Faith-Based Partnerships to Combat Human Trafficking | National Human Trafficking Hotline

"Communities of faith have a crucial role in the anti-trafficking field. As integral members of the community, faith communities are in a position to identify situations of trafficking, report tips to law enforcement, and connect victims with life-saving resources. Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Mormon, Baha’i, and Hindu communities across the U.S. have launched successful initiatives to educate the broader community about the dangers of human trafficking and equip community members to identify victims and respond to suspected trafficking situations appropriately."

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Faith-Based Partnerships to Combat Human Trafficking | National Human Trafficking Hotline:

TRAFFICKING MONITOR: NB

Polaris recently announce that "the name of the hotline is changing to the National Human Trafficking Hotline. If you promote the hotline, or link to its website, please note that the hotline’s website URL and email address are also changing:

National Human Trafficking Hotline
1-888-373-7888
help@humantraffickinghotline.orgwww.humantraffickinghotline.org

HR Has an Emerging Role in Battling Sex Trafficking

HR Has an Emerging Role in Battling Sex Trafficking:

HR = Human Resources

Groups embark on a week full of activities to raise awareness for Anti-Slavery Week (From South Wales Argus)

'WALES must take a stand against modern slavery' is the Welsh Government's message as Gwent Police marks Anti-Slavery Week.

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Groups embark on a week full of activities to raise awareness for Anti-Slavery Week (From South Wales Argus):

Connected women: using mobile phones to protect migrants | Global Development Professionals Network | Guardian Professional

Source: Global Development Professionals Network | Guardian Professional

Read how mobile technology has the potential to protect women from abise and trafficking.

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2014/feb/27/international-labour-organisation-freedom-women-migration?CMP=new_1194

Anti-Human Trafficking Campaign Launches on Digital Signage | Digital Signage Connection

Source: Digital Signage Connection



Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc. and Polaris Project have announced a new digital billboard campaign designed to shine a spotlight on the serious issue of human trafficking.

Read more: 

http://www.digitalsignageconnection.com/anti-human-trafficking-campaign-launches-digital-signage-939

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UN Tourism and Crime bodies to call on tourists to play a role in reducing illicit trafficking

http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/press/releases/2013/April/un-tourism-and-crime-bodies-to-call-on-tourists-to-play-a-role-in-reducing-illicit-trafficking.html

Source: UNODC

Madrid, 5 April 2013 - In the presence of the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) today agreed to launch a new public awareness campaign calling on tourists to help reduce demand for illicit goods and services linked to transnational organized crime.

Preparations for the campaign were set in motion during the Spring Meeting of the Chief Executive Board of the United Nations in Madrid. A Cooperation Agreement was signed between UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, and UNODC Executive Director, Yury Fedotov in the presence of United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon.

The joint campaign, to be launched later this year, aims to raise awareness among international tourists about the types of illicit goods and services to which they are often exposed during their travels and which directly or indirectly fund organized crime groups. Travellers can play a key role in reducing demand for these products through ethical consumer choices. The campaign will encourage tourists to make informed decisions and help reduce demand for trafficking in persons, cultural artefacts, wildlife, fauna and flora such as ivory products, as well as counterfeit goods, and illicit drugs.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon commended this innovative joint initiative between the two partner UN Agencies: "The illegal trade in goods and services often funds unscrupulous people involved in human trafficking, the illicit ivory trade and other areas that cause immense suffering and destruction. Well-informed tourists can make a real difference in turning the tide against these criminal acts."

Organized criminal networks generate money wherever there is demand and travellers are often exposed to objects which are illicitly sold. With more than 1 billion tourists now crossing international borders each year, there is a growing opportunity to call on tourists to act and reduce demand for these illicit products which in many cases are providing a funding source for organized crime. The campaign drives the message that while some products may seem harmless, the demand created and their sale can, in fact, have devastating effects on the lives of innocent people, on wildlife or on cultural property. The billions of dollars generated through such trade also fund criminal groups who use this money to branch out into other illicit and unethical lines of business.

"Although the infrastructure of tourism - from accommodation establishments to transportation networks - can be misused by traffickers to victimize the vulnerable, tourism has the potential and is firmly committed to reclaim this same infrastructure and use it in the fight against trafficking" said UNWTO's Secretary-General Taleb Rifai. "Through coordinated efforts, we can ensure that awareness travels - that tourism authorities, travel companies and tourists join us on this fight" he added.

According to the Executive Director of UNODC, Yury Fedotov: "This new awareness-raising campaign will help build awareness about organized crime and the devastating effect it has on people and communities worldwide. Tourists are often exposed to the traffickers of human beings and unethical products. By making informed choices, tourists can help sever the financial arteries that fuel these forms of illicit trade".

