugly underbelly," In 2011 while the Green Bay Packers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers; 133 prostitution-related arrests were made that year.

Clemmie Greenlee, a survivor of sex trafficking,recounted in the New Orleans how she was taken to Southern cities to prostitute for those attending such large-scale events as the Super Bowl. She's sitting in the lobby of a New Orleans hotel, decorated with San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens decorations. Her pimps took advantage of the large influx of people who attended the Super Bowl to increase business by mandating 25 a day to Greenlee and their other victims. If they didn't make the quotas they were severely beaten, raped, or forced to watch another girl receive the punishment. Now 53, Greenlee works at Eden House in Uptown New Orleans, the first shelter for sex-trafficking victims in Louisiana; the center opened in October 2012.

This year in preparation for the the Super law enforcement agencies and advocacy groups collaborated with local businesses in order to spread awareness. One such group of volunteers and coalition members, Klaas Kids travel to each Super Bowl to investigate the sex trafficking. They often find young girls, some who were reported missing. According to Brad Dennis, Klaas Kids search director, as many as "2,200 children are reported missing every day in the United States. That`s an awful lot of kids on the streets for predators to take advantage of..." and the primary reason they target Super Bowls for their investigations (Fox).  He and Nita Belles, who began work after researching human trafficking for her book ‘In Our Backyard,’ along with other members split up into groups searching through neighborhoods from New Orleans to Biloxi, MS. They`re sending information to joint task forces in both states. Biloxi Police Sgt. Aldon Helmert says, “when we`re able to have citizens to be our eyes and ears, it provides us a great deal more resources.” The investigations have led to at least 15 rescues with one of the girls had been reported missing.

Large scale awareness campaigns such as the USA Today  full page ad promoting the End It Movement -an anti-human-trafficking campaign launched at the 2013 Passion Conference, in accordance with the Super Bowl. The A 21 Campaign, established in 2008, released several Super Bowl-related info-graphics -such as the one shown above- about human trafficking this year.

Modern Slavery News Round-Up

Minister broaches decriminalizing sex work
The Trafficking in Persons Prevention Committee of Antigua was challenged this past week by Minister of National Security, Dr. Errol Cort, to "think outside the box."  He asked them to do so by considering the prospect of decriminalizing sex work in Antigua and Barbuda.  Cort used the Sweden Model as back up to this brainstorm.  President of Woman Against Rape (WAR), Alexandria Wong, was also in favor of the board discussing this option.  "The suggestion should not be thrown out.  It should be given  a lot of consideration as we go forward in the process."

'Summer Brides': Under-age daughters sold as sex slaves in Egypt
According to the newly released Trafficking in Persons Report, wealthy Arab tourists are paying paying money to purchase under-age Egyptian girls as "summer brides".  These marriages are not legal and are often set up by the girl's parents for supplemental income.  The marriage ends when the man decides to return home to their families.  A bride can cost  anywhere from $459 to $4,950 and the girls can be used as both servants and sex slaves by their "husbands".  Dr. Hoda Badran, chairman of the NGO Alliance for Arab Woman, explains that it's mostly poverty that drives families to sell their daughters.  "You can imagine how poor they are."

Google search for human traffickers, drug cartels
For the past few months Google has been using its resources and capabilities to catch criminals.  As drug cartels, money launderers and human traffickers set up their businesses online, Google Ideas has been working with the Council on Foreign Relations to search for ways to break up these international crime rings.    "Google is in a great position to take these on, says Rani Hong, a survivor and adviser to the United Nations.  Officials are meeting this week for a summit in California to develop strategy.

The Code: Up to Par?

Earlier this month, End Child Prostitution and Trafficking (ECPAT) revealed that Real Hospitality Group (RHG) became the first hotel management company in the US to sign the Tourism Child-Protection Code of Conduct, otherwise known as "The Code."  The Code, the result of years of international cooperation to comba t child sexual exploitation in the tourism industry, is a set of regulations that supports responsible tourism and efforts to eradicate commercial sexual exploitation of children. All participating companies must keep the following six criteria

1. To establish an ethical policy regarding commercial sexual exploitation of children.
2. To train the personnel in the country of origin and travel destinations.
3. To introduce a clause in contracts with suppliers, stating a common repudiation of commercial sexual exploitation of children.
4. To provide information to travelers by means of catalogues, brochures, in-flight films, ticket-slips, home pages, etc.
5. To provide information to local "key persons" at the destinations.
6. To report annually.

