From the Paper Birds Theater Company:

I just wanted to take this opportunity to introduce The Paper Birds Theatre Company; an all female collective based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. This week the company will be bringing our award winning production 'In a Thousand Pieces' to The Soho Theatre, London where it will be performed Monday 4th - Saturday 16th May at 8.00pm.

The show, which explores the sex trafficking of Eastern European women using live original music, visual, physical and verbatim theatre was a total sell out at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2008.

Having won a Fringe First and Fringe Review Award,The Paper Birds went on to be shortlisted for The Stage's 'Best Ensemble', Total Theatre's 'Best Young Company' and The Amnesty International 'Expression of Freedom Award' 2008.

For more information please see http://www.thepaperbirds.com/ or contact the company at info@thepaperbirds.com

Tickets available from Soho Theatre box office on : 0207 4780100

All the best,
Jemma Mc Donnell
Artistic Director

The Paper Birds

Human Trafficking and Media: Blessing or Curse

This post comes from Amanda Kloer, the author of the End Human Trafficking blog on Change.org. We thank Ms. Kloer for her contribution to HTP and the counter-trafficking movement. Please visit her site and look for more cross-posting to come!

Human Trafficking and Media: Blessing or Curse

I believe that the world’s stereotypes emanate from one source: Lifetime television. Over the years, Lifetime has taught me that cancer mostly happens to young, pretty, white women; that eating disorders can be cured by a good, long cry; and that Tori Spelling can survive anything. Lifetime has taken on a lot of serious issues, but many of their made-for-tv productions are so fraught with sensationalism and stereotypes, they can do more harm than good. And Human Trafficking is no exception.

In 2005, Lifetime produced a film called Human Trafficking, which starred Mira Sorvino and Donald Sutherland. It was one of the first times that any form of mainstream media had done such an extensive feature on the issue. The story was fictional, about a female Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent (Sorvino), who eventually goes undercover in a ring of human traffickers. The narrative hits a few accurate details, but sensationalizes, simplifies, and ignores others. It stereotypes traffickers, victims, and law enforcement agents, sometimes with gross inaccuracy.

And yet in some ways, Human Trafficking may have been what took the abolitionist movement from the niche to the mainstream, or at least made it more visible. I worked for an anti-trafficking NGO when Human Trafficking first aired on Lifetime, and fielded at least ten phone calls the following day. People asked “Does this really happen?”, “Does this really happen in America?”, “What can I do?”. Some of them donated money. Some of them asked for a volunteer application form. What I saw as frustrating inaccuracies, they saw as a call to action against their first taste of injustice.

The presence of human trafficking in the mainstream media is both a blessing and a curse. Media attention raises awareness, which raises funds and public demand for better legislation and enforcement, which ultimately can help tackle this huge issue. But the temptation to oversimplify it, to make it “sexier”, to sensationalize a story which practically begs to be sensationalized is overwhelming.

I blog about human trafficking, and have often felt that pull to boil trafficking down to a series of words: child, sex slave, chained, forced, kidnapped, virginity, corruption, conspiracy. They are words that leap at your eyeballs and wiggle into your memory. But breaking human trafficking down to mere words loses the truth: that slavery is a complex and growing institution that we support and that we allow to flourish. We worship the pimps. We buy the iPods. We think we can end human trafficking with a good long cry. We can’t.

Like trafficking itself, mainstream media attention for the issue is complicated. Must we take the bad with the good? Or can we continue to push for real depth and accuracy, instead of sensationalism or simplification? We can, but it might take a lifetime.

Prostitution: The Oldest Profession in the World

When it comes to sex trafficking, there is a lot of tension among abolitionists over the topic of prostitution. On the extreme ends, some see all prostitution as a form of trafficking while others make a clear distinction between a person who is a prostitute and someone who is a victim of trafficking. There is, of course, a lot of grey area in between. I bring this up though because today I'm feeling a little frustrated with people who make statements such as, "Prostitution is the oldest profession" or "It's been around for centuries," - as if that somehow proves a point or justifies anything in the prostitution vs. trafficking debate (or, the more common debate over whether prostitution should be legalized). I hate it when people point this out - as if it somehow legitimates anything. Just because something has been around for a long time, doesn't mean it's a good thing.

