FACT: the average age of entry into prostitution is 12-14 years old.

Did you know that the average age of entry into prostitution is only a mere 12-14 years old?

Child prostitution is the commercial sexual exploitation of children, for which a child is held under force, fraud or corrosion to perform sexual services, for financial gain. Pimps/traffickers target girls -or women- who are homeless, appear naive, lonely or rebellious. The victim first finds themselves in the spotlight of the attention and affection of the pimp -who then convinces her to “be his woman.” Pimps/traffickers then keep these innocent girls -or women- in virtual captivity through verbal and physical abuse. Many sexually exploited youth have been so psychologically manipulated by their pimps/traffickers that they are often compelled to return to them -thus why the investment into the self-worth and long-term development of survivors is key to the work of Bridge to Freedom Foundation. It is estimated that some 80% to 95% of all prostitution is pimp-controlled.

Modern Slavery News Round-Up

Wed and Tortured at 13, Afghan Girl Finds Rare Justice    

In Afghanistan, 13 year old Sahar Gul was forced to marry her husband, 30 year old Ghulam Sakhi, illegally. She was beaten, tortured, and thrown into a dark cellar at the hands of her husband and in-laws after declining to prostitute herself or have sex with her husband. Sakhi and his family were not unaccustomed to using violence to force action; his first wife was beaten because she had not beared children. Sahar Gul's husband and in-laws were each sentenced to 10 years in prison; she is now at a shelter in Kabul.

Donyel Pier Dove of Manassas, Va. Sentenced for role in gang-led prostitution of H.S. girls
Donyel Pier Dove, the member of a the Underground Gangster Crips (UGC) based in Fairfax Virginia, was sentenced to 276 months in prison and 5 years of superised release. Dove served as a bodyguard and and driver for the UGC's prostitution ring, and even paid for advertisements of such commercial trafficking on Backpage.com. Five other members or associates of UGC were also convicted of the sex trafficking of juveniles.

Traffickers force more men into servitude
A Salvadoran man, who has not been identified because of beliefs that he is a victim of a sex crime, escaped a remote ranch after being forced to work without pay, picking vegetables; he endured beatings, rapings, and cigarette burns. In Houston, Texas there has been an increase in human traffficking cases involving men. Houston is popular for human trafficking because of its diversity and proximity to the Mexico border. Investigators have been unsuccessful in locating the ranch; the investigation remains open. Compiled By: Whitney Joseph

Syrian refugees struggle to cope and seek child marriage as a solution

Recent concerns have sparked as child marriages spike among Syrian refugees in Jordan. Difficult conditions in Jordan have many parents pushing to have their daughters married at an earlier age. The issue has created a concern among many international aid organizations that the rise in child marriage has been brought on as a sort of coping mechanism to adjusting to life as a refugee in the country. The majority of these young girls are in their early teens and are increasingly being married to older Syrian men as a form of financial and other security against a backdrop of conflict and instability. Early marriage is against the laws of both Syria (minimum age of marriage at 17 for boys and 16 for girls) and Jordan. However, in Syria, religious leaders may still approve “informal marriages” at for girls from 13 years-old and for boys from 16 years-old. The “informal marriages” allows spouses to live in the same home and have children, but is only legally registered once both turn 18. In Jordan the legal minimum age for marriage is 18-years-old for both spouses, though in exceptional circumstances marriages involving 15-year-olds are allowed — it is illegal for anyone under 15 to get married. Hana Ghadban, a volunteer with the Syrian Women Association (SWA), told IRIN that in the Syrian cities of Homs and Dera’a many girls are married at the age of 13 or 14. “We know of so many girls who got married after moving to Jordan. Most of them were engaged in Syria.”

“They rape girls who are as young as her in Syria now. If they raped a nine-year-old girl, they can do anything. I will not feel OK if I do not see her married to a decent man who can protect her,” said the father of Hanadi, a pregnant child bride in Jordan aged 14.

To read the rest of this post by Bridge to Freedom Foundation Founder and Executive Director, Cassandra Clifford on the Foreign Policy Association's Children's Rights Blog here.

“Act”-ing for Children’s Welfare

Rep. Karen Bass

As the popularity of human trafficking grows through supply and demand, governmental and non-governmental efforts to end it also grow. Through such efforts, a link has been found between the welfare system and human trafficking, particularly when it comes to children. Yet, there seems to be a lack of data, research and legislation on these incidents.

One new piece of legislation is on its way to providing a solution for this problem: the Strengthening the Child Welfare Response to Human Trafficking Act of 2011, or H.R. 2730. Introduced to the House of representatives in 2011, this bill is sponsored by Representative Karen Bass of California, and has 21 co-sponsors.

Some of the goals that H.R. 2730 seeks to accomplish include:

• Guidelines for training child welfare and court employees in "identifying, educating, and counseling children at risk...or who are human trafficking victims who may be in the care of the child welfare system."
• Guidelines with recommendations on "how state child welfare agencies may prevent children from becoming victims of trafficking."
• Recommendations on "[updating] licensing requirements...so that...residential facilities or safe havens serving children who are trafficking victims can qualify as childcare institutions."
• Requiring state [Foster Care and Adoption Assistance] plans to make child welfare agencies classify children receiving assistance for trafficking, reasons for classification, information on each child, and immediate reporting to law enforcement the identity of missing or abducted children receiving assistance.

