African sex slaves forced to work in Irish brothels | GlobalPost

By Conor O'Clery - GlobalPost
Published: May 27, 2010 11:20 ET

In a scene from the film "Trafficked," Ruth Negga plays Taiwo, an African woman trafficked to Ireland. (Courtesy of New Decade TV & Film Ltd) Click to enlarge photo

DUBLIN, Ireland — A founder of the Irish Republic, Eamon de Valera, famously idealized Ireland 70 years ago as an innocent land of saints and scholars, whose villages were joyous with the laughter of happy maidens. If he came back today he would be shocked to find that a village in Ireland is just as likely to contain a brothel, populated by sex slaves from Africa.

Despite its isolation off the western edge of Europe, Ireland is now a destination for the trafficking of young women from Africa and eastern Europe to work as prostitutes.

Any illusions about the extent of the trafficking to Ireland were shattered by the exposure in a recent court case of the biggest vice ring in the country’s history. It involved a network of 48 brothels operating mostly outside the capital and making huge profits for the owners. The ring was discovered when police raided one establishment and found two young Nigerian women prepared to cooperate. Usually victims of trafficking are too frightened to seek help.

A new movie just released in Dublin called "Trafficked" also exposes the lives of these young women. It tells the story of Taiwo, an young African woman played by Ruth Negga, who escapes her kidnappers after being smuggled into Dublin Port. Without a passport or any English she ends up being exploited and corrupted in a brutal underworld of sex and drugs.

The film’s director, Ciaran O’Connor, told me that as a documentary filmmaker he has told the true story of the burgeoning sex industry in Ireland, but “I couldn't extract the back stories of the women or of the people who ran it.” He turned to drama to flesh out one fictional girl’s journey so as to offer an insight “into what some women consent to as they struggle to survive in this savage and unrelenting world.” Unfortunately, O'Connor added, most people in Ireland do not want to engage with or simply recognize trafficking as part of modern Irish society.

But the business of buying and selling women is flourishing in this country, according to Sara Benson, CEO of Ruhama, a Dublin-based organization that works with sexually-exploited women. She told the audience at the movie premier that Ruhama, Hebrew for "renewed life," has come across eight women in the last month who have been trafficked into Ireland. Some 100 of the 431 women helped by Ruhama during 2007 and 2008 were victims of traffickers and most were from Nigeria.

“What you will see in the film is happening right now in our cities, towns and small villages in our own country,” she said. “Nothing will change as long as long as there are people willing to trample on the victims’ human rights.”



African sex slaves forced to work in Irish brothels | GlobalPost

Life inside an Irish brothel - The Irish Times - Mon, May 10, 2010

The Irish Times - Monday, May 10, 2010

PROSTITUTION IN IRELAND: PART TWO In the second of a two-part series, Crime Correspondent CONOR LALLY looks at the dangerous, brutal and tragic lives of women who worked in the many brothels run by TJ Carroll

IN FEBRUARY 2010, TJ Carroll was convicted of running one of the largest vice rings in the history of the State. From a small house in south Wales, Carroll, with help from his wife and daughter, managed a network of 48 brothels throughout Ireland.

However, because they pleaded guilty to various charges, the full details of how Carroll and his associates built and ran the business were not revealed in evidence in court. A number of sources and those close to the investigation have spoken to The Irish Times about the full extent of Carroll’s prostitution business.

When one of the brothels run by TJ Carroll was raided in December 2007, the detectives involved were taken aback at what they found. Usually, police are stonewalled by women and prostitution organisers in such operations; in this case, officers found two Nigerian women who immediately took up an offer to be taken to a place of safety.

They gave detailed statements about how they were trafficked from Africa by gangs there and sexually exploited in Ireland by the 49-year-old Carlow man’s operation. “It was the sense of fear that existed of being beaten, even killed, that told us what was going on was very, very serious,” says one senior detective.

The evidence the two women supplied, and testimony from 10 others throughout the Republic and North that the Garda’s Organised Crime Unit, the PSNI’s Organised Crime Bureau and the UK’s Serious Organised Crime Agency encountered, was vital in building the case against TJ Carroll.

Along with his second wife, Shamiela Clark (now 32), he was arrested in December 2008 in Wales, and is now in prison in the UK for controlling prostitution and money laundering.

This is thought to have been Ireland’s biggest ever vice empire. One of the women’s statements outlined how a witch doctor was used to control her before she even left Africa with her traffickers, to whom she knew she would be financially indebted for her passage.

“They took me to a witch doctor and I have to swear an oath that I will pay the money or I am going to die . . . After swearing the oath they cut the heart of a live chicken. They gave me the chest to eat. They made me take off my clothes in a burial ground. Then I had to swear I would not run away and not go to the police.

“The witch doctor then cut my chest, my waist, my legs, my two thumbs and my head. I was very scared because . . . I believed them.”

Another girl was aged just 15 when she was brought to Ireland from Africa. She spoke of her continued fear of the voodoo-based “oath” she had pledged to her traffickers.

“I thought I was coming for school,” she said of her passage from Africa to Ireland. “I did not know anyone in Ireland to ask for help. I was very scared. Since I left the agency, I still live in fear. I don’t sleep at night. I’m afraid if I close my eyes I won’t wake up. I’m afraid that I have broken the oath. My family have been threatened because I am slow at paying the [traffickers’] money.”

The account of a third woman suggests a life of misery in Africa, one she hoped to escape by being trafficked to Europe.

“I was eight years old when my father started to abuse me. By the time I was 20, I had three abortions. I overheard my father on the phone one day say it was about time he sacrifice me to the cult. A friend told me she knew of a woman who comes from Europe who could help me.”

The organisation was run by TJ Carroll, a former security firm owner, and his second wife Shamiela Clark, a former prostitute from South Africa. At its height in 2007, the business generated profits of more than €1 million.

