Modern Slavery News Round-Up

South Sudan sides 'recruit 9,000 children to fight' More than 9,000 child soldiers have been fighting in South Sudan's brutal civil war, UN human rights chief Navi Pillay has said. Both the army and rebel forces had recruited the children, she said. Ms Pillay said South Sudan faced the threat of a famine, but there was an "apparent lack of concern" on the part of its leaders. She was speaking at the end of a visit to South Sudan, where the conflict has displaced about a million people.

  Nigeria girls' abduction: Protest march in Abuja
Hundreds of mainly women protesters have marched through the Nigerian capital, Abuja, to press for the release of 230 schoolgirls abducted by militants two weeks ago. The government should, if necessary, negotiate with their captors to secure their release, a protester said. The Islamist group Boko Haram has been blamed for abducting the girls from their school in Chibok, Borno state. Boko Haram has not yet made any response to the accusation. The group, whose name means "Western education is forbidden" in the local Hausa language, has staged a wave of attacks in northern Nigeria in recent years, with an estimated 1,500 killed in the violence and subsequent security crackdown this year alone.

Sex trafficking in your backyard
Minnesota brings many things to mind — open prairies, 10,000 lakes and Midwestern values. Yet even in America's heartland, the most wretched of crimes, human trafficking, is a growing menace. Last year, the FBI identified Minnesota as one of the nation's 13 largest centers for child sex trafficking. The Women's Funding Network says that monthly, about 200 adolescents are sold for sex there through the Internet and escort services. In 2011, Minnesota courts had nearly 400 trafficking-related convictions.

Human trafficking victim shares her story
Amanda Dobyns said her mother traded her for drugs when she was younger. “She owed her drug dealer several thousand dollars and he told her you can either give me your daughter or pay me the money you owe me,” Dobyns said. It happened when Dobyns was only 13 years old. “Anytime she wanted a fix she would just trade me to him and get her drugs and he and multiple men would rape me,” Dobyns said.

  New Hampshire: Human trafficking bill moves to House The House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee unanimously passed a comprehensive human trafficking bill Tuesday, setting the stage for floor action next week. The bill is considered a significant step forward for New Hampshire, which has been lagging behind other states in establishing laws against those who engage in sex and labor trafficking. "This bill contains big advancements that are super important," said Amanda Grady Sexton, public policy director of the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence. In a national ranking of state sex trafficking laws, the national anti-trafficking organization Polaris Project placed New Hampshire third from the bottom.

Facts: 11 Facts About Human Trafficking

1. Globally, the average cost of a slave is $90.
2. Trafficking primarily involves exploitation which comes in many forms, including: forcing victims into prostitution, subjecting victims to slavery or involuntary servitude and compelling victims to commit sex acts for the purpose of creating pornography.
3. According to some estimates, approximately 80% of trafficking involves sexual exploitation, and 19% involves labor exploitation.
4. There are approximately 20 to 30 million slaves in the world today.
5. According to the U.S. State Department, 600,000 to 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders every year. More than 70% are female and half are children.
6. The average age a teen enters the sex trade in the U.S. is 12 to 14-year-old. Many victims are runaway girls who were sexually abused as children.
7. California harbors 3 of the FBI’s 13 highest child sex trafficking areas on the nation: Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego.
8. The National Human Trafficking Hotline receives more calls from Texas than any other state in the US. 15% of those calls are from the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
9. Between 14,500 and 17,500 people are trafficked into the U.S. each year.
10. Human trafficking is the third largest international crime industry (behind illegal drugs and arms trafficking). It reportedly generates a profit of $32 billion every year. Of that number, $15.5 billion is made in industrialized countries.
11. The International Labour Organization estimates that women and girls represent the largest share of forced labor victims with 11.4 million trafficked victims (55%) compared to 9.5 million (45%) men.

Facts: Nobody is Safe from Trafficking

       

At least 20.9 million adults and children are bought and sold worldwide into commercial sexual servitude, forced labor and bonded labor. This makes sex trafficking one of the largest international crimes in the world. Nobody is safe from trafficking. It can happen on vacation, at school and at home. The only thing we can do to stay safe is be aware of situations that may put you in danger.

