Clinton Global Initiative: The Key Players Fighting Human Trafficking

From the Huffington Post:

The Clinton Global Initiative took a frank look at human trafficking with a panel that included MTV, the Body Shop and a student who busted a trafficking ring.

CGI, an annual meeting that brings together leaders from around the globe to tackle some of the world's most pressing problems, convened Tuesday to Thursday.

A trafficking panel discussion on Thursday centered around everything from the role of pimps to the legislation that's emerged from both grassroots and organized advocacy.

Read more

Global Anti-Slavery Action Map Advances Fight Against Human Trafficking

From Market Watch: 

End Slavery Now (ESN) today announced the successful launch of the new anti-slavery "Action on the Ground" project map, the first comprehensive and interactive web-based app to track the global fight against human trafficking. The new tool allows partner NGOs around the world to upload projects, photos and links; making it easy to see what organizations are doing to rescue, rehabilitate and reintegrate modern-day slaves, as well as stem demand.

Leading anti-slavery nonprofits including Free the Slaves, Polaris Project, Shared Hope International and International Justice Mission helped seed the map with their work. Icons distinguish the varied forms of modern slavery, such as forced labor, child soldiers or sex trafficking.

"The world map looks depressing when you flag it with the types of slavery that people endure in different countries," said Dr. Kevin Bales, co-founder and president of Free the Slaves. "But it can look quite hopeful when you also flag it with the frontline projects that are combating slavery around the globe."

Prior to the launch, participating NGOs posted over 80 projects in 30 countries. More actions are being uploaded daily. 

Check out the map

Global Forum on Human Trafficking, Oct 21-22, 2011 in Silicon Valley

From the Not for Sale Campaign:

Creating a future free of human trafficking requires collaboration and innovative thinking. The 2011 Global Forum will discuss and explore new models and tangible solutions to the real problems that cause trafficking world-wide.

We will be there, let's meet up!

Learn more about the forum 

 

Summit to address tech solutions to fight trafficking

From CNN:

How can technology be used to fight human trafficking? It's the question technology leaders, including Twitter founder, Jack Dorsey, will try to answer in an anti-slavery forum in the Silicon Valley next month.

Steven Rice from Juniper Networks, the summit host, talked to CNN's Richard Quest about the summit and the role of technology in the anti-slavery fight.

QUEST: What will your fundamental message be for how the summit, how technology, how it can all be made to work to the benefit [to end slavery]?

RICE: We believe that technology, the technology that Juniper Networks builds around bridging and connecting devices, information and content, and linking that to the work that Not For Sale is doing is absolutely at the heart of how do we start to lead and drive innovation around ending world slavery.

QUEST: All right, Steven, I understand the principle. And I understand what you're saying. And it sounds very good. But how are you going to do it? What does it involve?

RICE: Well, it's a movement. And we believe that if you give individuals the power to make choices at a consumer level, that you will make the right choices based on a set of criteria that Not For Sale is driving supply chains around the world, being able to create jobs for individuals in these countries where individuals can actually start to build lives and capabilities that don't exist today.

Read the full article

Teach Your Students about Child Slavery

This is an excerpt from the magazine of Teaching Tolerance, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center. I thought this was an interesting way of trying to broach such a difficult topic with young students. The site also includes a short list of teaching tips as well as more information about the sample coursework described below.

Enlisting Students to Confront Modern Slavery

Organizations like the Frederick Douglass Family Foundation are committing much of their efforts to getting the message out to young people about slavery today. They are teaming with educators to teach students about its current forms, and get students motivated to share their newfound awareness.

Elizabeth Devine is a social studies teacher at William H. Hall High School in West Hartford, Connecticut. She includes a three-week unit covering human trafficking and modern-day slavery in her one-semester course on human rights.

Devine’s unit features films, books and guest speakers to help students relate to and engage the material. She introduces the topic with scenes from the film Human Trafficking, a fictionalized look at the sex trade in Eastern Europe. She invites experts, such as a federal prosecutor who presided over a local human trafficking case, into the classroom. “The kids couldn’t believe [human trafficking] was happening here,” Devine says.

Her curriculum also includes excerpts from Sold, Patricia McCormick’s account of a young Nepalese girl who was purchased by an Indian brothel. The class views segments of the PBS series The New Heroes, which features vignettes of individuals around the world fighting modern-day slavery. Students’ perspectives expand from the individual to the systemic when they read Kevin Bales’ book Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy.