Some of the women working for Carroll were experienced prostitutes who had worked in other countries and came to Ireland, mostly from South America and eastern Europe, for what they believed would be significant earnings.

Other younger and more vulnerable women were trafficked from Africa to Ireland via other major European cities.

At this stage, the women were told they would have to work in prostitution as a means of paying off their debts to their African traffickers; €60,000 was demanded by the traffickers in some cases. Most of the women spoke little English, had no money, no idea where they were, and had no place to go to. They were placed in brothels where they lived and saw clients. Foreign women were chosen because they had no support networks in Ireland. Their services were advertised by TJ Carroll and Clark on escort websites.

When customers in Ireland rang one of up to 80 mobile numbers on the websites, they would be connected to a call centre and directed by phone to the nearest brothel. The call centre was run from an old vicarage in the tiny hamlet of Castlemartin in Pembrokeshire, Wales, where Carroll and Clark lived after leaving the Republic in late 2006 to avoid increasing Garda attention.

According to security sources in the Republic and the UK, the women faced a brutal regime in Ireland. They worked 15-hour shifts from 10am to 1am, during which time they were not allowed to turn away any clients.

The men paid €160 for a half hour, €260 for an hour, and “extras” could be negotiated. Brothels were mostly located in apartments rented for short periods under false names by Carroll’s people, using bogus stories and fake references.

Some of the youngest and most vulnerable Nigerians were forced to give all of their earnings to Carroll’s associates in Ireland. “They survived on tips from punters or on whatever ‘extras’ they could perform without Carroll’s people knowing,” says one security source.

Making money from “extras” was made difficult by Shamiela Clark’s micro management. Women would be informed by text when a customer was on the way. They would be told to text Clark when they arrived and immediately when they left. If the women ever left the brothels to go to nearby shops they were often accompanied by a minder, or engaged in near constant telephone contact with Clark from Wales.

“They were never held against their will in the sense of being locked in rooms, but they had no freedom at all,” is how one source described it.

Security sources on both sides of the Border say Carroll’s associates would beat women for anything short of full compliance with “brothel rules”.

According to one source: “It was a regime of oppression designed to keep women under total control so Carroll could make as much money off them as possible.”

Life inside an Irish brothel - The Irish Times - Mon, May 10, 2010

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Carroll case is no exception in Ireland - The Irish Times - Mon, May 10, 2010

The Irish Times - Monday, May 10, 2010

THE STATE’S leading group assisting women involved in prostitution says that while the details of the oppression and violence inflicted by TJ Carroll and his associates are shocking, they are far from uncommon.

Ruhama, a Dublin-based voluntary organisation, says many international and Irish-organised gangs are now conspiring to traffic women into Ireland for sexual exploitation at a time when prosecutions for trafficking are non-existent.

The group’s spokesperson Gerardine Rowley said the key control mechanisms used by TJ Carroll’s gang and those he worked with – debt bondage, voodoo rituals and threats of violence – are often experienced by African women trafficked to Ireland.

“Some are also undocumented and they are afraid to go to the gardaí,” Rowley says of the victims. “In many cases they come from countries where the authorities like police forces are corrupt so they don’t think of going to the police.

“But really they’re trapped in their minds from fear and intimidation. They are so oppressed they’re not able to get away themselves and ask for help.”

The TJ Carroll case underlined not only the extent of sexual exploitation in Ireland, but also how sophisticated and lucrative it has become. Rowley says Ruhama assisted the women identified as having been trafficked into Carroll’s empire, six of whom are still in Ireland and have various immigration statuses.

“We saw the human face of these crimes. We saw the impact it had on the women and children, because two of the victims we saw were minors. It’s a wake-up call not only in terms of prioritising policing but also in terms of prioritising services to support victims of these crimes.”

Ruhama initially had “great hopes” for the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act. But two years after its enactment, while charges for brothel-keeping and controlling prostitution are regularly before the courts, no trafficking cases have progressed.

“Without total enforcement of the legislation we’re not going to have a deterrent and we’re still going to be an attractive place for criminals to exploit women in the sex trade and make huge amounts of money, which cases like the Carroll case are showing,” adds Rowley

Even operations much smaller than the network built up by TJ Carroll can be extremely lucrative.

Last week the High Court heard evidence from Det Garda Lucy Myles, of the Criminal Assets Bureau, that a Chinese woman being targeted by the bureau had made more than €1 million in recent years through running one “massage parlour” on Thomas Street in Dublin’s south inner city.

Det Garda Myles said Junxiu Hua, a convicted brothel keeper, held a number of bank accounts in different financial institutions here, and between November 2004 and April 2008 a total of €1,251,834.65 passed through them.

Gerardine Rowley says such cases, where key figures are in control of women and are becoming rich, are now the norm.

Women are operating from brothels in apartments and houses across the country. The majority are controlled in some way by Irish or foreign third parties, either by traditional pimp-style figures taking some of their earnings or by others charging grossly inflated fees to rent the properties being used as brothels, or for advertising space on websites known to advertise sexual services.

Rowley is calling for more proactive policing of Ireland’s prostitution trade and for regular raids on known brothels and other locations linked to all forms of sexual exploitation.

In its biennial report for 2007-2008, Ruhama revealed that 100 of the 431 women it helped during the two-year period were victims of trafficking, the majority from Nigeria. Six of those were aged under 18 years when they were brought to Ireland and forced to have sex with men.

Carroll case is no exception in Ireland - The Irish Times - Mon, May 10, 2010

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Tajikistan: Tajik Islamic Party official accused of human trafficking - Ferghana.Ru Information agency, Moscow

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28.05.2010 16:23 msk

Ferghana.Ru

The law enforcement bodies of Tajikistan accuse the Islamic Renaissance Party leaders of human trafficking.