Non-profit organizations like Safe Horizon are doing what they can to increase the number of supporters. Safe Horizon, which provides support and services for victims of violence and abuse, is the largest victims' service agency in the U.S. Other supporters include Shared Hope International, ECPAT, the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST), and Courtney's House, a partner of the Bridge to Freedom Foundation (BTFF).

Where is the bill now? It has been referred to the Subcommitee on Human Resources. Afterward, it'll make its way to the Senate, then hopefully to the President where it will oficially become a bill!

What can you do? Find out who your representative is and call or write a letter to him or her encouraging them to support H.R. 2730. You can also sign the letter to support H.R. 2730 via Safe Horizon.

By Whitney Joseph

Modern Slavery News Round-Up

Canadians fight global sex trafficking on their soil
Human rights advocates are enraged after an announcement made by the Adult Entertainment Association of Canada (AEAC) declared they will be recruiting high school and college students to fill the demand for sex workers after the government banned visas allowing foreign workers to work in the industry.  The AEAC insists the industry is safe to work in, yet Joy Smith, a member of Parliament, argues "many Canadians do no realize that prostitution, strip clubs...are were the majority of victims of human trafficking are found." Canada is a gateway for many Asian and Eastern European victims.

Appeals court reinstates Vermont prison forced labor case
After an appeal made Friday, a three-judge panel decided that Finbar McGarry, a man who claims he was forced to do manual labor while pending trial, has the right to argue that he was under threat to work in a prison laundry.  He was waiting trial for domestic disturbance when he says he was forced to work up to 14 hours three days a week washing laundry for 25 cents/hour.  He will be arguing for $11 million in damages.

Torture and denial of rights for drug addicts locked in Asian camps
Hundreds of thousands of drug users in China and across Southeast Asia are held in camps where they are subject to physical and sexual violence in order to be "cured".  These centers have received financial support from donor countries and UN agencies yet they deny people their rights.  The lack of liberty can last up to 5 years and involve the homeless, mentally ill and street children.  Joe Amon, a director at Human Rights Watch, insists that "beatings, forced labor and humiliation" are not part of the prescribed therapy.

Tanzania: Dar es Salaam Leads in Human Trafficking

The Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) reported that Tanzania has a higher rate of internal trafficking than transnational trafficking. Internal trafficking often occurs among the family and friends of victims who, as with other forms of trafficking, are given empty promises of employment, education, and otherwise. Many victims are subjected to being domestic workers, barmaids or prostitutes. The case study was done on the city of Dar es Salaam; the top five cities where human trafficking is found are Iringa, Kilimanjaro, Morogoro, Singida, and Dodoma, respectively.

Food cart gives human-trafficking survivors a new life on the street

Non-profit organization doma is helping human trafficking victims in Franklin County Ohio by allowing women to run their food cart, Freedom a la Cart. Stationed Downtown, the women, who learn skills such as kitchen prep and business management, also provide catering services and every “meal served comes with a pamphlet on human trafficking. All proceeds go to helping victims.”

DOJ suspiciously dismissed human trafficking case, says watchdog group

Watchdog group Judicial Watch claimed that the Department of Justice suspiciously dismissed a case in which three defendants “who worked for the Los Angeles-based labor recruiting company in question -- Global Horizons Manpower, Inc. -- pled guilty to [human trafficking-related] charges…” Bruce Schwartz pled guilty to conspiring to commit forced labor, while Sam Wongsesanit and Shane Germann pled guilty to conspiring to commit document servitude. However, other watchdogs argue that the prosecutors were unable to prove the admitted guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Compiled By: Elyse Elder and Whitney Joseph 

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Do you know how many slaves are in the world?

According to a post by The CNN Freedom Project, there are an estimated 20 - 30 million slaves in the world. The number of people working in forced labor conditions seems to be increasing over the years, not

 decreasing.  A new study from the International Labor Organization has estimated about 21 million people are now in forced labor. These numbers by the ILO are a significant increase from the minimum estimation of 12.3 millions enslaved persons in 2005. It is important to note that it is not possible to get an exact number of people enslaved in the world asmany experts have different research methods to gather information. In a news release, ILO stated that of the "20.9 million globally in forced labor, 4.5 million were sexually exploited and 14.2 million were exploited in industries such as construction and agriculture."  The numbers presented by the ILO suggest that 11.7 million forced labors come from the Asia-Pacific region, making them the largest region of forced labor, and Africa the second highest at 3.7 million. In a statement by Beate Andrees, head of the ILO's Special Action Programme to Combat Forced Labour, she said  "We have come a long way over the last seven years since we first put an estimate on how many people were forced into labor or services across the world." She continued by saying "We have made good progress in ensuring most countries now have legislation in place which criminalizes forced labor, human trafficking and slavery-like practices."

- Written by Jasmine London