Well known companies such as Hilton, Delta and Carson are already on the list that comply with these regulations.  In 2004, Carlson became the first North American tourism company to provide a training kit for all staff with visual real-life scenario tools that could help them identify a victim if they encounter a situation of sexual exploitation.  The Code has been implemented in similar fashions in 960 tourism companies and in more than 40 countries

Although ECPAT considers it a "win" that certain industries, mainly hotels and tour operators, recognize the demand for the sexual exploitation of children does in fact undermine sustainable tourism, the organization also recognizes that the Code has a long way to go in putting an end to this issue within the tourism sector.  In 2006, it was estimated that there were 846 million international arrival and 4 billion domestic trips taken.  The Code has been effective in implementing some training and providing public awareness materials, but the issue of demand has still not been confronted and the switch to electronic booking has made traveling completely anonymous.  The battle over this issue must not only be embraced by the tourism community, but also by local, national and international governing bodies.  The Code is the largest voluntary step that can be taken to eradicate commercial sexual exploitation of children, but this standard needs to move from being a voluntary action to one of corporate responsibility.  To learn more about how you can be a part of that change and help create a sustainable, responsible tourism industry please click here.

Modern Slavery News Round-Up

Timor-Leste: Trafficked people left unsupported
According to the Alola Foundation, a Timorese NGO focusing on women's issues and prevention of trafficking, lack of funding in Timor-Leste for trafficking victims is taking its toll.  "Even if someone was referred to us, we wouldn't have a designated place to put them now, says Susan Kendall, an international mentor at PRADET, a local NGO providing psychosocial support to victims.  The most recent US State Department Trafficking in Persons report notes that Indonesian and Chinese women are often forced to become commercial sex workers, while Camodian and Burmese men and boys are forced into labor or onto fishing boats.  The border authorities lack resources and the system of identifying victims have broken down, leaving trafficked persons vulnerable.  A draft law on trafficking still needs three ministers to sign off on it before it can go to Parliament for approval.

Long Beach man charged with running sex trafficking ring
Roshaun, aka "Kevin", Nakia Porter, 36, was indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts of forced labor and two counts of sex trafficking through force, fraud or coercion.  The victims allege that Porter placed personal ads on craigeslist.com and seekingarrangments.com, but once a relationship was established he forced them to work as prostitutes.  The federal complaint adds that he kept control of the women by using physical violence and threatening them and their families.  If convicted on all counts, Porter will face life in federal prison.  The trial date is set for June 19.

Nigerians Become Most Trafficked into Italy's Sex Trade
Although Nigerian women and girls have been trafficked into Italy since the 1980s, the United Nations now estimates that between 8,000 and 10,000 are forced into the country's street prostitution trade every year.  Like other countries, these women are promised decent jobs and better wages, but what makes Nigeria unique is the trafficker's use of juju, or black magic, to cement the trafficker's agreement.  The traffickers make the girls go through a ritual where they swear to reimburse their sponsors for the trip.  Most of the victims are so terrified of the juju that they will not attempt to escape and they end up promising to repay up to $78,000.  This can translate into 10 customers a day.

Modern Slavery News Round-Up

Afghanistan's "dancing boys" exploitation
According to Afghan human rights researchers, the practice of wealthy Afghans exploiting underage boys as sexual partners who are often dressed up as women to dance at gatherings is on the rise.  Mirzahan, a 22-year-old farmer, purchased a 9-year-old boy because marrying a woman would have been prohibitively expensive.  Boys who are perceived as particularly beautiful can be sold for tens of thousands of dollars and can then be rented out to as dancers at male-only parties.  Once they become too old many of the boys turn to pimping or prostitution.  Wurth, a U.N. official, says she is not aware of any prosecutions in the area.  "A kid who is between sexually exploited, if he reports it, he will end up in prison."

Women enslaved by Spain's brothel tourism boom
Thirty years ago nearly all the prostitutes in Spain were Spanish and nowadays almost none are.  The networks today that bring in women to the area vary widely and are constantly changing.  Valentina, a Romanian woman, believed she was coming to work in a hotel through the help of her boyfriend.  Instead she became a prostitute on the side of the road and the man threatened her children if she did not comply.  Most of Spain's economy is struggling, but prostitution is booming.  Civil rights activists believe this is due to the change in customer: it has shifted from middle-aged men to young tourists.  Out of the 90,000 prostitutes, 90% of the them are believed to be trafficked.