The campaign will seek to engage the tourism industry including hotel chains, travel agencies and airlines to lend support in raising awareness among tourists and help contribute to limiting these illicit markets.

The initiative supplements UNWTO's Global Code of Ethics for Tourism. The Code calls upon tourists to behave in a responsible and respectful manner towards the visited destination, urging them not to commit any criminal acts and to refrain from all trafficking in illicit drugs, arms, antiques, protected species, products and substances that are dangerous or prohibited by national regulations.
 
Relevant links:
UNWTO Global Code of Ethics for Tourism
United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
UNODC campaign against transnational organized crime

Editorial: Another way to stop human trafficking

http://www.smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?id=1765150&title=Editorial:%20Another%20way%20to%20stop%20human%20trafficking

Source: The Daily Journal

March 20, 2013, 05:00 AM Editorial

Last week, the South San Francisco City Council passed a new policy to require hotel clerks in its city to collect basic guest information such as a real name, address and vehicle information. This rule may not seem like it’s that big of a deal, but it is surprising it took a city ordinance to require such collection. The rationale behind collecting such data is that it will help police in their duties should a problem arise. And more and more such problems seem to be related to human trafficking. Since 2005, the South San Francisco Police Department has investigated more than 160 cases of human trafficking involving 182 escorts and/or pimps. Just last month, two people were arrested in the city for allegedly prostituting four females, including one underage girl, at one of the city’s 27 hotels, motels or inns. Those hotels are in close proximity to San Francisco International Airport, and South San Francisco police conducted training recently to help clerks identify possible cases of human trafficking or prostitution. It was that training that helped the clerk identify the odd behavior in the February incident that led to the arrest. Another recent case involved a Windsor man who allegedly set up a sex date with minors at a South San Francisco inn. He was arrested after arranging a meeting with undercover officers who posed as the father of the minors. This case is unrelated, and is evidence of the need for a multi-pronged approach for a variety of crimes that find their way to areas of convenience such as by international airports. Training clerks is a step in the right direction in ensuring they know what to watch for when it comes to such crimes. Requiring basic information is another step in the right direction. These incremental steps amount to larger awareness of how criminals use local hotels for nefarious reasons. Without imposing on the privacy of hotel guests, clerks can use the training police provided to them to keep a watchful eye on suspicious behavior. And the city has taken the proper step in ensuring those clerks are collecting the proper information that will assist them in investigating a number of crimes, but specifically those that involve human trafficking. Human trafficking has received more attention lately, in part because of Proposition 35, which expanded its definition, imposed new fines and changed how evidence can be used against victims. It also required additional law enforcement training. However, it has also received more attention because it is growing and more needs to be done to stop it. While this South San Francisco ordinance is not the cure-all, it is one more tool police can use to stop this crime from taking place in our area and to capture those who exploit people for their own profit. It is also a good example of the business community working with law enforcement to stop illicit behavior.

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Duped women fight back as Burma gets to grips with human trafficking | Kate Hodal | Global development | guardian.co.uk

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2012/dec/24/women-burma-human-trafficking

Source: guardian.co.uk

NGO Walk Free is challenging firms including Apple and HSBC to tackle trafficking within Burma's emerging private sector

Kate Hodal in Rangoon
guardian.co.uk, Monday 24 December 2012 02.00 EST

People watch US singer Jason Mraz perform at the MTV EXIT show, a free concert to raise awareness of human trafficking in Burma. Photograph: Nyein Chan Naing/EPA

The tiny drinks stall Chit Htet had been running for the past few years in Rangoon was doing so poorly that when the 35-year-old's sister-in-law promised her a job in Burma's southern province, Chit Htet didn't think twice.

But she had been duped. After taking food and drink offered to her by the sister-in-law, Chit Htet fell asleep – and woke up to discover she had been smuggled into Thailand, where, her sister-in-law said, she would now be working to "pay off her job-placement debts" in a pineapple factory. "I was given 300 baht [£6] every 15 days as salary but had to pay for my own water, electricity and rent, which meant that I could only afford to eat one egg a day – half at breakfast and half at dinner," says Chit Htet.

Working in the factory with thousands of others – at least 1,000 of whom she estimated to be Burmese nationals like herself, and many of whom she says had been trafficked by her own sister-in-law – Chit Htet plotted her escape. Guards patrolled the compound and workers were only allowed out in escorted minivans to the local market. But one day she found a Thai colleague's mobile lying around and made the call to police that freed her.

Burma has been fighting trafficking within its borders for the past eight years – it signed the 2004 UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and in 2007 established its own anti-trafficking taskforce – with more than 1,700 victims rescued to date. But rights groups say it still lacks the teeth to prosecute and prevent cases from reoccurring – meaning that repeat offenders like Chit Htet's sister-in-law often walk free.