       Do not trust strangers. This one goes way back to when we were children, but putting your trust in strangers can be one of the major contributors to human trafficking. Not ever talking to strangers on a college campus could be detrimental to your social life, so we have to take a chance on trusting people, but while choosing your friends keep in mind that not everyone on campus is looking to be your friend. College students are drinking, doing drugs, gambling and some have been raped. College students are facing the threat of sex trafficking, but are forced to make friends with complete strangers every day.
      Another way to help prevent being sex trafficked is to avoid other illegal things. People who are doing or selling illegal drugs many times also take part in the illegal act of sex trafficking. Traveling can increase the chance of being entered into a sex trafficking ring.

     Wandering off with a group of people you don’t know, in a country you don’t know, with a language you don’t speak is dangerous as is, but especially with sex trafficking on the rise. It is helpful to learn the current events in places out of the country to know if it is currently a safe place to visit. If the country has a sex trafficking background it is better to be more cautious in that place.

Fact: Average annual return on investment of a slave in 1810 was 15%-20%; today it is 300%-500%

     
 "The average annual return on investment of a slave for the exploiter in 1810 was 15%-20%; today it is 300%-500%, even higher for sex slaves."
                     -Siddharth Kara Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery (2009)

Modern Slavery News Round-Up

Former victim of human trafficking helps raise awareness among lawmakers
Colorado Attorney General John Suthers says it's a $32 billion global industry. On Thursday, the Human Trafficking Task Force of Southern Colorado raised awareness about the issue at the State Capitol. Aubrey Lloyd was a featured guest. She became a victim of human traffickers at age 16. "I was an honor roll student, who was lied to by a friend," she told 7NEWS. Lloyd says she experienced "tons of abuse and confrontation" while growing up.

30 arrested in All-Star weekend sex trafficking
Louisiana state police say an investigation involving local authorities and the FBI resulted in 30 arrests in connection with sex trafficking during the NBA All-Star weekend in New Orleans. The arrests included 22 women and four men arrested on prostitution-related charges. Four other men were booked for allegedly using computers to solicit minors for sex. The operation also resulted in the rescue of a juvenile believed to have been exploited since she was 14.

Couple found guilty of running human trafficking op in Boston
A husband and wife were found guilty of running a human trafficking operation in Boston. After an eight-day trial, a Suffolk Superior Court jury found Rafael Henriquez, 40, and Ramona Carpio Hernandez, 52, both of East Boston, guilty on the charges of trafficking in persons for sexual servitude, being an owner of a house of prostitution, deriving support from prostitution, and keeping a house of ill fame.

13-Year-Old Girl at Center of Human Trafficking Case Again Missing, As Police Car Shows Up at Family's Home
Before authorities say a 13-year-old girl was forced to dance nude at a Miami Beach strip club, she was reported as a runaway. In a recorded interview released by the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office the girl told a Miami Police detective she had left home before and talked about how she was forced to have sex for money. Four people have been arrested and charged with human trafficking in the case, including 36-year-old Vilbert “Vitto” Jean and 22-year-old Marlene San Vincente, a former Club Madonna dancer. The 13-year-old told police how she ended up dancing there.

Exhibit in Coralville displays human trafficking, hope to those held captive
An exhibit detailing the reality of human trafficking is on display for the second time in eastern Iowa. The Journey to Freedom is currently on display at the Big White House in Coralville. The exhibit looks at the lives and situations of millions of people around the world living without freedom. Melanie Baker, the exhibit coordinator, says they not only want to raise awareness, but also give hope to those taken captive by human trafficking, including those in eastern Iowa.

10 Surprising and Counterintuitive Facts About Child Sex Trafficking

At present, the commercial sexual exploitation of children has become a staple of often scary tabloid and other media coverage. The sensationalist sex trafficking narrative commonly depicted in mass media by celebrities and activists doesn't always reveal the full story of this complex and misunderstood phenomenon, which is often buffeted by data and themes that detract from potential remedies. Here are 10 child sex trafficking statistics that you most likely didn't read….