Davlat Najmiddinov, who heads the anti-organized-crime department in the province's Kulob district, told RFE/RL that Abdufattoh Abdukholiqov is suspected in "two case of selling women". He is still free, but law enforcement officers already filed the criminal case against him.

Najmiddinov informed that Abdukholiqov and some Nematullo Sharifov offered $500 for the daughter of one of the residents.

"The detained the suspects in the Kulyab area and found the exhibits: the passport and the ticket for underage girl from Dushanbe to Yekaterinburg", said IAM representative.

Najmiddinov also said that two months ago the suspects paid $200 for elder sister of this girl that was sent to Yekaterinburg, where she became the second wife of Tajik businessman (the native of Sogd Oblast), living in Kazakhstan.

Abdukholiqov denies all charges. "We were going to build a family for these girls, but not to traffic them – he mentioned. – We know this family. Their elder daughter got divorced few years ago and we were trying to find someone for her. Our friend from Sogd Oblast wanted to marry her".

Regarding 16-year old girl Abdukholiqov said "She was from poor family and we decided to help her get married. We found the friend in Moscow, but the law enforcement officers did not allow her leaving the country".

Meanwhile the experts say that the poverty and ignorance of rights are the major reasons why local mafia groups organize the human trafficking.

"The seminars proved the majority of people have no information about human trafficking and become victims" said Makhbuba Sharifova, the Director of Mariam public organization. According to her, "the criminals make up to $50 thousand for each girl. In the last years, the major destinations for them were Kyrgyzstan and Russia".

Najmiddinov informed that three human trafficking cases were filed only in Kulyab group of districts, the Khatlon Oblast.

Tajikistan: Tajik Islamic Party official accused of human trafficking - Ferghana.Ru Information agency, Moscow

Every Parent's Worst Nightmare: How To Protect Your Children Against The Crime Of Human Trafficking

By: Chris Harmen
Submitted 2010-05-28 06:21:34

Human trafficking is a real problem that is facing the United States today. As more awareness is built on the issue of child slavery, more stories continue to come out about experiences with this tragic pandemic facing the world. Primetime recently reported on the story of a girl that they refer to as 'Debbie' that was a victim of human trafficking.

Taken Right From Her Home

Debbie's story began with a phone call from a friend who wanted to stop by her house. As she was about to go back inside, Debbie went to give her friend a hug. She was forced inside the vehicle where she was tied up and blindfolded. This all happened right in the driveway of her home. Debbie was driven around Phoenix for hours and finally ended up at an apartment that was within a half hour of her home.

At the apartment, the girl was threatened and abused. She described to Primetime that the person who kidnapped her asked her where Debbie would like to be shot. At that point, he began playing with the gun, counted to three, and pulled the trigger. She opened her eyes to see him laughing at her, and she was scared for her life.

After that, Debbie was drugged and gang raped. The perpetrators took her to the living room where a middle-aged man was waiting for a teen to take advantage of. He and four other guys raped Debbie. She was later found by police stuffed in a drawer under the bed, too scared to even cry for help when the police first came through the home.

Predators Use Different Methods To Trap Victims

For some, getting tricked into a human trafficking ploy comes through the offer of a lucrative modeling career. No matter how it happens, the problem is real. An Oklahoma woman shared with a local Fox station that she thought she was going to die. The woman, who goes by 'Jules' to protect her identity, believed that she would end up being a Jane Doe at the morgue. Jules was shocked by the inhumane response of these predators. The 19-year-old at the time told one of her clients the truth about her age, as he thought the girl was a minor. He was only outraged that he had paid $5,000 for what he thought was a minor, and she really was not. Jules said that she was often sold off as a 13-year-old girl.

Jules is now a part of bringing awareness to people throughout the state of Oklahoma. She cautions teens to be wary of what they post on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Jules shared that predators look for ways to get at the kids if they are in an argument with parents or are discontent with life.

What Can Parents Do To Protect Their Kids From Child Slavery?

The first step in protecting your child is education. Parents should learn more about various tactics and warning signs that are being used in order to make their child more aware of the potential dangers they face. Informing kids about potential warning signs will help them to make better decisions if they ever face a situation that is potentially dangerous. The key to protecting your kids from child slavery is keeping open lines of communication that allow them to talk to you about what is going on in their life without fear.

Another way to help protect your child is through creating awareness in the community. When people are aware of the problem, they will be on the lookout for suspicious situations that could be related to human trafficking. This will help to reduce and potentially eliminate the demand for child slavery in your community.

Assist organizations that are trying to bring an end to this terrible tragedy happening around the world. Some launch efforts to rescue children, women, and men trapped in human trafficking. Still others look to bring an end to the demand for child slavery, which should bring an end to the problem as a whole. These organizations develop teams that investigate suspected predators which gather evidence and work in coordination with local authorities.

In total, the solution for parents to protect their kids and bring an end to child slavery is to get involved. Be involved with your kids, your community, and organizations looking to protect children, women, and men worldwide victimized by this heinous crime. Petition drives are happening in states across the country to bring awareness to this issue and to get state legislatures to create harsher penalties for those guilty of human trafficking. Americans united together on this front can bring an end to human trafficking.

Every Parent's Worst Nightmare: How To Protect Your Children Against The Crime Of Human Trafficking

Who Are They? A Look Behind The World Of Child Trafficking And Slavery

Image by hipponotized via Flickr

By: Chris Harmen
Submitted 2010-05-28 05:01:27

More people are becoming aware of the problem of child trafficking and slavery that is devastating the lives of victims around the world. There are numerous organizations that want to bring an end to this terrible tragedy. However, accomplishing a goal of this magnitude takes more than a desire. Activists need to understand what drives the growth of this illegal industry and then find ways to stop this modern-day slavery from happening.

