Forte For Freedom

Sign your name, stand for freedom.

2012-02-13T16:17:00.002-05:00

IJM asked 27,000 Americans to urge President Obama to help end slavery once and for all. They met that goal – but we can still keep signing the petition. Please sign your name, and add another voice to the call for abolition.

Sign the Petition.

David Batstone: The role of faith in fighting slavery

2012-02-06T13:07:00.002-05:00

Great post, very encouraged by Batstone's work in fighting slavery. I hope this encourages you as well!

Read David Batstone's book, Not for Sale

Check out the Not for Sale Campaign

By David Batstone, Special to CNN

On February 2, faith leaders gathered in the U.S. capital to pray. What difference will it make? What is the role of prayer, worship, and faith in ending social problems that I care about, like extreme poverty and modern-day slavery?

U.S. President Obama, in his speech to the gathered assembly at the National Prayer Breakfast, called on faith leaders to tackle tough issues like human trafficking. A high-profile panel of experts on modern slavery later addressed best strategies for faith communities to fight this blight as they meet it in their own backyards.

My own human rights agency, Not For Sale, is convinced as well that people of faith have a unique, vital role to play beyond the ending of forced labor. It’s not enough to extract an individual from bondage. Once people are set free from a rug loom, a rice mill, a brothel, then what? If we do not shift our cultural values and generate new economic and political options, modern-day slavery will continue to thrive. In other words, we have to move upstream to identify the root problems for slavery and create effective solutions.

The seminar to address these issues at the Prayer Breakfast covered historic and contemporary dimensions of slavery. Eric Metaxas, a Wilberforce scholar, shared how a political leader can shape policies and values in a country. Department of Justice Attorney John Richmond built on this historical foundation and described the case he prosecuted in Chicago in late January that set a precedent for convicting human traffickers. Bob Goff and Christine Dolan relayed their frontline experiences in the dynamic that links court systems, governments and religious communities in the work of freedom for the most vulnerable. Because Not For Sale is implementing new models of social enterprise in areas of high human exploitation, I shared the role that communities of faith can play in generating economic solutions to the complex human rights issues of our day.

People of faith have this pathway to freedom wired into their DNA. People from every branch of faith worship and pray, daily reframing their worldview around the principles and values of a transcendent dimension. Their prayers do not accept the world the way it is, but for what it could be. In our churches, synagogues and mosques we teach that every individual is created in the image of God. That belief yields special attention for the vulnerable, the powerless, and the exploited. As the prophet Isaiah wrote: "Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow."

Last month in the Atlanta Dome, more than 40,000 Christian college students gathered for a special kind of revival: To make the love and justice of Jesus known wherever injustice reigns. They raised well over three million dollars to fight slavery internationally. They represent a new generation of religious devotees who disdain lip service to the cause of justice, but act, give, and live in radical obedience to a better way.

This month, on Sunday, February 26th, thousands of churches all over the world will celebrate Freedom Sunday. They will fast, pray and commit themselves to practical actions that will "set the captives free." They do so because it is their heritage, their identity and their call.

One of the great Christian leaders of our time, John Stott, phrased it well: “It is exceedingly strange that any follower of Jesus Christ should ever have needed to ask whether social involvement was their concern. Spiritual disciplines, like prayer and worship, create space for God to come and create transformation. Once transformed, the follower of God works to transform the world.

Hershey pledges $10 million to improve cocoa farming

2012-02-02T11:31:00.001-05:00

From CNN Freedom Project:

The Hershey company, one of the United States' leading chocolate producers, says it's pledged $10 million over the next five years to educate West African cocoa farmers on improving their trade and combating child labor.

The region is home to about 70% percent of the world's cocoa but has also been the source of recent scrutiny over its alleged use of child labor. (More about the issue)

Hershey's announcement Monday heartened activists, who say the company is finally focusing efforts on improving the root cause of the issue.

"It's a start," said Judy Gearhart, executive director of the International Labor Rights Forum. "We see this as a welcome first step toward accountability."

South Sudan: "a cycle of violence"

2012-01-19T09:08:00.000-05:00

From the Invisible Children blog:

"Gunmen have killed at least 51 people – mostly women and children – in the latest clashes in South Sudan’s troubled Jonglei state, regional governor Kuol Manyang has said.

At least 22 others were injured after attackers raided and burned the village of Duk Padiet, he added.

The wounded have been evacuated to Juba, the capital, he said.

A series of retaliatory attacks between ethnic groups in the region has displaced tens of thousands of people.

“We are expecting more to be injured because they ran to the villages last night,” Mr Manyang said.

Officials told AFP news agency the killings were carried out by the Murle group on ethnic Dinkas, as revenge for a deadly raid last month on the town of Pibor.

It is understood that some Dinkas accompanied some 6,000 Lou Nuer warriors who attacked Pibor.

The cycle of violence has lasted months and killed hundreds of people. It began as cattle raids but has spiralled out of control.

BBC East Africa correspondent Will Ross says the attacks are getting increasingly violent and neither the government nor the United Nations peacekeepers seem capable of stopping them.

Officials point out that Jonglei is the size of Bangladesh and that it is impossible to protect every village.

Some of the reinforcements sent to the region have been deployed in Murle areas around Pibor but the revenge attacks are now happening in Dinka and Lou Nuer communities.

South Sudan, which gained independence last year, has declared Jonglei a national “disaster area”, while the UN has launched an emergency operation to help those affected by the fighting."

National Human Trafficking Awareness Day

2012-01-11T11:42:00.001-05:00

"There are more slaves in the world today than at any point in history.
Slavery is more affordable, more wide-spread, and more entrenched in 2011 than it was in ancient Rome or the antebellum South of America.
Modern-day slaves, also called human trafficking victims, can be male or female, from any country, or representing any ethnicity.
They can be enslaved in any industry, although common industries include domestic servitude, agriculture, the commercial sex industry, factories, and the service industry.
Human trafficking is truly a global crime."

- Change.org

Today is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. Please use this opportunity to help raise awareness and fight modern slavery!

"Learn to do good;

Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor;

Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow."

- Isaiah 1:17

The Justice Conference 2012

2012-01-06T13:31:00.004-05:00

February 24 + 25, 2012.
Portland, Oregon.

"Justice is a garment, a billion threads, interwoven, interlocked, knit together with strength and integrity. Pull one thread from the fabric and the garment begins to fray. Pull ten million threads and justice unravels into injustice.

The work of justice is to mend the holes injustice inflicts upon the garment. It is a brave, challenging, courageous work and it does not begin with expertise or duty. It begins with love… and love is a thread.

The Justice Conference 2012 is the second annual international gathering of advocates, activists, artists, professors, professionals, prophets, pastors, students and stay-at-home moms working to restore the fabric of justice. For some it means speaking. For others it means singing. For some it means going. For others it means giving. For all, it means living with mercy and love.

You are invited to come weave your voice and gifts into the conversation. Join us, and discover that in the garment of justice, your love is an irreplaceable thread."

Featuring -

Francis Chan.
Walter Brueggemann.
John M. Perkins.
Rachel Lloyd.
Miroslav Volf.
Lamont Heibert.

And many, many others.

Check out the Justice Conference Website HERE!

National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month

2011-12-31T11:39:00.002-05:00

President Obama has declared January to be "National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month":

Nearly a century and a half ago, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation -- a document that reaffirmed the noble goals of equality and freedom for all that lie at the heart of what it means to live in America. In the years since, we have tirelessly pursued the realization and protection of these essential principles. Yet, despite our successes, thousands of individuals living in the United States and still more abroad suffer in silence under the intolerable yoke of modern slavery. During National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, we stand with all those who are held in compelled service; we recognize the people, organizations, and government entities that are working to combat human trafficking; and we recommit to bringing an end to this inexcusable human rights abuse.

Human trafficking endangers the lives of millions of people around the world, and it is a crime that knows no borders. Trafficking networks operate both domestically and transnationally, and although abuses disproportionally affect women and girls, the victims of this ongoing global tragedy are men, women, and children of all ages. Around the world, we are monitoring the progress of governments in combating trafficking while supporting programs aimed at its eradication. From forced labor and debt bondage to forced commercial sexual exploitation and involuntary domestic servitude, human trafficking leaves no country untouched. With this knowledge, we rededicate ourselves to forging robust international partnerships that strengthen global anti-trafficking efforts, and to confronting traffickers here at home.

My Administration continues to implement our comprehensive strategy to combat human trafficking in America. By coordinating our response across Federal agencies, we are working to protect victims of human trafficking with effective services and support, prosecute traffickers through consistent enforcement, and prevent human rights abuses by furthering public awareness and addressing the root causes of modern slavery. The steadfast defense of human rights is an essential part of our national identity, and as long as individuals suffer the violence of slavery and human trafficking, we must continue the fight.

Another reason to love Google.

2011-12-14T17:46:00.000-05:00

From the CNN Freedom Project:

CNN - Google Inc. announced Wednesday that it's providing $11.5 million in grants to 10 organizations working to end modern-day slavery and human trafficking.

Gary Haugen, president and CEO of International Justice Mission, one of the grant recipients, called the move a "game-changing investment." IJM is a Washington-based human rights agency that works to rescue victims of slavery and sexual exploitation in about a dozen countries.

"This is the largest corporate step up to the challenge that is beginning to apply direct resources to the fight against slavery," Haugen said.

According to estimates by grant recipients, Google's support will free an estimated 12,000 people from slavery and prevent millions more from being victimized. Numbers vary widely, but policymakers, activists and scholars estimate the number of modern-day slaves at somewhere between 10 million and 30 million people worldwide.

Google's director of charitable giving, Jacquelline Fuller, said the company chose to spotlight the issue of slavery because the topic of freedom - "the most basic of human rights," as she puts it - resonated with company employees around the world.

"Many people are surprised to learn there are more people trapped in slavery today than any time in history," Fuller said. "The good news is that there are solutions. Google is supporting organizations that have a proven track record and a plan to make a difference at scale."

Google made the announcement through a link posted on its web page. The gift is part of a total of $40 million the Internet giant is giving in charitable donations during the holiday season.

The Return of the Blood Diamond

2011-12-06T08:46:00.001-05:00

Storyfrom TIME Magazine:

Theysay a diamond is forever. From today, and for now, that also includes blooddiamonds. On Monday the respected rights and commerce watchdog GlobalWitness announced it was quitting the international certification scheme set upin 2003 to outlaw blood diamonds due its "refusal to evolve and addressthe clear links between diamonds, [and] violence andtyranny." Charmian Gooch, a Founding Director of GlobalWitness, said:"Nearly nine years after the Kimberley Process was launched, the sad truthis that most consumers still cannot be sure where their diamonds come from, norwhether they are financing armed violence or abusive regimes."

Thescheme failed all three big tests it had been set, said Gooch. It did nottackle an alleged trade in conflict diamonds from Côte d'Ivoire. It failed totake serious action in the face of "blatant breaches of the rules" byVenezuela, which has allegedly become a smugglers' through route for illegaland uncertified stones originating elsewhere. And it was unwilling tostop the sale of gems from Zimbabwe, whosediamonds fields Robert Mugabe's regime violently appropriated in 2008,reportedly killing 200 people, and whose proceeds now finance the operation ofthe isolated authoritarian regime. Gooch added the Kimberley Process,rather than separating out conflict stones from those mined and processedaccording to best practice and the law, had instead become "an accompliceto diamond laundering – whereby dirty diamonds are mixed in with cleangems."  ...

Thatdoes not go for every diamond producer. De Beers, which coined the slogan"a diamond is forever" almost a century ago, has transformed itselfin the last decade from a buyer of any and all diamonds, whatever theirprovenance, to a "sealed pipeline" producer, only selling stones ithas mined itself. That decision, De Beers said,was made out of the realization that a diamond is valued almost entirely on theback of its emotional associations - love, marriage - something a blooddiamond, with its associations of war and suffering, could shatter. It was adecision that cost the company dearly - De Beers' global market share wentfrom 70% to 40% - but one it argued was vital for the future of the diamondbusiness.

Sadly,despite its standing in the industry, De Beers was unable to impose its newthinking on its competitors, many of whom saw De Beers' conversion to moreethical standards as a commercial opportunity. Never was that more apparentthan at the auctions of stones that have taken place in the last few years atHarare airport, where diamond dealers from around the world fly in on privatejets and bid for stones of whose appalling provenance they are only too aware.(Zimbabwean stones are, after all, sold at a substantial discount for preciselythat reason).

In economics, this phenomenon of how good behavior is, on astrictly commercial basis, irrational, as it ends up penalizing you, is knownas the Prisoner's Dilemma. For the thousands of opposition activists who havebeen jailed in Zimbabwe, many of whom remain behind bars, that seems grimlyappropriate.

  Readmore: http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/2011/12/05/the-return-of-the-blood-diamond-and-we-dont-mean-the-movie/#ixzz1flJhdyK6

Differing laws on trafficking impede US crackdown

2011-12-02T10:02:00.001-05:00

From the Wall Street Journal:

A new report says 41 states have failed to adopt strong penalties against human trafficking, and advocates say a patchwork of differing state laws makes it difficult for authorities to target the crime.

In Connecticut, for instance, the strict penalties for sex traffickers are among the toughest in the nation. Neighboring Massachusetts, meanwhile, had no statute specifically targeting sex trafficking until one was signed into law days ago.

The report released Thursday by the advocacy group Shared Hope International said more than a dozen states have passed new crackdowns, but four states — Maine, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming — have yet to impose any specific restrictions on the crime.