1. Boys make up 50 percent of the sex trafficked victims in the U.S.
2. Most children who are sex trafficked don’t have a traditional ‘pimp’.
3. Many youth show a surprising amount of agency and control over their work.
4. For most exploited children, their trafficking situation is not the greatest trauma they've endured – the majority has a history of sexual abuse and neglect.
5. Trafficked children are treated as criminals despite federal law classifying anyone under 18 years of age a victim.
6. Women make up buyers and traffickers as well.
7. Online websites such as backpage.com can be a sex trafficker’s haven.
8. Criminalizing commercial sex work and branding ‘trafficking’ as the same thing raises the stakes for victims.
9. Most kids engaged in sex trafficking don’t consider themselves victims.
10.Sex trafficking funds and resources are misappropriated.

Modern Slavery News Round-up

9 Investigates teenager sex trafficking
BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Channel 9 has done several stories about central Florida’s growing human sex trafficking problem. A recent study showed one out of every 12 teens who was given the assessment was a victim of human trafficking. DCF told Welch that local teens of every race and background are being recruited. The experts said parents need to monitor who their children talk to online. They should also be on the lookout for suspicious tattoos because pimps often brand their girls with tattoos.

Number of children being sex trafficked soars
The number of British children being trafficked for sexual exploitation has more than doubled over the last year, according to official figures. Police forces, charities and immigration officials identified 50 young British girls and 6 boys being trafficked in order to be abused as part of the sex industry. The figures represent a 155 per cent increase on the previous year but are thought to be just the tip of the iceberg as much of the problem remains desperately under reported.

Florida ranks 3rd in calls to human trafficking hotline
Jacksonville University professor Nathan Rousseau and local attorney Crystal Freed, are organizing a series of events with Jacksonville University, Artworks For Freedom and other organizations to be held around the area, which aim to bring awareness to the issue. Rousseau said millions of people are caught in the trap of human trafficking -- often kids and women held against their will, sometimes only freed by their own deaths. According to the United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking, about 2.5 million people are enslaved at any given time by human trafficking and more than 9 out of 10 people suffer from physical or sexual violence.

Artist in residence explores human trafficking in U.S.
Albion College’s Artist in Residence Lea Bult sets the record straight about human trafficking in the U.S. Her “Out of Sight” exhibition promotes public awareness of the horrific prevalence of such modern-day slavery. The gallery features unassuming landscapes such as parking lots, factories and even a massage parlor. Bult often includes a truck or van in these images
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Rights group: Egypt turns blind eye to human trafficking in Sinai
CAIRO -- Scarred, terrified and systematically tortured, the victims of human traffickers in the Sinai peninsula have been largely abandoned to their fate by Egyptian authorities, a leading human rights group alleged in a report released Tuesday. The report by New York-based Human Rights Watch details a brutal extortion racket in which victims, most of them would-be migrants from Eritrea in the Horn of Africa, are beaten, burned and mutilated by smugglers while their anguished relatives – contacted by mobile phone – are forced to listen to their screams.

Fact: Sex Trafficking in the U.S.

     
Sex trafficking occurs when people are forced or coerced into the commercial sex trade against their will. Child sex trafficking includes any child involved in commercial sex. Sex traffickers frequently target vulnerable people with histories of abuse and then use violence, threats, lies, false promises, debt bondage, or other forms of control and manipulation to keep victims involved in the sex industry. Sex trafficking exists within the broader commercial sex trade, often at much larger rates than most people realize or understand. Sex trafficking has been found in a wide variety of venues of the overall sex industry, including residential brothels, hostess clubs, online escort services, fake massage businesses, strip clubs, and street prostitution.