Modern Slavery News Round-Up

Sharp rise in human trafficking in Pakistan
Pakistan’s Sindh Province has recorded a sharp increase in reported cases of human trafficking since the beginning of the year, and the trend could continue unless the authorities take action to contain it, say activists.  Some 190 cases have been reported in the province in the first two months of 2012, according to Zia Ahmeld Awan, chairperson of Madadgaar Helpline, an NGO helping women and child victims of abuse and trafficking.  In 2011, the NGO recorded 288 cases.  She urged the Pakistani government to devote more resources to fighting trafficking and drafting new legislation to ban it.  Pakistan's largest human trafficking problem, according to the US State Department's Trafficking in Persons report for 2011, is that of bonded labour. 

Spanish police arrest 'bar code pimps' gang
MADRID — Spanish police arrested 22 suspected pimps who allegedly used violence to force women into prostitution and tattooed them with bar codes as a sign of ownership, officials said Saturday. Police are calling the gang the "bar code pimps." Officers freed one 19-year-old woman who had been beaten, held against her will and tattooed with a bar code and an amount of money ($2,650) which investigators believe was the debt the gang wished to extort before releasing her.  Sex is a multibillion-dollar industry in Spain, with colorfully lit brothels staffed mainly by poor immigrant women from Latin America, Africa and eastern Europe lining highways throughout the country. Prostitution falls in legal limbo: it is not regulated, although pimping is a crime. The northeastern city of Barcelona plans to introduce regional legislation in coming weeks banning prostitution on urban streets.


Campaign against child sex trafficking on backpage.com grows stronger

Change.org started an online petition back in 2010 calling for the CEO of Village Voice Media to stop child sex trafficking on Backpage.com, a petition that has reached over 235,000 signatures. Similar campaigns have seen Craiglist shut down their 'adult services' sections in the U.S. and consequently their commercial sex ads from international sites. This Thursday 29th March will see the delivery of these petitions to Village Voice Media headquarters in New York City. 
Shared Hope International are calling on mayors across the country to stand against child sex trafficking and Village Voice Media, the owners of backpage.com. On the campaign website it states "Backpage.com will earn an estimated $25.8 million this year from its adult section, a platform that law enforcement and service providers recognize as a major facilitation tool for pimps to traffic children". They are asking people to contact their Mayor to urge them to take action and their website gives the option of emailing/writing to your local Mayor directly and easily through their website here.


Thai, Australia police bust human trafficking ring
Police in Thailand arrested an Iraqi man and a Thai woman in Bangkok on Tuesday while Australian police arrested four additional men in Sydney and Melbourne.  All are believed to be part of a transnational human trafficking network and the arrests were made as a result of "Operation Arapaima", a yearlong effort to crack down on human trafficking networks in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia, according to Lt. Gen. Wiboon Bangthamai.  A police raid found 16 fake passports in the woman's house that were to be used to illegally  transport refugees to Australia.  The country has become a haven for war-ravaged victims seeking a new life and "the organizers of these ventures are taking advantage of vulnerable people and are putting their lives at risk," says a statement from the Australian Federal Police.

GOP, Dems fight human trafficking by contractors
Legislation named "The End Trafficking in Government Contracting Act" was proposed by a bipartisan group from the House and Senate that aims to cut down on human trafficking by contractors hired by the U.S. military to work in Iraq and Afghanistan.  It is a reaction had by legislators after receiving reports from the Commission on Wartime Contracting that oversea contractors are known to engage in illegal practices after luring workers to work in the area such as seizing passports, engaging in sexual abuse, lying about compensation and keeping workers in a state of indentured servitude.  "Modern-day slavery by governmental contractors-unknowingly funded by American taxpayers- is unconscionable and intolerable," says Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn), the lead Senate sponsor of the bill.  