"Each state's laws show omissions in protective provisions for child victims and (they) lack strong laws to prosecute the men who rent the bodies of other men's children," said Linda Smith, the group's founder and president.

As many as 15,000 victims of human trafficking are brought into the U.S. each year, according to advocacy groups. They say there could be more than 100,000 victims in the country now.

Victims are sometimes smuggled in from outside the U.S., but many started out as young runaways or simply needed money. Human traffickers target men, women and children for forced labor or services, while sex traffickers make their victims work in the sex trade. The crimes range from smuggling immigrants into the U.S. to work in restaurants or homes to forcing young women to work as prostitutes.

Holly Austin Smith said a man at a mall promised her a job after she ran away from home at age 14. She said she was swiftly brought to a motel in New Jersey where two adults gave her a dress, put makeup on her face and dyed her hair.

"Within hours I was on the streets of Atlantic City having men forced on me," said Smith, now 33 and an advocate of stricter sex trafficking laws.

Federal authorities can prosecute traffickers under the Trafficking Victims Protections Act, enacted in 2000, which carries stiff penalties. The law also created a new visa allowing victims of the crime to become temporary U.S. residents. But prosecutors have limited resources and often have to rely on the states to crack down on the crime.

Some states have taken aggressive steps to strengthen their laws, the report said. Fifteen states now allow victims to seek civil damages from their traffickers in court. Four states — Illinois, Maryland, Nevada and New York — have laws that vacate convictions for sex trafficking victims.

Other states were criticized in the report for failing to pass strict laws. The report also found that 10 states have yet to adopt sex trafficking laws and that 19 don't make it a crime to buy sex acts with a minor. It also found that Iowa, Massachusetts, South Carolina and Wyoming have no laws making it a crime to use the Internet to purchase or sell sex acts with a minor.

Washington Attorney General Robert McKenna, president of the National Association of Attorneys General, said policymakers have to play catch-up to establish consistent policies to rein in the crime.

"Having a strong, fairly uniform set of laws across the country is very important, because traffickers are mobile, their victims are mobile and we don't want traffickers to be moving their victims even more trying to evade stronger state laws, by moving to states with weaker laws," he said.

The state definitions of illegal trafficking that vary from federal standards can also make it more difficult to get additional protections and services from the U.S. government, said Kirsten Widner of the Barton Child Law and Policy Center at Emory University's School of Law.

"And if they have no definition at all, that could be a real problem," said Widner.

One high-profile battleground was Massachusetts, which for years faced pressure from advocates to enact anti-trafficking laws. In November, Gov. Deval Patrick signed a bill that would impose a life sentence on anyone found guilty of trafficking children for sex or forced labor. It also allows prosecutors to look at first-time offenders under 18 as victims rather than criminals.

"We have focused on the very people who have been victimized the most," said Attorney General Martha Coakley, who pushed for the bill. "What the bill does is change the lens around on that. That's why implementing this is going to be difficult. I think we can do it. It's a real change in the way we've approached it."

Some advocates, though, say more aggressive enforcement of the laws, instead of strict new ones, may help crack down on the crime. State authorities need to implement the laws on the books, better coordinate with federal prosecutors and spend more resources trying to identify victims, said Mary Ellison, a director of policy for the Polaris Project, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit group.

"Traffickers make their money on the backs of the most vulnerable and there's not as much of a risk because laws aren't implemented as strongly as they want," she said. "Until they see these laws implemented, they're not going to be deterred because they're making tons and tons of money exploiting and enslaving people."

The Advent Conspiracy

2011-12-02T10:00:00.001-05:00

"Christians around the world are choosing to restore the meaning of Christmas by joining the Advent Conspiracy. Five years ago, five pastors decided to revolutionize Christmas and challenge their communities to Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More and Love All. The response was overwhelming, and Advent Conspiracy was born.

We’re honored to announce that our friends at Advent Conspiracy have selected IJM as a partner this year. Start a conspiracy in your church to worship fully and spend less, so you can give more and love all. Ask your church to consider joining forces so you can give rescue to victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent oppression around the world. If it were used to give rescue, just 1% of the annual Christmas spending in the US could mean 1 million rescue operations – with the potential to free millions and put slave owners out of business for good.

For 14 years, IJM lawyers, social workers and investigators have been working in their own communities in response to the call of Isaiah 1:17 – to seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow. Will you join IJM and Advent Conspiracy this Christmas? Together we can make rescue, help and hope possible for victims of slavery, sexual violence and other forms of violence."

View more at www.IJM.org

Unearthed Pictures: The Roots of Trafficking

2011-11-16T14:55:00.001-05:00

What is the root of sex trafficking?

Watch Unearthed's video HERE, and please feel free to share your thoughts.

Nicholas Kristof: Fighting Back, One Brothel Raid at a Time

2011-11-14T15:05:00.001-05:00

From the New York Times:

AGAINST my better judgment, I found myself the other day charging into a well-armed brothel in a police raid. But I was comforted to be with one of my heroes, Somaly Mam.

Somaly dedicates her life to battling forced prostitution, for she herself was sold as a child to a Cambodian brothel. After enduring torture and rapes, Somaly escaped and reinvented herself as an anti-trafficking activist.

It’s partly because of grass-roots activists like Somaly, both in the United States and abroad, that human trafficking is increasingly recognized as a central human rights challenge. A U.N. agency estimates that more than 12 million people are engaged in forced labor, including sexual servitude. Another U.N. report has estimated that in Asia alone, “one million children are involved in the sex trade under conditions that are indistinguishable from slavery.”

In the abstract, the 21st-century abolitionist movement sounds uplifting and even glamorous. But riding beside Somaly in her car toward a brothel bristling with AK-47 assault rifles, it was scary.

Read full story HERE.

How many slaves are working for you?

2011-11-03T12:08:00.004-04:00

"You have23 slaves working for you."

They're shocking words-- wordsthat I never thought I would hear.

But when I thoughtlessly pick upproducts from shelves, I facilitate slavery.

T-shirts, smart phones, computers, coffee--

Many of these products are at least partially created by slave labor.

It's not that the brands themselves are using slave labor: but they may not know where their materials come from.

Where did the cotton in that t-shirt come from?

What about the tantalum in the smart phone?

The coffee beans in your coffee?

Did you know that:

- "Every day tens ofthousands of American women buy makeup. Every day tens of thousands of Indianchildren mine mica, which is the little sparklies in the makeup."

- "Rubies are believed to beBurma's second largest export after teak wood, and are commonly mined usingforced labor. Mines are controlled by either the government or the army, whooversee workers in terrible conditions for little or no pay."

- "Coltan is an effectivesuperconductor found in electronics. A U.S. State Department official wasinterviewed about Coltan mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Hepointed to the reporter's smartphone and said, 'The likelihood that one ofthese was not touched by a slave is pretty low.'"

These are just a few of thestatistics compiled by Slavery Footprint, a new survey that helps createbuying-conscious abolitionists. By tracking what groceries, electronics,clothes, etc. that you buy on a regular basis, the survey tells youapproximately how many slaves are working for you.

It's eye-opening, and it's scary.

Take the survey HERE.

Then TAKE ACTION:

Write a letter to leading companies, demanding free-trade products, through Chain Store Reaction

Buy fair trade products for Christmas Presents!

(I have links to some amazing jewelry, clothing, chocolate, and purse companies listed under "Abolitionist

Organizations" on the right)

Buy fair trade chocolate and coffee (Hint: look for the "Fair Trade Certified" sticker)

Spread the word!

The girl on the sign.

2011-10-25T10:51:00.000-04:00

From WORLD Virginia:

Fighting slavery has become a popular cause in the United States. People of all ages, political parties, and religions came to the third annual Stop Modern Slavery Walk in Washington, D.C. on Saturday. The 5K walk started at the Constitution Gardens, and threaded past the Lincoln Monument and new Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial.

Jostling through the crowd of walkers, I saw signs with statistics on human trafficking, others plastered with pictures of child slaves. Their faces were somber, pained, and silent. "Twenty-seven million people are slaves!" some marchers shouted to passing cars. I passed a young man in a Lincoln costume carrying a sign that said, "Real men don't buy sex."

The face of the young sex slave appeals to our emotional sympathies. As Meagan Clark, one of the walk's organizers, told me, "This is a cause we can personally connect with."

But to what extent can wealthy, comfortable Americans "personally connect with" the pain and suffering of a sex slave or exploited worker? To us, "27 million" is just a number. Those haunting faces are just pictures on a piece of poster board. We do not know that slave girl's name, or her favorite color. Most of us have yet to tangibly love these abused and broken individuals.

A few have, however. Cheryl and her husband Robert were among those strolling quietly along Independence Avenue, among walkers wearing red "Join the Movement" shirts.

They had just returned from Kuwait, they told me, where Robert was stationed at the Philippine embassy. Some years ago she had read of human trafficking and the enslavement of innocent women, and her heart burned with a desire to help. But without necessary qualifications, anti-slavery nonprofits rejected her help. Carrying the weight of her unfulfilled dream, she prayed, "Why God, when none want what I have to offer, would you plant this desire inside my breast?"

Then in Kuwait, Cheryl discovered the embassy's shelter for women. It was filled with victims of domestic trafficking, who were scarred by physical and sexual abuse. She wondered if this was the opportunity she had been praying for.

"I believe I have found my place here; I felt so drawn to these beautiful girls and ladies who have suffered so much pain and injustice," she wrote on her blog in 2009.

Over the next two years, Cheryl built a program called "Trash to Treasures," helping the women make rugs out of discarded fabric scraps. The shelter was overcrowded and dirty, but with effort and time, it became a clean and orderly space.

There was light in her eyes, joy in her voice as she described the shelter. Now back in the United States, she has not forgotten them. Her fight against injustice does not begin, or end, with a 5K walk.

"My spirit is boiling, heat rising, a crescendo of anger at the injustice I see," Cheryl wrote in March about the abuse of local housemaids. "The fury spills down my cheeks unchecked. Perhaps these tears belong to God himself."

In America, it is easy for us to walk 3.1 miles for freedom. Injustice and slavery are "issues" we want to fix, numbers we want to change. But the face of each slave is an individual life-with scars and joys, fears and failures. It represents a sinful, stained, but beautiful person: a person indelibly stamped with the image of God.

For Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr., injustice was not something to be fought on a clear Saturday morning in October. It was not a cause that could be plastered on a sign, a statistic that could be shouted at passing cars, a temporary break from the normal schedule of life. King once said, "Justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love."

Twelve years from now, I hope the 15th annual Stop Modern Slavery Walk will fill the streets of Washington, D.C. I hope thousands will call for freedom and justice. But after meeting Cheryl, I would be ashamed to simply walk. I want to serve and love in a tangible way-to meet the girl on the sign.

The Importance of Justice

2011-10-21T21:30:00.000-04:00

From International Justice Mission:

"Gertrude knows how it feels to be completely powerless. After her husband died, his brother set his sights on Gertrude's small home. When intimidation alone was not enough to throw the 56-year-old widow from her little plot of land, he turned to violence. On a morning Gertrude will never forget, her tormentor showed up at her door, dragged her from her home in front of her daughters and granddaughter, and began to beat her. She cried and cried for help as he hit and slapped her. A police official heard the commotion and witnessed the man pounding the woman with his fists. He did not come to help Gertrude. After all, the officer later would explain, it was 'only a family matter.'

This is what life is like when the violent have all the power - when the laws designed to protect the weak and vulnerable are not enforced. It's a pain known by the young girl trapped in a brothel, the father held as a slave, the child abused in her own home.

When violent people have no fear of the law, there is no restraint. This is impunity."

Read full article HERE.

"Not My Life."

2011-10-20T19:38:00.001-04:00

“Not My Life” will air in two parts on CNN International October 22 and 23 at 7p.m. HK, 2100 CET and 2100 ET.

Atlanta, (CNN) - Across the world, man's inhumanity is secretly on show wherever human traffickers prey on those who are vulnerable. But there is also hope and inspiration in the stories of survivors, and the dedicated, but under-resourced, anti-traffickers.
For four years, Robert Bilheimer documented their stories in Europe, North and South America, Asia, and Africa for the documentary "Not My Life" which airs on CNN International this weekend.
CNN sat down with the Oscar-nominated director to talk about the horrors of human trafficking and the uplifting tales of the survivors he met while filming.

Read interview on the Freedom Project Blog HERE.

Michael Gerson: Worthy Mission to Get Joseph Kony

2011-10-18T11:23:00.001-04:00

Article by Michael Gerson of the NY Times:

"Worthy Mission to Get Joseph Kony"

When President Obama announced last week the deployment of 100 U.S. military advisersto aid in the pursuit of Joseph Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), reaction was swift. Michele Bachmann criticized “unnecessary foreign entanglements,” while admitting, “I do not know enough about it to comment on it.” Rush Limbaugh called the LRA “Christians” and accused Obama of sending American troops “to wipe out Christians in Sudan, Uganda,” before promising to do some “research on it.”

In both cases, it is remarkable that public figures feel no hesitancy — no internal check of propriety or shame — about offering opinions while admitting ignorance. A few minutes on the Internet would have sufficed. The LRA is a brutal rebel group headed by a messianic madman. Its victims — captured boys turned into soldiers, captured girls forced into sexual slavery, villagers put to the machete — have been the focus of activism by Christian organizations and human rights groups for decades.