Fact: Little Known Facts About . . . Human Trafficking

1. Approximately 75-80% of human trafficking is for sex.
2. Researchers note that sex trafficking plays a major role in the spread of HIV.
3. There are more human slaves in the world today than ever before in history.
4. There are an estimated 27 million adults and 13 million children around the world who are victims of human trafficking.
5. Human trafficking not only involves sex and labor, but people are also trafficked for organ harvesting.
6. Human traffickers often use a Sudanese phrase “use a slave to catch slaves,” meaning traffickers send “broken-in girls” to recruit younger girls into the sex trade. Sex traffickers often train girls themselves, raping them and teaching them sex acts.
7. Eighty percent of North Koreans who escape into China are women. Nine out of 10 of those women become victims of human trafficking, often for sex. If the women complain, they are deported back to North Korea, where they are thrown into gulags or are executed.
8. An estimated 30,000 victims of sex trafficking die each year from abuse, disease, torture, and neglect. Eighty percent of those sold into sexual slavery are under 24, and some are as young as six years old.
9. Ludwig “Tarzan” Fainberg, a convicted trafficker, said, “You can buy a woman for $10,000 and make your money back in a week if she is pretty and young. Then everything else is profit.”
10. A human trafficker can earn 20 times what he or she paid for a girl. Provided the girl was not physically brutalized to the point of ruining her beauty, the pimp could sell her again for a greater price because he had trained her and broken her spirit, which saves future buyers the hassle. A 2003 study in the Netherlands found that, on average, a single sex slave earned her pimp at least $250,000 a year.

Modern Slavery News Round-up

Report: 20 cases of child trafficking investigated in Kentucky in four-month period
A first-of-its-kind report by Kentucky’s state health agency has found authorities in the Bluegrass State investigated 20 allegations of human trafficking involving 25 children over only about a four month period in 2013.

US authorities are investigating “human trafficking” charges in the Indian diplomat case
Sangeeta Richard, the domestic helper from India at the center of the recent US-India diplomatic debacle, remains in the US on an immigration status given to victims of human trafficking, indicating that is the charge US authorities are investigating in the high-profile case.

Human Trafficking Outpaces Drugs, Guns As World's Fastest Growing Criminal Industry
Massachusetts and Rhode Island are two of several states that have established task forces to confront what has become the fastest growing criminal industry in the world — human trafficking. The smuggling of human beings for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation outranks drug smuggling, and is tied with illegal arms sales, according to a United Nations study. Task forces consisting of federal immigration officials, prosecutors, local police, the FBI and non-governmental organizations are pooling resources, knowledge and experience to deal with trafficking in southern New England. They are looking both worldwide and close to home for lessons that might help in better understanding the dimensions of the problem.

Fact: Minorities are the Main Victims of Human Trafficking

In 2011, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) charged a total of 118 defendants in forced labor and adult sex trafficking cases, representing a 19 percent increase over the number of defendants charged in the previous year and the highest number ever charged in a single year. The same year DOJ prosecuted 125 total human trafficking cases (including sex trafficking of minors) and convicted 70.

In 2011, the combined number of federal trafficking convictions—including cases involving forced labor, sex trafficking of adults, and sex trafficking of minors—totaled 151, compared to 141 in 2010.

Of confirmed sex trafficking victims whose race was known, 26 percent were white and 40 percent were black.

Of confirmed labor trafficking victims, 56 percent were Hispanic and 15 percent were Asian.

Of these incidents, 82 percent involved sex trafficking allegations, of which, nearly one-half (48 percent) involved allegations of adult prostitution and 40 percent prostitution or sexual exploitation of a child.

Most confirmed sex trafficking victims in cases investigated by federally funded task forces were female (94 percent). Of the 63 confirmed labor trafficking victims, 32 percent were male and 68 percent were female.

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.

Modern Slavery News Round-up

Coast Guard rescues 3 women from human trafficking in Zamboanga Government operatives this week rescued in Zamboanga City three Filipina would-be victims of human trafficking bound for Sabah. The operatives arrested the suspected traffickers identified as Benhar Mukin and Estrella Hasan, both from Zamboanga City. According to the three victims, one Shon Joon Sin recruited them in Pampanga and promised them decent jobs with good salarie in Sabah.