“No doubt it’s provocative,” says Devine, named the 2009–2010 Secondary Teacher of the Year by the National Council of Social Studies. “The high school students can handle it. And I don’t give them titillating things about sex to read. We focus on the difficulties faced by the women.”

The more students investigate, the more they recognize the economic underpinnings of human trafficking. They learn that wherever there is greed and vulnerable people, conditions exist for turning humans into slaves.

Devine guides students in tracking their own attitudes and perspectives as they explore the mini-unit. She has them keep a “dialectical journal,” synthesizing ideas from in-class discussions with their own ideas and personal responses to texts and videos.

To create the journal, students separate a page into two columns. On the left, they record the facts and concepts included in the text or video, including quotations and descriptions of material that affected them. In the right-hand column, they jot down their own thoughts, questions and insights. “They do it after everything we see or read, so they are constantly reflecting on what they learn,” Devine says.

The unit culminates in an “action project.” These projects ask students to research an issue, then perform a related project in the community. Last year, two girls teamed up to collect backpacks and toiletries for women who had been rescued from traffickers and were living in a safe house.

Keep Human Trafficking Victims in the Brothels to SAVE them? Who would have thought?

What is the first step to take in saving a victim of sex trafficking? My initial reaction, and I venture to say that many others share my view, that removing the individual from the brothel would be the most sensible first step. However, my logic went to hell after reading about a group named of Freeset.

Freeset, located in the Kolkata red light district, has a mission identical to hundreds of other anti-trafficking groups around the world. As stated on their website, they “… would like to see the 10,000 sex workers in our neighborhood empowered with the choice of leaving a profession they never chose in the first place.” From 2001, Freeset has helped workers leave the sex trade by offering the alternative livelihood of manufacturing bags for export. Freeset offers girls an alternative lifestyle while still remaining inside the brothels.

Of course when I learned about Freeset’s model, my mind raced with a million questions. Can a girl live in a brothel and not be part of the sex trade? Can they help to effect change from the inside? Is this a model that other groups should emulate? As we fight to end modern slavery, it is important to learn what all of us are doing to combat the evil. We learn from each other, good or bad. An educated anti trafficking group is by definition a better trafficking group.

Freeset’s model may be unappealing at first blush but it has a proven track record. Its success should teach us to learn so that we avoid the pitfalls of applying our experiences in a foreign land. How many of us have even been to Kolkata? How many of us can even understand how desperate a worker might be. Doesn’t Freeset teach us that even an ex-sex trade worker needs a livelihood? Isn’t that obvious?

For myself, I admit the Freeset model wouldn’t have been my first suggestion, and perhaps not even in my top 100. That failure of imagination reflects poorly on me. Now that I know of Freeset, I want to learn more, do more, and I never want to forget that real people need real help starting with food, shelter, and dignity. I will accomplish success before I ever give in, no matter the price or the time.

To learn more about Freeset and the work they do, please click here.

Image from freesetglobal.com

Reaching Out to Youth: Comic Book on The Stories of Trafficking Survivors

HTP Readers - We have a special post for you! Olga Trusova, a Fulbright Fellow who researched issues of trafficking, education and prevention in Ukraine and Dan Archer, a comics-journalist from California and founder of www.archcomix.com have teamed up to produce Borderland, a comic book based on the stories of trafficking victims to help raise awareness particularly among youth. Please see more information from the authors below as well as a way to get involved!

Borderland comic is coming soon!
As many of you know, we have been working on a comic called Borderland over the past year. In Borderland, we wanted to explore the human trafficking equation from a new perspective—to challenge our understanding of this complex issue. Borderland tells seven stories about human trafficking based on real testimonies from survivors. From a pastry maker in Warsaw to a waitress in Istanbul, the underground world of human trafficking touches every aspect of modern life. Often in surprising and unlikely ways. We are thrilled to announce that Borderland will be printed and distributed to schools and youth in Ukraine by the International Organization for Migration this fall. Now we are looking for ways to reach a similar audience in the United States. Please, take a speak peak at the first story from Borderland on our website: http://www.borderlandcomics.com and pre-order your full copy on Kickstarter: http://kck.st/dfcJUS

Support Borderland on KickStarter
By pitching in you can help us raise $8,000 on KickStarter to support and complete this project. We have two goals: to print and distribute a hard copy of the comic in the U.S., complete with extensive footnotes, research notes and further links; and to create an interactive iPhone/iPad app to promote awareness of the issue to a younger, tech-savvy U.S. audience. By pledging as little as $5, you can help make this happen and, as a bonus, will get various goodies such as a signed hard copy of the comic book, posters, behind the scenes pack, your name in the acknowledgements page, and more. Go to http://kck.st/dfcJUS and pledge!

