Sailing to Yemen with human traffickers

From Aljazeera: 

By Glen Johnson

There were more than 30 people crammed on the back of the truck as the vehicle bumped through the desert in eastern Djibouti.

The passengers were men, women and children from Ethiopia and Somalia and myself. And all would be smuggled in boats from Djibouti to Yemen, as part of wider trafficking operations involving six countries - Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Djibouti, Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea - that apparently trafficks tens of thousands of people from the Horn of Africa to Arabian nations each year.

I had arrived in Djibouti on June 7 to research human trafficking. Having lived in Yemen for part of 2010, I was aware that the Africa-Arabia smuggling trade was one of the myriad challenges facing Yemen, yet one of the troubled nation's least discussed. In Djibouti, I quickly established links with smugglers, some of whom agreed to let me accompany migrants from Ethiopia and refugees from Somalia by boat to Yemen.

The truck drove slowly through the desert. No one talked. A distant beam from a lighthouse swept across the night sky. The silhouettes of coarse thorn scrubs, bent back from the wind, stood under a yellow moon that was ill-defined from the dust and sand that swept up into the night.

Occasionally the truck would grind to a halt and men would get out swinging sticks wildly, telling the passengers to keep still. A woman spoke to a child - his hair a mass of coarse, black curls; his spindly legs sticking out the bottom of his trousers.

The child was travelling with his brother from Mogadishu, the Somali capital. They hoped to reach Kharaz refugee camp, administered by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), in South Yemen. A place where his brother said: "There is food and a house. They [UNHCR] give money."

According to a 2010 Chatham House report, Yemen and Somalia: Terrorism, Shadow Networks and the Limitations of State-building, the Horn of Africa smuggling trade - based on the number of registered arrivals in Yemen 2009, 77,802, could be worth more than $20m each year.

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She's 10 and May Be Sold to a Brothel

Nicholas Kristof has been writing articles for The New York Times regarding human trafficking for years. His most recent article highlights the personal side of the internationally lucrative business.

From The New York Times on 1 June 2011:

M. is an ebullient girl, age 10, who ranks near the top of her fourth-grade class and dreams of being a doctor. Yet she, like all of India, is at a turning point, and it looks as if her family may instead sell her to a brothel.

Her mother is a prostitute here in Kolkata, the city better known to the world as Calcutta. Ruchira Gupta, who runs an organization called Apne Aap that fights human trafficking, estimates that 90 percent of the daughters of Indian prostitutes end up in the sex trade as well. And M. has the extra burden that she belongs to a subcaste whose girls are often expected to become prostitutes.

M. seemed poised to escape this fate with the help of one of my heroes, Urmi Basu, a social worker who in 2000 started the New Light shelter program for prostitutes and their children.

M., with her winning personality and keen mind, began to bloom with the help of New Light. Both her parents are illiterate, but she learned English and earned excellent grades in an English-language school for middle-class children outside the red-light district. I’m concealing her identity to protect her from gibes from schoolmates.

Unfortunately, brains and personality aren’t always enough, and India is the center of the 21st-century slave trade. This country almost certainly has the largest number of human-trafficking victims in the world today.

To read the rest of the article, click here.

What About American Girls Sold on the Streets?

Nicholas D. Kristof/The New York Times

When we hear about human trafficking in India or Cambodia, our hearts melt. The victim has sometimes been kidnapped and imprisoned, even caged, in a way that conjures our images of slavery.

But in the United States we see girls all the time who have been trafficked — and our hearts harden. The problem is that these girls aren’t locked in cages. Rather, they’re often runaways out on the street wearing short skirts or busting out of low-cut tops, and many Americans perceive them not as trafficking victims but as miscreants who have chosen their way of life. So even when they’re 14 years old, we often arrest and prosecute them — even as the trafficker goes free.

In fact, human trafficking is more similar in America and Cambodia than we would like to admit. Teenage girls on American streets may appear to be selling sex voluntarily, but they’re often utterly controlled by violent pimps who take every penny they earn.

Read the full article here.

Ask Fox 35 to Report on Human Trafficking

From Polaris Project:

On April 19, Fox 35 Orlando reported that a Sheriff from Polk County arrested “60 alleged prostitutes, pimps and johns” following a week-long undercover bust targeting “escort services”. However, this crackdown was not simply involving alleged escort services, but young girls who - under the control of pimps - performed sex acts for johns.

