allAfrica.com: South Africa: Metro Police Fight Human Trafficking

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30 April 2010
Pretoria — The Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) will be embarking on a human trafficking campaign to raise awareness about the crime.

The week long campaign, which will run from 1-8 May, will see officers visiting shopping malls and schools, where they will educate residents and learners on what human trafficking is.

EMPD spokesperson, Chief Superintendent Wilfred Kgasago, said the campaign aims to prevent more women and children in particular from becoming victims of this modern day form of slavery.

"Officers will educate residents on what human trafficking is, how to identify traffickers and which emergency numbers to use to report incidents of human trafficking or suspected traffickers," said Kgasago.

The emergency numbers including the metro's life threatening emergency numbers that can be used to report incidents related to human trafficking are 011 458 0911 or 10177, 112 from a mobile phone and 0800 10111 for the SAPS

allAfrica.com: South Africa: Metro Police Fight Human Trafficking

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News10.net | Sacramento - Stockton - Modesto, California | Video

Area artists head to Cambodia to combat child trafficking

A team of local artists will be leaving Sunday for Cambodia on a two-week mission of mercy, painting murals to help children recovering from sex trafficking.



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BBC News - UN begins Gulf human rights tour in Saudi Arabia

Monday, 19 April 2010 13:00 UK

The UN high commissioner for human rights has begun a visit to Saudi Arabia, a country much criticised by human rights organisations.

High Commissioner Navi Pillay said countries in the region need to address the issues of abuse against foreign workers and improve women's rights.

But the government has improved its co-operation with the UN rights body, the high commissioner said.

Saudi Arabian law does not grant equal rights to women or foreign workers.

The high commissioner is on a 10-day trip to the Gulf region, in which she will visit six countries.

"Some countries are reconsidering the sponsorship system that rigidly binds migrants to their employers, enabling the latter to commit abuses, while preventing workers from changing jobs or leaving the country," Mrs Pillay said in a speech at a university near Jeddah.

There are an estimated 12 million foreign workers in the Gulf region.

They are admitted into Gulf countries under a system known as Kafala, where the employee, labourer or servant must surrender their travel documents to a guarantor, which in effect renders them bonded labour human rights groups say.

Domestic workers are often subject to abuse, and in 2008 the government began an awareness campaign to combat the abuse of domestic workers.

'Patchy'

Much more needs to be done by Gulf states to improve women's rights, the Ms Pillay said.

"Discriminatory barriers continue to hamper women's right to shape their own lives and choices and fully participate in public life. These barriers must be removed."

TRADITIONS & RIGHTS
Kafala A system that, applied to migrant workers, allows migrants to work in Gulf states as long as they have a guarantor who is responsible for them
Mehrem The system of male guardianship which bestows control over marriage, divorce, child custody and a woman's freedom of movement to her male relatives

source:ohchr.org

It was also time to "lay to rest" the concept of "male guardianship" which bestows control over women to their male relatives.

There is an "encouraging level of government activity" around women's rights in recent years, Mrs Pillay said.

"[But] positive developments for women's civil and political rights are still patchy and uneven in the region," she added.

Women continue to face severe discrimination and are inadequately protected against domestic and other violence, according to Amnesty International.

BBC News - UN begins Gulf human rights tour in Saudi Arabia

The Associated Press: Rights group: Mideast maids unprotected from abuse

By BARBARA SURK (AP) – 2 hours ago

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Reforms undertaken by governments in the Middle East to protect domestic workers from abuse are insufficient to shield women working as house maids from abuse and violence, Human Rights Watch said Thursday.

Millions of mostly Asian women who work in countries like Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates remain at risk of human trafficking, forced labor, confinement and sexual violence, the New York-based group said.

Although several governments have made improvements for migrant domestic workers in the past five years, reform has been slow and incremental, Nisha Varia, the group's senior researcher of women's rights told The Associated Press.

"There has been a big change in the sense that these countries are recognizing there is a problem," Varia said in a phone interview. "But while many governments are introducing reforms, most have yet to implement them."

The 26-page report released Thursday documents progress in extending protections to mostly Asian women working as house maids in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait and the Emirates.

Women working in private homes often work 20-hour days, face forced confinement and are sometimes physically and sexually abused, the report said.

Their passports are confiscated upon arrival, leaving employers in full control of their house maids' lives under what is known as a "sponsorship system."

The custom remains the biggest factor contributing to abuse, leaving women trapped in abusive situations since they are not allowed to legally change an employer, HRW said.

The group also urged that it's essential that domestic workers' rights — now governed by immigration law in most Mideast countries — are included in the labor law, assuring them of basic rights such as setting their work hours, regulating the quality of food and housing they get and guaranteeing them a day off a week.

"Governments will have to think creatively how to reach out to women working in private homes," Varia said. "It is a unique working environment."

While Human Rights Watch praised Jordan for including domestic work in the country's labor law, it said that "enforcement remains a big concern."

Most migrant workers in the Middle East — 1,5 million, according to HRW's assessment — are employed in Saudi Arabia. About 200,000 migrants work in Lebanon and 660,000 in Kuwait.

Domestic work in foreign countries is an important source of employment for women in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Nepal, India, and Ethiopia. Their earnings abroad amount to much of the billions of dollars of remittances sent home each year.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

The Associated Press: Rights group: Mideast maids unprotected from abuse

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Organized Crime and Human Trafficking

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By Kathleen Davis

Last week, the Department of Justice charged 14 Gambino Crime Family Associates with multiple criminal offenses, including sex trafficking of a minor. This is among the first federal cases targeting organized crime groups with human trafficking offenses in the United States. This particular case helps highlight two significant points in regards to efforts to combat human trafficking: it is about maximizing profits no matter who is involved in the exploitation, and it is not always a standalone crime, but often wrapped up within other crimes.

The International Labor Organziation (ILO) estimates that global human trafficking generates over $32 billion annually—which is greater than the GDP of Africa and South America combined. Traffickers know there is a profit to be made because there is a demand for commercial sex and/or cheap labor. In the case of the Gambino associates, they saw a demand for commercial sex and therefore engaged in sex trafficking among other criminal activities.