About the Authors
Olga Trusova, a Fulbright Fellow from Stanford University, spent a year conducting research and collecting authentic stories told by victims of human trafficking in Eastern Europe. Dan Archer, a comics-journalist from California, a founder of www.archcomix.com and 2010 John S. Knight Journalism Fellow, has turned these testimonies into comics to create a comic book anthology project titled Borderland. The project began with a belief that as consumers of various goods and services, people should be aware of where those goods and services come from and at what cost. The U.S. government has tremendous influence on foreign governments and their policies, therefore it is important to bring its citizens' attention to such a powerful issue through an innovative combination of comic art and interactive technology. By reading Borderland, you help make the change!

I also had a chance to interview Olga Trusova, one of the co-authors, about this effort. Here a few of her responses:

EG: What about your research in Ukraine led you to believe that a comic book would be a good way to spread the message about trafficking?

OT: About a year ago I came to IDEO's Social Impact Lab with a question of "How might we prevent human trafficking?" that I was trying to answer as an upcoming Fulbright Fellow in Ukraine. A lot has happened since our initial brainstorm and I'm glad to share that one of the solutions proposed by IDEO folks back then has now become a reality! I decided to focus on comics and interactive storytelling as a way to engage with young audiences in order to raise awareness about this issue. It will be printed and distributed by the International Organization for Migration in 136 schools across four regions of Ukraine in the first pilot this Fall.

EG: Even though it is through a comic book medium, do you feel young students are able to understand human trafficking despite the complexity and difficulty of the material?

OT: I've conducted a number of focus groups with students in Ukraine and found that they were very excited to see comics about Ukrainians in Ukrainian. A lot of them were familiar with manga and American comics, so it was an easy medium for them to understand. I was also glad to see how many discussions sparked after the feedback session (with "Lera's Story" in particular, students were wondering why Lera felt unhappy in the end, how she got her job, why she wanted to find her mother in the first place, and so on). That is really the point of this comic - to promote an open dialogue about a taboo subject in a society that is highly affected by this horrific issue. While NGOs put together comprehensive materials with statistics, hot line info, and case studies, youth don't really relate to such dry documents and often prefer to read comics and play video games. Yet they are the ones who will be making life changing decisions soon. My goal was to start a mind shift in how we think about human trafficking in addition to teaching kids tips and tricks on how to avoid it.

EG: Will the stories be redone in any way for a U.S. audience compared with the Ukrainian series?

OT: In Borderland, I wanted to explore the human trafficking equation from a new perspective—to challenge our understanding of this complex issue. The comic will be available in Ukrainian, Russian, and English for a wider reach. This way it'll be used as a preventative tool among youth in Ukraine on the one hand, while on the other - it'll serve as a way for spreading awareness in the West.

Yoga Stop Human Trafficking

On March 13th 2010 Yogis around the world rolled out their mats for a mass sun salutation, to take a stand against trafficking and show their support to its millions of victims.

The central event was held in the Southern Indian city of Mysore, the world-famous birthplace of Astanga Yoga, and home to Odanadi Seva Trust, who have been working with exploited women and children in and around Mysore for the past 20 years. There were some 60 events in 20 countries taking place around the world.

This video is of the event organized by Sophie Cleere in Reading (England).

Video by David Wall

Trade as One: Fair Trade to Prevent Human Trafficking

From Trade as One:

Our Goals
There are two crises that keep us awake at night. First, the crisis of extreme poverty that defines much of the developing world. Second, the empty consumerism that has left much of the developed world bereft of meaning and purpose. We believe Fair Trade is a way to alleviate both.

Our Story
Our story is of people from all over the world deciding that they want to make the world more fair. It’s not rocket science, it’s just some men and women working together with the audacity to think they can actually change something.

Our Team
We’re diverse, we’re dedicated, we’re experienced, we’re in love (with the idea of a business that brings people together and makes the world better). Some of us are from the United States. Some of us are from the United Kingdom. All of us believe the way to enjoy our own prosperity and freedom is to offer a hand up to others.

Learn more about Trade as One

Illinois and the Swedish Prostitution Model

llinois' Cook County Sheriff, Tom Dart, is in the process of re-focusing Illinois' efforts to address prostitution to the demand side. In his efforts, he is looking to the Swedish model for addressing prostitution. In Sweden, the selling of sex is legal, but buying sex is illegal, reflecting a belief that prostitution is a form of violence against women. The law is meant to put the focus on the people who create the demand for commercial sex and facilitate it: johns, pimps, and in some cases traffickers.