These advocates suffer a disadvantage. Kony currently operates in the ungoverned vastness of the border region between the Central African Republic, South Sudan and Congo. Reports of atrocities generally come out in rumors and human rights reports, not in images that create political urgency.

But Kony’s crimes are vivid at close hand. When I was there in 2006, I talked to a boy forced by LRA rebels to execute his neighbors in order to break his ties with the past and to deaden his sympathy. I met another who was forced to bow in Kony’s presence — the rebel leader claims divinity — but who dared to look up in curiosity. The LRA soldiers took out one of the boy’s eyes in punishment.

A similar approach was tried during the last weeks of George W. Bush’s administration. An American military intelligence unit headquartered in Uganda provided support to Operation Lightning Thunder — an attempt by Ugandan, Congolese and South Sudanese forces to corner Kony in a remote part of eastern Congo. The United States provided fuel, night-vision goggles, intelligence and operational planning. But the effort failed. Kony seemed to be tipped off. Cloud cover prevented the Ugandans from using their MiG aircraft. The movement of troops was disorganized. The LRA dispersed, then regrouped to attack more villages and abduct more children.

Obama is not sending in troops to hunt Kony as we did Osama bin Laden — though it must have been tempting. He is sending in 100 mostly special-operations forces to help coordinate the efforts of regional governments in protecting civilians and “removing from the battlefield Joseph Kony.” Unlike Bosnia or Libya, this is not an American humanitarian intervention. It is American aid for an African humanitarian intervention. The goal, one senior administration official told me, is “to support regional forces, to help make them more effective.”

The Obama administration intends this time to be different. “What distinguishes this from past efforts,” an official says, “is that [American forces] will be forward-deployed,” allowing them to play a more direct coordinating role. Instead of remaining in Uganda, they will be embedded with the regional forces going after the LRA in Central African Republic, Congo and South Sudan (with permission from those governments).

The LRA is durable — sustained by captured child soldiers and living off the land without external supply lines. But it is also vulnerable — as any group defined by a single, all-powerful leader is vulnerable. If Kony were captured or killed, the LRA as we know it would most likely collapse.

The deployment of U.S. special operations forces will help fill gaps in intelligence and coordination evident during Operation Lightning Thunder. But other problems were revealed in that failure, particularly in the inability to get troops and supplies quickly to remote locations. As a new military strategy against the LRA takes shape, other nations will need to help with this aspect of the operation.

Obama’s deployment doesn’t address every problem in the pursuit of Kony, but it is needed. If a humanitarian military operation is ever justified, it is justified in this case. The risk to American troops is small, the goal is realistic and the moral stakes are high.

Some critics insist that military force should be used only to secure the narrowest definition of national interests. But it is the president, not his critics, who must live with the ethical consequences of inaction. And most presidents conclude, as Obama has done, that a broader national interest is advanced when America aids its friends and shows its decency.

VIEW VIDEO "WHO IS THE LRA?" HERE.

A simple day in the life.

2011-10-16T15:57:00.002-04:00

These pictures.

(From The Big Picture)

Beauty, joy, pain, suffering.
So much goes on the world around outside us.

Armed U.S. Advisers to Help Fight LRA

2011-10-16T15:42:00.005-04:00

From the NY Times:

Joseph Kony

President Obama said Friday that he had ordered the deployment of 100 armed military advisers to central Africa to help regional forces combat the Lord’s Resistance Army, a notorious renegade group that has terrorized villagers in at least four countries with marauding bands that kill, rape, maim and kidnap with impunity.
The deployment represents a muscular escalation of American military efforts to help fight the Lord’s Resistance Army, which originated as a Ugandan rebel force in the 1980s and morphed into a fearsome cultlike group of fighters. It is led by Joseph Kony, a self-proclaimed prophet known for ordering village massacres, recruiting prepubescent soldiers, keeping harems of child brides and mutilating opponents.

“For more than two decades, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has murdered, raped and kidnapped tens of thousands of men, women and children in central Africa,” Mr. Obama wrote in a letter to Congress announcing the military deployment. “The LRA continues to commit atrocities across the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan that have a disproportionate impact on regional security.”

The decision by Mr. Obama to deploy armed military advisers into the region was welcomed by human rights advocates who have chronicled the atrocities committed by Mr. Kony and his subordinates. But it also raises the risk of putting American military personnel in harm’s way in another region while the United States is winding down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mr. Obama wrote that he had decided to act because it was “in the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States.” He also wrote that the deployment was justified by a law passed by Congress in May 2010, the Lord’s Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act, which favored “increased, comprehensive U.S. efforts to help mitigate and eliminate the threat posed by the LRA to civilians and regional stability.”

Read the full story HERE.

Thoughts?

LRA Crisis Tracker

2011-10-05T09:54:00.000-04:00

From Fast Company:

"For the past 20 years, one of the world's strangest and longest-lasting conflicts has been unfolding in Uganda. An ambitious new crisis-mapping project, the LRA Crisis Tracker, is working with African radio stations and non-governmental organizations to shed light on a bloody war that very few Americans know about.

The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), an ultra-violent radical Christian sect, has been engaged in armed warfare against the Ugandan government. However, it isn't your typical insurgency: The Lord's Resistance Army is known for mass kidnappings of children who are then press-ganged into military service.

Civilian women captured by the LRA are forced either into sexual enslavement or domestic slavery for army troops; resisters are frequently mutilated in bizarre fashion. Armed warfare between the LRA and the Ugandan government has been occurring, with frequent ceasefires, since 1987. Violence frequently spills over into neighboring countries. But it's violence that's often occurring without any reporting.

The LRA conflict has been massively underreported by Western news sources. Over 30,000 children have been press-ganged into military service since 1987; the organization's demands remain nebulous, however. Barring a brief flirtation with Islam when the Lord's Resistance Army entered into an alliance with the Sudan, the organization is believed to seek a theocratic state based on the 10 Commandments.

Now, users of the LRA Crisis Tracker can see those stats in real time. They have access to a regularly updated map and event database that lets them know of recent village attacks, kidnappings, killings, injuries, lootings, returns to sacked villages, and visits by foreign media throughout the warzone. The Crisis Tracker is a joint product created by two NGOs working in the region: Invisible Children, an anti-child soldier charity and Resolve, which were founded with the explicit aim of ending the LRA conflict."

Check out Invisible Children HERE.

Kapoor: we can beat sex trade tradition

2011-09-25T13:18:00.001-04:00

By Anil Kapoor, Special for CNN Freedom Project

Bharatpur District, India - Leaving home at 5 a.m. for a shoot is nothing unusual for me but this trip was definitely very different - a road trip from Delhi to a village close to Bharatpur in Rajasthan to talk with working and former prostitutes.

As a Plan India Patron and Goodwill Ambassador I visited this village two years ago. I was looking forward to this trip because I am an optimist and was keen to see the change that has taken place here.

India has traditionally been a patriarchal society and unfortunately the rate of female infanticides is quiet high. In this village, families rejoice on the birth of a girl child - but for the wrong reasons.

The reason behind celebrating a girl's birth in this area is a dark one. Some members of this community practice a caste-based sex trade - and have done so for generations.

The men knowingly send their own daughters and sisters into the sex trade.

I was anxious to see what milestones we had reached in trying to stop this tradition - this time visiting with CNN International's Freedom Project initiative to fight modern day slavery.

We received a warm, ceremonial welcome at the village and were greeted by a group of young girls singing. I was struck by the words as they sang: "Give our daughters respect too."

Being a father of two daughters, it got me thinking, if we don't empower our women, how would our families progress?

I had the opportunity to share my thoughts with the women of the community. I sat down with some who had been forced into the sex trade by their families. Some of them were rehabilitated with help from Plan India and Gram Niyojan Kendra, a partner charity working in the same field, while some were still working.

Their stories gradually came out. They told me of their misery, the horrid tales of being sold in their teenage years, of becoming bread winners for their families.

I must confess; the few hours spent with these women were really difficult. At times, I wouldn’t know how to react - console them, cry or get angry with a system as inhumane as this.

Read the rest of the story HERE.

The 10 Campaign

2011-09-22T08:51:00.002-04:00

From Stop the Traffik:

70% of the world's cocoa is produced in West Africa, where many farms employ children that are trafficked and forced to work in conditions akin to slavery.

THE PROBLEM

10 YEARS ago the biggest chocolate companies promised to get rid of child trafficking in the cocoa industry in West Africa.

10 YEARS on, despite their promises, we only have a tiny amount of Traffik Free chocolate.

10 YEARS have earned the cocoa industry £600 billion. Only 0.0075% of this has been invested into improving working conditions in West Africa.

Promises can be broken - we need laws that must be kept - let's get governments around the world to pass laws that bring an end to the trafficking of children in the chocolate industry.

Sign Stop the Traffik's petition HERE.

The human cost of chocolate

2011-09-19T17:53:00.001-04:00

From the CNN Freedom Project:

It may be unthinkable that the chocolate we enjoy could come from the hands of children working as slaves. In Ivory Coast and other cocoa-producing countries, there are an estimated 100,000 children working the fields, many against their will, to create the chocolate delicacies enjoyed by Western countries.

Ten years ago, two U.S. lawmakers took action to put a stop to child labor in the cocoa industry. Despite pushback from the industry, the Harkin-Engel Protocol, also known as the Cocoa Protocol, was signed into law on September 19, 2001.

On the 10th anniversary of the legislation, CNN takes a look at what effect this protocol has had on the cocoa industry. Here's a primer on some of the major issues surrounding the issue of slave labor in the cocoa industry:

Where does cocoa come from?

Some 70 to 75 percent of the world's cocoa beans are grown on small farms in West Africa, including the Ivory Coast, according to the World Cocoa Foundationand the International Cocoa Initiative.

Does Ivory Coast allow children to work on these farms?

No, child labor is illegal and since the implementation of the Cocoa Protocol in 2001, the chocolate industry along with governments and human rights groups have worked to end the practice. Yet, the U.S. State Department estimates more than 100,000 children are involved in the worst forms of child labor on cocoa farms throughout Ivory Coast. Some are the children of cocoa farmers but many other youths are smuggled into Ivory Coast from Mali and Burkina Faso to work on cocoa plantations, according to the International Labor Rights Forum.

What exactly is the "Cocoa Protocol"?

Ten years ago, U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel, D-New York, and Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, introduced legislation mandating a labeling system for chocolate. After the industry raised concerns, a compromise was reached that required chocolate companies to voluntarily certify they had stopped the practice of child labor. The certification process would not involve labeling products "child-labor-free," as initially proposed.

Instead, it calls for public reporting by African governments, establishment of an audit system and poverty remediation by 2005. The deadline had to be extended to 2008 (read Fortune Magazine's report on the state of the protocol in 2008) and again to 2010. Today, many aid groups say some of the provisions have still not been met.

So has the Cocoa Protocol had any success in ending child labor in the cocoa industry in the past 10 years?

It's hard to say. Ivory Coast has had further economic problems following its civil war from 2002 to 2004. Chocolate exporters and manufacturers say the war and its aftermath have hampered their efforts to eradicate child labor.

"Honestly, it's hard to see anybody saying that this protocol has attained the goals that were set out in it," said Judy Gearhart, executive director of the International Labor rights forum

Chris Bayer, a Tulane University researcher, spent five years in the Ivory Coast and Ghana monitoring the protocol's plan and studying the scope of the problem.

"Unfortunately, over the last 10 years we have seen very little implementation of the actual commitments," he said. "Industry did not live up to the Harkin-Engel protocol. The issues are systemic. Children are still working."

The International Cocoa Initiative was set up by the protocol to bring all parties together to address the worst forms of child labor in the supply chain. The ICI board has representatives from the major cocoa processors and chocolate manufacturers. It says progress is being made.

"Five of the six commitments made in the protocol have been completed," the group said in an e-mail statement. "And governments of cocoa producing countries, ILO, the OECD, independent foundations, members of the cocoa supply chain and ICI itself are ACTIVELY working on the sixth commitment - to improve the livelihoods of cocoa growers the infrastructure in cocoa communities farmers organizations, educational facilities etc. Substantial funds are being expended on these activities."

Isaiah 58

2011-09-17T13:42:00.001-04:00

I just got International Justice Mission's weekly prayer requests in my inbox.

As I read down the list of requests, my heart ached with sadness and joy, pain and praise. This organization does so much for the lost, but their work is so hard. In our happy sheltered lives, how can we truly understand the daily struggles and heartaches of these people?

- Please pray for an IJM client who gave birth to a child as a result of sexual abuse. The case is particularly challenging, as the client is mentally handicapped and has trouble articulating the abuse. Please ask God to grant the IJM social workers and lawyers wisdom and discernment, so they are able to secure justice on her behalf.

- In Zambia, perpetrators of property-grabbing crimes often use threats of witchcraft to intimidate and force individuals from land that is rightfully theirs. Praise God that several clients who had expressed fear of witchcraft have completed counseling, and ask God to continue giving these individuals courage.

- Please continue to pray for the family of a driver for ASJ, IJM's Casework Alliance partner in Honduras; tragically, this driver was murdered on the way to his home. Please pray that the investigations phase of the case would conclude and that the perpetrators of this crime would be charged and brought to justice.

These are just a few of the prayer requests. I would encourage you to join IJM's prayer team, so that you can receive weekly e-mail updates.

We serve a God of love, justice, and mercy, in a world that is filled with hate, injustice, and cruelty. He asks us to be His hands and feet-- are we stepping out in faith? Are we praying for those on the front lines?

I have not. Not as I should, and never enough.

“Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from your own flesh?
Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;
You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’"

-Isaiah 58:6-9

DC Stop Modern Slavery Walk 2011

2011-09-13T09:10:00.004-04:00

October 22.

Constitutional Gardens on the National Mall.

Join us for the Stop Modern Slavery Walk!

(Sign up HERE)

Mission Abolition

2011-09-08T21:00:00.002-04:00

In the last stages of planning... only three(ish) weeks away!
I greatly appreciate your prayers.

Bringing a better life

2011-09-08T09:13:00.002-04:00

Despite death threats, activists continue mission to bring kids better life

From CNN Freedom Project

"Emmanuel Otoo is a man with a simple message: Poverty is not a reason to sell children into slavery.

For many people, that's a pretty obvious sentiment. But if you come from Otoo's background, it's easy to see why he would say that. He's the Ghana Director for the non-profit group Free the Slaves, and it's his mission to make parents understand that selling their children isn't going to bring anyone a better life.

"We observe a lot of situations currently where out of poverty, out of need, out of desire to give their children the basic necessities, parents tend to traffic their children - give them out or sell them out," he told CNN. "So I compare this to our relationship with our mother that in spite of the difficult times, in spite of the lack, the need, and the want, she did not give us out. She could've done that, but she did not."

Otoo's mother kept the family together, and he went on to college, majoring in sociology and earning a master's degree in business administration. But instead of taking his education and moving away, Otoo stayed where he felt he was needed most - in the heart of some of the worst areas for trafficking in his country. One of the sites is Lake Volta, where he documents child slavery in the fishing industry.

"Children are put on canoes, they work long hours. And to help you understand long hours - long hours is over 12 hours. Some work 16 hours," he said. "And they perform various forms of activities, from casting nets to dragging nets, emptying water in the boat, and diving deep into the water to disentangle nets. Children dive into the water and some of them do not return again. That is the last time some of them are seen."

Read full story at the CNN Freedom Project.

Is your state fighting slavery?

2011-08-25T09:36:00.005-04:00

Polaris Project's policy team evaluated state laws based on the absence or presence of 10 crucial provisions. They then ranked the states, as a motivation to legislators and policy advocates.

It's a great resource, both easy to understand and carefully assembled.

Check it out on Polaris Project's website HERE.

Here we go again...

2011-08-20T16:42:00.000-04:00

Hey y'all!

I just wanted to let you know that, unfortunately, my blogging may decrease somewhat over the next few months.

I want to apologize in advance, and let you know that I will try my utmost to keep writing and posting! However, with the school year starting Monday, there will be less time for writing and researching non-school-related projects.

In addition, I am helping some friends with a benefit concert that should take place this fall. If you're in the Virginia area, you should come out for the concert!

Check out our website HERE.

Please be praying for us as we prepare for the concert-- that God would be glorified, hearts would be touched, and IJM's ministry would be strengthened.

God bless!

Sevenly: support Love 146

2011-08-10T13:05:00.001-04:00

Check out the t-shirts Sevenly has designed for this week!

These shirts are designed to support Love 146, one of my favorite organizations. Your purchase will help provide aftercare for a girl rescued from the slave trade.

Benjamin Skinner on the world of modern slavery

2011-08-08T08:56:00.000-04:00

From PBS:

In June, the State Department released its 11th annual “Trafficking in Persons Report,” which ranks more than 180 countries on their efforts to prevent forced labor, sexual exploitation and modern-day slavery. The report is an attempt to apply diplomatic pressure to countries with lower ranks. For example, Papua New Guinea is in the lowest tier for, among other things, being a place where “tribal leaders trade the exploitative labor and service of girls and women for guns and political advantage.”

Nations with the worst records may seem to be a world away, but according to Benjamin Skinner, author of “A Crime So Monstrous,” their human rights violations may be linked to our lives here.

View video interview with Benjamin Skinner HERE.

3 strawberry farms in Washington fined for child labor

2011-08-08T08:52:00.004-04:00

From The Washington Post:
By the Associated Press

Three strawberry farms were fined a total of $73,000 for employing children as young as 6 as pickers, the U.S. Labor Department said Friday.

A child-labor investigation in June discovered nine underage workers at farms in the Washington towns of Woodland and Ridgefield. Investigators found several violations of labor law, including failing to maintain proof-of-age records and pay minimum wage among others.

The farmers were Marty Peterson from Columbia Fruit in Woodland; George Hoffman of George Hoffman Farms and Lee Nguyen of Berry Good Farms of Ridgefield. A call to Columbia Fruit was not immediately returned; phone numbers for the two others were not available.

No defense lawyers were listed in the court documents.

A farmworker advocate said child labor is a recurring problem in farms in southwest Washington. Many underpay their workers, leading families to bring their children to help harvest.

“We pay attention to kids and talk to them,” said Andrea Schmitt, an attorney for Columbia Legal Services who makes frequent trips to farms to inform workers of minimum wage law during harvest season. “We very often know a child has been working when that child’s hands are stained with berry juice.”

Washington farmers pay by the pound for harvested products, as well as the state’s minimum wage of $8.67 an hour.

Jeffrey Genkos, director of the labor department’s Wage and Hour Division in Portland, Ore., said investigators interviewed and photographed the child workers at the farms. The department then turned to the courts to halt the farms from shipping any of their products, which led to concessions from the farmers.

All three farms removed the underage workers, the department said.

“Agricultural employers must understand that the Labor Department will vigorously enforce federal labor laws, especially when it comes to protecting vulnerable workers such as children,” Genkos said in a statement. “Agricultural employment is particularly dangerous for children, and the rules for their employment must be followed.”

A vast majority of farmworkers in southwest Washington are Latino, or indigenous peoples from Mexico and Central America. Many are suspected of working in the country illegally.

Chinese officials seized & sold babies, parents say

2011-08-05T16:12:00.004-04:00

From the New York Times
By Sharon LaFraniere

Many parents and grandparents in this mountainous region of terraced rice and sweet potato fields have long known to grab their babies and find the nearest hiding place whenever family planning officials show up. Too many infants, they say, have been snatched by officials, never to be seen again.

But Yuan Xinquan was caught by surprise one December morning in 2005. Then a new father at the age of 19, Mr. Yuan was holding his 52-day-old daughter at a bus stop when a half-dozen men sprang from a white government van and demanded his marriage certificate.

He did not have one. Both he and his daughter’s mother were below the legal age for marriage.

Nor did he have 6,000 renminbi, then about $745, to pay the fine he said they demanded if he wanted to keep his child. He was left with a plastic bag holding her baby clothes and some powdered formula.

“They are pirates,” he said last month in an interview at his home, a half-hour trek up a narrow mountain path between terraced rice paddies.

Nearly six years later, he said, he still hopes to relay a message to his daughter: “Please come home as soon as possible.”

Mr. Yuan’s daughter was among at least 16 children who were seized by family planning officials between 1999 and late 2006 in Longhui County, an impoverished rural area in Hunan, a southern Chinese province, parents, grandparents and other residents said in interviews last month.

The abduction of children is a continuing problem in China, where a lingering preference for boys coupled with strict controls on the number of births have helped create a lucrative black market in children. Just last week, the police announced that they had rescued 89 babies from child traffickers, and the deputy director of the Public Security Ministry assailed what he called the practice of “buying and selling children in this country.”

But parents in Longhui say that in their case, it was local government officials who treated babies as a source of revenue, routinely imposing fines of $1,000 or more — five times as much as an average local family’s yearly income. If parents could not pay the fines, the babies were illegally taken from their families and often put up for adoption by foreigners, another big source of revenue.

The practice in Longhui came to an end in 2006, parents said, only after an 8-month-old boy fell from the second-floor balcony of a local family planning office as officials tried to pluck him from his mother’s arms.

Despite a few news reports outside the Chinese mainland about government-sanctioned kidnappings in Longhui and other regions, China’s state-controlled media ignored or suppressed the news until this May, when Caixin, an intrepid Chinese magazine well known for unusually bold investigations, reported the abductions and prompted an official inquiry.

Zeng Dingbao, who leads the Inspection Bureau in Shaoyang, the city that administers Longhui County, has promised a diligent investigation. But signs point to a whitewash. In June, he told People’s Daily Online, the Web version of the Communist Party’s official newspaper, that the situation “really isn’t the way the media reported it to be, with infants being bought and sold.”

Rather than helping trace and recover seized children, parents say, the authorities are punishing those who speak out. Two of the most vocal fathers were detained for 15 days in Shaoyang on charges of soliciting prostitutes at a brothel. Released last month, the two men, Yang Libing, 47, and Zhou Yinghe, 34, said they had been entrapped.

Mr. Yang said he was constantly followed by government minders. Mr. Zhou said the village party secretary had warned him to stop talking to reporters about the abduction of his 3-month-old daughter in March 2003 or face more punishment. “They are like organized criminals,” Mr. Zhou said.

China’s family planning policies, while among the strictest in the world, ban the confiscation of children from parents who exceed birth quotas, and abuses on the scale of those in Shaoyang are far less common today than they once were. Even so, critics say the powers handed to local officials under national family planning regulations remain excessive and ripe for exploitation.

Read full story HERE.

CNN: On patrol with top cop in New Delhi's red light district

2011-08-04T11:23:00.000-04:00

From The CNN Freedom Project Blog:
By Sumnima Udas

Police officer Surender Kaur is on a mission.

“I want no minor girls working here, no one should be forcibly working here … I want to shut down this [red light district]” Kaur says.

As the Station House Officer of an area that includes New Delhi’s largest red light district — G.B. Road – Kaur knows it won’t be an easy job.

Since she became the officer in charge of G.B. Road two years ago, Kaur has rescued 89 minor girls. Prior to her posting, Kaur says only four or five girls had been rescued.

A desk full of awards and “thank you” messages stands testimony to her achievements.

“Previously, everyone thought the police is involved with the brothel owners … so nobody passed any information to the police. But when I took over, I took it as a challenge. I decided I will definitely do something different and I developed faith in the public for me and my police force,” Kaur says.

A rescue of 9 girls
More than 2,000 prostitutes are estimated to live and work in New Delhi’s G.B. Road.

It’s not illegal for women 18 and older to work as prostitutes here, but many are underage and most are illegally trafficked from all parts of India and neighboring Bangladesh and Nepal.

“We concentrate on minor girls because the trafficking issue is about minor girls only. They are being brought from Nepal, they are being brought from other parts of India in the name of giving them jobs, but they are illegally brought here,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Aslam Khan says.

Just a few weeks ago, Kaur and her team raided a brothel on G.B. Road after they were tipped off by an anti-trafficking group that minors were working there.

She rescued 9 girls, all of whom she says looked under the age of 18. Six of them were from Nepal.

The girls were sent to Nirmal Chayaa, a government shelter where medical tests are conducted on suspected minors to determine their age. Test results for 5 of the 9 girls have been released so far confirming they are minors.

One victim is as young as 10 years old, according the Mumbai-based anti-trafficking group Rescue Foundation.

“I have already registered a case and we have arrested the brothel manager,” Kaur says. “We are now looking for the brothel owner.” (Read more about the arrest and rescues)

The brothel manager Kaur arrested is a 38-year-old Indian woman whose identity she could not reveal for legal reasons.

A surprise visit to a brothel
The police have arrested 27 brothel owners in this area in the past 2 years. Khan, the police deputy commissioner, says they conduct an average of one raid a month.

One recent night, CNN followed Kaur on one of her evening patrols.

Each night around 11 p.m., Kaur and her team drive around the red light district to make sure police officers are manning the gates and sometimes they make a surprise visit to the brothels.

The area is normally inaccessible to outsiders. Even non-governmental organizations have hesitated to take the media there, and brothel owners have attacked cameras in the past.

But this time, CNN was with a police woman who is very much in charge of the area.

Kaur took us up some dark and dingy stairs. The remains of chewed betel nut laced the walls, rats scurried around and men who were inside the brothel ran out and hid as soon as they saw the group.

Kaur knocked on the door several times, and five minutes later, the women inside greeted Kaur warmly but covered their faces as soon as they saw us.

She asked them if anyone wanted to come away with her. They all said “no.”

None of the prostitutes we met were minors. They said they wanted to be there.

“Please don’t give this place a bad name, to us it’s a temple, its what feeds our families,” said one of the prostitutes. “We have no choice. You won’t understand.”

Why not just shut down the place?

“I can’t force women to leave if they want to be there,” Kaur says. “Then where will they go? I can’t send them to the streets.”

After many years in the business, this had become their way of life.

However, if there’s proof a minor girl is being forced to prostitute herself, the police will act immediately.

Anti-trafficking groups say rescue efforts are becoming more common in India as police make them a priority.

President of the Rescue Foundation Triveni Acharya - who has been working in this field for the past 18 years - says she’s seen a “historical change” in the way authorities are handling trafficking cases.

“Previously, when we call police they say no, we have no staff,” she explains. “But now, if we call with a tip off they say no problem, please come.”

The police have also become more sensitized toward the prostitutes.

“Earlier they’d talk to the girls rudely, use foul language, now when they rescue the girls they talk to them with respect. They say come on child, dress properly, and come with us.”

Acharya says the police officers are now seeing the girls as victims instead of criminals, and that’s the biggest change.

“Rescuing minor girls and minor children has become our top priority,” Kaur says. “It’s the demand of the 21st century we have to change.”

90 per cent of people in LRA areas of Congo still live in fear

2011-08-04T11:18:00.002-04:00

From Newswire.com:

In a new protection survey undertaken by Oxfam in areas affected by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the majority of people said they feel less safe in 2011 than they did last year.