Polk County prostitution bust targets online escorts: MyFoxORLANDO.com

To read more and take action click here.

Wyden Reintroduces DMST Deterrence and Victim Support Act : S.596

From Shared Hope International:

What you need to know about this legislation:
• It will provide $2m to $2.5m a year in funding to six state and local pilot projects to serve and shelter child victims of sex trafficking.
• Applying entities must have a multidisciplinary, collaborative plan to combat the sex trafficking of minors. • 67% of funds must be used for direct services and shelter for victims.
• Funds can be used to increase law enforcement efforts to combat the sex trafficking of children.
• This is a bipartisan bill.
• The legislation is sponsored by Senator Ron Wyden (D‐OR) and Senator John Cornyn (R‐TX).

How this bill will help address existing domestic minor sex trafficking challenges:

Challenge: There is little collaboration and communication between the various agencies and organizations that encounter or work with sex trafficked children. This lack of collaboration is a major impediment to efficiency and finding workable solutions.
How this bill helps: This legislation requires multidisciplinary collaboration from grantees.

Challenge: Law enforcement has expressed frustration that when they discover an exploited child, there is nowhere safe to place him/her for help.
How this bill helps: With at least 67% of funding required for shelter and services for victims, the grant locations will be required to establish safe shelter for victims.

Challenge: Sex trafficked children have a multitude of needs ranging from post‐traumatic stress and depression to STDs, substance abuse and chronic illness. They also may not have a safe, appropriate home to return to. There are few programs appropriate to address their needs. As a result, they are caught in a cycle of abuse and arrest.
How this bill helps: The majority of funding is required to go to services and shelter for victims. Additionally, the bill’s multidisciplinary focus will result in all stakeholders coming together to collaborate on fixing the response protocol, making it more efficient and addressing the intense needs of these children.

Challenge: Trafficking cases are time intensive and can be expensive. Federal prosecutors may prosecute these cases but local police are most often in a position to find the crime. Local law enforcement agencies need the resources and training so they can identify a trafficking case. If law enforcement does not have the resources to investigate trafficking cases, criminals will see little risk in the profitable venture of selling children for sex.
How this bill helps: By allowing funds to be used for training and law enforcement/prosecutor salaries related to investigation and prosecution of sex trafficking cases, the bill supports critical enforcement efforts.

To track this bill visit: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s112-596 Visit http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm to find your senators if you would like to contact them to express your support.

Underage Sex Trade Still Flourishing Online

From CNN.com
By Amber Lyon and Steve Turnham

Her ankles and wrists are shackled. She's wearing used sweats in the bright colors of the jailhouse, orange, blue and yellow. She shuffles to the courtroom to face the judge, her mother, and an uncertain future.

Selena is a 13-year-old who was sold for sex.

She wants to go home to her house in the suburbs and the baby sister she hardly knows. And now, facing a sympathetic judge and a loving mother who wants to make sure she's safe, Selena is being told she can't go home.

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"I want to go home and I want to be with my family, that's all I want," she tells Juvenile Court Judge William Voy, her face bathed in tears. "This isn't making me any better in here."

Selena was arrested by undercover police on the Vegas strip on prostitution charges. But although she exchanged sex for money, in the eyes of the law, she's a victim, by virtue of her age and the circumstances under which she was sold: by a pimp on the website backpage.com, a pimp who used drugs to entice her, and took everything she earned.

"It made me feel so nasty, I always just want a shower and get it off. I was like, oh, it's so disgusting," she said. "And it never made me feel pretty, not one time, not one time."

She told us she was seeing four or five men a day, at the standard rate of $300 for an hour, $150 for a half.

She may be a victim, but she can't go home, because no one trusts that she won't run again, back into the arms of a pimp. . .

Read the full story here.

Domestic Sex Trafficking and Pimp Culture

By Emily Biggs:

The pimps who are trafficking young women and girls on the street in the U.S. have a great marketing tool; the media. As Americans when we hear the words “sex trafficking” we immediately think of women and children overseas who are being forced into the sex trade, or who are brought into the United States for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

We usually do not think closer to home; Americans trafficking Americans. Think about women and girls you have seen out late at night on the streets, when you are coming home from work or a social event, dressed in short dresses and spike heels. Most people turn their heads and look away, not wanting to look at the faces of these young women and girls who are forced to work out in the street. To fully understand sex trafficking in the United States, it requires an open mind and letting go of what is shown on television. You have to let go of the media’s portrayal of the “joys” of prostitution shown in music videos on VH1 and MTV, and open your eyes to the violence and control the pimps have over their victims.