The Demand for Sex Tourism

A Market-Based Analysis of the Commercial Sex Trade

Shared Hope International recently published a comparative examination of the demand for sex tourism and trafficking in Jamaica, Japan, theNetherlands, and theUnited States (“Report”). The Report outlines the results of a twelve-month market-based analysis of the culture, economy, political system, and history of prostitution and slavery in each of the four countries, in an attempt to better understand the operation of global sex tourism and human trafficking markets. Ultimately, the Report found that sex trafficking and sex tourism are intimately connected because sex trafficking funds the demand for sex tourism. Although the four countries differ greatly in regards to their respective culture, economy, political system, and history of prostitution and slavery, Shared Hope found remarkable similarities in the operation of their respective sex tourism and sex trafficking markets. This finding suggests that a collaborative and comprehensive (involving many nations) to reducing the demand for sex tourism and sex trafficking should be successful.

Sex Tourism, Human Trafficking, and Sex Trafficking Defined

“Sex tourism” occurs when an individual travels (either between cities or countries) with the intent to procure sexual services from another in exchange for money and/or goods.

Human trafficking (including sex trafficking) is defined in Article 3 of the U.N. protocol as the “recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation…; (b) The consent of a victim of trafficking in persons to the intended exploitation set forth in subparagraph (a) of this article shall be irrelevant where any of the means set forth in subparagraph (a) have been used.”

Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, sex trafficking is defined as “the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act.”

Sex Trafficking Funds the Demand for Sex Tourism

The sex trade operates as a single market: (i) the demand for sex tourism exceeds the supply of women to provide commercial sex services; (ii) sex traffickers fill the demand by delivering women and children (both foreign and local) to the sex tourism markets. Buyers of commercial sex have been conditioned to expect immediate and easy access to services, which results in the trafficking of vulnerable women and girls to satisfy the demand for commercial sex services.

The rapid growth and development of sex tourism is directly linked to globalization. The typical “sex tourist” was once considered to be a Western man who traveled to a foreign country to engage in commercial sexual activity; however, the interconnectedness of our global economies and the increasing availability of international travel have made local commercial sex markets more accessible to buyers all over the world. Globalization has also made it possible to transport large numbers of foreign women and children to high demand commercial sex markets; however, increased public awareness of the transportation of foreign women and children for sex tourism has shifted the supply chain to local women and children who are “easier” to target, and pose less risk for traffickers. Because local trafficking laws have not “caught up” with the rapidly changing commercial sex market, local women and children are increasingly vulnerable to exploitation by traffickers. Below, I've set forth a few key findings from the Report.

Culture of Tolerance Facilitates the Sex Trade

Geography, history, tradition, legislation, language, and behavior (among other influences) all contribute to a “culture of tolerance for sex markets.” The commercial sex industry (including sexual images and activities) has been “normalized” to such a degree, that buyers no longer need to travel to less developed countries to obtain commercial sex services. Here are a few examples from the report:

• Jamaica:Jamaica has created a “perception of escapism” through advertising all-inclusive adult-only resorts that encourage international tourists to engage in any pleasure they desire (including sex tours offered by small travel companies). Severe poverty and an economy dependent upon tourism have created a “make do” culture, where residents are expected to support their family by whatever means are available, including commercial sex by children and adults.
• The Netherlands: “Legalized prostitution, promotion of red light districts as tourism activities and centuries-long tolerance of commercial sexual activity have resulted in development of extreme, ‘fringe’ commercial sex markets and the tremendous growth in demand for commercial sexual services by both local and international visitors.”
• United States: The American culture’s glamorization of the “pimp and ho” lifestyle has reduced our moral sensitivity to commercial sex. Take for example the new Vegas slogan: “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” which encourages visitors to engage in morally deprave conduct for the sake of their personal pleasure and enjoyment.
• Japan: The Japanese have long equated sex with physical health, and adhered to traditional gender roles which emphasize the man’s “need” for sex. Japan has also legalized all sexual services (with the exception of vaginal intercourse), all of which have normalized and allowed for easy access to commercial sex markets.

Victims are Misidentified as Criminals, and the Criminal Market for Trafficking is Thriving

Due to lack of education and awareness by government officials, law enforcement, and society, victims are frequently misidentified and mislabeled as illegal immigrants, prostitutes, “hos,” juvenile delinquents, drug mules, or thieves. The mislabeling of trafficking victims contributes to their dehumanization, and serves to facilitate sex trafficking by allowing the trafficker to operate with little fear of punishment or consequences. Further, the labeling of buyers and traffickers with normalized names (such as johns, tricks, clients, boyfriends, etc.) which do not carry the same stigma and criminal weight as those names given to the victims, contributes to the misperception that the trafficking victim (rather than the pimp or buyer) is the criminal.