Every day, children are being abducted, and men and women are lured into traps of enslavement. This constant process creates an endless supply of humans victimized by this tragic pandemic. The most vulnerable groups for modern day slavery are those with limited rights or protections.

Who are the people behind child trafficking? Often, human slavery is managed by organized criminal networks, large and small, both within the United States and abroad, which have taken control and advantage of this economic 'supply and demand' situation. This control allows them to traffic and exploit victims in order to generate enormous profits.

Forced Labor, Primarily In The Sex Industry

The Department of Health and Human Services reported in an overview of the modern day slavery issue that many are victimized through prostitution and sex by the entertainment industry. However, they note there are various other types of labor exploitation, including sweatshops, migrant agricultural work, domestic servitude, and more.

Human enslavement, which typically occurs by deception or force, brings in profits of over 12 billion dollars a year according to UNICEF. Much of this is generated through child trafficking with about 2.5 million children being exploited. Many organizations attempt to rescue these children, women, and men from slavery; yet, they are barely making a dent in what seems to be an unending supply of enslaved humans.

She Thought She Would Be A Model

Within the United States, it could be as simple as someone offering what seems to be a great opportunity for a modeling career. As reported by Primetime, Miya was working in a mall when she was approached by a man who offered her a lucrative opportunity that turned into a nightmare.
Miya shared with Primetime that the predator told her he was a modeling agent looking for potential new models in the area. Although modeling was not a career she wanted to pursue, the offer interested her as a way to pay off bills and save for upcoming college expenses.

She took what she thought was a great opportunity to become a model. After getting made over for a photo session with a disposable camera, Miya was alarmed and soon became aware of what was really going on, but it was too late. After enduring a brutal ordeal, she was forced to work as a prostitute until one early morning in San Francisco when she made her escape. The police were able to capture the man responsible for Miya's first-hand encounter with modern day slavery.

The cases of child trafficking take on various forms and faces. In some foreign countries, and places where women and children's rights are compromised, the cases appear to be more predominantly heinous. Women and children are preyed upon by traffickers, ripped away from their homes, and sold into modern day slavery.

Addressing The Demand

Every year, the United States Department of State publishes a report on the child trafficking issue. The report states that sex enslavement is a large part of the overall issue and comprises the majority of transnational modern day slavery. The report continues by stating that the issue would not exist if the demand for commercial sex was not as prevalent throughout the world.

The industry sustainability is generated through the growing demand from predators that take advantage of these helpless victims. The perpetrators of countless crimes against numerous victims go unprosecuted in many cases by local governmental authorities, giving these predators a sense of invincibility for their crimes against children. This feeling of invincibility only works to drive the demand of modern day slavery.

The State Department's report maintains that if anyone expects to have success in combating the issue of sex enslavement, they must confront both the demand for commercial sex that is driving the victimization of individuals, and the supply of trafficked humans.

Legal deterrents developed through the cooperation of state, national, and international governments are an effective tool, if acted upon, at deterring people from taking part in this heinous crime. While at this time many states link child trafficking cases to kidnapping and prostitution, some states, such as Oklahoma, are working on laws that would make human and child trafficking a felony with a minimum 10-year prison sentence.

Regardless of where it occurs, child trafficking and enslavement needs to stop. Many organizations exist with the aim of attempting to rescue those victimized by child trafficking. Other organizations are trying to stop the demand for victims through targeting these predators. Through awareness and support, there can be an end to child trafficking.

Who Are They? A Look Behind The World Of Child Trafficking And Slavery

KELOLAND.com | Local Authorities Deal With Sex Trafficking

http://www.keloland.com/ClassLibrary/Page/Images/Data/thumbnails/th_32677.jpg


By Katie Janssen
Published: May 26, 2010, 9:56 PM

SIOUX FALLS, SD - Sex trafficking isn't just seen by advocates; law enforcement in KELOLAND deal with a handful of cases each year. It’s a problem around the world, and most often involves women and young girls.

"When it happens, and it's happened in South Dakota, it's heartbreaking to read the reports,” Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead said. “It's heartbreaking to learn about the victims in these cases."

Milstead says people often confuse trafficking with prostitution. Both cases involve sex for money; the difference is trafficking victims work because they're forced to. Some are a long way from home.

"They're under threat. They're under coercion. They're being trafficked as a child or they're dependent on the person because of the fact that they're a child," Milstead said.

But it's not always involving people from out of state. Milstead says both perpetrators and victims are sometimes people who live in this area.

"Sometimes they'll be runaways or people with a troubled home. Sometimes they're throw-aways, meaning, 'Go ahead and move out. I know you're 15 but go ahead and go,'” Milstead said. “They're looking for a place to live. They find someone to provide shelter, food, companionship, and soon they're used for a business."

From finding victims to recruiting customers, the internet has helped the problem multiply.

"It's a challenge for law enforcement,” Milstead said. “That technology spike, and it's going to continue, makes it very easy for people to prey on victims."

Milstead's advice is to let your kids know of the danger and help them be safe online.

Milstead says because sex trafficking often crosses state lines, offenders can be charged with federal crimes.

© 2010 KELOLAND TV. All Rights Reserved.

KELOLAND.com | Local Authorities Deal With Sex Trafficking

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Child trafficking and sexual slavery still prevelant in the United States abuse beyond abuse.

Cheryl Whittaker
May 25, 2010

Stop human trafficking abuse beyond abuse.

Stories of children being abducted and sold in to slavery for the use of sexual abuse and prostitution are more prevelant than ever. This form of child abuse is probably one that is least talked about. The United States of America is principally a transit and destination country for trafficking in persons. It is estimated that 14,500 to 17,500 people, primarily women and children, are trafficked to the U.S. annually.

Trafficking can involve school-age children—particularly those not living with their parents—who are vulnerable to coerced labor exploitation, domestic servitude, or commercial sexual exploitation (i.e., prostitution).