It's hard to say that women 2000+ years ago chose prostitution of their own free will - more likely, they chose it because it was the only option. It was certainly not some grand statement of female empowerment - rather it was a reaction to the social restrictions placed on women at the time. (Now, some might point to various societies where sex was not as taboo or wrapped up in morality as we see it today, and to them I say that we are talking about commercial transactions for sex - and that if someone can point out a society where prostitution was just as valid a decision as any other business endeavor, and garnered just as much respect and inclusion in society without any opportunity costs (such as marriage) that other business endeavors did not have - I'm willing to listen). ANYWAY - fast forward 2000 years and I wonder how much of this has changed - how much of the decision to become a sex worker today is an enthusiastic embracement of one's own sexuality and the desire to express it in a particular manner, and how much of the decisions is a product of circumstances.

In the present day tension, the idea that someone might choose or even be forced to become a sex worker because of certain circumstances is often overlooked. Now, it is true that, at least from a federal law perspective there has to be some sort of force, fraud, or coercion involved for a commercial transaction involving sex to be considered trafficking. What isn't so clear is what those three words mean. For many, there seems to be this idea that they refer to actions of violence - the woman was chained to the bed, or a gun was held to her head, or she was beaten until she finally submitted. Others consider a definition that afford a little more breadth, so that things like deliberate/blatant psychological coercion or manipulation will qualify as trafficking. Absent some egregious factor such as specific and/or severe physical, sexual, or psychological abuse (from a pimp or from her past) though, many people assume that a woman who is a sex worker is doing it of her own volition - she wants to be there, it was her choice, etc. I think though, that other circumstances play an important role in the idea of consent and that there is room in the idea of force, fraud, or coercion for a different interpretation of consent - one that considers background circumstances that may 'force' a woman into prostitution.

Consent in my mind means active and enthusiastic yes. This can include a woman who chooses, of her own accord, to engage in sexual acts for money. I do not deny that some women will and do choose, of their own volition, without any sort of past hardship or lack of opportunity, to become a sex worker - BUT I think the number of women who fit into this category is very, very small. I think that a large number of women who become sex workers are pushed to that decision by other factors in their life, and when you start adding those factors in, the line between consent and force, fraud, or coercion becomes blurry. What about the woman who did not have the opportunity for an education that would provide her with job skills? What about the woman who has kids to take care of but can't find a job that pays enough? What about the woman who grew up in foster care, or in a family environment surrounded by drug abuse, or the one who is just down on her luck? Are these women victims of trafficking, or are they consenting sex workers?

I am not in any way making a moral judgment here. For your purposes and mine, I have no opinion on the morality of sex workers. What I am trying to do is reframe the debate so people stop seeing it as a black and white, good vs bad issue. I'm asking people to look a little deeper, beyond the question of whether a woman should be allowed to choose to sell her body, beyond the question of whether the government has any right to outlaw a person's rights over their own body, and look beyond the apparent consenting adult ethos. Ask yourself what consent really means, and again, are these women victims of trafficking, or are they consenting sex workers?

My answer? I don't know. Maybe this type of circumstance-created sex work doesn't rise to the level of trafficking, but at the same time I hardly think you can view it as enthusiastic consent. I tend to think that many women who are sex workers would not be in that profession if they were given the opportunity for something else (and the idea of a different set of opportunities can go the whole way back to childhood). I also tend to think that the image we see of sex workers - on TV, on news shows that discuss the topic, etc - is a much more glamorous version of what most sex workers experience. I get a sense that the women who go on to news programs to advocate for sex workers (sometimes actual workers, sometimes not) are the exceptions to the rule - maybe even the ones that did have the opportunities others miss. (NB: that was a huge blanket statement there. Please excuse for the sake of the argument).