What was particularly interesting about this recent case was the surprise expressed by both law enforcement and former mafia members surrounding the sex trafficking charges. After the charges were announced, I had the privilege to meet and speak with former FBI special agent Jack Garcia about the sex trafficking charges. As a former special agent, Jack had worked undercover to dismantle the Gambinos in the early 2000s. While undercover, Garcia had noted the mafia in strip clubs and some involvement in prostitution, but he had never come across sex trafficking of children. He noted that the Italian mafia had a certain “ethics”—if there is such a thing among criminals—that prohibited any involvement or harm of women and children. For him and others, sex trafficking was a new low for the mafia, and it was clearly about finding new avenues for profit.

What I hope this case does, is highlight to other federal, state, and local law enforcement that human trafficking is often intertwined with other criminal offenses—whether it is kidnapping, racketeering, or prostitution, and often one aspect of organized crime. We need to target more human trafficking cases and links to organized crime groups—whether they are internationally linked crime groups or local street gangs—if we want to dismantle larger human trafficking networks.

It is therefore critical to not view human trafficking in a vacuum, but rather as a crime that is often spurred on by or accompanied by other crimes. Part of this requires shifting away from the paradigm that prostitution is a victimless crime or that the women/girls gave consent. Another part requires that law enforcement understand the general nature of human trafficking and how to identify potential situations while conducting other investigations. It is critical that advocates also consider other crimes in the furtherance of human trafficking or vise versa. We should intertwine anti-human trafficking advocacy and training into law enforcement’s daily protocols This would entail victim identification and assistance. From my experience, once an officer learns about human trafficking—they become some of the most passionate advocates to target those who willingly exploit others for profit.

Human trafficking is a serious crime without limitations on who can be involved in exploiting others and it will not always be a separate standalone crime. The Gambino associates exemplified this with their greed and ruthlessness when they engaged in sex trafficking and various other criminal activities. What is needed is further discussion on the nature of organized crime and any connections there may be to human trafficking. The Gambino associates are a start, but we need more emphasis in targeting organized crime networks and any involvement in human trafficking.

http://www.blog.polarisproject.org/?p=1301

Ghana News :: Government to build shelter for victims of human trafficking ::: Breaking News | News in Ghana | news

Last Updated: Wednesday, 28 April 2010, 6:80 GMT Previous Page

Plans are far advanced for the construction accommodation facilities for victims of human-trafficking, the Women and Children Affairs Minister has said.

Accra and Kumasi have been selected to benefit from the first phase of the project.

Anti-human-trafficking have long pushed for the provision of shelter to protect victims of human trafficking, arguing the absence of such facilities forced campaigners to send victims back to the very environment from where they were abused and trafficked from exposing them to harm and further violation.

The Women and Children’s Affairs Minister, Mrs Juliana Azumah Mensah said the decision to put up the structures was the government’s response to the dire need to give impetus to the work of counter-trafficking agencies.

She was addressing participants of a four-day collaborative workshop for law enforcement agencies, the judiciary, prosecutors, government officials and non-governmental organizations on combating trafficking in persons and irregular migration in Ghana.

The workshop was sponsored by the Danish Embassy with support from the Women and Children Affairs Ministry and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Mrs Azumah Mensah expressed satisfaction that “information dissemination and awareness raising campaigns have yielded some positive results in view of the frequent [reports] about child migrants and the effects on the nation”.

She urged campaigners to continue to work assiduously towards rooting the canker out of the country.

The Chief of Mission of IOM, Dyane Epstein catalogued the achievements of the counter-trafficking project in the country.

She said “the first component of [the project] entailed carrying out an information campaign targeting potential migrants in the Western Region, which has been identified as a highly-endemic area for irregular migration, especially for stowaways. Under this component, a Migration Consultation Centre and a hot-line were established in Sekondi-Takoradi in the Western Region in order to provide potential migrants with information on procedures pertaining to the acquisition of authentic travel and identity documents, the risks and dangers associated with irregular migration, and potential opportunities for safe and legal migration.”


A lot has been achieved

“The centre is currently being managed by the Research and Counselling for African Migrants Foundation (RECFAM), an NGO that is based in Takoradi. Under the same information campaign, various awareness raising activities, such as community fora and lively drama performances on human trafficking and irregular migration, were carried out in 73 communities, including many schools and churches, within the Greater Accra and Western Regions of Ghana in close coordination with the Ghana Immigration Service and other partners.”

Ms Epstein stressed that “in meeting the health needs of migrants, two free HIV Voluntary Counselling and Testing Centres (VCT) have been set up and were launched last week in Takoradi in order to enable them to commence operations in the Western Region in coordination with the Ghana Health Service. 473 people have already undergone voluntary counselling and testing, with those infected with HIV/AIDS being referred for specialised medical treatment.”

The IOM Chief of Mission explained that “the second component entailed building the capacity of law enforcement authorities and the judiciary to prevent and combat trafficking and irregular migration by working together in the detection, investigation, and prosecution process. From the various trainings held for the judiciary, law enforcement, security services, and prosecutors, I am pleased to announce that a total of 123 officials have undergone training on human trafficking, which exceeded the initial project target of 90 officials.”

Emphasizing the importance of the capacity building workshops, Ms Epstein said, “lessons learned and best practices have been identified and put into practice, resulting in significant gains made in the investigation and prosecution of traffickers and in the reduction in the number of irregular migrants departing from the Western Region.

“I am confident that this third and final collaborative workshop will successfully build upon and further enhance the already good collaboration established among the agencies represented here today,” she added.

Story by Malik Abass Daabu/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana

Ghana News :: Government to build shelter for victims of human trafficking ::: Breaking News | News in Ghana | news

Slavery still a prominent practice in U.S. - Opinion

Sunkyo Lee
Issue date: 4/23/10

What comes to your mind when you hear "fair-trade goods"? You might think of what fair trade works against - the coffee, chocolate and clothing industries that treat workers unfairly. Well, add products like oranges and tomatoes farmed in Florida, right here in the United States, to the list of goods produced through extreme exploitation. Some of those tomato slices you all see and put on your sandwiches are products of modern-day slavery.