Subway Owners Arrested After Human Trafficking Investigation Married couple Amrutlal Patel and Dakshaben Patel were arrested on Tuesday for allegedly harboring and employing illegal aliens in their four Subway Restaurants in Lexington, Ky. The arrests were made after a 3-month human trafficking investigation. One of their Subways was raided shortly after they were taken into custody, as reported by local NBC affiliate WLEX-TV. Three of the Patels' employees, all Indian nationals illegally in the United States, were brought to the Lexington Police Department for questioning, according to official court documents obtained by The Huffington Post.

Cindy McCain, Christie to talk human trafficking
Cindy McCain slammed the National Football League on Wednesday for not being “willing to deal” with the issue of sex trafficking at the Super Bowl. “Everybody else has been very helpful, the NFL’s not willing to deal with this issue, and I can’t answer why, I don’t know why,” McCain said during POLITICO’s Women Rule conversation series, co-sponsored by The Tory Burch Foundation and Google, which was hosted at The Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Report includes 19 indicators of sex trafficking in Maine
PORTLAND, Maine — The national Polaris Project released a report Thursday dissecting data gleaned from calls placed to its human trafficking hotline, a help number that has seen a sharp increase in contacts over the last five years. In Maine, the organization reported that its hotline netted 19 of what Polaris Project defines as high- or moderate-level indicators of trafficking in the most recent year. However, local experts say that number is just the tip of the iceberg and that a continued push to provide comprehensive services to victims is necessary.

Vital 'golden hour' after human trafficking victims are rescued
The delicate moments after suspected victims of human trafficking are rescued are so important they are known by care workers as "the golden hour". The Salvation Army holds the government contract to help trafficking victims for the first 45 days of their release and organizes an interview room in a church, council office or other under-used building. According to Ann Reed, the charity's anti-trafficking response coordinator, here the victim can shower, eat, see a doctor, put on some new clothes and speak to a non-uniformed police officer for an hour or two to give an overview of their experience.

Fact: 88% of human traffickers had grown up in homes where domestic violence was present

Domestic violence is commonly considered a “push factor” for human trafficking. Due to the increased vulnerability caused by an abusive relationship, victims of domestic violence can find themselves isolated and without access to the financial and emotional support needed to leave to a safe situation, which puts them at high risk for exploitation. Domestic Violence can also be a push factor for those who become traffickers. According to a recent study, 88% of the traffickers interviewed indicated that they had grown up in homes where domestic violence was present.

Human trafficking and domestic violence can intersect in even more profound ways. Intimate partners can force their partners into highly exploitative situations. A partner can also be a human trafficker. Intimate Partner Trafficking is not a type of trafficking that has been researched, prosecuted or discussed to the extent as other trafficking trends we see – but it does happen. However, much like intimate partner rape, it is likely that this type of exploitation is highly underreported. Familial Trafficking is another way that trafficking and domestic violence come into direct contact. While it is difficult to believe that a mother, father, brother, sister could force a relative to engage in commercial sex or forced labor, this is a trend that we see in forced commercial sex situations as well as domestic servitude.

Modern Slavery News Round-up

Immigration Reform Will Deter Human Trafficking, Not Increase It
A recent Department of Justice report illustrates the connection between immigration policy and labor trafficking, in particular: It found that fully 95 percent of labor trafficking victims were foreign-born; of those, more than 70 percent were undocumented. Traffickers prey upon individuals who, in their desperation to enter the U.S. to escape extreme poverty, believe too-good-to-be-true promises of work and educational opportunities, only to be sold into slavery or prostitution and made to work under force, fraud or coercion. The State Department estimates that as many as 17,500 foreign-born individuals are trafficked into the U.S. in any given year.

FBI Raids Cleveland Massage Parlor Suspected of Prostitution, Human Trafficking
Cleveland FBI agents on Wednesday raided an East Side massage parlor in an attempt to find evidence of a regional sex-trafficking ring. No arrests were made during the searches. The FBI would not disclose what evidence, if any, was taken from the massage parlors. Last year, authorities in Warren shut down eight massage parlors suspected of prostitution, but made no arrests.

