Modern Slavery News Round-up

Kristof: Poverty a driving force in human trafficking One way to fight human trafficking in Haiti would be to provide free and accessible birth control, so that women don't end up with children that they struggle to feed. Another would be to provide free public education, so that parents don't feel that the only way to get schooling for their children is to send them off as unpaid maids. That's why what's at stake in fighting global poverty isn't just poor people's incomes. It's also dignity and freedom - and the right of a girl to grow up in something better than quasi-slavery.
Proos talks human trafficking protection bills
Michigan lawmakers will be working this year to approve more protections for victims of human trafficking. State Senator John Proos says that human trafficking in the United States usually involves forcing someone into prostitution, and he thinks it's a bigger problem in Michigan than many people might realize.
Punjab to create awareness to prevent human trafficking
Punjab government would soon launch a campaign to create awareness about the law dealing with human trafficking and exploitation of people by fraudulent travel agents.
Pair faces human trafficking charges involving teen girl
Police said a man from Arkansas and woman from Oklahoma were arrested in Baton Rouge on human trafficking of a child and other charges Sunday. Detectives reported their investigation revealed one of the suspects purchased a bus ticket for the girl to get her from Arkansas to Baton Rouge. They also reported an ad was placed on the website Backpage.com promoting sex acts she offered.
Spain grapples with human trafficking
The first European Commission report on human trafficking in Europe, published by Eurostat in April 2013, put the number of victims between 2008 and 2010 at 23,632, with the number growing by 18 percent over the three-year period. Of that total, 15 percent were children and adolescents. In 62 percent of the cases, the victims – mainly women – were trafficked for sexual exploitation, while 25 percent were trafficked for forced labour, and 14 percent were victims of other kinds of trafficking, such as organ removal. In 2010, Spain had the second-highest number of victims of human trafficking in the European Union, after Italy, according to the study.

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.