In fact, the U.S. Supreme Court's most recently tried case of slavery, U.S. v. Navarrete in 2008, found Florida employers guilty of beating, threatening and locking up their workers, and holding them in involuntary servitude. Even in our politcally correct age, it appears there is slavery in Florida. Florida farmworkers are victims of "modern-day slavery," forced to work under sweatshop conditions and deprived of basic labor rights. According to the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a community-based worker organization in Immokalee, Fla., Florida tomato pickers earn about 45 cents per 32-pound bucket of tomatoes. This rate hasn't changed much since 1978. This means that at today's rate, workers have to pick more than 2.5 tons of tomatoes just to earn Florida's minimum wage for a 10-hour work day. Workers can't even afford the time to wash their pesticide-soaked hands before eating lunch - the lunch they packed at 5 a.m. to begin a day where work is not guaranteed, respect is denied and slavery is a reality.

At this point, one might wonder, "What about minimum-wage laws and labor unions? Can't Florida's farmworkers plea to the law or organize a union to raise their wages and working conditions?" The appalling truth is that basic labor rights - such as a minimum wage, the right to organize and collectively bargain and the right to overtime pay - do not apply to U.S. farmworkers, because of the intentional exclusion of farmworkers from key New Deal reform measures, like the National Labor Relations Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act.

To improve the situation, the CIW has led a boycott of big food corporations such as Taco Bell, McDonald's and Burger King since 2001. They've organized to demand that the corporations buy tomatoes from companies that pay the workers just a penny more per pound, almost doubling the workers' pay from 40 cents per 32-pound bucket of tomatoes to 72 cents per bucket. Perseverance of CIW and its allies, such as Student/Farmworker Alliance, has yielded success; Yum Brands (owner of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and others), McDonald's and Burger King have signed agreements that promise to pay a penny more per pound to workers harvesting tomatoes for companies and participate in collaborative efforts to improve the farmworkers' working conditions.

But the campaign is far from over. The SFA and CIW are working with college serveries and grocery stores to make sure all major buyers pay fair wages and respect basic human rights. You can contribute to the campaign by asking the Housing and Dining department to demand Houston Avocado, the main Rice produce provider, to buy tomatoes from companies that entered the agreement with CIW. Rice For Peace, a student organization promoting social justice, is also allying with CIW and SFA to pressure Kroger to sign the agreement. Check out the fair food campaigns and start demanding; visit www.ciw-online.org for more information.

Sunkyo Lee is a Duncan College freshman. Richard Treadwell, a Baker College senior, contributed to this column.

Slavery still a prominent practice in U.S. - Opinion

Stopping human trafficking not an easy task | SCNow

By Jamie Rogers
Published: April 26, 2010
Updated: April 26, 2010

COLUMBIA — Human trafficking is a global problem that affects an estimated two million people worldwide.

And it takes the FBI — the only U.S. agency that has jurisdiction on the moon — to stamp out such a widespread problem, which investigators and victims’ advocates say exists in South Carolina.

The FBI enforces federal laws on human trafficking and works closely with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as well as local law enforcement officers to investigate individual cases of trafficking, FBI Special Agent in Charge David A. Thomas said.

“Civil rights has always been a primary function of the FBI and human trafficking is no different,” Thomas said. “A lot of people you go out and talk to, unfortunately, assume that slavery went away in the United States and in the world, but we still have slavery. Human trafficking is still going on, so the bureau does vigorously enforce (laws).

“We are always very concerned about that, especially here in South Carolina. It’s a priority for us as well as in our other offices.”

Human trafficking, like drug trafficking, follows the same routes, said Betty Houbion, vice president of the Eastern Carolina Coalition Against Human Trafficking. Interstates 95 and 85, which run through South Carolina, connects cities like New York and Atlanta which are major trafficking hubs.

Investigations
The investigation of trafficking cases are notoriously difficult for all agencies, even the FBI, an agency that keeps an agent trained and ready to go up on a space shuttle to investigate any crime committed in outer space. Investigating is difficult because very rarely do human trafficking victims come forward, Thomas said.

Most victims are women who are in some sort of indentured situation and don’t have the ability to get out and talk to someone, he said.

Others have been intimidated into thinking their families will be killed if they don’t cooperate, so they remain quiet just to keep their families safe from traffickers, Thomas said.

Agents assigned to the FBI’s Civil Rights program work on human trafficking cases, he said. No agents are assigned to work only trafficking cases; rather, they investigate all crimes related to civil rights.

“If an allegation is reported to us, then we would go out and start investigating,” Thomas said.

The FBI tries to establish whether there is, in fact a human trafficking case, and if so, whether it falls under the federal umbrella, he said.

“A lot of times we work in conjunction. Most of the time the complaints will probably come into the local agencies first,” Thomas said. “They have a lot more coverage out in the community than we would.
So a lot of our referrals or complaints come from our local law enforcement partners.”

But many in local law enforcement aren’t familiar with laws against human trafficking, said Michael Hildebrand, a Greenville County sheriff’s sergeant who investigates human trafficking crimes.

“Some of us in law enforcement are a little hard-headed, sometimes we don’t believe (trafficking victims) have basic human rights,” he said.

Some officers are “turned off” by suspected human trafficking and they don’t want to deal with it because it’s immigration-related, Hildebrand said.

“There’s that stereotype in law enforcement that you are an illegal ... that you don’t have rights,” he said.

Victims’ rights
The Trafficking Victim’s Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) is a federal law against human trafficking. The law covers acts involved in the recruitment, abduction, transport, harboring, transfer, sale or receipt of person through fraud or coercion or forced labor or commercial sex against their will, Hildebrand said.

Even attempting to do these things is a federal crime, he said.

The attempt aspect of the law is crucial because it allows law enforcement to focus on the intent of the suspect rather then proving that the victim’s free will was overcome, Hildebrand said.
TVPA is a victim-centered law, which means that even trafficking victims who are illegal in the United States are eligible for assistant if they are willing to aid in the prosecution of their traffickers, Hildebrand said.

Victims can obtain a legal temporary status for three years if they cooperate with officials, FBI Special Agent Michael Beauford said. Victim are also eligible for medical care, witness protection, housing assistance and other social services.

Thomas said investigators and prosecutors don’t want to automatically deport victims because they must testify in court.

“When the victims are here illegally, there’s a question about their status. The (FI) victim witness person assists them in obtaining a status for being here — in other words, obtaining a Visa,” Beauford said.

State law
South Carolina is one of only a handful of states in the Union that has its own law on trafficking, said Betty Houbion, vice president of the Eastern Carolina Coalition Against Human Trafficking.