Report: Utah Increasing Efforts to Stop Child Sex Trafficking
When it comes to protecting children against sex trafficking, Utah is improving but could do better, according to a new report. Shared Hope International, a nonprofit group that works to eliminate child sex trafficking, gave the state a C grade for its efforts. Out of a possible 102.5 points, Utah received 74.5. That’s an improvement over the previous year, when the state received a D, and in 2011, when it got an F.

Pope Francis Steps Up Modern Slavery Fight
Pope Francis wants action against modern forms of slavery including forced labor and prostitution, the Vatican said Monday after a meeting of experts called by the pontiff to debate the problem. The pope was heavily invested in a subject he knows well from his years in Latin America and had even invited two experts on human trafficking that he knows from Buenos Aires.


Modern slavery must be abolished
On Oct. 17, CNN reported that nearly 30 million people around the world are currently living as slaves. The Global Slavery Index, published by the Australia-based Walk Free Foundation, ranked 162 countries based on three factors that include estimated prevalence of modern slavery, a measure of child marriage and a measure of human trafficking in and out of a country. According to the Walk Free Foundation index, there are 29.6 million people in modern slavery globally. India leads the world, followed by China, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Russia, Thailand, Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar and Bangladesh. These 10 countries account for 76 percent of the world’s modern slaves. These numbers reflect the chauvinistic nature of the countries.

Modern slavery must be abolished
On Oct. 17, CNN reported that nearly 30 million people around the world are currently living as slaves. The Global Slavery Index, published by the Australia-based Walk Free Foundation, ranked 162 countries based on three factors that include estimated prevalence of modern slavery, a measure of child marriage and a measure of human trafficking in and out of a country. According to the Walk Free Foundation index, there are 29.6 million people in modern slavery globally. India leads the world, followed by China, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Russia, Thailand, Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar and Bangladesh. These 10 countries account for 76 percent of the world’s modern slaves. These numbers reflect the chauvinistic nature of the countries.

Modern Slavery News Round-up

Police say 24 children rescued from human trafficking scheme
PALM BAY — Two dozen Orlando children younger than 18 were crammed into the back of an older model Chevrolet work van, driven to Palm Bay on Friday and dropped off to spend more than 10 hours selling cheap items door-to-door, Palm Bay police said. Police arrested two of the men behind the operation, which authorities said provides a window into a growing trend of human trafficking: luring children and young adults with the promise of an honest wage, transporting them in often unsafe conditions and sending them off to conduct unsupervised sales in unfamiliar neighborhoods.

London's 'shadow city' of human trafficking
Andrew Boff, who leads the London Assembly's Conservative group, published his report arguing for more and better tackling of a largely hidden form of criminality and exploitation in all its forms. Boff believes that amnesties should be extended to victims who are irregular migrants in order to encourage more disclosure of what appears to be a largely invisible form of criminal abuse.

Two survivors recall human trafficking nightmare
After Barbara Amaya escaped from her family where she was sexually abused, she was trafficked in D.C., and beaten, raped, robbed, and forced to sell her body in New York. The nightmare started when she was 13, and lasted for 9 years. The other victim, Shandra Woworuntu, was trafficked when she was 25. After losing her job in Indonesia, Woworuntu responded to an employment promising a position in Chicago. After she arrived to the U.S., her passport was seized; then she was forced to perform sexual favors in brothels. Two months later, she escaped her kidnappers by jumping out a bathroom window.

Human Sex Trafficking of U.S. Minors
Reuters reported just last week, “Some 30 million people are enslaved worldwide, trafficked into brothels, forced into manual labor, victims of debt bondage or even born into servitude.” About 14,500 to 17,500 girls from other countries are smuggled into the U.S. and exploited in sexual slavery.