However in a landmark agreement between the Burmese government and the Australian anti-trafficking NGO Walk Free in December, the Burmese government committed to working with local businesses to eradicate all trafficking within its private sector. This would mean that in Burma's nascent economy, businesses would be required to identify, eradicate and prevent forced labour in their operations and supply chains – preventing situations like Chit Htet's from occurring on Burmese soil.

"This chance to work with Walk Free is a great opportunity to persuade the domestic private sector to work with us on this initiative and, together, I am sure we will end human trafficking in Myanmar," Police Brigadier General Khin Maung Si told the Guardian.

Although slavery is illegal in every country in the world, the International Labour Organisation estimates that nearly 21 million people around the world can be considered modern-day slaves – defined as those working under threat of violence, abuse and harsh penalties – in a market generating roughly $32bn (£19.7bn) profit every year. More than half of those people are in Asia, and more than a quarter are women andchildren.

Burmese women are trafficked out of the country every year – the majority of whom are sold into forced marriages, prostitution or forced labour. According to the Burmese government's most recent plan of action, around 80% of Burma's trafficking victims end up in China, with the rest primarily going to Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

Burma's female workforce has been migrating for decades now, says Ma Mar of the Burmese charity FATE (Fight Against Trafficking and Exploitation of Women), seeking greater economic opportunities abroad to send money back home. "Before it was just women who were poor," she says. "Now it's women who are educated – lawyers, teachers, graduates – because their education has no value. They don't get a decent income to provide for their family but feel they are the ones responsible for providing food and [so they] take the risk of going to places like Saudi Arabia, China, Thailand."

Whether they go abroad or move within Burma, many end up particularly vulnerable to human traffickers because they don't know how to protect themselves, says Ohnmar Ei Ei Chaw, national project director of the UN's anti-trafficking unit in Burma. In many cases, this is because victims often fall prey to family members, like Chit Htet, or to neighbours working on behalf of agents.

Walk Free aims to change that by making businesses a safer place for employees. Founded by mining tycoon Andrew Forrest, the charity is calling on the world's largest companies to pledge zero tolerance of slavery. As one of the partners of MTV Exit (End Exploitation and Trafficking), the NGO organised a concert in Rangoon on 16 December in partnership with USAid, Ausaid, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Burmese government to raise awareness about human trafficking. Videos reenacting trafficking situations were played on large-screen TVs, and speakers, including the US ambassador to Burma Derek Mitchell, asked the crowd to "promise never to trust anyone who promises you an offer that sounds too good to be true".

"Business has always been a key driver of social change, shaping modern life through innovation and new technology," Walk Free says. "If corporate giants – 25 of the world's top businesses whose net worth makes up $5 trillion – prioritise the abolition of modern slavery as their next major innovation, we could quickly deal a major blow to the slavery industry in this generation." Those targeted by the group include Google, Apple, Microsoft, HSBC and Coca-Cola.

While Walk Free and the Burmese government are still in the initial phases of the agreement, the NGO is calling on the experiences of victims like Chit Htet to help raise awareness about trafficking – by identifying where to place posters, billboards and hotlines in trafficking hotspots in Burma and surrounding countries.

"We [survivors] should be going to communities where there is trafficking and talking about our experiences," Chit Htet and a group of other survivors recently told Forrest. "So we can show them we are not different – we are just like them."

Some details have been changed to protect identity

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Webinar panellists call for partnerships in efforts to combat trafficking globally

Panellists during a webinar on "Trafficking Prevention and the Victims: New United Nations and Academic Perspectives" called on governments, international organisations and NGOs to strengthen partnerships and build on their collective efforts to fight human trafficking around the world.

CLICK HERE:

Webinar panellists call for partnerships in efforts to combat trafficking globally:

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John Reilly's new book on human trafficking for sexual exploitation

 John O'Reilly shares that he has

"published a new book on human trafficking for sexual exploitation called "Sex Slavery the way back". This book explains why victims won't ask for, or accept help and why they want to return to their abusive situation to prostitute themselves for the benefit of others. It also sets out interviewing technique for interviewing victims. It sets out a new step by step technique in interviewing victims in order to help them break down the barriers that keeps them in sexual servitude...."

To learn more  about John O'Reilly, his work, and his latest book, go to www.victimsliberation.com 

Essay: Conference shows how faith community is vital to ending human trafficking - The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/essay-conference-shows-how-faith-community-is-vital-to-ending-human-trafficking/2012/11/16/1e8a0002-2f6f-11e2-ac4a-33b8b41fb531_story.html

Source: The Washington Post

By Ana Steele, Published: November 16

Dr. Ana Steele is president of the Dalit Freedom Network.