The not-for-profit organization, which advocates for trafficking victims and educates first responders and law enforcement officers, is pushing for state lawmakers to strengthen the laws already on the books, she said.

Bill H4522 Human Trafficking would create asset forfeiture for convicted human traffickers and funds for victims and law enforcement, Houbion said.

H4522 provides funding for victim assistance, law enforcement training, and local law enforcement investigations and prosecutions, through asset forfeiture by the perpetrators of this crime. The bill also would allow integrated law enforcement investigation and interjurisdictional prosecution.

The bill is being considered by the House Judiciary Committee, and advocates of the bill are working to move it to the House before May 1, Houbion said.

Another human trafficking bill,4202, if passed would stiffen the penalty from a maximum of 15 years to a maximum of 30 years. That bill has moved from the House to the Senate for consideration, she said.

The Eastern Coalition would like to see 4202 contain a clause that requires the convicted person to be deported if they aren’t a U.S. Citizen, Houbion said.
For more information about the bill and other human trafficking-related issues, call the Eastern Carolina Coalition Against Human Trafficking at (843) 357-7010.


Stopping human trafficking not an easy task | SCNow

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Bill to shield child prostitutes touted in Senate

Published: Sunday, April 25, 2010

By Abbe Smith

NEW HAVEN — When a young girl finds herself out on the street, selling her body to pay her pimp or because she has a drug addiction, it’s not prostitution — it’s coercion, abuse, slavery.

That’s the premise behind a new bill making its way through the state Senate that would protect children from being prosecuted for the crime of prostitution. The proposed “Safe Harbor” bill creates the presumption that children and teens who engage in prostitution are victims of sexual exploitation.

“They are coerced or forced into this trade, and they should be treated as victims instead of criminals,” said state Sen. Rob Kane, R-Watertown, who sponsored Senate Bill 153.

“The big thing is, this needs to be brought up and it needs to be talked about. It can’t be swept under the rug.”

Specifically, the bill says anyone under the age of 16 cannot be prosecuted for crimes of prostitution. For 16- and 17-year-olds facing prostitution charges, “there shall be a presumption that the actor was coerced into committing such offense by another person.”

Kane said he hopes to have a vote on the bill before the Senate’s current session ends May 5.

The bill has faced some opposition. In testimony to the Select Committee on Children in Hartford, Chief State’s Attorney Kevin Kane spoke against the bill, which he argued “seeks to address a problem that does not exist in the state of Connecticut.” He went on to state that “the Division of Justice is not in the business of prosecuting the innocent victims of human trafficking” and notes that under existing state law, children under 16 cannot be prosecuted for prostitution because they cannot legally consent to sex at that age.

Advocates of the proposed Safe Harbor bill agree the state has not had many cases of minors arrested for prostitution. However, they say the legislation will do more than just protect minors from being prosecuted for crimes of which they are victim, it will also raise awareness about the problem of child sex trafficking and exploitation.

“The goal is to intervene in (the victims’) lives and make available services to let them know they have another choice, to let them know they do have rights, that the law works in their favor,” said Kathy Maskell, U.S. advocacy director for New Haven-based Love 146, an organization that fights child sex slavery and exploitation at home and around the globe.

EVEN IN CONNECTICUT

Children get recruited into the sex trade at alarmingly young ages. The average age that a girl enters the world of prostitution is 13 years old. Child victims face lower life expectancies stemming from the devastating consequences of sex trafficking: depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, physical abuse, risk of suicide, sexually transmitted disease. They have a greater chance of being murdered during their lifetimes.

At Love 146’s safe house in the Philippines for female victims of sex trafficking, survivors expressed deeply troubling self-images as a result of their harrowing ordeals.

“I feel like a dog. I feel like dirt. I could never return home, I feel worthless. These are the words they use to describe themselves,” Maskell says. “I don’t think it would be a stretch to say U.S.-born victims would feel the same way.”

Supporters of the bill say the problem of child sex trafficking is not relegated to foreign countries; they say sexual exploitation of children happens right here in the United States, even here in Connecticut. Since 2008, the state Department of Children and Families has identified 25 youths in Connecticut as victims of child sex trafficking, according to testimony in support of the bill by Connecticut Voices for Children.

Also in 2008, two men were sentenced in federal court for their roles in prostitution rings that had victims in Connecticut and New York. Dennis Paris was sentenced to 30 years in prison for prostituting minors as young as 14 years old in the Hartford area. Authorities said Paris recruited young girls from troubled backgrounds, some of whom were addicted to drugs. Corey Davis was convicted of trafficking more than 20 females, including a 12-year-old girl, and forcing them to work as prostitutes and strippers.

Experts say those most at-risk for being coerced into prostitution are child runaways and victims of sexual or physical abuse. But the reality is that sexual exploitation of children through prostitution can happen anywhere, at any time, according to Maskell.

“Because of the Internet, it really does open it up to anyone in any socio-economic community,” she says.

A number of local nonprofit organizations, state agencies and youth advocates have banded together in support of S.B. 153, including the state Office of Victim Advocate, the Connecticut Commission on Children, Love 146, Connecticut Voices for Children, ECPAT-USA, the Essex-based Paul and Lisa Program, and the Clinton-based Barnaba Institute.

Alexis Taylor Litos, executive director of the Barnaba Institute, says even though not many minors get arrested for prostitution in the state, children who are exploited through sex trafficking often get picked up for other offences. Instead of getting intervention and the help they need to get out danger, these kids get lost in the legal system, she says. Being treated like a criminal sends victims spiraling deeper into despair.

“It is instilling that self-blame and making them feel it is their fault,” Litos says.

In some cases, she adds, the teens give false identification to police to appear older. Litos says better training in the area of sex-trafficking and sexual exploitation of children would enable first responders to do a better job of identifying red flags and clues that a child or young teen is being abused or trafficked.

Of all the people who went before the state Select Committee on Children or sent letters to express support for the “Safe Harbor” bill, the most profound voice belongs to an 18-year-old Connecticut woman, who herself was a victim of sexual exploitation. In a letter to the committee, the woman wrote that she was a scared kid who ran away from home and ended up trapped in a life of prostitution by the age of 14.

“I didn’t know what I was getting myself into to. I have been raped and beaten many times and I still have these memories that will be with me for the rest of my life. I was 14 years old. I did not try to tell anyone because I was scared,” the unidentified woman wrote.