Now, for a full disclosure that hopefully won't distract from my above point - I don't know what I think about prostitution being legalized either. Some days I favor the idea of legalizing it - because a woman should be able to decide what she does with her body, and even if the only reason she is involved is due to circumstances that forced her there (money issues for example), far be it from me to limit the ways she has to escape those circumstances, or force her into a worse situation because that avenue of income is unavailable. Now, on those days I still favor prosecuting those who create the demand for such services to the maximum possible under the law. I have no time for people who pay for sex - I think it is wrong and pathetic and there is no way you will ever convince me that the payor is not exploiting the payee, even if the payee is a consenting adult. This is one of the few things I will express a judgment on with no reservations or qualifications whatsoever (although the law student in me still feels the need to reserve the right to change that statement, should anyone make a valid argument that convinces me I am wrong). For more on the idea of legalizing prostitution but outlawing the demand side, see Jennifer's post!

Oh - and also - take a moment to think about the phrase, "Prostitution is the oldest profession in history" before you use it to justify present day prostitution. Whether you are for or against the legalization, basing your argument on the reality of a few thousand years ago is just silly.

Michael Cory Davis, Director of the film Cargo, speaks on trafficking

Director of the films Cargo and Svetlana's Journey, human rights activist Michael Cory Davis speaks to Rob Ricigliano about the reality of human trafficking not only worldwide, but in the United States.

Svetlana's Journey Trailer:

Somaly Mam Named One of Time's Top 100 Most Influential 0f 2009

From Time:

Thursday, Apr. 30, 2009
Somaly Mam
By Angelina Jolie

Somaly Mam and Cambodia's Khmer Rouge regime were born around the same time — when the U.S. began secretly carpet bombing her country. The bombed villages became fertile ground for the Khmer Rouge's growth and Pol Pot's revolution.

By the time Mam was 5, the Khmer Rouge controlled Cambodia and had proceeded to kill 1.5 million people as Pol Pot implemented his radical form of communism. Torture, executions and forced labor were widespread. Families fled for safety, and massive internal displacement decimated Cambodian society in the years that followed.

Against this backdrop, 12-year-old Mam was sold into sexual slavery by a man who posed as her grandfather. She eventually ended up in a Phnom Penh brothel, beginning a decade of horrific rape and torture. She describes this period of her life simply: "I was dead. I had no affection for anyone."

Terror is the weapon of choice for those who hold women in sexual bondage. They depend on their victims' being frozen with fear. Traffickers hope that with enough pain and degradation, women will simply accept their fate as inescapable. But Mam was able to escape. With the help of an aid worker from France, she fled Cambodia in 1993.

The fact that she escaped makes her unique, but what makes her truly extraordinary is that she went back. While, understandably, most people would spend the rest of their lives quietly recovering from their wounds, Mam decided to confront the system that continues to victimize Cambodian girls.

In 1996, Mam created a nonprofit organization called AFESIP (Agir pour les Femmes en Situation Précaire, or Acting for Women in Distressing Circumstances) that works with local law enforcement to raid brothels and reintegrate the trafficked women into society. It is estimated that between 1.2 million and 2 million people are currently being held as sex slaves around the world. Mam, now 38 or 39 (she does not know her birthday), has established a model for addressing this issue and has already helped more than 4,000 women escape the brothels.

She has paid a terrible personal price for doing so, enduring death threats and assaults. In an effort to deter her work, brothel owners even kidnapped, drugged and raped Mam's then 14-year-old daughter in 2006.

Most people would have walked away. Mam continues to fight back so that others can be spared the pain she once suffered.

Jolie, an Oscar-winning actress, is a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commission for Refugees and co-chair of the Jolie-Pitt Foundation

From AFESIP Cambodia:

Our activities cover all aspects of the consequences of trafficking for sex slavery. It ranges from investigation and rescue operations of victims from their slave-like conditions to follow-up of persons after their rehabilitation and reintegration process into the community.

The strategy is:

• To protect victims


• To use the victim centered approached to care for victims


• To develop and implement regional strategies to repatriate victims and follow up the case for up to 3 years


• To reintegrate victims and follow the case for up to 3 years.