Modern Slavery News Round-up

Europe cycle raises awareness of human trafficking A team of passionate anti-trafficking campaigners has just returned from an 11-day cycle that took in some of Europe's human trafficking routes. The Freedom Challenge cycle started on October 6 in Sofia, Bulgaria and took in 10 countries, finishing on Wednesday afternoon in Westminster. The purpose of the cycle was to raise money and awareness for the A21 campaign against human trafficking ahead of anti-slavery day today. The cyclists hope to raise 210,000 euros for A21 shelters and victim assistance programs.

Human trafficking an American problem, experts say at forum Wednesday
The average American is largely unaware of how prevalent human trafficking is across the country, trafficking experts said Wednesday. “Often people think it’s an international issue, but primarily it’s a much bigger issue here in America,” said Jaime Meyers, managing director of Children at Risk. Undercover Dallas police officers pose as buyers online to target trafficking sales online. The program, called “Operation Brick and Mortar,” rescued six children from June of last year to August, said Lt. Alfred Diorio of the Dallas Police Department’s High Risk Victims and Trafficking Unit. The unit has made 118 arrests in the past year, many of which resulted in “significant sentencing” for the perpetrator, Diorio said.

 Maine efforts to combat human trafficking get federal funding
Advocates for homeless teenagers and young people with disabilities in southern Maine say a $400,000 federal grant will help dedicate resources for young people who have been coerced into trading sex for money or a place to sleep. The two-year grant from the Department of Justice to Preble Street allocates funds directly to help victims of human trafficking. The social services agency in Portland, which also operates a teen center, will administer the money to agencies in Cumberland and York counties. The money will also be used for health and mental health programs for victims, for legal assistance to vulnerable immigrants, and for protective orders.

Palawan intensifies campaign against human trafficking
In an effort to intensify campaign against trafficking in persons in Palawan, the provincial government spearheaded the holding of a seminar-workshop attended by members of the provincial Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT).The two-day activity discussed salient features of Republic Act No. 9208 or “Anti-Human Trafficking in Persons Act” and the recent Republic Act No. 10364 or the “Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012,” which was enacted for a stronger anti-human trafficking measure. Under the RA 10364, disclosure of the identities and circumstances of human trafficking offenders is already allowed. It also looked at the present situation of trafficking in persons in the national level and to zero in on the provincial situation. Palawan and Puerto Princesa City have had human trafficking cases particularly in southern Palawan taking the so-called “backdoor” to Malaysia.

Thailand must do more to end human trafficking
According to humantrafficking.org, Thailand is a source, transit, and destination country for human trafficking: ‘It is a destination-side hub of exploitation in the Greater Mekong sub-region, for both sex and labor exploitation.’ The majority of Thai trafficking victims are trafficked to the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Bahrain and China, for both sexual and labor exploitation. It also said that the Mekong region, compared to many other parts of the world, contains very diverse patterns of human trafficking – internal and cross-border; highly organized or small-scale; sex and labour, through both formal and informal recruitment mechanisms.

Fact: UK Anti-Slavery Day, October 18th

Today the United Kingdom celebrates, Anti-Slavery Day, which falls on 18 October each year. The day provides an opportunity to draw attention to the subject and to pressurize government, local authorities, public institutions and private and public companies to address the scale and scope of human trafficking.

The Anti-Slavery Day Bill became law in 2010. It was introduced in Parliament as a Private Members Bill by Anthony Steen MP for Totnes, South Devon, in 2010 and passed through both Houses, unopposed although amended. The bill defines modern-day slavery as child trafficking, forced labour, domestic servitude and trafficking for sexual exploitation.

FACT: A human trafficker can earn 20 times what he or she paid

A human trafficker can earn 20 times what he or she paid for a girl. Provided the girl was not physically brutalized to the point of ruining her beauty, the pimp could sell her again for a greater price because he had trained her and broken her spirit, which saves future buyers the hassle. A 2003 study in the Netherlands found that, on average, a single sex slave earned her pimp at least $250,000 a year (Skinner, E. Benjamin. 2008. A Crime So Monstrous: Face-to-Face with Modern-Day Slavery. New York, NY: Free Press).