The woman said she got help and was able to escape the world of prostitution, but it was hard.

“I just wish that everyone that goes through this can get the support that they need rather than a jail sentence,” she wrote.

Respectfully submitted from: http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2010/04/25/news/new_haven/doc4bd3b5e07a5fa364395395.txt
Posted by Carrie Eigbrett at 8:40 AM 0 comments
Labels: child prostitution, human trafficking, NH, sex trafficking

They don't belong to YOU!

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Dubai Police intensify battle against human trafficking

Image via Wikipedia

Centre was set up early last year by the Dubai Police to monitor human trafficking

By Siham Al Najami, Staff Reporter
Published: 00:00 April 26, 2010
Gulf News

Maj Gen Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina (left) and Col Dr Mohammad Abdullah Al Murr

* Maj Gen Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina (left) and Col Dr Mohammad Abdullah Al Murr.
* Image Credit: Supplied

Dubai: Human trafficking cases in Dubai increased 28 per cent in 2009 over the previous year, with 33 victims forced into prostitution and a case of an infant offered for sale.

Dubai Police Deputy Chief Major-General Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina said the increase was due to the significant effort police made to combat human trafficking, in collaboration with the Ministry of Interior and international organisations.

Figure dropped

In 2006, human trafficking cases were only seven and shot up to 23 in 2007. The figure dropped in 2008 to 18 cases but rose again in 2009 to 23 cases.

Dubai Police said around 88 per cent of the victims were women. Of the 33 victims, 12 per cent were younger than 18, 53 per cent were 19 to 25 and 34 per cent were older than 26. An additional case of attempting to sell a baby was detected in 2009.

There were "absolutely no other cases of human trafficking such as selling of organs and enslavement," Maj Gen Al Mazeina said.

The majority of victims, around 58 per cent, had come from developing countries with low living standards and had only basic elementary education, he said.

Awareness was the key to fighting human trafficking, he said.

In 2009, 76 suspects were involved in 23 cases. Of those, 21 were committed by more than one suspect; 79 per cent were committed by men and 21 per cent by women.

In 2008 there were 69 suspects involved in 18 cases of human trafficking.

Trafficking monitored

Of those, 14 cases were committed by more than one suspect; 55 per cent by women and 45 per cent by men.

A centre was set up early last year by the Dubai Police to monitor human trafficking, tackle the sex trade and respond to labour violations.

The General Department of Legal and Disciplinary Control Director-General Colonel Dr Mohammad Abdullah Al Murr said the centre implemented field studies and training, and acted globally to combat traffickers and provide necessary services for victims.

Maj Gen Al Mazeina said, "Our centre is the first of its kind established among Arab countries to tackle and combat human trafficking".

"This part of combating crimes requires teams and units specialised in combating human trafficking due to the sophistication and complications of these crimes such as being able to differentiate the nature of the crime from prostitution and providing support to the victim and able to arrest the entire network involved in these crimes," he said.

Identification

It was difficult for prosecutors to identify human trafficking, which could resemble prostitution.

He also called for investigation into how victims could enter the country on residence visas sponsored by UAE nationals.

Maj Gen Al Mazeina said the centre, with the Dubai Foundation for Women and Children, in 2009 offered 36 victims of human trafficking psychological and legal support.

Numbers

In 2006, human trafficking cases were only 7 and shot up to 23 cases in 2007. The figure dropped in 2008 to reach 18 cases and went up again in 2009 to 23 cases.


gulfnews : Dubai Police intensify battle against human trafficking

Vermont joins fight against human trafficking | Vtdigger.org

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By Press Release on April 26, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 24, 2010

Vermont officially joins the fight against human trafficking and modern day slavery

Montpelier – Vermont has been considered one of the most lenient states when it comes to combating human trafficking in the U.S. The state has been listed as 1 of 5 states in the entire country and the only state in the entire Northeast that has failed to pass an up to date human trafficking law. This is all about to change.

This Tuesday at 1:30 pm, Governor Jim Douglas will sign S. 272, “An act relating to human trafficking.” The bill will establish a task force and law enforcement advisory board that focus on the issues related to human trafficking in Vermont and make the most appropriate recommendations for ways to protect the rights of victims and hold accountable those who commit these heinous crimes.

According to Liz Tedrick-Moutz, COVAST founder and future member of the Vermont human trafficking task force, “We still have a long way to go, but S. 272 is the first step in creating an effective, collaborative effort to combat a very inter-related and under-reported crime. Understanding how human trafficking uniquely exists within our state will help develop more effective ways to respond and teach others.”

Human trafficking is a form of modern day slavery in which men, women and children are bought, sold and used against their will. Victims are used for a wide range of purposes that include forced labor, prostitution and domestic servitude. Human trafficking is the 3rd most profitable criminal industry in the world and it flourishes in areas where the crimes remain hidden. In the US, traffickers seek out the most un-regulated states to conduct their “business” because they run little risk of getting caught and their victims have little chance of escaping. Human trafficking happens in every country and state, including Vermont – regardless of ethnicity, nationality or economic background.

A public bill signing ceremony for S. 272 is scheduled for Tuesday, April 27, 2010 at 1:30 p.m. in the Ceremonial Office of the Vermont State House. Attendance is strongly encouraged in an effort to raise awareness against human trafficking, the world’s modern day form of slavery.

For general information on human trafficking in Vermont visit www.covast.org

For more information contact Liz Tedrick-Moutz at 802-595-9621

Vermont joins fight against human trafficking | Vtdigger.org

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Diana Mao: Leveraging Social Entrepreneurship to Fight Slavery

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Posted: April 23, 2010 12:53 PM

Peter Drucker defined an entrepreneur as one who "always searches for change, responds to it, and exploits it as an opportunity." I never thought of myself as an entrepreneur, but after spending a summer in Cambodia and witnessing the poverty and vulnerabilities of women and children in remote villages, I began to crave change.

There is nothing like watching a desperately poor father in a remote village in Cambodia trying to give away his daughter to put things into perspective. I went to Cambodia to conduct micro-finance research. It involved visiting families, most of whom made less than $1 per day. They could not even provide one meal a day to their children. One man offered his daughter to my colleague. Although we were trustworthy graduate students, it made me realize how easy it is for sex traffickers to walk into a village and recruit children.