Tina Frundt was fourteen years old when she was forced into prostitution. She was like any typical teenager, finding her identity and defying her parents were at the top of her list. When a man came into Frundts’ life that showed her attention and listened when she complained about her parents, she did not think twice about the fact that he was ten years older than her. He informed her that she was mature for her age, and that she understood him better than anyone his age. Tina stopped believing anything her parents told her, and believed he was the only one who truly understood her. After six months of dating, Frundt believed she loved him, at least that is what he told her, and she ran away to be with him. The couple ended up in Cleveland, Ohio and he informed Tina she was going to meet the rest of his family.

Tina had no idea that the “rest of the family” meant three other girls. After she met the family she was told what her role would be; Frundt would go out to “work” that night and bring him back the money. He assured Tina that he would always love her no matter what, but he needed to know how much she loved him by making sure she would do anything for him. The first evening his friends came by the motel, he told Tina to have sex with someone, but she did not want to so his friends raped her.

Afterward, he told her “that wouldn’t have happened if she would have just listened to him first.” Tina blamed herself instead of being angry at him for getting raped. He then picked out her clothes, told her what to wear, how to walk, what to say to “Johns” and how much money she was to bring back to him. Then she was forced back out into the streets. Tina walked the streets back and forth for hours, she finally got into a car because they were always being watched and she had to get into a car sooner or later. Their nightly quota was $500 but Tina was only able to make $50 that night to give back to the pimp.

As a result, he beat her in front of the other girls and then sent her back out to the street to earn the rest of the money. This was the man that took Tina out to eat, listened to her, gave her advice, and had complete trust in, now she was seeing another side of him. Frundt was shocked at the situation she found herself in, but was also scared. She was locked in the closet numerous times, and had her finger broken which never set right. None of the girls were allowed to see a doctor so they tolerated the pain by pushing it deep down inside them and trying to forget it ever happened. People have asked Tina several times to this day, “Why didn’t you just leave? Couldn’t you escape?” She now knows that it was not her fault that a pimp manipulated a child.

As I stated earlier, the pimps use media to their advantage in luring young women and girls. Pimps are glamorized in TV shows, music videos, and movies, and young people use the word “pimp” in everyday conversation. They do not understand the reality behind the term. Traffickers and pimps prey on women and girls by finding their weakness and then exploiting it; children are easy to manipulate because they quickly become dependent on a pimp.

After a pimp gets into a victim’s mind it is easy for him to maintain control. The women are required to bring him $500-$2,000 a night, they are always a “bitch” or a “ho” and are reminded of that daily. The victims are part of his “stable,” and if they do not want to follow his rules then he may sell them at anytime to another pimp.

A non-profit anti-trafficking organization in Washington, DC, reported that a pimp that had three young girls in his “stable” were each bringing back $500 every day. The pimp was making about $24,000 a month or $642,000 a year tax free by selling sex with girls and young women and then keeping all of the money.

Tina’s situation, fifteen years ago, is still going on today. Girls every night are forced onto the streets, beaten and raped, to make money for pimps.

Emily Biggs attends Milligan College in Tennessee majoring in Exercise Science. She plans to pursue a career in Physical Therapy or Occupational Therapy. She plays collegiate fastpitch softball for Milligan.

Call to Action: Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act of 2010

From the Polaris Project Action Site: On December 9, the U.S. Senate passed S.2925, “Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act of 2010.” This bipartisan legislation was introduced by Senators Wyden (D-OR) and Cornyn (R-TX) and was passed with unanimous consent in the Senate. With only one week left in the Congressional session, the House must now adopt the Senate bill and pass it by Friday, December 17!

To learn more about what you can do and how to contact your representatives, click here.

According to Change.org:

The Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act of 2010 will improve federal and state government efforts to combat domestic sex trafficking of minors by:

- Authorizing six year-long grants of $2.5 million to state or local governments in regions that have

-- a significant sex trafficking problem

-- demonstrated cooperation between law enforcement, prosecutors, and service providers in efforts to combat sex trafficking, and

-- developed a plan to combat sex trafficking that includes provisions for victims' shelter and services, training of law enforcement and service providers, and prosecution and deterrence of traffickers.