This is Oxfam's fifth such annual protection assessment in eastern Congo since 2007, but the first time that such a comprehensive survey has been conducted in the areas affected by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).

In the region of Haut-Uélé in Province Orientale near the border with South Sudan, 62 per cent feel less secure, 28 per cent feel security threats remain the same, and only 10 per cent feel that their security has improved.

The communities surveyed painted a grim picture of a continuing cycle of poverty and violence. People said that they feel completely abandoned and believe that neither their government nor UN peacekeepers care about their security. In seven out of nine communities surveyed in LRA areas, UN peacekeepers were said to be not patrolling enough in the most important places, such as in fields and roads to markets.

A person interviewed in Haut-Uélé said: "Our future is dark. We are scared all the time. The LRA continue to kill us and burn our houses down. We have a family that has been staying with us for a week, after they fled Doruma, where the LRA have been abducting day and night. We are not safe here."

Read full story HERE.

B.C. government slashes office that fights human trafficking

2011-08-04T11:16:00.006-04:00

From The Times Colonist:
By Katie Derosa

The B.C. government has quietly slashed the office that deals with human trafficking, eliminating the executive director position and keeping just two full-time staff members to serve victims throughout the entire province.
Robin Pike, executive director for the Office to Combat Trafficking in Persons, had her position terminated effective Friday.
The office is also not hiring people to replace staff on maternity leave, effectively shuttering the Victoria office, according to Benjamin Perrin, professor of law at University of British Columbia and an expert on human trafficking, who was informed of the changes by Pike in an email.
He said the two Vancouver-based employees will work with an annual budget of $300,000, down from $500,000.
"This has really gutted this office," said Perrin, who has worked with the office since it was formed in 2007, helping to educate police and immigrant service agencies about the resources for trafficking victims. "This is really an underfunded office to begin with and I can't see how it will have the impact it needs to have."
Perrin said the department's "meagre" annual budget is about the same a sex trafficker earns by selling one victim.
Conservative MP Joy Smith, whose private member's bill amended the Criminal Code to prosecute child traffickers, said in a statement: "Gutting the B.C. Office to Combat Trafficking in Persons without any consultation is not only irresponsible, it's reckless. Victims of this heinous crime will suffer because of this short-sighted decision, while traffickers will benefit."
In a statement, Solicitor General Shirley Bond maintained the budget has not been cut. She said the office has joined the community safety and crime prevention branch, which has 100 staff members who are responsible for services to victims of crime, violence against women programs and crime prevention initiatives. She said the move will allow access to more resources and expertise.
"However, it remains a distinct entity with a clear focus and mandate," Bond said.
While B.C. was once recognized as a leader in Canada by setting up the office in July 2007, Perrin fears it will now become a "laggard" compared with provinces such as Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario.
In February this year, Ontario announced $2 million in funding over three years for enforcement and education around human trafficking.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has also promised a $20-million National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking by 2012.
Vancouver has been identified as a "port of significant concern as both a destination and transit point" for sex trafficking and forced labour trafficking, according to a three-year status report on the office released last year.
There have been several high-profile cases of trafficking in B.C.
In 1999, four dilapidated boats from China arrived on B.C.'s coast with 599 Chinese migrant aboard, including 134 unaccompanied children believed to be victims of human trafficking.
Police recently announced charges against a Vancouver couple who allegedly brought a woman from Hong Kong into Canada, forcing her into domestic servitude.
The office, managed jointly by the Ministry of Public Safety and the Ministry of Children and Family Development, has a mandate to co-ordinate services for trafficking victims and provide a 24-hour victim help line.
The overarching goal was to better serve the victims of human trafficking, often women or girls living in poverty in foreign countries who are smuggled into Canada to work in the sex trade, as well as vulnerable First Nations women forced into prostitution.
Since 2007, the office helped 100 victims to find the services they need, Perrin said.
"You cannot prevent human trafficking in a province as large and diverse as British Columbia and co-ordinate services for victims of human trafficking with two people in Vancouver," Perrin said. "It's an impossible task and to say that you're doing that without the resources is worse than not doing it at all."

International online child porn ring busted

2011-08-03T14:51:00.004-04:00

From CNN Justice:

Attorney General Eric Holder

By Jim Barnett

Seventy-two people have been charged in an online global child pornography ring that originated in Louisiana, in what is described as the largest prosecution of its kind, Attorney General Eric Holder announced Wednesday.
Dubbed Operation Delego, the federal law enforcement action began in December 2009, targeting more than 500 people around the world allegedly participating in Dreamboard, a members-only online bulletin board that officials say was created and operated to promote pedophilia and encourage the sexual abuse of very young children.

"Utilizing sophisticated techniques in an attempt to avoid law enforcement detection, Dreamboards' members allegedly traded graphic images and videos of adults molesting young children, often violently, and created a massive private library of images of child sexual abuse," Holder said at a Justice Department news conference also attended by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton and other officials.

"The rules of Dreamboard were clear: They encouraged and incentivized the creation of child pornography," Holder said.

Members of the Dreamboard organization were spread across five continents and 13 countries, officials said.

"In order to become part of the Dreamboard community, prospective members were required to upload pornography portraying children under 12 years of age or younger," Holder said. "Once given access, the participants had to continually upload images of child sexual abuse in order to maintain membership.

"The more content they provided, the more content they were allowed to access. Members who created and shared images and videos of themselves molesting children received elevated status and greater access."
Some of the children featured in the images and videos were infants, officials said.

"In many cases, the children being victimized were in obvious and intentional pain, even in distress and crying, just as the rules for one area of the bulletin board mandated," Holder added.

He said Dreamboard members were united in the belief that sexually abusing chilldren should not be criminalized, and some referred to their actions as a "hobby."
A total of 52 people have been arrested so far, and of those, 13 have pleaded guilty, with four individuals having already received sentences of 20 to 30 years in prison, officials said.

ICE Director Morton said those involved used technological techniques such as proxy servers and encryption to conceal their activities.
"No matter how saavy online predators think they are, we will find them, dismantle their networks and bring them to justice," Morton said.

The disgusting, loathsome nature of this crime makes me sick. And angry. To describe such horrific acts as a "hobby"? It's unfathomable.
Please pray that justice would continue to prevail-- that the innocent and voiceless would be defended, and that the shameless oppressor would be punished.

The link between immigration & human trafficking

2011-08-03T10:20:00.004-04:00

Amazing article by a dear friend of mine:

"Marika was a very pretty girl. She was the typical sort of girl who would work a few jobs for the sake of her family. But in the blink of an eye, she was no longer that same typical girl. Marika was invited to take a trip to Tel Aviv, where she was promised a waitressing job that would provide a stable income. While at first Marika was uncomfortable with the idea of uprooting herself from her home, she eventually accepted the job offer.

Little did she know she was now a victim of human trafficking.

Marika was forced to have sex with customers day in and day out, wearing nothing but skimpy lingerie and threatened daily with beatings if she did not produce sufficient income. She was indebted to her trafficker because he paid her way to travel to Tel Aviv. Since she could only keep a minuscule part of the money she made, she knew that she would be a captive of her trafficker for a very long time. With no clear way out, Marika was left fearing that the rest of her life would be spent in eternal enslavement.

But Marika is not the only one.

Twenty-seven million. That is the number of people human trafficked each year. In fact there are many “Marikas” who are forced into sex slavery, slave labor, or are kidnapped and forced to join cartels, gangs or other criminal organizations. In more recent years, key organizations such as International Justice Mission (IJM) and the Polaris Project have brought about greater awareness on the issue, but there is much work to be done..."

Read the whole article on Olivia's blog, Forgive Me if I'm Young.

I love her note at the beginning of the article:

"Since we are the next generation that will deal with the problems of the future, the time for awareness is now. The thing is, human trafficking is inextricably linked to our broken immigration system. But broken systems don't just demand the attention of policymakers or people in Washington, instead, they require that there be greater awareness amongst the American people. The promises of the American government and the American dream require an active and well-informed citizenry."

Singapore task force responds to TIP report

2011-08-02T15:08:00.005-04:00

From The Straits Times:

AFTER poring over a recent United States report on human trafficking, the Singapore Inter-agency Taskforce on trafficking in persons released a detailed response to it yesterday (Aug 1).

The five-page response - which reiterates and points out new 'inaccuracies and misrepresentations' in the annual US State Department report on human trafficking - was sent to the US yesterday (Aug 1).

The taskforce, which includes representatives from the Singapore Police Force and the Immigrations & Checkpoints Authority - is co-chaired by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Manpower.

In its reponse, a ministry spokesman cited as untrue the report's claim that the Government did not make proactive efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts here.

Pointing out that Singapore has criminalised various commercial sex activities, it said that the taskforce conducted 3,608 anti-commercial sex operations in 2010 that led to the arrest of 94 commercial sex agents or 'pimps'.

Also inaccurate were claims that there were 'no criminal prosecutions or convictions of employers or employment agencies who withheld passports of foreign workers' in 2010.

Singapore was listed as a Tier 2 country in the 2011 TIP report. Tier 2 is listed as "Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the TVPA’s minimum standards, but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards."

Father forced daughter into prostitution.

2011-08-02T15:05:00.005-04:00

From Vancouverite:

A 49-yearold Penticton man has been detained on charges of earning a living from histeenaged daughter’s forced prostitution.

Investigations of thesuspected child abuse began in May and the man was arrestedon July 22.

ThePenticton Court has placed a ban on the release of further information likely to reveal the girl’s identity.

The accusedfather remains in police custody and will appear for a second court hearing onAugust 10th.

“Our investigation into this sickening case is far fromover, as we now turn our sights on the evidence and information identifying a number of men who paid for and engagedin sexual activities with the girl,” said RCMP Cpl Dan Moskalukwith the aim of pressing charges against them.

Socialworkers from the Penticton RCMP Victim Services and Ministry of Children andFamily Development who are counseling the girl have said they are touched byher “resilience and strength in dealing with the matter to date.”

I hate thatthis happens-- I can't believe that any person would treat their child likethis. But it's true. Around the world, parents sell or force their childreninto slavery. I cannot tell you why. But these children desperately need anadvocate.

Please prayfor this girl-- for her healing, both physical and emotional. I cannot imaginewhat scars this experience would give her.

9 girls rescued from India's red light district

2011-08-02T14:59:00.001-04:00

From the CNN Freedom Project Blog:

An estimated 2,000 prostitutes live and work on New Delhi's GB Road, the city's largest red light district. Many, especially minors, are sold into the sex trade by human traffickers.

But in the latest move to combat the problem in India, police recently raided a brothel after a charity group tipped them off that minor girls were there. There they found nine underage girls, 6 from Nepal.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Aslam Khan spearheaded the raid that rescued the girls, part of her effort at helping combat forced prostitution and trafficking in her jurisdiction.

Put in charge of the area three months ago, she is already making a difference, according to anti-trafficking organizations.

"We concentrate on minor girls because the trafficking issue is about minor girls only. They are being brought from Nepal, they are being brought from other parts of India, in the name of giving them jobs, but they are illegally trafficked here," she says.

Nirmal Chaya is a government shelter where suspected victims are taken for medical tests to determine their age. Police say that once they confirm a girl is underage, they file charges against the brothel owner and the trafficker.

Tracking them down is tricky, but the police say they are encouraged by recent successes: 26 brothel owners in the area have been arrested in the last two years.

"The police is becoming more and more proactive," Khan says. "That is the main reason behind this. And we cannot deny the fact that being more lady officers, yes, they also bring about a change."

Triveni Acharya has been working with the police for 18 years and runs a charity called "Rescue Foundation" that regularly tips off police and goes on raids with them. She says she's seen a big change in the police's responsiveness to the problem.

It's a change that extends to the police's attitude toward the girls, too.

"Earlier, they'd talk to the girls rudely, use foul language," Acharya says. "Now when they rescue the girls, they talk to them with respect."

A change that the women in charge, the women working on the ground and perhaps some of the victims hope will last.

Hotel staff training to fight child prostitution

2011-08-01T14:15:00.003-04:00

From the CNN Freedom Project Blog:

Hotel operator Wyndham Worldwide will improve its staff training and procedures after authorities cracked down on gang-led child prostitution rings in California hotels, a probe that drew media and activist attention to the chain, a hotel spokesman said Friday.

Wyndham is expanding its years-long efforts to fight child sex trafficking by reviewing its operating practices in partnership with the nonprofit ECPAT-USA (Ending Child Prostitution and Trafficking), said Michael Valentino, director of communications for Wyndham Worldwide.

Southern California authorities recently completed an 18-month investigation into allegations that three rival Crips gangs collaborated to prostitute girls and women out of California hotels through Internet-arranged meetings.

The investigation resulted in an April federal indictment of 38 people, including suspected gang members and the owners of a Wyndham-franchised Travelodge in Oceanside, authorities said. A CNN story in June prompted one activist to lead a 14,000-signature online petition drive on Change.org, an activist platform, demanding that Wyndham reform its business policies.

"As long as human trafficking and exploitation continue to be supported by those profiting from this tragic practice, we believe no member of the travel and tourism industry can ever guarantee these events will not occur in the future," Valentino told CNN in an e-mail Friday.

"However, our shared commitment and partnership with organizations like the Polaris Project and ECPAT help play a critical role in increasing awareness and prevention," he said.

The Polaris Project is a non-profit, non-governmental group combating human trafficking, and Wyndham has given hotel accommodations through the group to victims of human trafficking, Valentino said.