According to researcher Siddharth Kara, human trafficking is a $91.2 billion industry. It is the world's second largest criminal enterprise, topped only by the illegal drug trade. For victims, the emancipation process is extremely challenging. After going through rescue, rehabilitation, and reintegration, most girls lack marketable job skills or any source of income. Moreover, without ongoing support, mentorship, training, and job opportunities, too many survivors either get re-trafficked or are compelled to enter prostitution in order to survive. Thus, creating sustainable economic alternatives to the sex trade is essential in the fight against sex trafficking.

Collectively, consumers have the highest potential to create systematic change, by simply changing their purchasing behavior. This is not as easy as it sounds because it is human nature to desire cheap products or anything that is free. How many times have you walked into a store and been instantly drawn to the word FREE. But despite the obvious consumption patterns, the fair trade market is growing.

Research indicates that the market for Fair Trade products in the U.S. has tremendous growth potential. According to a recent Fair Trade Federation report, 88 percent of Americans self-identify as conscious and socially responsible consumers. The U.S. market for sustainable products is currently estimated at $118 billion, including $11 billion for lifestyle products alone. Nomi Network sees an immediate opportunity in the combination of a growing market plus the desires of so many consumers who crave fair trade and socially progressive purchasing options.

However, before this market can be tapped effectively, there is an information gap that must be filled. For example, while 71 percent of U.S. consumers have heard the term "Fair Trade," less than 6 percent are able to name a Fair Trade brand. Nomi Network bridges the gap, by developing chic, innovative, and sustainable products that give consumers the opportunity to purchase mainstream products that not only look good but do good.

Nomi Network is a 501c3 organization that leverages the marketplace, film, and fashion to help eradicate human trafficking. Instead of condemning consumers and retailers who often perpetuate the cycle of slavery, Nomi engages retailers to develop and sell products that are made by survivors of sex-trafficking and those at risk. We are bridging the private, non-profit, and public sectors through education and enterprise, to end human trafficking.

Follow Diana Mao on Twitter: www.twitter.com/dmnominetwork

* Poverty
* Cambodia



Diana Mao: Leveraging Social Entrepreneurship to Fight Slavery

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S.C. not immune to human trafficking (PART 1)

THEY DON'T BELONG TO YOU

Sunday, April 25, 2010

By Jame Rogers
Published: April 24, 2010

Editor’s note: This is the first in a two-part series on human trafficking. Monday’s report will detail trafficking laws, enforcement efforts and efforts by nonprofits to help victims.

FLORENCE — Human trafficking isn’t just a problem for a small government of a third-world country in eastern Europe, Asia or central America.
Human trafficking is here, and it’s happening right now.

Human trafficking — the exploitation of people for commercial sex or forced labor — is referred to as a hidden crime because the victims are often silent and afraid to speak about the acts they are being forced to perform.

Victim advocates, along with law enforcement officers, stand together on the front line of the battle against the crime, said Michael Hildebrand, a Greenville County sheriff’s sergeant who investigates human trafficking crimes.

They are the ones most likely to come in contact with trafficking victims, but to be of assistance, they must first be aware modern-day slavery exists in South Carolina.

A problem not so far away

“Do you know where the first case of human trafficking in the U.S. was reported?” Hildebrand asks a small group of victim advocates and educators Friday during a human trafficking seminar hosted by Pee Dee Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Assault.

“The first case of human trafficking was in South Carolina,” he said. “In Johns Island.”

Women were lured to the small coastal community by traffickers who promised them work in a Florida restaurant. Instead, they were forced into prostitution, Hildebrand said. Each woman was forced to have sex with at least 30 men a day.

The human trafficking ring, which investigators say was operated by the Cardenas crime family, stretched down the Atlantic Coast from South Carolina to Florida and included forced laborers.

Hildebrand said he worked on Greenville County’s first reported human trafficking case in 2000. It involved a foreign-born 13-year-old girl who was hired to be a housekeeper and a babysitter.
Her plight was finally discovered after a neighbor saw the girl pushing a stroller down the street and thought she should be in school at that hour.

The call came into deputies as a truancy case, but authorities discovered she was being forced to work and was denied her basic human rights, Hildebrand said.

There haven’t been any reports of human trafficking in the Pee Dee, said Michelle Harkey, the Pee Dee Coalition’s Florence County domestic and sexual assault services coordinator.

“It’s something that the news and the media are starting to focus on more. Because we haven’t seen it and just because it hasn’t been brought to light yet, that doesn’t mean it isn’t happening,” she said.

In addition to being deputy, Hildebrand works with the Carolinas Institute for Community and Policing, which gathers information on such cases and shares information from the agency with advocates like Harkey.

“Everybody hears of the cases in Tijuana or in Taiwan, but no one wants to hear about this happening in their town,” he said. “But wherever there’s an opportunity for greed or to make money, there’s a chance for human trafficking.”

Lucrative business
Human trafficking is believed to net $9 billion in profits each year, Hildebrand said. Next to drug trafficking, human trafficking is the most lucrative business for organized crime.
The global business of human trafficking is closely related to economic conditions, he said.

Authorities say the Russian mafia was the first to begin trafficking humans in the U.S. because of the dire economic circumstances and political unrest in the country in the 1980s and early 1990s. Organized criminals told Russian prostitutes they could come to American cities and do the same “jobs” they had been doing and make more money, Hildebrand said.

The offers seemed attractive. But when they arrived in the U.S., they weren’t allowed to leave or make their own decisions.

Traffickers sometimes operate brothels or so-called massage parlors where women and young girls are forced to participate in sex acts with dozens of men every night, six days a week, Hildebrand said.

“If you charge $20 a john and they must have sex with 30 men per night … this is why it’s becoming the preferred crime,” he said. “They will take these girls to the doctors to have abortions or to be treated for sexually-transmitted diseases because these things hurt their business.”

The American dream
Traffickers sometimes recruit their victims from their home cities and villages in countries across Central America, eastern Europe and Asia by luring them with stories of a better life in America where they will have freedom, money and better resources, Hildebrand said.

“(U.S. citizens) like to think that we have the best situation in the world,” he said. “They will use the American dream to bring victims here. As a human trafficker, it’s very easy to show them a picture of his nice house and his car to get them to come here.”

Traffickers who return home after living in America are seen as respectable people with status and are trusted, Hildebrand said.