- Providing that a minimum of 25% of grant funds are used to provide shelter and services to victims of sex trafficking.

- Providing for an independent annual evaluation of grant recipients' programs.

- Requiring state reporting of missing children to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and encouraging the Attorney General to change the NCIC to facilitate protection of missing children.

- Encouraging states to enact safe harbor laws that presume a minor found in prostitution is a victim of a severe form of trafficking.

Youth Radio Investigates: Trafficked

From Youth Radio:

“To solve a problem you have to understand it. So to solve this prostitution problem, you have to understand the girls.”
-Anonymous, victim of sexual exploitation

This statement from a teenager who was trafficked by a pimp on Oakland’s streets may seem simple enough. And yet for all the debate about youth prostitution in America, where are the voices and perspectives of the people at the center of it all -- the girls who are trafficked?

For more than six months, Youth Radio has been investigating child sex trafficking in Oakland. It's a system of exploitation that's ensnaring girls across America. The FBI has said more than 300,000 children and youth per year are forced into prostitution. But perspectives from the girls themselves, who are caught up in what's known as "the game," are often missing from reports.

The series Trafficked tells the story of two young women, Darlene and Brittney (not their real names), who became teenagers in Oakland around the time the FBI named their city one of the country’s hotspots for child prostitution. The Youth Radio investigation draws on interviews, eyewitness reporting, and city records to piece together what life is like for girls when they become trapped by pimps -- and how law enforcement continues to criminalize girls the state legally defines as sexually exploited victims.

In addition to the broadcast stories, Youth Radio will publish interviews with high school students currently working as prostitutes in California and a handwritten pimp "business plan" provided by prosecutors, and delve into the controversy of whether some Bay Area hip hop music glorifies sex trafficking.

To listen to the series and read the reports, click here.

Somalis in Twin Cities Shaken by Sex-Trafficking Charges

From The New York Times on 23 November:

By Erik Eckholm

When the girl now identified as Jane Doe 2 came under their control in 2006 at age 12, the Somali Outlaws and the Somali Mafia gangs set a firm rule: Their members could have sex with her for nothing; others had to pay with money or drugs.

Repeatedly over the next three years, in apartments, motel rooms and shopping center bathrooms in Minnesota and Tennessee, the girl performed sexual acts for gang members and paying customers in succession, according to a federal indictment that charged 29 Somalis and Somali-Americans with drawing young girls into prostitution over the last decade, using abuse and threats to keep them in line, and other crimes. The suspects, now aged 19 to 38, sported nicknames like Hollywood, Cash Money and Forehead, prosecutors said.

The allegations of organized trafficking, unsealed this month, were a deep shock for tens of thousands of Somalis in the Minneapolis area, who fled civil war and famine to build new lives in the United States and now wonder how some of their youths could have strayed so far. Last week, in quiet murmurings over tea and in an emergency public meeting, parents and elders expressed bewilderment and sometimes outrage- anger with the authorities for not acting sooner to stop the criminals, and with themselves for not saving their youth.

For the rest of the article visit The New York Times.

Why Child Labor and Trafficking Matter in Pakistan

From the Daily Times
VIEW: Child labour: a threat to the future —Mashal Sahir

If poverty justifies child labour, then it should also justify burglary, prostitution, kidnapping, smuggling and all other crimes. Child labour is a much more serious crime compared to others, because unlike other crimes that affect individuals, child labour affects an entire generation

Child labour is work that is unacceptable because the children involved are either too young or because, even though they have attained the minimum age to take up employment, the work that they do is unsuitable for a person below the age of 18. Child labour is a violation of fundamental human rights and has been shown to hinder children’s development. According to the last available statistics, Pakistan has a total population of 158 million, which includes a total of 40 million children, out of which 3.8 million are the victims of child labour. Many children are victims of the worst forms of child labour, such as bonded labour and slavery, and are easily exploited and abused on account of their vulnerability. It was found that of the total population of child labourers, seven percent suffered from illness or injuries frequently and 28 percent occasionally.