Sex traffickers target children because of their vulnerability and gullibility, as well as the market demand for young victims. Those who recruit minors into prostitution violate federal anti-trafficking laws, even if there is no coercion or movement across state lines. The children at risk are not just high school students—studies demonstrate that pimps prey on victims as young as 12. Traffickers have been reported targeting their minor victims through telephone chat-lines, clubs, on the street, through friends, and at malls, as well as using girls to recruit other girls at schools and after-school programs.?

The Department of Justice estimates that more than 250,000 American youth are at risk of becoming victims of commercial sexual exploitation. The average age of entry for female prostitutes in the United States is between 12 and 14 years, and children and youth older than 12 are prime targets for sexual exploitation by organized crime units, according to a 2001 report.

In addition to domestic girls who are exploited, about 14,500 to 17,500 girls from other countries are smuggled into the United States for this purpose, according to the State Department.

"Why is this happening? There is the Internet, which has created an easy and accessible venue for the commercial sexual exploitation of children. As a result, young girls are the new commodities that traffickers and gangs are selling. And, there isn't a culture of crime and punishment for selling girls as there is for selling illegal drugs.

The Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking (FCAHT) is an entity within The Immigrant Rights Advocacy Center, Inc. (IRAC) a non-for-profit corporation, since May 17, 2004. The organization was created in 2004 by Anna Rodriguez, who has extensive experience in how to identify victims, provide advocacy, and understand how to pursue justice for victims based on her experience in law enforcement, assistance for prosecution, and active participation delivering the human trafficking case law.

Florida is the second largest hub of human trafficking in the U.S. However, since 1996 only 6 cases of slavery have actually been brought to federal court. One of these successful cases was U.S. V. Pompee, which required cross-agency collaboration. On March 23, 2004, a federal grand jury indicted Willie and Marie Pompee with smuggling and harboring a young Haitian girl and using her as a household servant in their south Florida home between 1996 and 1999. If convicted, the Pompees each face a prison term of up to 10 years and a fine of up to $250,000 plus restitution to the victim.

[Trafficking Monitor: Click on URL to view the video Two Little Girls]
Child trafficking

For more information on events or to schedule a training/presentation, please contact us at fcahtoffice@gmail.com.
Anna Rodriguez
Founder & Executive Director
annafcaht@gmail.com

Headquarters -
Tampa Bay Office
P. O. Box 2948
Clearwater, FL 33757-2948
(727) 442-3064(727) 442-3064Office
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P.O. Box 112097
Naples, FL 34108
Hotline: 866-630-3350 866-630-3350

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(727) 442-3282(727) 442-3282
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Pensacola Office -
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Stop this horrible form of child abuse today.

Child trafficking and sexual slavery still prevelant in the United States abuse beyond abuse.

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Summer Vacation & Truck Stops — THE NORTH STAR

By Kathleen Davis

Image

As millions of American families hit the roads for summer vacation and take breaks at truck stops to refuel and grab snacks, they may unknowingly come across human trafficking. Commercial truck stops are locations where pimps compel women and girls to engage in prostitution. We are not talking about state owned or state operated welcome centers or rest stops where there is often law enforcement presence (e.g. state patrol). Pimps are taking advantage of locations where there is a large concentration of male truck drivers who are on the road and may be willing to purchase sex. Moreover, these places allow pimps to move the women and girls with ease to other locations as a way of evading law enforcement. Pimps may advertise or have the women and girls advertise via CB radio, or in many cases have the women and girls solicit by going from truck to truck looking for customers. The pimps are also familiar with “party row” where truck drivers park their rigs in the farthest end of a lot with the intention of purchasing sex.

Brothels fronting as Asian massage parlors are also taking advantage of truckers and setting up shop near major commercial truck stops, or in some instances at actual commercial truck stops registered as legitimate businesses. It is not uncommon to see huge highway billboards advertising the massage parlors or spas targeting truck drivers with ads saying “truckers welcome” or “truck parking” and with images depicting barely dressed Asian women.

The takeaway point here is a basic economic principle: if there is demand, someone will supply a product. Pimps and brothel operators know they will amass a profit at these locations because there are customers and because the general public and even law enforcement lack knowledge about human trafficking.

As you travel, consider carrying the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline with you. If you identify any red flags, do not get personally involved. Call the hotline (1-888-3737-888) or in emergency situations, call 911 or highway patrol.

Summer Vacation & Truck Stops — THE NORTH STAR

Saatchi & Saatchi: “Little Treasures” Game Lift Veil On Human Trafficking - TAXI: The Global Creative Network

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30 Mar 2010

The Salvation Army, together with Saatchi & Saatchi Cape Town, has set out to lift the veil on child trafficking with an innovative outdoor campaign to inform the unknowing South African public about the severity of human trafficking, the fastest growing criminal industry in the world.

1.2 million children are trafficked each year and it's estimated that these numbers will rise dramatically in 2010. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) contends that globally human trafficking has an annual turnover of US$32 billion, making it the third most lucrative criminal activity after the narcotics and weapons trades, although in contrast to these other criminal activities, the penalties for human trafficking in most countries are much less severe, or non-existent.

Major Marieke Venter of The Salvation Army says, "Modern day slavery 'works' and thrives because of its great profitability. This industry is continuously growing because of the high demand, ease of supply and lack of awareness. That coupled with the absence of effective laws will allow this industry to continue without much resistance."

Ian Young, Managing Director of Saatchi & Saatchi Cape Town says, "We decided that an unusual approach would work in generating the much needed awareness around this issue," he adds. "We took an ordinary toy crane machine, gave it a sinister twist and created a new game called 'Little Treasures'."

He says that the machine was filled with cute dolls, wrapped in seemingly innocuous illustrations and then placed in a popular shopping mall on a busy morning.