“The parents of victims, they think they are doing the right thing,” he said. “(Traffickers) lure the parents into allowing their children to come with them to have a job and a better life. The parents may live in mud huts and they want more for their children.”

Once they arrive in the United States, the traffickers seize the passports of their victims and force them to work in farming or in the sex trade.
To avoid detection by U.S. authorities, traffickers sometimes operate in what is known as a closed network, Hildebrand said.

“Everybody — the men, the traffickers, the victims — are of the same (ethnic) origin,” he said.
Close network cases are more difficult to investigate because of the language barrier for the victims and their unfamiliarity with the U.S. government and its policies on trafficking. Traffickers paralyze their victims with fear, telling them if they don’t cooperate they will be deported or their families back home will be murdered, Hildebrand said. Because of that fear, human trafficking victims remain invisible.

Some come from countries with corrupt governments, Hildebrand said, so they have learned to fear police and government officials.

Female victims also may come from different cultures where their rights are limited, he said.

“If she was able to escape, where is she going to go?” Hildebrand asked.

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They don't belong to YOU!: S.C. not immune to human trafficking (PART 1)

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LexisNexis Helps Raise Awareness of Human Trafficking

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LexisNexis Canada Inc.
Apr 23, 2010 10:03 ET

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - April 23, 2010) - LexisNexis Canada, a leading provider of information and services solutions to law firm, corporate, government and academic professionals, teamed up with experts and leading advocates yesterday evening to educate participants about the urgent need to combat the degrading and violent practice of human trafficking. LexisNexis hosted the Toronto premiere of the critically acclaimed film Holly and led a discussion with a panel of anti-human trafficking experts and advocates including Guy Jacobson, an award-winning filmmaker and president of Priority Films; Rosalind Prober, co founder and president of Beyond Borders, a Canadian non-profit organization working to stop global child sexual exploitation; and Christine Lonsdale, a partner at law firm McCarthy Tétrault. The evening's events were attended by members of the Canadian business, legal, government and academic communities.

Produced and co-written by Jacobson, Holly is a film about a 12-year-old Vietnamese girl sold into prostitution in Cambodia. The film is based on the true stories of abducted children and their fight for freedom. It was shot on location in Cambodia, including many scenes in actual brothels in the notorious red-light district of Phnom Penh.

The special screening of Holly in Toronto is part of a global tour for the film, made possible by LexisNexis, to educate professionals about the global and local prevalence of human trafficking. In Canada, the RCMP says that 600 to 800 people are sold in the country every year, mostly as sex slaves, and about 2,000 more are sent through Canada to the United States. Around the world, Interpol estimates that trafficking of children and young women is the third largest international criminal activity.

LexisNexis, as part of its global commitment to the Rule of Law, is a strong advocate for action to halt human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of children around the world. LexisNexis believes that the Rule of Law is the critical component for protecting and advancing human rights around the globe. In an effort to make a difference, LexisNexis has applied its resources-people, solutions, expertise and direct financial aid-to combat human trafficking.

"LexisNexis has had a major impact on human trafficking through our participation in efforts such as the Polaris Project in the U.S. and the Somaly Mam Foundation, all founded on our underlying support for the Rule of Law," said Andy Prozes, CEO, LexisNexis Group. "Human trafficking exists around the world today because of an absence of Rule of Law and the civil rights that typically protect men, women and children from human trafficking. We operate on the premise that public corporations are stakeholders-alongside governments and NGOs-in global issues. Through collaborative working relationships, we can make a difference to people around the world. As a Canadian, I am delighted that we can bring Holly, and this discussion, to Canada to highlight human trafficking and how it can be stopped."

Prozes attended the Holly screening and provided introductory remarks.

Rosalind Prober founded Beyond Borders in 1996 with children's rights lawyer Mark Erik Hecht. Beyond Borders is the Canadian affiliate of ECPAT International, a global network of organizations and individuals working together to eliminate child prostitution, child pornography and the trafficking of children for sexual purposes.

At McCarthy Tétrault, Christine Lonsdale leads the law firm's Unaccompanied Minors Project, which matches the firm's lawyers with children who arrive alone at Toronto's international airport from foreign countries and helps them navigate the complicated refugee claim process.

The panel discussion was chaired by Patrick Collins, CEO, LexisNexis Canada.

"The brutal exploitation of the world's most vulnerable people is absolutely reprehensible and as a society we simply cannot allow it," said Collins. "In some parts of the world there is no Rule of Law, no justice, and no social or economic development. We cannot turn a blind eye to those parts of the world and we certainly cannot tolerate human trafficking for a moment in Canada."

Editor's note: Photos of yesterday's event are now available, as are DVD copies of Holly for background or review by the media. Please email media@lexisnexis.ca or call 613-238-3499, ext. 202.

About LexisNexis

LexisNexis® (www.lexisnexis.com) is a leading global provider of content-enabled workflow solutions designed specifically for professionals in the legal, risk management, corporate, government, law enforcement, accounting and academic markets. LexisNexis originally pioneered online information with its Lexis® and Nexis® services. A member of Reed Elsevier [NYSE: ENL; NYSE: RUK] (www.reedelsevier.com), LexisNexis serves customers in more than 100 countries with 15,000 employees worldwide.

LexisNexis Canada Inc. (www.lexisnexis.ca) provides information and services solutions that serve the changing needs of professionals in law firms, corporations, government and academic institutions. LexisNexis offerings include the Quicklaw® online legal research service; Butterworths® print and CD ROM titles and newspapers for legal, accounting and other professionals; the Lexis and Nexis research services for global online legal, news and business information; and leading solutions in Practice Management, Client Development and Litigation Services.

For further information: Media Contact:
Tracy Smith
LexisNexis Canada Inc.
613-238-3499, ext. 202
tracy.smith@lexisnexis.ca/


LexisNexis Helps Raise Awareness of Human Trafficking

The Associated Press: 5 indicted in Israeli organ trafficking ring

(AP) – 1 day ago

JERUSALEM — Israel has indicted five of its citizens, including a retired army general, with operating a nationwide organ trafficking ring that ensnared dozens of potential victims.

The charges released Thursday include human trafficking for the purpose of organ harvesting and money laundering. The indictment says the organ harvesting ring exploited the desperate condition of sick people, calling it a "form of modern slavery."

Police say the traffickers allegedly offered up to $100,000 per kidney but in at least two cases didn't pay the donors.