One of the world's largest hospitality firms, with 7,380 franchised hotels and vacation ownership resorts, Parsippany, New Jersey-based Wyndham has also become a member of the Code for the Protection of Children in Travel and Tourism, an industry initiative combating child sex abuse that's funded by UNICEF, Valentino said.

"We have also had human rights policies and training at our company for several years, and have been actively collaborating with ECPAT in reviewing and enhancing our training, policies, and procedures to best adhere to the intention and spirit of the code," Valentino said.

On Thursday, Change.org posted on its website the headline "Victory! Wyndham Signs Code of Conduct to Prevent Child Sex Trafficking" and recounted the online petition drive San Diego native Tim Rosner launched after reading the CNN article, which dealt with a child sex trafficking ring at a Wyndham property in his hometown.

"I'm thrilled to see Wyndham take this proactive step to fight child sex trafficking," Rosner told Change.org.

The petition asked Wyndham to join the child-protection code initiative and to commit to its six criteria for preventing child sex trafficking and child sex tourism at their hotels.

Valentino added that "it's important to note that in recent years, Wyndham Worldwide has worked with ECPAT, Polaris Project, and other organizations in our shared commitment to the safety of all children."

On the brink of crisis.

2011-07-29T17:31:00.002-04:00

Moving, tragic pictures from The Big Picture, one of my favorite blogs.
Please, please pray for these people.

With a population of 370,000, Dadaab is the world's largest refugee camp. With drought conditions in the Horn of Africa combined with poor food distribution. The Kenyan camp is expected to house 450,000 refugees by the end of the year, according to Doctors Without Borders. The camp was built to accommodate 90,000. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images)

Two-year-old Aden Salaad peers at his mother as she bathes him in a tub at a Doctors Without Borders clinic, where Aden is receiving treatment for malnutrition, in Dagahaley Camp, outside Dadaab, Kenya, on July 11. (Rebecca Blackwell/Associated Press) #

Government soldiers gather in the border town of Dobley, Somalia, on July 13. In addition to the unrelenting drought, Somali society has been paralyzed by a sporadic civil war. (Rebecca Blackwell/Associated Press) #

Children walk along a street in Dadaab refugee camp on July 4. Some refugees say they no longer venture outside the camp to look for firewood because it is too dangerous. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images) #

Newly-arrived Somali refugees wait in line to receive initial food aid after registering as refugees at a reception center in Dagahaley Camp, outside Dadaab, on July 12. UN refugee chief Antonio Guterres said that drought-ridden Somalia is the "worst humanitarian disaster" in the world, after meeting with refugees who endured unspeakable hardship to reach the world's largest refugee camp in Dadaab. (Rebecca Blackwell/Associated Press) #

Osman Ali Aliyow Mursal digs among recent graves a burial plot for his 4-year-old son, Aden Ibrahim, as men prepare to pray over the boy's body, which is wrapped in a plastic mat. (Rebecca Blackwell/Associated Press) #

View all pictures HERE.

Charlotte, NC: human trafficking on the rise

2011-07-29T12:06:00.001-04:00

From FOX Charlotte:
By Israel Balderas

As Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police investigate and track the sale of black tar heroin by the Mexican drug cartel, human trafficking becomes a concern.

"There's an overlap between drug trafficking and human trafficking, there's rarely just one thing involved," said victim specialists Elyse Hamilton with United Family Services of Charlotte.

Hamilton says human trafficking cases in Charlotte and North Carolina are on the rise. "People are identifying them more, because investigators know what to look for, service providers know what to look for."

Human trafficking victims in the area are being identified and linked to the Mexican drug cartel. It's easier and more lucrative for the criminal organization to traffic people than drugs. And they're using Charlotte to further their criminal organization.

"The diversity and the ability to exploit people who are vulnerable anyway because of the economy definitely contributes to the rise," said Hamilton

The human trafficking victim doesn't fit a certain profile. Law enforcement officials and victim specialist have seen children as young as 12-year-old forced into sex and labor trafficking. And it's not just women but men as well, who are forced to work by the cartel when their families are threatened.

"These are vastly unreported victims," said Eddie Agrait, Resident Agent in Charge in the Charlotte area for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations.

"Victims live in fear," said Agrait. "Victims have been trained by these organizations not to disclose who they are, do not give too many details or background about where they came from."

The Department of Justice estimates that between 14,000 - 17,000 human trafficking victims each year are forced to come to the U.S., mostly from Latin and Asian countries. Advocates say lately they've seen more cases involving sexual exploitation.

"It does raise tremendous alarms to us," said Agrait, "but what I definitely can say is, it also has really prioritized our investigations in human trafficking."

And it's also forcing law enforcement agencies to change how they investigate cartel activity, because it's not just products they are trafficking but people. "We distinguish the difference between us targeting a trafficking organizations and us assisting the victims," said Agrait.

Human trafficking occurs in places you may not expect. To recognize the signs or for help, thePolaris Project is a national human trafficking resource. For more information on helping victims or getting help, call 1-888-3737-888.

Does modern slavery start at home?

2011-07-29T12:03:00.002-04:00

From Reject Apathy:
By Benjamin Nolot

While filming Nefarious: Merchant of Souls—a documentary on the global sex trade—I traveled to a small village on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I had heard that the village was a hotspot for child sex tourism, but I wasn’t sure what to expect when I arrived.

When the dust around my vehicle settled after the long trip down the bumpy dirt road, I saw a white Western man standing in front of a dilapidated shack. The man, probably in his late 40s, was bartering for sex with a child outside of a shanty brothel.

My film crew and I quickly exited our vehicle and approached the man. When he saw us, and noticed the equipment we had in tow, he sprinted toward the main highway. We gave chase, catching up to him just as he saddled the back of a moped taxi. Adrenaline pumping, emotions swirling, I grabbed him by his shirt and stared straight into his eyes. The look on his face was one of sheer cowardice and it seemed there was a film of perversion glossed over his eyes. After I raised my voice, demanding he never return to the village again, I let him go.

As we walked back to our vehicle, I pondered what I had just faced. Who was this man? What was his story? How did he end up in this village, on the other side of the world, paying for sex with a child?

Then it occurred to me—this man didn’t wake up the day before and decide to fly to the other side of the world for a lustful, perverse transaction.

. . .

When we first started filming Nefarious in 2008, we did a series of random street interviews, asking people if they knew what human trafficking was and if they could explain it to us. Most were clueless—unable to tell us anything about the issue.

However, over the past couple of years, there has been an explosion of awareness concerning the issue. Almost everywhere I turn I am hearing something about it. But what is striking to me is that modern trafficking has been a significant problem for the better part of the past 30 years, yet it is only gaining widespread awareness now. I don’t think there is any explanation for this other than that God is simply highlighting this injustice in a pronounced way.

I really believe God is orchestrating a global awareness movement to draw people’s attention to this issue. And one of the main reasons is so that we begin to ask, “Why is this happening?”

Read full story at Reject Apathy HERE.

IJM: How do you help a child heal?

2011-07-29T10:03:00.001-04:00

From International Justice Mission
By Kathy Stout LaBauve, IJM Vice President of Aftercare

"It’s often said that time heals all wounds. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if this were true?

Unfortunately, what we know about the healing process tells us differently. Some cuts are too deep to rely on time alone to heal: They first require cleaning. Disinfectant stings, and cleaning a wound is painful—but we push through the hurt because it’s only after we’ve done this difficult work that time can begin to heal the wound.

My IJM colleagues around the world daily encounter children living with deep emotional wounds. These girls and boys, often the victims of rape and exploitation at the hands of trusted adults, are left to make sense of a world that no longer feels safe. Child sexual abuse often results in a variety of traumatic stress symptoms: anxiety, depression, withdrawal, stomachaches, nightmares and flashbacks. It’s not surprising that many children simply “shut down,” becoming numb so they no longer feel pain.

Relief is possible, but it often requires more than just the passage of time to restore a child’s hope and fullness of life. This is why the work of IJM’s aftercare teams is so critical.

Since 2009, IJM aftercare staff around the world have implemented an adapted model of a specific counseling method called Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT). This proven model helps children victimized by sexual assault process their experience and reactions while building coping skills to reduce the symptoms of traumatic stress.

Children have a tendency to blame themselves for abuse. But when they share about their experiences, their counselors can help gently confront these lies, so that the child is free to consider an alternate theory: The abuser who committed this evil is to blame. Self-worth and hope are restored little by little as the child takes hold of this reality. The trauma no longer defines her: Slowly it becomes understood as a small part of the story, not the whole story.

I’m happy to report that this isn’t just a theory; we’re seeing real results in the lives of our clients. Last year, my colleagues in Nairobi, Kenya held a party to celebrate several young survivors of sexual abuse who completed the ten steps of the trauma therapy program. Our staff witnessed significant decreases in trauma symptoms in each child, and for one little girl the results were particularly dramatic. Unable to eat or talk to anyone about what happened after being raped by a neighbor, 8-year-old Mae’s* trauma was so severe, she had been hospitalized. But with the support of her loving family and after months of this therapy, Mae was able to courageously testify in court about the abuse that had once immobilized her. She is returning to the happy, giddy girl she was before the assault.

Certainly time has an essential role to play in the healing process, but I’m so thankful that we don’t have to rely solely on it to heal trauma that is hidden in a child’s heart. And I’m so grateful for your partnership in making trauma-focused counseling and true recovery a possibility for these strong, brave children."

Please continue to pray for IJM and support their incredible ministry.

Michigan man charged with sex-trafficking of minors

2011-07-28T14:49:00.006-04:00

From the Chicago Tribune:

A Michigan man was caught in a federal sting operation outside a Tinley Park hotel last week and charged with sex-trafficking of a minor, officials said today.

Fabrieal Delaney, 25, of Kalamazoon, was arrested by FBI agents on Friday after he allegedly brought three females, two of whom were under 18, to engage in prostitution, they said. The charges allege that he believed he was transporting the three to engage in commercial sex acts at a purported bachelor party at the hotel, which actually was a sting operation designed to arrest him after a long-term investigation.

He faces a bond hearing in federal court today.

According to the complaint affidavit, Delaney drove the three females from Kalamazoo to Tinley Park, expecting to take them to the bachelor party where they would charge 10 to 12 men between $150 and $300 each for various sex acts.

China Human Trafficking Ring Crackdown Saves 89 Infants

2011-07-28T14:48:00.004-04:00

From the Huffington Post:

Chinese police rescued 89 infants kidnapped for sale and arrested 369 people they said were linked to two human trafficking rings this month, state media reported Wednesday.

In the first case, the traffickers, who were mostly Vietnamese residents, abducted children from Vietnam and sold them in China's southern regions of Guangdong and Guangxi, the China Daily newspaper said, citing an unnamed officer from Guangdong's provincial department of public security.

In mid-July, police detained 39 suspects in connection with trafficking and rescued eight infants, aged 10 days to seven months, who had been drugged with sleeping pills, the newspaper said.

In another crackdown this month, police arrested 330 people suspected of involvement in the trafficking of baby girls, the newspaper said. The police operation took place across 14 provinces.

The 81 infants rescued were aged 10 days to four months and are now in the care of institutions, the report said.

Efforts by China, the world's most populous nation, to contain population growth through a strict "one child" policy, coupled with the country's long tradition of favoring boys, have contributed to the rise in cases of trafficking in children and women.

Mexican cartels move into human trafficking

2011-07-27T10:48:00.006-04:00

From The Washington Post:

Mexican congresswoman Rosi Orozco with girls rescued from sex trafficking

By Anne-Marie O'Connor

The Salvadoran single mother was hoping to support her children in the United States. Instead, gunmen from the Zeta drug cartel kidnapped her in Mexico and forced her to cook, clean and endure the rapes of multiple men.

Now the survivor of this terrifying three-month ordeal is a witness for a growing group of legislators, political leaders and advocates who are calling for action against the trafficking of women for sexual exploitation in Mexico.

As organized crime and globalization have increased, Mexico has become a major destination for sex traffic, as well as a transit point and supplier of victims to the United States. Drug cartels are moving into the trade, preying on immigrant women, sometimes with the complicity of corrupt regional officials, according to diplomats and activists.

“If narcotics traffickers are caught they go to high-security prisons, but with the trafficking of women, they have found absolute impunity,” said Rosi Orozco, a congresswoman in Mexico and sponsor of a proposed new law against human trafficking.

In Mexico, thousands of women and children are forced into sex traffic every year, Orozco said, most of it involving lucrative prostitution rings.

“It is growing because of poverty, because the cartels have gotten involved, and because no one tells them ‘no,’” said Teresa Ulloa, the regional director of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women and Girls in Latin America and the Caribbean. “We are fighting so that their lives and their bodies are not merchandise.”

“This is an inferno of sexual exploitation for thousands and thousands of women,”President Felipe Calderon told officials in mid-July, after they heard the testimony of a young survivor. “With this new law we will all be obliged to act, and no authority can say it’s not my responsibility or turn a blind eye to the terrible crime of human trafficking.”

Read full story HERE.

Indonesia: petition urges govt to tackle human trafficking

2011-07-27T10:45:00.004-04:00

From Jakarta Globe:
By Nurfika Osman

More than 200,000 signatures have been gathered on a petition urging the government to tackle human trafficking, in light of Indonesia’s key role as a source, transit and destination country for the crime.

Irwanto, chairman of the National Coalition for the Elimination of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (ECPAT), said the current methods of handling child and teenage trafficking for sexual purposes should be overhauled.

