Trafficking Monitor is a blog I created and curate. It offers posts highlighting the multifaceted nature of human trafficking and forced/indentured labour. I draw on a diversity of sources for my posts. You are invited to recommend materials for posting.
Showing posts with label Clinton Global Initiative. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Clinton Global Initiative. Show all posts
Expanding the Global Anti-Trafficking ‘Tool Box’:
By Kate Francis
In President Obama’s speech at the Clinton Global Initiative this year, he called on all Americans and the world to take a broader, more comprehensive view of combating human trafficking of all kinds. He outlined how the U.S. is strengthening law enforcement through improved training, and providing better services to victims through improved coordination across federal agencies. And he didn’t stop there. He also recognized the U.S. government’s influential position as the world’s largest buyer of services and goods, promising to remove slavery from government supply chains and declaring that “American tax dollars must never, ever be used to support the trafficking of human beings.”
A woman in Mongolia applies for a passport, which has an informational packet inserted into it that explains the risks of human trafficking and contact information on how to get in touch with authorities. Photo/Matthew Pendergast.
President Obama further challenged the global community to “recommit to addressing the underlying forces that push so many into bondage in the first place.” Examining and challenging the economic, social, and cultural inequalities that create vulnerable conditions among marginalized groups is a critical, but often under appreciated, step toward a long-term trafficking prevention strategy. Adding that individual companies – and even individual consumers – can voluntarily take steps to rid their supply chains of exploitation and slavery, the president left no room for any of us to deny our stake in this fight.
The president’s speech resonated with those of us who work on these issues, not only because it catalyzed further awareness of human trafficking, but more importantly, it emphasized the complexity of the problem and the need for multifaceted solutions. Not very long ago, the discourse surrounding human trafficking (particularly in the U.S.) was dominated by issues associated with the commercial sexual exploitation of women and girls. Those issues were and continue to be critical and relevant to current trends, but trafficking for other purposes – forced labor, domestic work, organ transplants, and many others – was largely absent from the debate and, in many cases, from the on-the-ground work that aimed to stem the trade in human beings.
When The Asia Foundation began working to combat human trafficking in the late 1990s, our efforts hinged on the “3P” approach (prevention, protection, and prosecution), and focused on women victims of trafficking in the sex industry. Over the years, we and many others have transitioned to a more holistic and nuanced strategy that incorporates aspects of all forms of trafficking and increasingly addresses the needs of both male and female survivors. Recognizing that a thriving trafficking trade indicates a breakdown in the legal, economic, and social fabric of a society, we have adapted to a governance-based approach in our anti-trafficking work, focusing on working politically to increase the ability of law enforcement, justice officials, social service providers, community leaders, and policymakers to combat this crime.
This evolution of thinking and approach was highlighted at a recent workshop we hosted in Nepal called, “Combating Trafficking in Persons: Capturing Lessons Learned, Charting the Way Forward.” The gathering brought together Asia Foundation staff from across the region, as well as international and regional experts, who discussed emerging issues related to law, technology, victim support, and research. Throughout the three-day meeting, participants explored new ways to expand our anti-trafficking work by creatively using the Foundation’s skills, assets, and networks to directly and indirectly contribute to the multi-faceted solution to this problem. For example, how can our community policing programs put victim support skills in the hands of local police officers? What if we could engage our vast networks of faith communities to identify new ways to reach out to victims and at-risk groups? Could our efforts to address conflict in fragile states also identify strategic ways to reduce vulnerability to human trafficking among displaced peoples?
Just as President Obama called on all of us to “speak up” and take initiative in new ways to end this crime against humanity, the Foundation and other organizations are expanding efforts to find creative, effective contributions to the global anti-trafficking “tool box.” Over the coming months, we’ll be discussing some specific strategies that have worked in the past, as well as sharing our latest efforts to develop and test new approaches in the region. Kate Francis is associate director of The Asia Foundation’s Women’s Empowerment Program in Washington, D.C. She can be reached at kfrancis@asiafound.org. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the individual author and not those of The Asia Foundation.
Can Twitter end modern day slavery? Ashton Kutcher says social media has the power to give traditionally under-represented voices a major platform. And in the process, bring the issue of slavery to the masses.
At the 2010 Clinton Global Initiative yesterday, Ashton Kutcher announced his foundation's commitment to eradicating modern day slavery. He made the announcement during a panel discussion on how communication technology can advance human rights.
At last year's Clinton Global Initiative the issue of modern day slavery was highlighted by Bill Clinton himself. Clinton held up FTS President Kevin Bales' book, "Ending Slavery" during one of his speeches and said:
"[Kevin Bales' book] points out there are 27 million people in the world -- a very small percentage of the world's population. A small percentage of the population of the developing world. But 27 million people who are in effect, sold into bondage... everything from prostitution to forced labor in homes to forced labor in factories and fields. No continent is exempt."
He went on to say, "The Bales book I like because it's essentially upbeat. It tells you [slavery] is a problem we can solve and here's how to do it. But it's hard for me to believe we can solve it on a sustainable basis unless in every country there's an economic model that can at least minimize the inequality trap."
Clinton said slavery is "something that I intend to take up next year." And he was true to his word.