In each of the four countries, Shared Hope found that the legal commercial sex market (i.e., strip clubs, escort services, adult pornography, etc.) is used not only to hide black market sex trafficking, but it’s also fueling the demand for criminal sexual exploitation. As strip clubs, “gentlemen’s clubs,” and pornography become more mainstream, the demand for young women will continue to increase as well.

The Facilitators and Buyers of Commercial Sex Tourism and Sex Trafficking

“Institutional facilitators” include businesses, governments, and other institutions that receive some benefit from the commercial sex trade. A hotel facilitates sex trafficking when it allows pimps to prostitute women and children on the premises (through inaction, poor management or tolerance of the problem). Local governments and cities facilitate sex trafficking by failing to regulate all aspects of the commercial sex market, allowing escort services and strip clubs to “cover-up” the commercial sex trade.

“Individual facilitators” include “pimps, traffickers, cab drivers, document forgers, pornographers, corrupt or negligent officials in government or business, and other individuals benefiting directly or indirectly form the commercial sex markets.” Cab drivers, pimps, and traffickers receive a direct benefit; however, the Report identifies a larger web of “indirect beneficiaries,” such as a government official who ignores the presence of trafficking because it facilitates a commercial market which benefits the city financially.

The Report also found that buyers of commercial sex services can be classified as situational, preferential, and opportunistic buyers, and each category will require differing education and prevention strategies. In the child sexual exploitation market, situational buyers engage in commercial sex acts with minors because they are available, vulnerable, and the behavior is tolerated. Preferential buyers (pedophiles), however, have sexual preferences and “shop” in specific markets for sexual services.

A third category of buyers referred to as “opportunistic” can be found in the larger commercial sex market. Opportunistic buyers have no preferences and purchase sex indiscriminately; they are “willfully blind to age or willingness of the female, or are unable to differentiate between adults and minors.” An in depth analysis of the psychology of buyers was beyond the scope of the Report, but Shared Hope’s research has revealed a culture of tolerance which both enables and condones the commercial sex market.

“Traffickers” Include Teenage Recruiters, Pimps, and Organized Crime

In the United States,Jamaica, and theNetherlands, Shared Hope found that large numbers of young males were recruiting females into the sex trade. Teenage boys are able to relate to the victim’s needs, and more easily exploit the victim’s vulnerabilities, trust, and insecurities. Young male recruiters often compliment the girls, and refer to them as their girlfriend in order to gain the young girl’s trust, and later turn to brutality to force the girl into submission.

Organized crime is also involved in sex trafficking in each of the four countries. Loosely organized crime networks in the Netherlands frequently traffick women from the Balkans and former Soviet states into the Netherlands. Tightly organized crime networks in Japan operate inJapan’s major cities and abroad, and Russian organized crime networks traffick women and children to theU.S., theNetherlands,Japan, andJamaica.

Young Women and Foreign Females are in High Demand

As the demand for sex tourism increases, the demand for young and exotic victims is increasing as well. Young girls are vulnerable and more easily recruited by pimps and traffickers, and the demand for younger girls has increased based upon the perception that they are less likely to have sexually transmitted diseases. Although the demand for younger girls has increased, the demand for “exotic” foreign girls has not diminished. In Las Vegas and Tokyo for example, “advertisements for Latin lovers, Asian beauties, and Slavic sweethearts are prolific.” Due to poverty in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, large numbers of young girls and women were found to have been trafficked to Japan,Jamaica, theNetherlands, and theU.S. Sex trafficking is no longer limited to impoverished women and girls in third world countries; women and young girls all over the world are being trafficked in their cities, towns, and countries in order to fill the local demand for commercial sexual services.

Technology is Driving the Growth of the Sex Trade

In the United States, theNetherlands, andJapan, technology is by far the single greatest driver and facilitator of the commercial sex trade. Advertisements for sex services and escort services have flooded the internet, and cell phone technology has allowed for greater connectivity between buyers, victims, and pimps. The proliferation of internet pornography has also contributed to the increased demand for commercial sex services, as pornography is frequently the gateway for situational and opportunistic buyers to purchase commercial sex services.

Conclusion

The global sex tourism and sex trafficking markets are intimately connected; therefore, a collaborative, comprehensive, and global approach to reducing the demand for sex tourism will be necessary to reduce the incidence and prevalence of sex trafficking.