In a recent article in the Weekly Standard, Ambassador Lagon, former Ambassador-at-Large and Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP) and current Executive Director of Polaris Project, reports that Dart is shifting "enforcement resources from the supply side to the demand side: from arresting (and releasing and rearresting) forcibly prostituted women and girls to arresting pimps and johns and impounding their cars, while directing the prostituted females to social services."

Lagon quotes Thomas Bodström, a former Swedish minister of justice, stating that "as long as men think they are entitled to buy and use women's and girls' bodies, human trafficking for sexual purposes will continue." While not all commercial sex is forced or is trafficking, proponents of the Swedish model and efforts to address demand argue that such efforts will afford protections to anyone engaged in commercial sex, since it will allow prostitutes and sex-trafficking victims to access social services and healthcare without fear of arrest.

End Demand, IL, an organization advocating for efforts to address demand for commercial sex, states that its goals are to "advocate for the creation of resources and tools for law enforcement to hold perpetrators accountable, deter further exploitation and increase options for prostituted and trafficked women and girls. . . . EDI's work will result in the adoption of sound public policies and practices that focus law enforcement efforts on protecting victims of the sex industry and prosecuting traffickers, pimps and other enterprises that profit from the exploitation of women and girls in the sex trade. Furthermore, our work will create an infrastructure of care for those involved in prostitution." From a basic economic-analysis standpoint, addressing demand makes sense, given that reducing supply tends to mainly drive up prices and profits - for pimps and traffickers, in this case - and does not eliminate demand.

At the same time, Amanda Kloer of End Human Trafficking points out that simply lifting the Swedish model and attempting to graft it onto other communities and localities is problematic. She lists three main reasons that simply imposing the model on Illinois may not work, including Sweden's more extensive social welfare system, the fact that Sweden is more homogeneous and a significantly smaller country and more centralized nation than the US, and a cultural emphasis in the US on individual rights and the ability to "do what we want." She concludes, "These concerns shouldn't prevent Sheriff Dart or any other creative public servants from taking a hard look at their prostitution policies and reinventing them to better protect women and girls in prostitution. But they should be an reminder that the U.S. isn't Sweden, and thus we shouldn't implement the exact same policies nor expect the exact same results."

We can learn a great deal from international efforts to end slaver, but at the same time, innovative efforts, in fact all efforts, to address trafficking must carefully consider the local context.

Interview: Climb for Captives

Mountain climbing and fighting human trafficking. The combination was so unexpected, that I had to ask Jeremy Vallerand of the Climb for Captives team about the connection. He readily agreed that the two have nothing in common, but for him that's part of the point. People are curious and intrigued when they learn about the project, he says, and it helps show them that anyone and everyone, no matter what their passions are, can take part in ending slavery. According to Vallerand, he and his team are "trying to send a message that everyone can make a difference. Whether you like climbing mountains, playing music, baking cookies or painting pictures, you can use your talents and your community to impact people around the world."

Vallerand and the rest of the Climb for Captives team will use their passion for mountain climbing to raise awareness and raise money for the International Justice Mission. This year will mark their second climb; last year in the summer of 2008, they climbed Mount Rainier and raised nearly $20,000 for the Home Foundation. Both of these organizations are dedicated to ending trafficking, helping victims, and empowering survivors.

The project truly began, though, in February of 2008 when Vallerand traveled to Mumbai, India, and saw first-hand the realities of human trafficking. At the conclusion of his trip, he visited a home for young children rescued from sex trafficking. The experience was a catalyst for Vallerand, who states, "After a few minutes of playing games, giving piggy back rides, and letting the kids climb all over me like I was a jungle gym, I promised myself that I would never forget their faces." Far from forgetting them, he decided to take action. When planning a climb up Mount Rainier, Vallerand and the rest of his team decided to dedicate the climb to fighting trafficking.

The climb itself is challenging, and only about 50% of the people who attempt the summit actually make it to the top. This summer the climbing predictions are unpredictable, since record temperatures have led to melting snow, falling rock and ice, and huge crevasses. The climbers, who finance the trip themselves, also face the pressures of fulltime jobs aside from the climb, families, busy lives, and like everyone, the difficult economic times.

Vallerand credits the importance of his team in meeting these challenges, stating, "There is no way I could do this alone. . . each guy brings a passion that keeps us moving forward." As they approach the climb, Vallerand says "Our team is in high spirits and we are excited about the opportunity to make a difference around the world. We enjoy training together, climbing together, and laboring together in the fight against human trafficking."