Child labour is not an isolated phenomenon. It is the outcome of a multitude of socio-economic factors and poverty is among its most prominent aspects. In Pakistan, around 30 percent of the people are living below the poverty line. Due to the unfair distribution of income, unemployment and inflation, poor parents are forced to send their children to work for economic reasons. In many cases, poverty has also led to the bonded labour of children. There are specific cases of children being pledged or bonded in return for loans to their parent(s) or guardian, notably in the carpet industry and in agriculture. The way children are absorbed and obliged to work varies but, as a matter of routine, the children of bonded families start working as soon as they reach school age, if not before. According to these parents, their actions are completely justified on account of their poverty. However, if poverty justifies child labour, then it should also justify burglary, prostitution, kidnapping, smuggling and all other crimes. Child labour is a much more serious crime compared to others, because unlike other crimes that affect individuals, child labour affects an entire generation. . .

Natural calamities and crises also play a huge role in giving rise to child labour. The recent floods that hit Pakistan can be seen as a major threat to the future of thousands of children. Once the families that have been displaced by the floods return to their homes, they will encourage their children to go to work and help restore the family. Media reports have indicated that children from the flood-hit regions are being promised lucrative jobs, taken away from their families and then being used for sex work. An increase in child labour was noted after the previous natural calamity — the 2005 earthquake. There are fears that this pattern could be repeated.

The gap between the law and its implementation is a serious problem in Pakistan. According to the Child Labour Law in Pakistan, a child cannot be employed before the age of 15, under any circumstances. Moreover, bonded labour, or ‘debt bondage’ is a practice condemned by the UN as being similar to slavery and consequently a violation of Article 4 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is considered by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to constitute forced labour and to be a violation of the ILO’s Convention no 29 on forced labour. However, the government has not put its laws into practice to stop child labour and these laws are universally ignored in Pakistan where children aged four to fourteen keep the country’s factories operating, often working in brutal and squalid conditions. . .

The future of Pakistan depends on whether the government chooses to use this recent crisis as a further excuse for spending cuts in key social areas, or whether it seizes the opportunity and mobilises the necessary political will to prioritise the elimination of child labour as a wise investment in future development.

Read the full article here.


*********************************************************************************

This is a really interesting opinion piece which identifies the reasons why child labor and child trafficking matters in Pakistan (and really everywhere). Child labor in Pakistan largely exists due to poverty but the author also notes the connections between child labor and over-population, quality of education, natural disasters, and problems with law enforcement. In order to fight child labor and trafficking the author suggests the government needs to ensure there is access to quality education, and that there are social protections for poor families.

Perhaps most importantly the author recognizes the connection between healthy, well educated children and the success of a country. When children are unable to attend quality schools they are also unable to learn the skills that would be necessary for improving their family's lives and possibly bringing their family out of poverty. This puts future generations of children at risk for forced and abuse labor.

Ultimately the issue of child labor and trafficking is an issue not only of child psychological and social development, but also of the future economic development and stability of the communities where they live. By turning a blind eye to child labor now, we put future generations at risk for exploitation. At the same time though, without the proper social protections for the poor, many families simply cannot afford to loose the income their children make, however small. This is the conundrum that Pakistan and many developing countries and communities face.

CNN Heroes 2010: Anuradha Koirala

Ms. Anuradha Koirala is the Founder and Executive Director of Maiti Nepal. According to the Friends of Maiti Napal:

Born in Nepal and former English teacher, Ms. Koirala started Maiti Nepal in a small house in Kathmandu with her own savings. . . Her commitment has been an inspiration to her largely volunteer staff. Most of the workers are rescued girls and young women who are healthy enough to work. "They need little incentive from me," states Ms Koirala. "They are working to help their sisters and they know the horror of the victims." She adds, "Society rejects me and my girls, but they are the most important thing in my life."

According to their website: In the border areas, Maiti Nepal operates Twelve Intervention Outposts to prevent girls from being trafficked. Here, Maiti Nepal volunteers, who have been rescued from the Indian brothels themselves, watch for the pimps crossing the border with innocent girls who are ignorant of their fate.

Maiti Nepal also operates physical and mental health programs, and a vocational education program.

"We try to give them whatever work they want to do, whatever training they want to do, because when you're economically empowered, people forget everything. People even forget [she is] HIV-positive or was trafficked," Koirala said in an interview with CNN.

"Anuradha is a hero. ... She's courageous," Geeta [who was brought to Maiti Nepal after police extracted her from sex trafficking at the age of 14, and who is now a peer educator for Maiti Nepal] said in an interview with CNN. "She gave me my faith back. ... If Maiti Nepal wasn't there for me, I would be dead by now."