AFESIP CAMBODIA rehabilitation objectives are first and foremost, the protection of victims; second, to implement the victim centered approach through holistic care and welcome any persons who are willing to leave sex slavery conditions to our three residential centres with the long term goal of reintegration into society. The components are as follows:

• Legal And Investigation


• HIV/AIDS Prevention


• Training


• Rehabilitation


• Reintegration

A link to the Somaly Mam Foundation

Somaly Mam on the Tyra Banks Show

Part 2 on the Tyra Banks Show

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

A Blight on the Nation: Slavery in Today’s America Pt II

By Ron Soodalter

So how many slaves are we talking about? According to a U.S. State Department study, some 14,500 to 17,500 foreign nationals are trafficked into the United States from at least 35 countries and enslaved each year. Some victims are smuggled into the United States across the Mexican and Canadian borders; others arrive at our major airports daily, carrying either real or forged papers. The old slave ship of the 1800s has been replaced by the 747. Victims come here from Africa, Asia, India, Latin America, and the former Soviet Republic. Overwhelmingly, they come on the promise of a better life, with the opportunity to work and prosper in America. Many come in the hope of earning enough money to support or send for their families. In order to afford the journey, they fork over their life savings, and go into debt to people who make promises they have no intention of keeping, and instead of opportunity, when they arrive they find bondage. They can be found – or more accurately, not found – in all 50 states, working as farmhands, domestics, sweatshop and factory laborers, gardeners, restaurant and construction workers, and victims of sexual exploitation. These people do not represent a class of poorly paid employees, working at jobs they might not like. They exist specifically to work, they are unable to leave, and are forced to live under the constant threat and reality of violence. By definition, they are slaves. Today, we call it human trafficking, but make no mistake: It is the slave trade.

Nor are native-born Americans immune from slavers; many are stolen or enticed from the streets of their own cities and towns. Some sources, including the federal government, estimate in the hundreds of thousands the number of U.S. citizens – primarily children – at risk of being caught in slavery annually. Although these figures may be inflated, the precise number of slaves in the United States, whether trafficked in from other countries or enslaved from our own population, is simply not known. The simple truth is, we’re looking at a crime that lives in the shadows; it’s hard to count what you can’t find.

What is particularly infuriating is the fact that this is a crime that, as a rule, goes unpunished. For the moment, let’s accept the government’s estimate of about 17,000 foreign nationals trafficked into slavery in the United States per year; coincidentally there are also about 17,000 people murdered in the US each year. The national success rate in solving murder cases is about 70%; around 11,000 murders are “cleared” annually. But according to the US government’s own numbers, the annual percentage of trafficking and slavery cases solved is less than 1%. In 2007, the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division obtained 103 convictions for human trafficking, with an average sentence of 9 years.

And to further complicate matters, when they are rescued, survivors often deny their situation. There are several reasons for this: the language barrier, a deep sense of shame, fear for their lives and those of their families in their country of origin, and a sense of obligation to pay their debt. In addition, the traffickers program them to fear the police and immigration officials. And in some instances, they come to identify with their keepers.

We don’t yet know how President Obama will respond to the human trafficking crisis; it’s too soon to tell. But we do know that the response under the Bush Administration was inadequate on any number of levels. In a speech on trafficking, Bush once stated, “We're beginning to make good, substantial progress. The message is getting out: We’re serious. And when we catch you, you’ll find out we’re serious. We’re staying on the hunt.” Strong words. But the unvarnished truth is, with less than 1% of the bad guys apprehended, and less than 1% of the victims freed, it sounds a lot more like spin than fact; meanwhile, the flow of human “product” into America continues practically unchecked.

This is the kind of knowledge you can’t “unlearn”; the only question is, what do you do with the information once you have it? It’s a question we must all address for ourselves. We tend to think of our America as the country where slavery has no place; the dire truth is, we are pretty far from freedom, and it will take a lot of work and dedication – by the government, and by us - to make it so.



The Slave Next Door by Ron Soodalter and Kevin Bales:

Tens of thousands of people from every part of the globe (including U.S. citizens) are living in slavery today in America. They are controlled by violence, paid nothing, and forced to work until they die, escape, or are rescued. Authors Ron Soodalter and Kevin Bales describe this horrific condition in their definitive book, The Slave Next Door: Human Trafficking and Slavery in America Today, which presents for the first time, a comprehensive and compelling account of modern-day slavery in the Land of the Free.

Websites:

Ron: www.RonSoodalter.com

Kevin: www.freetheslaves.net