Modern Slavery News Round-Up

Feds Arrest 255 in Massive Global Child Porn Sting 
As part of its attempt to combat a growing trend of online sexual exploitation, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency announced on Monday that 255 suspected child predators had been arrested during a nearly five-week sting operation. Operation iGuardian sought to identify and arrest those who allegedly "own, trade and produce" child pornography in the United States and its territories. Authorities also identified and rescued 61 alleged victims in the United States, Canada, Indonesia and the Netherlands, according to a statement from ICE. The suspects, 251 of whom were men and four were women, face charges ranging from online sexual enticement of a minor to child pornography production and traveling with the intent to have sex with a minor. Some were also charged with rape and molestation and distribution of child pornography. Read more here.

Saudi Princess Charged With U.S. Human Trafficking 
Suitcase in hand, the 30-year-old domestic worker from Kenya managed to flag down a Southern California bus and tell a passenger she had been held against her will and believed she was a victim of human trafficking. It wasn't long before a Saudi princess was under arrest. Meshael Alayban, who prosecutors said is one of the wives of Saudi Prince Abdulrahman bin Nasser bin Abdulaziz al Saud, was charged Wednesday with human trafficking. She was arrested at an Irvine condominium that policed searched after talking to the Kenyan woman. The woman told authorities she had been hired in Kenya in 2012 and taken to Saudi Arabia, where her passport was immediately taken. She said she was forced to work excessive hours, was paid less than promised and was not allowed to leave. Read more here.

 Utah Massage Parlor Owner Sent to Prison for Human Trafficking 
A Salt Lake City massage parlor owner has been sentenced to prison for coercing a 17-year-old girl into being a prostitute. Luis Daniel Arano-Hernandez, 30, in May accepted a plea deal and pleaded guilty to one charge of human trafficking, a first-degree felony. Third District Judge Judith Atherton sentenced Arano-Hernandez to five years to life in prison on Friday. Arano-Hernandez, along with three other men and one women, were arrested and charged last November by the SECURE Strike Force after an eight-month investigation into sex trafficking. The women engaged in providing prostitution services are believed to have been undocumented immigrants and/or under the age of 18. In a probable cause statement filed with the court, a female identified as "M.R." said she was forced to sign a contract and that Arano-Hernandez threatened to harm the teen’s family and have her deported if she failed to participate in prostitution. Read more here.

 Federal Judge Blocks N.J. Human Trafficking Law Targeting Underage Sex Ads 
A new state law intended to root out online advertisements for underage sex has been blocked by a federal judge. The law -- signed by Gov. Chris Christie in May and slated to go into effect at the beginning of this month -- makes it a first-degree crime to knowingly publish, disseminate or display an advertisement and any photographs promoting sex with a minor. Backers of the measure said it was needed to hold websites responsible for perpetuating child sex abuse and underage prostitution. Two web companies sued last month claiming the state law, while well-intentioned, violates a long-standing federal law that grants websites sweeping immunity from being held liable for the material people post online. U.S. District Judge Dennis Cavanaugh temporarily blocked New Jersey’s law June 28, and the state faces a steep legal climb when oral arguments begin in Newark on Aug. 9. Read more here.

S. Korean Court Orders Nippon Steel to Pay for Forced Labor 
A South Korean court, in an unprecedented ruling, ordered Japan's Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. on July 10 to compensate four South Koreans for forced labor during Japan's 35-year colonial rule of Korea. The Seoul High Court ordered the company to pay 100 million Korean won ($88,000) to each of the four plaintiffs. It rejected Nippon Steel's argument that it was a different entity from the steelmaker that employed the South Koreans. Japanese courts have thrown out claims by South Korean who suffered at Japanese hands during World War II, arguing the matter of compensation was closed under the 1965 treaty between the two countries normalizing diplomatic ties. Nippon Steel, which merged with Sumitomo Metal Industries last year, has argued in previous court cases that it was not responsible for the actions of the wartime steelmaker. The attorney for the plaintiffs, Kim Mi-kyung, said they had no immediate plans to take action to seize company assets in South Korea, but wanted to discuss compensation with the company. Nippon Steel said it would appeal the decision. Read more here.