To vote for Ms. Koirala click here.

Craigslist Taking a Step in the Right Direction?

Craigslist removed access to the Adult Services section of its site in the United States today. Although Craigslist has not verified that the change is permanent, is this a hopeful sign of things to come for the website that has been reputed to be a popular forum for sex trafficking?

From the Wall Street Journal blog:

By Geoffrey A. Fowler

The Adult Services section of Craigslist has been removed and replaced with the word “censored” since Friday night.

It wasn’t immediately clear who was responsible for the move, which only impacted listings in cities in the U.S. Craigslist executives didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Controversy has swirled around the use of the classifieds site for prostitution, erotic massage and other adult services.

Last year, Craigslist instituted a manual screening system where each adult ad is reviewed by a lawyer for compliance with the law and Cragslist’s own standards before it gets posted. Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster has said the screening caused a steep drop in the number of such listings making it onto the site.

But the move wasn’t enough for some critics. Last month, 18 state attorneys general published an open letter to Craigslist demanding that it take down that portion of the site altogether.

Buckmaster has defended the Adult Services section, saying that shutting it down would only force such ads to other parts of Craigslist and other sites.

The censored label was reported earlier by TechCrunch.

State Attorney General's Call on Craigslist to Remove Adult Services

From the Associated Press State AGs: Craigslist should drop adult services

HARTFORD, Conn. — State attorneys general nationwide are demanding that Craigslist remove its adult services section because they say the website cannot adequately block potentially illegal ads.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal announced Tuesday that he and colleagues in 16 states have sent a letter calling on the classified advertising site to get rid of its adult services category. The attorneys general say Craigslist is not completely screening out ads that promote prostitution and child trafficking. The site creators pledged in 2008 to improve their policing efforts.

Other states joining the effort are Arkansas, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

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Craigslist's so-called Adult Services Section drew new attention in early August with an open letter from the Rebecca Project: "Craig, I am AK. In 2009, I met a man twice my age who pretended to be my boyfriend, and my life as an average girl— looking forward to college, doing my chores, and hanging out with my friends—ended. This “boyfriend” soon revealed he was a pimp. He put my picture on Craigslist, and I was sold for sex by the hour at truck stops and cheap motels, 10 hours with 10 different men every night. This became my life.

Men answered the Craigslist advertisements and paid to rape me. The $30,000 he pocketed each month was facilitated by Craigslist 300 times. I personally know over 20 girls who were trafficked through Craigslist. Like me, they were taken from city to city, each time sold on a different Craigslist site —Philadelphia, Dallas, Milwaukee, Washington D.C. My phone would ring, and soon men would line up in the parking lot. One Craigslist caller viciously brutalized me, threatening to dump my body in a river. Miraculously, I survived.

Craig, I am MC. I was first forced into prostitution when I was 11 years old by a 28 year-old man. I am not an exception. The man who trafficked me sold many girls my age, his house was called “Daddy Day Care.” All day, me and other girls sat with our laptops, posting pictures and answering ads on Craigslist, he made $1,500 a night selling my body, dragging me to Los Angeles, Houston, Little Rock —and one trip to Las Vegas in the trunk of a car.

I am 17 now, and my childhood memories aren’t of my family, going to middle school, or dancing at the prom. They are making my own arrangements on Craigslist to be sold for sex, and answering as many ads as possible for fear of beatings and ice water baths.

Craig, we write this letter so you will know from our personal experiences how Craigslist makes horrific acts like this so easy to carry out, and the men who carry out, and men who arrange them very rich. Craig, we know you oppose trafficking and exploitation. But right now, Craigslist is the choice of traffickers because it’s so well known and there are rarely consequences to using it for these illegal acts."

The saga continued, first with Craigslist's response arguing that "We work with law enforcement to bring to justice any criminals foolish enough to incriminate themselves by misusing our site, and want to make sure everything possible has been done in your cases. . . craigslist is used by more than 50 million Americans to facilitate billions of interactions each month, and criminal misuse of the site is quite rare. . . craigslist is one of the few bright spots and success stories in the critical fight against trafficking and child exploitation." This was followed by the Rebecca Project's question

"Where is your outrage? . . . Craig, if this were a bar and children were being raped in the basement we would close the bar down to protect the children. We are asking you to do what’s right, close down the adult services section until you have an effective solution that ensures children will not be bought and sold online."