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"People of all ages were instantly drawn to the innocent looking game and the treasures within. After playing and snatching a prize, the truth was revealed via a message attached, that each doll represented a child lost to the business of human trafficking."

He stresses that the media in South Africa is the most powerful medium of communication to the diverse cultural groups in SA.

"With this in mind, this week we launch the mechanism of this campaign to the top media houses in South Africa to create the awareness right at the core of communication."

"We are excited that the media are willing to get involved in this campaign and trust that they will give this issue the presence it deserves," he adds.

Trafficking in human beings, especially women and girls, is not new. Historically, it has taken many forms, but in the context of globalization, has acquired shocking new dimensions. It is a complex, multi-faceted phenomenon involving multiple stakeholders at the institutional and commercial level. It is a demand-driven global business with a huge market for cheap labor and commercial sex confronting often insufficient or unexercised policy frameworks or trained personnel to prevent it.

The primary driving force for the supply is poverty, with associated poor education standards and lack of employment opportunities that propel vulnerable people into the hands of traffickers. The trafficking industry, responding to growing demands for cheap, malleable labor and an expanding, globalized sex industry guarantees a ready supply to satisfy that demand.

South Africa is commonly regarded as the main country of destination for trafficked persons in the region. In many cases, women and children are lured to South Africa with promises of jobs, education, or marriage only to be sold and sexually exploited in the country's major urban centres, or in small towns and more rural environments. There is also some indication that men are being trafficked into the country for purposes of forced labor, particularly in the agricultural sector.

Africa has the highest percentage of child laborers in the world with 80 million (41%). Between five and 14 years old, the largest percentage is young girls engaged in domestic work. Many of these children are victims of trafficking for forced labor, put in exploitative situations by intermediaries and powerful agents known to their families.

The most devastating fact is that African traffickers face low risk of arrest, prosecution or other negative consequences. They have exploited the lack of rule of law, the non-implementation of existing anti-slavery laws, and corruption of judicial systems. These lapses allow perpetrators to go unpunished. Prosecutions are rare and fraught with difficulties.

According to Major Venter, "very often the users of human trafficking do not perceive themselves as part of the trafficking network, although they are in fact, an engine in the machinery of exploitation."

Daily News - Saatchi & Saatchi: “Little Treasures” Game Lift Veil On Human Trafficking - TAXI: The Global Creative Network

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Russia Accused Of Being Complicit Over Sex Trafficking As It Closes Foreign-Backed Help Centres | World News | Sky News

8:58am UK, Thursday May 27, 2010

Amanda Walker, Moscow correspondent
Russia has been accused of blocking support for its many victims of sex trafficking by closing foreign help-centres.



This is despite calls for the country to ratify an EU convention on the problem.

It is estimated that the majority of people trafficked to the EU either come from or via Russia.

Valeria, 19, thought she was going to start a new life in Abu Dhabi as a waitress. When she arrived she was imprisoned in a room with eight other women.

Valeria thought she was going to Abu Dhabi to be a waitress

"They forced us to have unprotected sex with up to 30 men a day," she said.

"My parents were searching for me. The Russian authorities said it wasn't their responsibility - they were given no help to find me."

After eight months she managed to escape when a customer took pity.

As she tries to make a new life, the identification tattoo on her back, inflicted by her captors, makes it hard to forget the past.

Nikolai Rantsev's daughter, Oxana, was not so lucky.

The 20-year-old languages student was lured to Cyprus on the promise of fulfilling her dream of being a translator.

Nikolai Rantsev with a picture of his daughter, Oxana

Mr Rantsev is fighting for justice for his daughter

Three weeks after she arrived she was found dead after a fall from a fifth-storey window.

She had been trying to escape a job in a nightclub that had very little to do with translating.

Mr Rantsev's life is consumed by bringing those he believes were responsible for his daughter's death to justice.

"I died when she died. But part of me goes on living in the hope I can achieve my goal," he said.

"I want potential victims to know her story. They need to be made aware of what could happen."

He recently won a landmark ruling in the European Court of Human Rights which declared that Russia and Cyprus failed to protect Oxana from human trafficking.

A Russian police raid over sex trafficking

There are now only two support centres for the victims of sex trafficking in the whole of Russia.

There is also no separate law here specifically targeting human trafficking - just a sub clause of the criminal code.

Those who used to run help centres say the post-Soviet states are a breeding ground for human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

Alyona Arlashkina used to work with trafficked women at the Angel Coalition centre, before it was closed.

"There are so many vulnerable young women in Russia who believe a fairytale lies outside," she said.

"The government needs to face this problem and deal with it."

Russia Accused Of Being Complicit Over Sex Trafficking As It Closes Foreign-Backed Help Centres | World News | Sky News

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Rise in sex crimes involving children sparks concern | MailTribune.com

May 26, 2010

By Sanne Specht
Mail Tribune

A recent nationwide sting by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies that placed Portland second in the nation for the number of rescued child prostitutes has local officials concerned about the ramifications for Jackson County.

"We are seeing more adults traveling to Southern Oregon to have sex with kids who they've met online," said Sgt. Josh Moulin, commander of the Southern Oregon High-Tech Crimes Task Force, adding he's seen ads on Craigslist from teens offering themselves for sale.
Did you know?

According to recent Federal Bureau of Investigation statistics, between 100,000 and 300,000 children are prostituted annually. These children service between four to 10 customers a day, which equals 1,460 to 3,600 transactions per child per year, said Marlene Mish, executive director of the Children's Advocacy Center.

The FBI has determined 90 percent of runaways living on the street were victims of sexual, physical or emotional abuse or neglect, Mish said.

Ways to help: Become a volunteer or donate to the Mazlow Project, located at 209 W. Main St., 541-608-6868. To become a volunteer or donate to the CAC, call 541-734-5437.