ECPAT and The Body Shop Indonesia presented the petition with 210,176 signatures to Linda Gumelar, the minister for child protection and women’s empowerment, on Tuesday.

Irwanto said the idea for the petition stemmed from the concerns around Indonesia’s continued problems with human trafficking — the third-largest crime in the world.

“Indonesia is not just primarily a source of trafficking victims,but also a transit and destination country for the crime,” he said. “We are therefore committed to strengthening national measures in an attempt to prevent and eradicate the trafficking of children and young people in Indonesia by collaborating with local community organizations, academics, the government, private sectors,and international institutions.”

Unicef estimates that 100,000 women and children are trafficked annually for commercial sexual exploitation within the country and abroad.

It also estimates that 30 percent of female sex workers in the country are minors, while 40,000 to 70,000 Indonesian children are victims of sexual exploitation.

Unicef data shows that Indonesian women and children are mostly trafficked for sexual and labor exploitation in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong and the Middle East, while a significant number of women who migrate voluntarily to work as domestic workers there are later coerced into abusive conditions.

Irwanto said Unicef data also indicates some Indonesian women are recruited by false promises of overseas employment and later forced into prostitution or forced labor.

“Ethnic Chinese women and teenage girls in West Kalimantan are recruited as mail-order brides for men in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore,” he said, adding that women in the Riau Islands, Bali and Lombok were often forced into the sex tourist trade for men from Malaysia and Singapore.

Linda also pointed out that Indonesia has a significant amount of internal human trafficking, with victims taken from rural to urban areas for prostitution and forced labor.

“Poverty, unemployment, lack of education and economic disparities between different regions has put Indonesians, especially children and young girls, at risk of being trafficked,” she said.“The number of trafficking cases continues to increase even though we still don’t have exact figures.”

Unicef also blames a lack of birth registrations nationwide for increasing women’s vulnerability to trafficking. About 60 percent of children under the age of 5 do not have a birth certificate.

Linda acknowledged the current anti-trafficking efforts were lacking and has promised to follow up on the petition.

“We are going to follow up on this petition by working harder to find solutions to prevent human trafficking and help the victims,” she said.

Dancing for Freedom

2011-07-27T10:40:00.002-04:00

From Star News Online:

The Story Collective aims to end human trafficking through dance
By Bob Workmon

Human trafficking – the sale and abuse of women and children for sex – shows up, occasionally, in some cable-news documentary or investigative report, usually late on a weekend night. Despite the resources and time devoted by reporters and new organizations trying to help those trapped in this modern-day slavery, it remains just under the radar for most of us.

Facts

GO

What: "The Dollhouse," an original dance production by The Story Collective
When: 8 p.m. July 29 and July 30
Where: The Brooklyn Arts Center at St. Andrews, 516 North Fourth St., Wilmington
Tickets: $20, $10 with student ID
Details: 538-2939 or www.BrooklynArtsNC.com

What better subject, then, for artistic expression?

That question is posed with every ounce of sincerity possible. Bear with me.

The Story Collective, which is based in Wilmington, consists of choreographers and dancers, a composer and local musicians, a poet and writer, a sculptor and a photographer, among others, who have made the modern sex-slave trade the focus of their artistic expression. On Friday and Saturday night, audiences at the Brooklyn Arts Center in Wilmington will witness the group's first original production, "The Dollhouse."

Abigail Printy is the collective's director. In her office at the Glory Academy of Fine Arts near Castle Hayne, Printy sits behind her desk between a photo montage of happy faces on one wall and a wall that functions as a floor-to-ceiling blackboard chalked up with greetings and affirmations. Printy said from the cool distance between us, unequivocally, that The Story Collective creates work with one purpose in mind: the abolition of human trafficking.

"The Story Collective is a project of mine and two other women – Melanie Haulman and Laura Valentine. We created the organization and the show together as a personal project," Printy said. "The Story Collective was formed to gather artists together to raise awareness of and provoke involvement in the issue."

All money from sales will go to support Love 146, an amazing organization that works to provide aftercare for victims of sex trafficking and raise awareness in the United States and around the globe.

Read full story HERE

"Your time is up."

2011-07-27T10:32:00.003-04:00

1st Charges Filed Under Michigan's New Human Trafficking LawSedrick Leman-Isaac Mitchell Accused Of Enslaving 2 Teen Girls

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said Monday that his new Human Trafficking Unit had filed the state's first criminal charges under its new human trafficking law.

Sedrick Leman-Isaac Mitchell, 32, of Detroit, is accused of human trafficking and other crimes after the Attorney General’s office alleged he enslaved two young girls, forcing them to engage in prostitution in Detroit. The charges result from an investigation by Michigan State Police and the FBI through the Southeast Michigan Crimes Against Children Task Force.

"Modern day slavery happens in Michigan every day and it must be stopped," said Schuette. "I am committed to a new fight against this enslavement of our children. This is a warning for the criminals running these operations: Your time is up."

Mitchell, also known as -- Gruesome and Roc -- is accused of enslaving the victims, which include a 14-year-old and a 15-year-old. Schuette alleges one 14-year-old was enslaved by Mitchell after he invited her to attend a party in July 2010. The child was then held captive in a house on Detroit’s east side for approximately two months. The 15-year-old girl was enslaved under similar circumstances from December 2010 to January 2011.

Schuette said the victims were forced to engage in prostitution, with Mitchell allegedly collecting all of their earnings. When the girls did not earn enough money, it is alleged Mitchell would physically abuse the girls by slapping and punching them, Schuette said.

In addition to the physical assaults, Schuette alleges Mitchell sexually assaulted the girls on several occasions.

Mitchell has been charged with two counts of human trafficking, one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct (relationship), one count of conducting criminal enterprises (racketeering), two counts of prostitution/pandering, two counts of prostitution -- accepting earnings, one count of felonious assault, one count of felony firearm -- second offense, and one count of felon in possession of firearm.

Mitchell was arrested in Mojave, California on July 21. Schuette’s office has begun the process to have Mitchell extradited to Michigan.

The Michigan law banning Human Trafficking (MCL 760.462a, et seq.) went into effect on August 24, 2006.

Virginia: man indicted for sex trafficking, child pornography

2011-07-27T10:30:00.004-04:00

From Gazette.Net:

Silver Spring man who ran escort service indicted for sex trafficking, child pornography
Grand jury handed down indictment Thursday in Alexandria
By Danielle E. Gaines

The 31-year-old Silver Spring man who worked as a security guard at Westfield Wheaton mall and told authorities he recruited young shoppers there to work for his escort service has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Alexandria, Va., for sex trafficking.

Cooper Kweme, who also goes by Jason Pathers and Jason Forhee, also faces criminal charges of transportation of a minor to engage in prostitution and production of child pornography, according to the indictment, which was handed down Thursday.

Kweme was arrested by Arlington County, Va., police June 1 and charged in federal court, according to the FBI’s Washington field office.

Kweme has run The Empire Service in Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland since October 2010, according to a federal criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Alexandria.

Sidney Woods, a spokesman for the Westfield Wheaton mall, would not confirm or deny Kweme’s association with the mall and declined to comment on the case Monday.

According to the indictment and court records, Kweme operated a prostitution business in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia and used the Internet to advertise women as prostitutes. In February 2011, Kweme was accused of recruiting a 16-year-old Arlington, Va., girl to work as a prostitute after meeting her on an online social network targeted at teens called Tagged, according to the criminal complaint.

The girl had sex for money with eight men in Virginia and Maryland in April, according to the criminal complaint. She said in the complaint that she was once threatened by Kweme with a Taser in a hotel parking lot. The girl said she believed Kweme was a law enforcement officer because he wore a blue or black uniform with a bulletproof vest with the word “police” printed on it and carried a gun, according to the complaint.

Kweme later posted sexually explicit photographs of the girl online, according to the indictment.

Kweme is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in the United States District Court in Alexandria, Va. He is being represented by public defender Jeffrey C. Corey, who could not be reached for comment Monday.

Memphis campaign puts dent in sex trade, serves as national model

2011-07-27T10:27:00.005-04:00

From The Commercial Appeal:
By Beth Warren

Juan Mendez will never victimize children in Memphis again.

If the 33-year-old outlives his 50-year prison sentence, he will be deported back to his home country of Mexico.

Mendez, who raped and beat teens and forced them into prostitution, was prosecuted in federal court, his case the launch of a campaign by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Memphis and federal agents to crack down on human sex traffickers.

Memphis is now considered a model nationally for its initiative to maximize prison stints for sex traffickers, said U.S. Atty. Ed Stanton.

Stanton, a Memphis native who took over the office in 2010, created a Civil Rights Unit, which encompasses human trafficking, in February. He has assigned three prosecutors to the unit, and has vowed to aggressively target traffickers.

"Human trafficking is nothing more than modern-day slavery. The victims often are some of our most vulnerable," Stanton said during an interview at his office Friday. "There's no question it's a priority for this district and this office."

Read full story HERE

Rue Magazine features GoodWeave!

2011-07-26T16:25:00.001-04:00

My friend Rebecca introduced me to Rue Magazine yesterday. I love their designs, fashion tips, and photography!

But the most exciting part:

In their newest magazine, they are featuring GoodWeave, an incredible organization in India that helps end child labor in the rug industry:

"The GoodWeave label is the bestassurance that no child labor was used in the making of your rug. Inorder to earn the GoodWeave label, rug exporters and importers must be licensedunder the GoodWeave certification program and sign a legally binding contractto:

1. Adhere to the no-child-labor standard and notemploy any person under age 14

2. Allow unannounced randominspections by local inspectors

3. Endeavor to pay fairwages to adult workers

4. Pay a licensing fee thathelps support GoodWeave’s monitoring, inspections and education programs

To ensure compliance, independent GoodWeaveinspectors make unannounced inspections of each loom. If inspectors findchildren working, they offer them the opportunity to go to school instead, andthe producers lose their status with GoodWeave. To protect against counterfeit labeling,each label is numbered so its origin can be traced to the loom on which the rugwas produced.

GoodWeave also sets contractual standards forcompanies that import certified rugs. Importers agree to source only fromGoodWeave certified exporters in India, Nepal and any other country in whichGoodWeave rugs are available. In the United States and other rug-importingcountries, only licensed importers are legally permitted to sell carpetscarrying the GoodWeave label.

Importers and exporters also help supportGoodWeave and its commitment to provide rehabilitation and schooling for allrescued children. Exporters pay 0.25 percent of the export value of each rug,and importers pay a licensing fee of 1.75 percent of the shipment value.Licensing fees go toward monitoring, inspections and educational programs thatare part of the GoodWeave program."

"One certified rug = zero child labor & one million possibilities." -Rue Magazine

I like those numbers. :)

So thankful for GoodWeave, and the work they do! They have some amazing stories to tell. Children emancipated from slave labor now have a future, and hope.

So thankful for Rue Magazine-- for dedicating their issue not only to beautiful design, but also to helping organizations like GoodWeave, and promoting the use of fair trade products.

Find out more about GoodWeave by watching this video:

Read Rue Magazine:

Federal initiative targets human trafficking in western Missouri, Kansas

2011-07-26T15:45:00.001-04:00

From The Kansas City Star
By Mark Morris

Western Missouri and Kansas will be the focus of one of six new federal law enforcement teams targeting human trafficking, the U.S. Justice Department announced Monday.

Housed in Kansas City, the Anti-Trafficking Coordination Team is designed to “streamline” criminal investigations and prosecution of violators of federal slavery laws, authorities said.

In a written statement, U.S. Attorney Beth Phillips of western Missouri said the initiative means that more prosecutors and additional agents from the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security will develop human trafficking cases. The district already has a human trafficking task force that has prosecuted several high-profile cases, she noted.

“We are committed to build on that success and to take aggressive steps now to advance the work of the task force,” Phillips said.

In his own written statement, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom of Kansas said the additional resources will be welcome.

“The anti-trafficking team will give us the tools we need to fight this cruel, despicable practice wherever we find it.”

Other such teams will operate in Atlanta; Los Angeles; Miami; El Paso, Texas; and Memphis, Tenn. The team will include federal prosecutors and agents, and will identify and target human trafficking threats.

In February, the Justice Department announced a competition among its districts around the country to qualify for one of the teams.

Though human trafficking once was thought to be a coastal phenomenon, Missouri has emerged as a prosecution hot spot. In addition to some child prostitution cases brought under federal anti-trafficking laws, authorities here pursued in 2009 what was then the largest labor trafficking ring ever brought to court under federal racketeering laws.

Hawaii farm owners face human trafficking trial

2011-07-26T15:39:00.004-04:00

By Mark Niesse, Associated Press
From the Beaumont Enterprise

Two brothers who run one of Hawaii's largest vegetable farms are going to trial this week on federal charges they illegally shipped 44 workers from Thailand, housed them in dirty metal containers and forced them to work for little pay.

Alec and Mike Sou of Aloun Farms each face up to 20 years in prison without parole if found guilty after they backed out of a plea deal last September that came with a five-year maximum sentence. The trial opens with jury selection Wednesday.

Federal prosecutors claim the Sou brothers gamed the United States' guest-worker visa system in a way that economically trapped the rural north Thailand laborers on the 3,000-acre Oahu farm, which grows a variety of foods including lettuce, apples, bananas, parsley, watermelon and pumpkin year-round in Hawaii's mild climate.