When the Orlean Council and Children Slavery Task Force convened leaders from various organizations and faith communities this week to discuss the important role the faith community has in the fight to end child trafficking, surveying the room was like spanning the globe.

It was readily apparent that this meeting brought together not only religious leaders but people of differing ideologies, life experiences, and careers. Yet, solidarity prevailed through one overarching message: nothing but a concerted global effort on the part of all stakeholders will defeat this atrocity called human trafficking and modern slavery. The panel emphasized the urgency for a “universal voice” in and from faith communities that are by definition predicated on a spiritual mandate to end suffering. Regardless of one’s religion, we can all recognize that slavery is a sacrilege that needs to be eradicated.

The panel called for a change in the current discourse on trafficking and slavery—this atrocity is not just a human rights violation; it is the third largest form of organized crime in our world, after drugs and guns.

Speakers included Imam Yahya Hendi, Director of Muslim Chaplaincy at Georgetown University and founder of Clergy Beyond Borders, a global multi-faith itinerant teaching group whose past focus has been conflict resolution and whose future aim is to be a voice of ‘inclusivity and respect,’ especially for those who have abused by religion. He believes interfaith communities must shift to becoming part of the solution to human trafficking and not creators of these crimes against humanity.

Dr. Helga Konrad, former Austrian federal government minister and executive director of Anti-Trafficking, participated in the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s (OSCE) first conference on the rights of children, which opened her eyes to the importance of establishing international children’s rights laws. She advocated for practical techniques to prevent trafficking before it begins and called for global interfaith communities to collaborate and cooperate in the implementation of prevention measures. She also advocated for more international laws and conventions.

The third speaker, Dr. Joseph D’souza, international president of Dalit Freedom Network and president of the All India Christian Council, urged all faith communities to begin a journey to create “spiritual democracies within their own religions that ensure equal rights for all.” He explained there is no place in today’s world for undemocratic religions that abuse children and women with impunity.  D’souza shared an important insight: there is a distinct nexus between human trafficking and money, power, and religion.  We must go beyond dialogue to engage in “dia-practice” in order to eradicate global modern slavery.

We must also learn to recognize victims of trafficking within our own communities. The fourth speaker, Jim Gamble, former head of Counter Terrorism in Northern Ireland, stressed that people of all faiths can play their part against human trafficking by looking for warning signs of potential abuse in their own communities. He listed six indicators of a trafficked child—including erratic behavior, poor health, a tense and depersonalized relationship with the adult accompanying them. Gamble urged that we must alert local law enforcement if we see a potential victim in our own community.

Armed with new knowledge and practical solutions for combat, the conference came to a close, but the discussion is far from over. People of diverse faiths, backgrounds, and ethnicities, cannot solve this problem from their own silos. They must now come together, in the unity and bond of peace, forsake their differences, and fight as one to end human trafficking and all forms of modern slavery in our world.   

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The Himalayan Times - Govt positive to declare year against human trafficking: PM - Detail News

http://thehimalayantimes.com/rssReference.php?headline=+Govt+positive+to+declare+year+against+human+trafficking%3A+PM&NewsID=349427

Source: The Himalayan Times
2012-10-02 

KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai has expressed the commitment to announce 2013 'the Year against Human Trafficking' to combat trafficking of women and children.

Addressing a workshop organised here on Tuesday by Sancharika Samuha and Forum of Women, Law and Development (FWLD) on 'Announcing a year against human trafficking', Prime Minister Dr Bhattarai assured that he would take special initiative to take action against those involved in human trafficking.

The announcement of the year is important; he said adding that the year would be announced by making necessary study to that end.

Recalling that the government took initiative to combat gender-based violence by declaring 2010 as the year against violence against women, Prime Minister Dr Bhattarai said trafficking in humans would not be resolved for long without the socio-economic development of the country.

On the occasion, Charimaya Tamang from Shakti Samuha handed over signatures collected in an effort to pressurise the government to declare the year against human trafficking.

Minister for Women, Children and Social Welfare Badri Neupane said human trafficking is a crime against humanity and shared that the government had made arrangement of accommodating women survivors in rehabilitation centres.

Maiti Nepal Chairperson Anuradha Koirala said that it was quite disappointing that Nepalis were involved in trafficking their fellow country men and women, voicing concern that the government has been apathetic towards the day-to-day victims of human trafficking.

Former lawmaker Sapana Pradhan said the Year against gender-based violence was successful and stressed the need to announce the Year against human trafficking.

Also speaking on the occasion were Sancharika Samuha Chairperson Nirmala Sharma, advocate Sabin Shrestha and others.