The charges say donors were sought through advertisements. Then they were flown from Israel to Europe, South America or Southeast Asia, where the organs were extracted in illegal procedures.

Israeli law bans organ sales.

The Associated Press: 5 indicted in Israeli organ trafficking ring

Governor General condemns modern-day ‘slavery’ - thestar.com

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Published On Fri Apr 16 2010
GORÉE ISLAND, SENEGAL—Michaëlle Jean doesn’t know exactly where her Haitian ancestors hailed from in Africa. But her body and soul remember, she says.

For the second time as governor general, Jean made a pilgrimage to a West African slavery outpost and gazed out on the eastern edge of the Atlantic from a bleak Door of No Return, a human porthole to hell.

This time, though, she turned quickly away from the sloshing waves below with a “profound malaise.”

“It’s painful. I don’t know what it is. I love the sea, but every time I’m on this coast of the Atlantic and I face the ocean there’s something in my memory that makes it difficult,” she said, speaking to Senegalese and Canadian journalists.

Tears welled in her eyes, but unlike a 2006 trip to Elmina Castle in Ghana—a searing, wretched site she said still feels “like a concentration camp”—Jean remained composed, and delivered a strong message.

Places like Gorée Island’s Slave House, where up to 200 men, women and children at a time were crammed into stone cells atop a rocky beach outcrop, can heal historic wounds and prompt action.

She had heard how healthy men were sold for a barrel of rum or a gun, and virgins raped by traders or sold at four times the price of a small man. Yet Jean said:

“This place is not about the history of black peoples.”

“Whether we are of European descent, and probably related to those who committed that crime of slavery and slave trade, or whether we are of African descent, we all belong to that history.

“It’s about us all. And it’s about how life can triumph over barbarism.”

For the second time in two days on this state visit, Jean issued a call to fight “slavery”—and “every situation that denies rights, dignity and humanity to people in the world.”

“Slavery is still a fact today, in so many different ways: human-trafficking, injustices, are still a reality today. But we are together—and we can say, ‘No,’ to it. It’s a responsibility.”

Jean had surprised her host – and Senegalese journalists—the day before with a forceful condemnation of “slavery” imposed on children, on the very day of a damning Human Rights Watch report.

The group released a report exposing widespread abuse at religious Quranic schools in Senegal of boys as young as 4, driven out into the streets to beg money and food for their teachers. It documented beatings, and several cases in which children had been chained, bound, and forced into stress positions as they were beaten.

Standing next to the Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade on Thursday, Jean was blunt.

“That so many children would be subjected to such hardship, that we would exploit so much of their labour —the statistics are staggering, with children aged between five and 17 who exploited for so many hours, sometimes 35 hours (a week), all day long, often without pay — there’s a sad word for it. It’s called, ‘slavery,”’ Jean said. “Can we remain indifferent? No. These boys and girls are exposed to the worst danger, and we need to act.”

Despite the tough words, Jean’s arrival here delighted about 150 women and children Friday. She danced and shimmied on the dock to constant drumming and singing, and said “I recognize myself in West Africa. It’s how we carry ourselves, our gestures. My body moves like theirs.”

Jean also couched her message Friday with praise, speaking of “reconciliation” and progress in Senegal.

She addressed university students in Dakar about the importance of media in the emergence of “a new Africa” at a journalism school Canada once funded and provided teachers for. That money is now diverted to other priorities, said Canadian officials, who said it had succeeded in producing “some of the most educated journalists in Africa.”

After touring the Slave House, Jean walked a few short steps away to a small museum dedicated to women—a small cultural gem funded and designed by Canadians.

At a roundtable with about two dozen women, many resident or working on Gorée Island, Jean heard stories of their needs and their small successes.

Kenebouggul Habbysall, 37, has a business degree, but said she chases tourists “morning to night” to sell jewelry to tourists from a rickety market stall to make ends meet for her husband and two children. “We are ready to work, but we don’t have means. We are poor.”

The governor-general urged them to look at microcredit programs, but had little else concrete to offer.

Still, she had them charmed. Habbysall said “at least she came, and she answered us.”

“You have created a link between Africa and Canada,” Marie Ndiaye Andre told her.

Deputy mayor Annie Jaoga, said: “I don’t welcome you—because you are home. This morning you went to the Door of No Return. We are opening the door of return to you.”

Governor General condemns modern-day ‘slavery’ - thestar.com

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Trafficking series by The Star wins Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award - KansasCity.com

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Posted on Wed, Apr. 21, 2010 10:15 PM

For its five-part series on human trafficking in the United States, The Kansas City Star has earned the prestigious Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award.

The award, known as the “Poor People’s Pulitzer,” recognizes outstanding coverage of injustice against the underprivileged.

In “A New Slavery,” reporters Laura Bauer, Mike McGraw and Mark Morris exposed America’s weak enforcement system that allows human trafficking to continue.

Last month, Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc. gave an award to the same series.

“The team’s impressive reporting results in a distressing collection of individual narratives and a concise legal and policy-based explanation of the nation’s Trafficking Victims Protection Act,” read an announcement from the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights.

Calling The Star to relay the news, Ethel Kennedy, the widow of the former attorney general, senator and presidential candidate, told one reporter: “You’ve given hope to a lot of people who didn’t have hope before. That’s right in line with Bobby’s legacy.”

Sixty judges, all media professionals, selected the winning entries in 11 categories, and a committee of seven advisers chose a grand prize winner. This year, winners wrote on subjects including infant mortality and Navy abuses against gay sailors.

The Star’s series won in the domestic print category.

“It’s a wonderful honor to win such a distinguished award for journalism that champions human rights and social justice. Those remain among the most important issues in the world today,” said Mike Fannin, editor/vice president of The Star. “This was inspired work, executed by a great team of journalists and well-deserving of recognition.”

The Wall Street Journal won in the international category for “Hearts, Mind and Blood: The Battle for Iran.” Photographers at The Washington Post won in both the domestic and international photography categories. Diane Sawyer from “20/20” on ABC News won in the domestic television category for her work on enduring poverty in Appalachia.

Ethel Kennedy will present the awards May 26 in Washington, D.C., where the grand prize winner will be announced.

Meredith Rodriguez, mrodriguez@kcstar.com

Trafficking series by The Star wins Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award - KansasCity.com