In addition to the support of each other, Vallerand says that the team finds motivation in raising awareness about trafficking. He notes that they "come across people all the time who have never heard about human trafficking and have no idea that children around the world and within our own borders are being sold for sex and for labor. Those conversations remind us that we are making a difference and that we can't give up."

More than simply not giving up, Climb for Captives plans to continue to step up their anti-trafficking work. This year they hope to raise twice as much money as last year, and Vallerand suggested that there might be "bigger mountains and bigger financial goals" in store for them. He emphasized, though, that Climb for Captives is committed to ensuring that everything they raise goes directly to the cause, not for paying for the logistics of the climbs themselves. At the same time, he notes that Climb for Captives has supporters all around the world, and he thinks they are ready for a global endeavor.

When I asked what motivates him, Vallerand's answer was as poignant as it was powerful: "the memory I have of the children in India. I remember one little girl in particular. She was no more than 8 years old, living in a home for children with HIV. She had been rescued from a brothel. She didn't speak, she just smiled, and she wanted to hold my hand wherever I went. She followed me around in her pretty pink dress, and I remember trying to think of some way to communicate to her that she was beautiful, that she was a princess. I would climb the mountain just for her."

While everyone might not be able to climb a mountain to fight slavery, Vallerand stresses the fact that everyone can be involved with this fight. Vallerand recounted the story of family in British Columbia who raised $850 for the Climb for Captives by holding a garage sale a couple of weeks ago. His favorite part: "the little neighbor girl who was so saddened by the idea of kids living in slavery that she went home and sold her gold fish to her brother for $8.15" so that she could donate for the climb.

Informed and effective action has to begin with awareness and education, as Vallerand points out. The Climb for Captives website has a number of resources for people who want to learn more and get involved. People can also donate via the site, and Vallerand states that "ALL of the money given goes to the International Justice Mission (and is tax deductible) and goes towards a specific project in India that we are partnering on." People can also contact Climb for Captives at isupport@climbforcaptives.com with questions.

Freeze!

From our friends over at the Freeze Project, in their words:

Use creative action and come together to raise awareness about human trafficking and modern day slavery.

Learn more

Play Reading: The Girls from Afar

Artistic Director, Rehana Mirza
Producing Director, Rohi Mirza Pandya
Presents

THE GIRLS FROM AFAR by Libby Emmons February 17 @ 6.30pm Teatro Circulo, 65 E. 4th Street, #11, New York, NY 10003

(New York, NY February 11, 2009) Desipina & Company (Desipina) is known for its ground-breaking work in bringing together diverse stories to one stage. Past Desipina productions have been hailed as “a grand celebration of storytelling, immigrant experiences, and cross-cultural pollination. What we have to learn from one another is just boundless; Desipina & Co. are doing a worthy thing tearing down some of the boundaries that exist between us and letting us laugh and cry together in the dark.” (NYTheatre.com).

In light of the economic meltdown and despite drastic arts funding cuts, Desipina is presenting a series of free readings of plays that speak to social issues and challenge perceptions. THE GIRLS FROM AFAR by Libby Emmons (MFA Playwriting, Columbia University), tells the story of two girls who have come from afar to work as domestics in a wealthy home; but what seems at first to be a great opportunity becomes a lifestyle of brutality.

The second workshop presentation, SITA/SATI, by Snehal Desai, (MFA Theater, Yale University), tells the story of newly widowed Sita Desi, an immigrant from India, who joins a company of actors to challenge and skewer the stereotypical views of South Asians. However, along the way, the ritual of Sati (self-immolization) which at first is being presented as a lark, takes a dark turn as the crowd gets caught up in the frenzy of ritual and tradition and start calling on Sita to enter the fire and become an actual Sati.

There will be Talk Backs with Cast & Crew after Readings.

Desipina & Company is a 501(c) 3, not for profit fusion arts company that focuses on film and theater to promote the sharing and spreading of artistic, cultural, and political dialogues within and between communities. Desipina, as a term, is slang for describing a person of South Asian (desi) and Filipina (pina) descent, like the two founding sisters of Desipina, Rehana Mirza and Rohi Mirza Pandya. Together since 2000, these sisters and their supporters have brought a new, powerful voice to South Asian and Asian men, women, and children.

Tickets are FREE

For reservations, please email rsvp@desipina.org or for additional information, please visit us at www.desipina.org