Today, 17 state attorney generals called on Craigslist to shut down the Adult Services section. "Ads for prostitution, including ads trafficking children, continue to be a grave problem on Craigslist," said [Maryland Attorney General] Gansler. "While the company has made progress in blocking such ads, it is unfortunately not enough. More must be done to combat the human exploitation that these ads foster."

Judiciary Committee Approves Wyden-Cornyn Legislation to Combat Sex Trafficking

Follow up to Take Action on the Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act.

News Release . . .

United States Senate

Judiciary Committee Approves Wyden-Cornyn Legislation to Combat Sex Trafficking

Bill provides aid for sex trafficking victims while taking a hard line on the pimps and traffickers who exploit underage girls

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee sent a message to the perpetrators of modern sexual slavery today when it approved legislation introduced by U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas). The FBI estimates that each year more than 100,000 underage girls are exploited for commercial sex in the United States. The Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act will put forward a model for rescuing these young women by providing block grants for a six state pilot project that will give law enforcement enhanced tools for cracking down on the pimps who orchestrate sex trafficking while creating shelters and providing treatment, counseling and legal aid for the minor victims.

“Today’s bipartisan vote sends a clear message that sexual slavery will not be tolerated in the United States,” Wyden said. “Putting a real end to sex trafficking means doing more than just locking up those involved. A serious effort must also be made to address the factors driving the cycle of exploitation. Our approach will do this by focusing law enforcement on the real criminals – the pimps abusing underage girls for profit – while giving these young women the tools they need to escape their abusers.”

“These young victims pose unique challenges to law enforcement and service providers,” Cornyn said. “Their cooperation with authorities is often impeded by the victims’ fragile psychological state, and further complicated by the threat of physical violence posed by the evildoers who exploit children for profit. Our bill is aimed at developing collaborative programs to help victims begin the physical and mental healing process. Providing these services will dramatically increase the chances of a victim’s cooperation and help law enforcement bring down sex-trafficking rings, which are often associated with international criminal syndicates and street gangs.”

Block grant locations would be chosen by how they rate on criteria such as the presence of significant sex trafficking activity; demonstrated participation by local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and social service providers; and a workable plan to provide comprehensive, wrap-around services to sex trafficking victims, including the establishment of a shelter facility.

Each block grant would be funded at $ 2 - 2.5 million per year and could be renewed for two additional years. Items to be funded by the block grants would include:

· A shelter for trafficking victims;

· Clothing and other daily needs in order to keep victims from returning to the street;

· Victims' assistance counseling and legal services;

· Education or job training classes for victims;

· Specialized training for law enforcement and social service providers;

· Police officer salaries - patrol officers, detectives, investigators;

· Prosecutor salaries, and other trial expenses;

· Investigation expenses - wire taps, expert consultants, travel, other "technical assistance" expenditures; and

· Outreach, education, and prevention efforts, including programs to deter offenders.

The bill will also help boost prompt reporting of information on missing and abducted children to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database. More timely reporting will help law enforcement identify repeat runaways, who are statistically proven to be more likely to be lured into prostitution.

The Body Shop's Child Trafficking Petition

The Body Shop just started running a petition in the United States, to promote the passage of "safe harbor" laws which would prohibit prosecution of children under 18 for prostitution, and to instead provide resources for child victims. To sign the petition, click here or on the widget below:

Take Action on the Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act

In his recent article, Sex, Seduction, and Slavery, Nicholas Kristoff wrote "There’s a misperception in America that “sex trafficking” is mostly about foreigners smuggled into the U.S. That exists. But I’ve concluded that the biggest problem and worst abuses involve not foreign women but home-grown runaway kids." As he points out, however, domestic minor sex trafficking tends to be ignored, and its victims tend to be treated like criminals instead of victims.

Awareness of the commercial sexual exploitation of children in the United States is growing, however, as are arrests and prosecutions of the traffickers. Just last week, a Maryland man was sentenced to 37 years in prison for his role in a sex trafficking operation. "This defendant violently preyed upon some of the most vulnerable members of our society. He sought out troubled young girls and, using physical violence, drugs, guns and lies, coerced them into prostitution for his own benefit," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "The Department of Justice will continue to vigorously prosecute these cases."