The Sou brothers and Thailand labor recruiters targeted poor workers in 2003 to work on the farm, promising them three years of work for six days a week at $9.60 an hour, according to prosecutors' trial brief filed last week. The workers paid about $20,000 in recruiting fees — some of which went to the Sous — but they learned after arriving in Hawaii they would be paid much less, and their visas would only last for a few months, the brief said.

The workers were told if they complained about wages or living conditions, they'd be deported to Thailand with no way to repay their debts, prosecutors wrote. The result would be they'd lose their family land and homes, their attorneys have said.

"Having paid the recruitment fees, they had no other option but to continue working," said Melissa Vincenty, who represents 34 of the workers. "It's forced labor when you put someone in a position of indentured servitude."

The Sous' attorneys reject those accusations, saying there was no forced labor because the workers could have just quit, and consequences in Thailand weren't the Sous' responsibility.

"At most what they did was tell people ... the natural consequence of them not doing their job, which is you lose your job. Can that even be a crime?" asked Thomas Bienert, who represents Alec Sou, following a hearing Monday.

The Sous never physically hurt or threatened to hurt anyone, Bienert said.

"There were certain financial obligations that these workers had in Thailand that were separate and apart to their employment with Aloun Farms," said Thomas Otake, who represents Mike Sou.

Accusations of worker mistreatment by Aloun Farms are similar to the government's claims in a separate case pending against Los Angeles-based labor recruiting company Global Horizons, which prosecutors have described as the largest human trafficking case ever prosecuted in the United States. Global Horizons allegedly exploited 600 Thai workers to work on U.S. farms, including Aloun, prosecutors have said.

The Sous risked trial rather than accept a plea agreement after the brothers disputed some of the facts they had previously accepted in the deal.

They acknowledged violations of the U.S. agricultural guest worker program, but they denied mistreating workers, underpaying them or withholding their passports to confine them to the Kapolei-based farm, which is a key source of vegetables to the isolated islands' food supply.

Some of the Sous' admissions before their plea deal was thrown out by Chief U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway may be used against them.

Mollway on Monday rejected a motion to disqualify the Sous' statements made to prosecutors and agents as part of the plea bargain.

The trial may last for weeks, and the government has submitted a list of at least 52 witnesses it plans to have testify, including 18 of the Thai workers.

Mollway has said she hopes the trial concludes by Labor Day on Sept. 5.

Texas: Gov. Perry signs laws on human trafficking

2011-07-26T15:35:00.004-04:00

From the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
By Enrique Rangel

State Representative John Frullo named his House Bill 3746 “Alicia’s Law” in honor of Alicia Kozakeiwicz, a 13-year-old Pennsylvania girl, who was kidnapped and raped 10 years ago by a man who befriended her online.

Gov. Rick Perry just signed the bill into law, giving law enforcement agencies necessary resources to target online sex predators of children.

“This session, Texas proved that our state was going to continue to be a leader in the fight against human trafficking,” said Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston.

Thompson, Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, and Rep. Randy Weber, R-Pearland, filed bills aimed at creating stiff penalties for traffickers and johns.

Thompson’s HB 3000, for example, makes human trafficking a first-degree felony and a first-time offender convicted of the crime will get a minimum of 25 years in prison.

Senate Bill 24, authored by Van de Putte, imposes strong parole requirements for those convicted of human trafficking and stricter restrictions on bail releases for anyone charged with the crime.

“By passing strong legislation against human trafficking, Texas is taking a necessary step to eliminate this seedy, vile crime that robs human dignity and exploits vulnerable victims,” Van de Putte said after Perry signed her bill.

Read full story HERE.
Awesome news!
Note-- Although these are excerpts from the original story, I re-wrote the lead slightly.

IJM: Ray of Hope

2011-07-25T16:19:00.001-04:00

UK: human traffickers could target Olympics

2011-07-25T16:12:00.002-04:00

From The Telegraph:

Human traffickerscould target Olympics, Home Secretary warns

Traffickers will use next year’s Olympic Games as a cover tosmuggle in people, the Home Secretary has signalled

By Tom Whitehead

The 2012 Games are likely to be a key target for criminal gangs who will look to take advantage of a larger than usual number of visitors heading to the UK.

Theresa May yesterday said working with other countries to combat human trafficking will be particularly important in the run up to the Games to help “respond quickly and appropriately to any potential increased risk of trafficking”.

The warning came as the Home Office yesterday launched a new human trafficking strategy.

It will examine tougher penalties for those guilty of smuggling and wider powers for confiscating their assets.

Police estimated that 2,600 people were trafficked for sexual exploitation alone in 2009 and fear around 300 children are smuggled in to the UK every year.

Damian Green, the immigration minister, said: “they are already here."

Immigration Minister Damian Green said: “We are sending a message that the UK is not a soft touch for traffickers.

“We will pursue and disrupt trafficking networks overseas wherever possible to stop them before they ply their trade in the UK and then bring them to justice.

“These measures along with improved victim care arrangements will ensure that all victims – adults and children – receive care tailored to their specific needs.”

Peter Davies, chief executive of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, said: “Child trafficking is a terrible crime and can have devastating consequences for those affected.

“This commitment to enhance the coordinated efforts of law enforcement, government and the wider child protection community is a major step forward, as we all strive to improve the level of support to vulnerable and frightened child victims.”

Israel: destination point for sex trafficking

2011-07-25T16:08:00.004-04:00

From All Headline News:

Sex trafficking to Israel takes a detour?

Israeli border guards late Wednesday detected something was not quite right about three nervous women crossing the Allenby Bridge from Jordan. They told a story of being nurses who wanted to tour Jerusalem, but soon burst into tears.
They answered an ad promising lucrative work as au pairs in Amman, but found themselves caught up in the web of sex trafficking between Israel and Jordan.

“They were hugging each other and crying hysterically. At once I understood that something traumatic was happening,” said Dana Koldron, shift manager at the border crossing.

The incident may point to new routes being established by gangs of trafficking in humans as Israel, under international pressure to do more to stop the trade in women used for sex, tightens other points of entry.
Once the three women understood they were in safe hands, their harrowing story came out. The three women, two sisters in their 50s and a daughter in her 30s, said they were from Guatemala and had answered an ad promising lucrative work as nannies in Amman, Jordan.

They flew to Jordan together with five other women, but immediately upon arrival, they were split into two groups of four and were held against their will in an apartment, Population, Immigration and Border Authority (PIBA) spokeswoman Sabin Hadad told The Media Line.

“After one day, a man came by and took away one of the women, who was 18 years old and they never saw her again. A few days later a Jordanian and Palestinian appeared and informed them that they were going to cross the border. The Palestinian, who was the driver, briefed them to tell the Israeli border inspectors that they were nurses and coming to tour Jerusalem,” Hadad said.

Koldron told Israel Radio that the Jordanian had quickly abandoned them and the Palestinian was questioned but released. If there was someone waiting for them on the Israeli side, they quickly disappeared.

“We understood that this is trade in humans, for the purpose of slavery,” Koldron said.

The three women were allowed to enter Israel and handed over to the Guatemalan ambassador, who promised to return them to his country. .

Hadad said they believed their destination was east Jerusalem, but also possibly the Palestinian Authority.

“We suspect that this was a case of human trafficking. We can’t say it’s exactly sex trafficking, but let’s just say we believe they were being used ‘improper’ motives,” Hadad said.

“This has never happened to us along this border before that we are aware of. It’s very rare. But our inspectors go through courses in order to be able to detect suspicious behavior and their antennas pick this up,” Hadad added.

A recent U.S. State Department report slammed Israel over its human trafficking record, saying it had not done enough to even reach minimum standards to stop it. Israel is seen as a destination country where foreign women are subjected to forced prostitution.

“The government of Israel does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking,” the report from June 27 read. “However, it is making significant efforts to do so.”

In 2006, Israel passed an anti-trafficking law that prescribes penalties of up to 16 years imprisonment for trafficking an adult or for slavery. Many woman involved in sex trafficking slip into the country through the main Ben Gurion International Airport. Others cross into Israeli from the Egyptian Sinai.

Last month saw a dramatic increase in the number of people who attempted to infiltrate into Israel illegally. According to the PIBA, some 1,200 people were caught trying to sneak into Israel, bringing the total number of illegal entrants to 3,500 so far this year. Approximately 14,000 crossed into Israel in 2010, compared with about 5,000 the year before.

But the increased patrols along the border as well as Israel’s current construction of a formidable barrier along the 150-mile frontier with Egypt may have caused traffickers of women to seek other routes, such as through Jordan.
Guatemala’s ambassador to Israel refused to return repeated telephone calls on the incident.

Washington strengthens human trafficking law

2011-07-25T16:03:00.001-04:00

From KPLU 88.5:

By Monica Spain

Washington's a top destination for traffickers dealing in forced labor and sex crimes. New legislation goes into effect today that will strengthen the state’s current human trafficking law.

The new law provides clarity and updates the state’s original human trafficking law which was enacted in 2002. Now, the definition of the crime is expanded to include the harvest and sale of human organs. It also broadens the scope of the law to make it possible to go after people who intimidate victims with threats of violence.

State Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles introduced the bill. She says that even though the state had a human trafficking law on the books, it was difficult to get convictions.

“We heard from police officers, law enforcement community, prosecutors that they were having difficulty in enforcing the law of human trafficking and this will give them another tool to be able to do so more effectively,” says Kohl-Welles.

Our state is especially vulnerable to human trafficking because of its proximity to Asia, its vital agricultural community and the international border. The state was first in the country to enact a state law against human trafficking and is one of only two states to obtain a conviction.

India: sex industry a booming business

2011-07-25T15:58:00.001-04:00

From The Times of India:
'The sex industry has grown by 17 times in the past 15 years'
By Kim Arora

Ruchira Gupta , founder president of Apne Aap Women Worldwide, worked for 25 years on women's rights issues and sex trafficking. Her documentary, The Selling of Innocents, filmed in the brothels of Mumbai, won an Emmy. A Clinton Global Citizen award winner, she is currently a steering committee member of the Planning Commission. She spoke to Kim Arora :

How does trafficking and prostitution in India compare internationally?
There are certain common things that all survivors of prostitution share: they come from very poor families, they're victims of incest or some kind of sexual violence, even domestic violence. Many belong to marginalised ethnic groups. In India i've met people from denotified tribes and low caste - they were trafficked because they were poor and vulnerable. Another important thing is that the government was refusing to prioritise this as an issue, as the majority of the affected are not men and boys. In other countries, people have begun to tackle this issue. At least, in Cambodia, there is a minister who has taken this on as a personal issue.Philippines has created a fantastic anti-prostitution law. In Sweden, Norway, Iceland, they've created laws that make the purchase of sex criminal. In India, it's a blind spot.

Where in India would you say sex trafficking is most rampant?
It's everywhere. Even in smaller villages, brothels have opened up in mud huts. Kamathipura, the red light district in Mumbai, is shrinking but Sonagachi in Kolkata is expanding. All over India, thesex industry has grown by 17 times in the past 15 years. There are some parts in Murshidabad where girls and boys are being trafficked from every house in the area. It's also a chronic problem on the Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh borders.

What about countries where prostitution is legal?
It's legal right now in Amsterdam, Holland, in New Zealand, Victoria in Australia and Las Vegas in the US. In all these countries violence against women has increased in general. The culture where sex is treated as an equal relationship between men and women changes, and sex with domination becomes normal. Also, trafficking and sex tourism to these places increases. In Victoria, there was a case of a woman being snuffed out with a pillow in a legal brothel. After that the legal brothels in Australia had to remove even pillows with other accessories. It's legal in Bonn, Germany, but they're planning to change it because they found that there were some unemployed women who went to get their unemployment benefits and the officer asked them if they had tried prostitution - because then it was considered work. Legalisation reduces choices for women. You lower the threshold of what women should be getting. It also reduces the state's obligation to invest women and girls with jobs and education so that they can compete equally with men.

How difficult is it to change prostitution laws in India?
We have been trying to change the law for 10 years in India. As per CBI statistics, there are three million prostituted women and girls out there right now and more are coming in everyday. I have brought forward evidence, where 12-13-year-old girls have been locked under beds completely naked and kept there for years and starved. We showed it to the police and they did nothing. Some of the girls were restored to the brothel. I had to contact Mukul Vasnik, Vilasrao Deshmukh andSonia Gandhi who then gave me their personal numbers saying, if something happens to you, call us. But none of them were able to change the system.

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THE PROBLEM

10 YEARS ago the biggest chocolate companies promised to get rid of child trafficking in the cocoa industry in West Africa.

10 YEARS on, despite their promises, we only have a tiny amount of Traffik Free chocolate.

10 YEARS have earned the cocoa industry £600 billion. Only 0.0075% of this has been invested into improving working conditions in West Africa.

The human cost of chocolate

Isaiah 58

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Mexican cartels move into human trafficking

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Dancing for Freedom

The Story Collective aims to end human trafficking through danceBy Bob Workmon

Facts

GO

"Your time is up."

Virginia: man indicted for sex trafficking, child pornography

Memphis campaign puts dent in sex trade, serves as national model

Rue Magazine features GoodWeave!

Federal initiative targets human trafficking in western Missouri, Kansas

Hawaii farm owners face human trafficking trial

Texas: Gov. Perry signs laws on human trafficking

IJM: Ray of Hope

UK: human traffickers could target Olympics

Israel: destination point for sex trafficking

Sex trafficking to Israel takes a detour?

Washington strengthens human trafficking law

India: sex industry a booming business

The Story Collective aims to end human trafficking through dance
By Bob Workmon