Runaways trading sex for survival, parents trading their children for drugs or money, older adults preying upon curious kids on the Internet — all these scenarios can end up as a death sentence for a child, said Marlene Mish, executive director of the Children's Advocacy Center.

"Child sex trafficking is the most hidden form of child abuse in our country today," Mish said.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 100,000 to 300,000 children are prostituted annually. They service between four to 10 customers a day, 1,460 to 3,600 transactions per child per year.

"To call it child prostitution is a very euphemistic way of getting around the brutality," Mish said. "These children are raped, beaten and enslaved."

The problem of prostituted children is growing because of funding cuts to mental health services, a lack of residential care programs for youths and a child welfare system that is unable to stop runaways, local officials said.

Most of the estimated 1.6 million children nationwide who flee or are kicked out of their homes each year will return within a week. But nearly a third of those who remain runaways will trade sex for food, drugs or a place to stay, according to studies cited in a story published in the New York Times last fall.

Nicole Clark, 17, of Ashland spoke of her experiences as a teen runaway in the article. Clark ran away from a Medford group home at age 14. Living on the street and desperate, she eventually accepted a young man's offer of a place to stay. He became her boyfriend, and then her pimp. He threatened to kick her out of the apartment if she did not have sex with several of his friends in exchange for money. Clark's downward spiral continued for 14 months until she escaped from another pimp who kept her locked in his garage apartment for months, she said.

Mary Ferrell, director of the Maslow Project, a Medford outreach center for homeless youths, said word on the street is that "survival sex" incidents are on the rise.

"It's just so scary," Ferrell said. "Their lives are literally at risk. The girls are just convinced they are going to die."

Teens are reluctant to discuss their experiences. "Prostitution is not the kind of thing that kids are going to willingly self-disclose," she said.

Ferrell is hearing more reports of graffiti on public buildings signaling sex trafficking and prostitution, she said.

Ferrell said she worries about unaccompanied kids who are seen at her center once or twice, and then never show up again.

"We don't know what happens to these kids," she said.

The common assumption that children of inner cities are the ones most often lured into prostitution is a fallacy. Studies show rural children are most at risk. The No. 1 state for recruiting children is Minnesota, Mish said.

"This is big money worldwide and it's attracting people who are making a science out of it," Mish said. "They are going to smaller towns where kids are less sophisticated and more willing to buy a line. That's why it's significant to us."

Deputy District Attorney David Hoppe said Jackson County has had a case "where a mother had her daughter perform sex acts for money." But getting teen prostitution victims to come forward is very difficult, he said.

"Trafficking is a horrible problem in our world," he said.

Human trafficking is a specific charge created in 2006. There have been no trafficking cases filed in Jackson County. But there have been hundreds of cases involving sex offenses committed by adults against minors. These felony charges can carry Measure 11 consequences, said Hoppe.

"Compelling prostitution is a Measure 11 crime and carries a minimum 70-month sentence," he said.

The Southern Oregon High-Tech Crimes Task Force has seen a 29 percent increase in cases involving child pornography and child sexual exploitation over the past year, said Moulin.

In addition to an increase in adult-generated child pornography, children are self-exploiting by "sexting." Teens and pre-teens are posting sexually explicit photos of themselves to social networking venues, and to strangers they have met online, he said.

The Internet is a highly effective tool for predators seeking to seduce children, Mish said.

"If a stranger knocked on your door and asked if he could take your daughter into the bedroom behind closed doors for a few hours, you'd say 'no,'" Mish said. "But we do that with our children when we allow them unsupervised access to the Internet."

Once teens turn 18, they are considered legal adults and face criminal charges if arrested for prostitution. If convicted, the teen gets a sex crimes record and jail time. The adult "john" often gets only a fine. The pimp usually goes free, she said.

"They are victimized and re-victimized," Mish said. "We must stop children who are engaged in criminal behavior without criminalizing the child."

The FBI has determined 90 percent of runaways living on the street were victims of sexual, physical or emotional abuse or neglect, Mish said.

"The solution is very simple. To reduce the number of kids on our streets, we need to stop sex abuse in the home," Mish said.

Reach reporter Sanne Specht at 541-776-4497 or e-mail sspecht@mailtribune.com.

Rise in sex crimes involving children sparks concern | MailTribune.com

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The Blotter | Kent man accused of having sex with Cambodian girls | Seattle Times Newspaper

May 10, 2010 at 10:50 AM

Posted by Jennifer Sullivan

Craig Thomas Carr, 59, will appear in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Monday on allegations that he had sex with underage girls in Cambodia.

Carr was arrested by Cambodian National Police on Jan. 22 and was brought back to the U.S. by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on May 6, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The charges against Carr are detailed in a five-count criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court.

Carr is charged with travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place and sexual exploitation of a child.

According to affidavit in the case, the investigation into Carr began in December 2009 when the Cambodian National Police, acting on information from the French National Police, learned that a taxi driver in Phnom Penh had advertised that he could connect people with child prostitutes. Carr responded to one of the Internet advertisements in November 2009 and the two men exchanged approximately 20 e-mail messages, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

In the e-mails, Carr told the man that he wanted to have sex with girls around the age of 12, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Carr traveled to Cambodia on Jan. 13, authorities said. The next day, Carr met the taxi driver at his hotel and was driven to a local guest house, where he met an adult female who appeared to be managing a brothel, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Over the next week, Carr had sex with three different female juveniles, authorities said. Carr paid the man about $3,000 when he arrived in Cambodia and had made two additional payments -- of $3,000 and $1,800 -- to the adult female who allegedly operated the brothel, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Carr also paid each young girl $20 to take sexually explicit photographs of them, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The Cambodian National Police arrested Carr on Jan. 22. The taxi driver, who was not identified by the U.S. Attorney's Office, was also arrested by Cambodian authorities.