While arresting and prosecuting the traffickers is vital, efforts cannot stop there. As Kristoff also noted, "Human trafficking tends to get ignored because it is an indelicate, sordid topic, with troubled victims who don’t make great poster children for family values. Indeed, many of the victims are rebellious teenage girls — often runaways — who have been in trouble with their parents and the law, and at times they think they love their pimps." Minor victims have complex needs and have experienced incredible trauma. There is a dearth of services for them, though.

As a Polaris Project Action Alert points out, "Each year, at least 100,000 children are victimized through commercial sex and prostitution within the United States. Particularly vulnerable to sex trafficking are runaway children, an estimated 33% of them are lured into prostitution within the first 48 hours of leaving home. Unfortunately, victims of sex trafficking, including children, are commonly overlooked in most state and federal efforts to respond to the brutal crime. A mere 80 beds in shelters nationwide are available to provide the safe shelter and professional health and social services that these victims need."

Currently, the House (HR 5575 by Rep. Maloney NY14) and Senate (S 2925 by Sen. Wyden OR) are reviewing bills that would provide crucial funding to develop and enhance comprehensive, collaborative efforts to combat the sex trafficking in the U.S. by providing six block grants of $2,500,000 each to state or local government entities who have designed a holistic approach to investigating, prosecuting and deterring sex trafficking, and providing special services and shelter to the victims.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to review the bill on 7/29/2010. Click this link to learn more about how to urge your senators to support funding for fighting trafficking and supporting victims and survivors.

Vanguard: Soccer's Lost Boy

In light of the recent World Cup in South Africa, Vanguard, the television documentary series, recently aired an episode focusing on the dirty underground of the soccer world. Boys from poverty-stricken regions of West Africa are being trafficked by the thousands by sports agents who promise to fulfill the young boys’ hopes that their soccer skills will lead to international stardom through European soccer leagues. However, the vast majority of boys who are taken from their countries by agents are not signed to professional teams. Instead, they are abandoned by their agents in places like France and Morocco. With very few options available, some even turn to prostitution as a means of survival.

VANGUARD:

Although FIFA and other soccer organizations have done very little to halt this trend, Jean Claude Mbvoumin, a former professional soccer player, founded an organization called Foot Solidaire which attempts to raise awareness about the issue and end the exploitation of thousands of young footballers across the globe.

Conference on Child Trafficking and Exploitation in Chicago

From CHRC at Loyola University - Chicago:

Human Trafficking and Exploitation of Children and Youth in the United States

September 22-23, 2010
Loyola University
Philip H. Corboy Law Center
25 E. Pearson Street Chicago, IL 60611

This year, the United States celebrates the 10th Anniversary of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. While the United States has made significant progress to eradicate human trafficking, children continue to be disproportionately underrepresented in cases identified. This demonstrates the need for a national, collaborative response to address the gaps in identification, protection, recovery, and prevention of child trafficking and exploitation. This conference is an opportunity to learn best practices, research, and scholarship on this issue, and stimulate ongoing work and partnerships in the field to protect the rights of children impacted by human trafficking and exploitation. Practitioners, scholars, government agencies, students, and community based organizations are encouraged to attend.Keynote Speakers: Senator John J. Cullerton and Kelly Heinrich, Counsel, U.S. State Department, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.

Brought to you by the Center for the Human Rights of Children, in collaboration with the Criminal Justice Department, the Child Law Center, and the School of Social Work at Loyola University

Please visit the CHRC Website for more information. Conference agenda and registration information are forthcoming.

Trafficker Gets 16 Years in Prison

Portland pimp gets prison

by Associated Press

kgw.com

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- A Portland man has been sentenced to nearly 16 years in federal prison after he was convicted of sex trafficking involving a 15-year-old Seattle girl.

Federal prosecutors said 39-year-old Donnico T. Johnson pleaded guilty to the charge last March after the teen tipped investigators in 2008.

She said she was recruited by an associate of Johnson's and enticed to travel from Seattle to Portland to engage in prostitution.

Prosecutors said Johnson regularly drove from Seattle and Portland to work female prostitutes and agreed to transport the teenager to Portland.

During her stay in Portland, Johnson drove the victim to stores where she could purchase a cell phone and lingerie, then helped post commercial sex advertisements for her on Craigslist and transport her to meet customers.