The Blotter | Kent man accused of having sex with Cambodian girls | Seattle Times Newspaper

B.C. man pleads guilty to 14 sex tourism charges - CTV News

Image via Wikipedia

The Canadian Press

Date: Saturday May. 22, 2010 6:32 AM ET

VANCOUVER — A Burnaby, B.C., man has pleaded guilty to sex tourism charges involving 14 underage girls in Cambodia and Colombia.

Kenneth Klassen appeared in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver on Friday and admitted to committing the crimes between December 1998 and March of 2002.

He also pleaded guilty to one count of importing child pornography and will be sentenced in July.

Klassen, a father of three, was originally facing 35 charges for the exploitation and sexual abuse of children in Cambodia, Colombia and the Philippines.

He was accused of abusing girls as young as nine and charged in 2007 after a two-and-a-half-year international investigation that netted videos showing a man having sex with young girls.

Klassen challenged Canada's child-sex tourism law in 2009, saying Canadian courts had no jurisdiction in other countries, but a B.C. Supreme Court judge ruled the law is internationally valid because many countries have similar legislation.

"In the absence of extraterritorial legislation, Canada would become a safer harbour for those who engage in the economic or sexual exploitation of children," Justice Austin Cullen wrote in his decision.

Canada's child-sex tourism laws were enacted in 1997 and bolstered five years later so the consent of the foreign country where allegations of sexual abuse took place was no longer needed in order to lay charges.

Vancouver hotel employee Donald Bakker was the first Canadian to be convicted under the law in 2005.

He got a 10-year sentence for 10 sexual assaults on girls between seven and 12 in Cambodia, where he videotaped the abuse.

In November of 2008, two Quebec aid workers pleaded guilty to sexually abusing teenage boys while working at an orphanage in Haiti.

Armand Huard was sentenced to three years in prison and Denis Rochefort was given two years.

B.C. man pleads guilty to 14 sex tourism charges - CTV News

New campaign against child sex tourism in Cambodia

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

ASIA/CAMBODIA -

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Phnom Penh (Agenzia Fides) - Billboards at strategic points of the city, 4,000 booklets in English and Khmer on sex tourism, publishing the phone numbers dedicated to the protection of children, training for 50 managers of hotels and guest houses and 100 drivers of tuk tuk (typical of the area mostly used by tourists) on guidelines to combat sex tourism...

These are just some of the tools to end the silence over a drama lived out by hundreds of street children, orphaned or responsible for supporting their family economically. Thanks to the organization "Intervita," already working in Cambodia to help child victims of sexual exploitation, a new program of awareness and information is now underway.

In addition to strict local regulations, in fact, the most effective instrument in combatting this serious problem is the active involvement of tourists, local authorities, and the population. In 2010, in collaboration with ECPAT Cambodia, Intervita will raise awareness among 20% of international tourists visiting the country and 10% of Cambodians through a network of 100 drivers of tuk tuk, introducing into the Cambodian tourism industry a code of ethics against sexual exploitation, and strengthen the child protection tools that already exist in Cambodia, in particular the services of telephone "hotlines" to report cases of exploitation.

Moreover, in the city of Battambang, Intervita maintains a reception and recovery center for child victims of human trafficking and street children at risk for exploitation. Here, a safe haven is offered to around 120 children between the ages of 5 and 18, who are offered care and living conditions appropriate to their growth and, when the family is a safe place to reintegrate the children, the beneficiaries project also seeks to economically support parents, as well. In Svay Rieng, the organization provides professional training to youth over 16 years at risk of sexual exploitation, helping them to find a job or start a small business.

(AP) (Agenzia Fides 04/26/2010)

DEACON FOR LIFE: New campaign against child sex tourism in Cambodia

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The Human Trafficking Project: Anti-Trafficking Legislation 2010

HUMAN TRAFFICKING PROJECT

Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Anti-Trafficking Legislation 2010

As many state legislative sessions come to a close, it is useful to take stock of anti-trafficking legislation that has passed this year. A number of states have passed bills that address different aspects of trafficking or that take creative approaches to combating trafficking.

Alabama and Vermont both passed laws making trafficking in persons a state crime for the first time. While this is exciting progress, several states still do not have laws criminalizing trafficking, such as West Virginia and South Dakota.

Other states that already had anti-trafficking legislation moved forward on efforts to increase penalties for traffickers. Maryland legislation that passed this session will increase penalties for traffickers, and create penalties for people that knowingly benefit from trafficking.

Beyond criminal provisions, some states passed legislation that will help people report potential cases and help victims connect with services. Maryland and Oregon both passed bills that will mandate or encourage certain establishments to post the human trafficking hotline number for the National Human Trafficking Resource Center. In Maryland, hotels that have been the location of arrests for prostitution, solicitation of a minor, and/or human trafficking will have to post the number; in Oregon, establishments that sell alcohol will be provided with free materials with the hotline number. Washington state also passed legislation that will allow for the hotline number to be posted in rest stops in the state.

Following New York's example, Connecticut and Washington also have become leaders in addressing commercial sexual exploitation of children/sex trafficking of minors through so-called Safe Harbor Legislation. Such laws aim to divert minor victims of sex trafficking, who in the past may have been arrested for prostitution and treated like criminals, from the criminal justice system. Instead, minors will be directed towards service for trafficking victims/survivors. Other states, such as Illinois, are considering similar legislation.

While this session has seen the passage of a number of important pieces of anti-trafficking legislation, much remains to be done, and constituents play a vital role in pushing legislators to take action. Please encourage your representatives to address trafficking in your state.
Posted by JenniferKK at 7:03 PM
Labels: Anti-human trafficking effort, CSEC, Government Action, Legal Issues, Legislation, United States

The Human Trafficking Project: Anti-Trafficking Legislation 2010

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