The issue of modern day slavery was brought up by Ashton Kutcher in a breakout session moderated by none other than Arianna Huffington, and presented by Nicholas Kristof (the NYT columnist who tirelessly writes about human trafficking and modern day slavery, and co-wrote "Half The Sky" with his wife Sheryl WuDunn). The panel discussion was on the topic of Democracy and Voice: Technology for Citizen Empowerment and Human Rights.
Kutcher announced the launching of an anti-child sex trafficking campaign titled Real Men Don't Buy Girls. The campaign is operated through the DNA Foundation -- an organization founded by Kutcher and his wife Demi Moore. Real Men Don't Buy Girls aims to raise awareness and action about sex trafficking through social media. Kutcher said:
"Demi and I are about to announce a commitment to launch an advocacy campaign to end child sex trafficking, which I think ties directly to the power of this new media -- this social media." He continued, "I was looking the other day at the top 100 media moguls of the world. Ninety percent of which are white males over the age of 40... If you look at the top 100 people on Twitter, 30% are women. Seven percent are African American. They come from different socioeconomic backgrounds," he said. "That's the true democratization of media."
Apne Aap's Expanded Global Advocacy to End Sex Trafficking Prioritizes Leadership of Survivors
NEW YORK, Sept. 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In the past year, Ruchira Gupta, President of Apne Aap Women Worldwide and recipient of the 2009 Clinton Global Citizen Award, has made significant strides in the battle to end sex trafficking in India and around the world. Apne Aap has used the increased visibility brought by the Clinton Global Initiative's honor to dramatically expand its programmatic reach on the ground, while spearheading cutting-edge, survivor-led strategies in the global movement to end sex trafficking.
Apne Aap's work is based around organizing the victims and survivors of sex trafficking into "self-help groups" and transforming those groups into small business collectives. In the last year alone, Apne Aap has more than doubled the number of registered self-help groups, growing the number of women and girls whose lives are directly affected from 1,005 one year ago to 2,185 today. Through community centers and publications, Apne Aap's impact now reaches over 10,000 women and girls in India's red light districts.
Perhaps the most significant achievement of Apne Aap over the past year is its profound influence on the perspective of global decision makers in their treatment of the survivors of sex trafficking. The organization has challenged the notion that survivors are passive recipients, convincing the highest level policy makers that survivors are active change agents remarkably capable of informing and shaping national laws and international agendas. In October 2009, Gupta took a panel of survivors to speak at the UN General Assembly in New York alongside Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillai, and in 2010, she led a group of survivors to speak before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Apne Aap has opened groundbreaking avenues within India for survivors to communicate their ideas to strengthen the anti-trafficking law, the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act, rallying the voices of 3,042 survivors of trafficking to demand the criminalization of the buyers and profiteers of commercial sex while decriminalizing the women in prostitution.
More recently, Apne Aap has embarked on an exciting South-South anti-trafficking partnership with NGOs in South Africa by exporting its model of community organizing and women's self-empowerment to this new arena. Speaking before the South African Parliament this summer, Gupta called on African politicians to put into place stricter mechanisms to prevent trafficking in women and girls.
"The Clinton Global Initiative award was significant for Apne Aap because it opened up new opportunities by amplifying the influence that an NGO from the Global South can have internationally. The increased visibility has helped raise funding, networking opportunities and the ability to engage with new audiences," said Ruchira Gupta. In 2010, Gupta was invited to join CGI Lead, a high-level group within the Clinton Global Initiative whose mission is to "bring together a select group of accomplished young leaders to develop innovative solutions to some of the world's most pressing challenges." Said Gupta, "There is still much that needs to be done in addressing sex trafficking effectively. As India is gearing up to the Commonwealth Games in October, the government has not prioritized the safety of women and girls from commercial sexual exploitation. Thousands of women and girls' lives are in danger and we need to keep global pressure on the Indian government to put in place adequate measures that will protect girls and women."
On Tuesday, September 21st, Gupta moderated a session at the CGI Annual Meeting to explore initiatives that are applying different approaches to the problem of trafficking, including monitoring corporate supply chains, rehabilitating victims through training and income generation, and preventing trafficking through education and micro-land grants. Among the participants were actors Julia Ormond, Ashley Judd, Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher.
About Apne Aap
Apne Aap fights human trafficking and empowers women to escape sexual slavery. We provide the women and children of India's Red Light Districts with education, health care, legal protection and job skills.
Field Update: 12-year Old Girl Escapes Sex Trafficking and Plays Major Role in Prosecuting Traffickers
This summer, 12-year old Nisha went missing. Nisha comes from a red-light area in a rural community in Bihar, India where caste discrimination pushes many families to accept forced prostitution as their expected means of income generation. The region is rampant with home-based brothels and parents trafficking their own children. On hearing of Nisha's disappearance, Apne Aap quickly stepped in, reporting the situation to the police and finding the traffickers who had taken Nisha with the intent of sexual exploitation. With Apne Aap's help, Nisha was rescued from an area brothel and brought to Apne Aap's Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya hostel and school. This marks the first ever occasion when a rescued girl has been brought to a rehabilitation program, rather than a jail or shelter. Nisha is recovering well from the trauma in the safe, stable environment of the school. She recently gathered the courage to testify against her own father for pulling her out of school and is assisting Apne Aap in the prosecution of child traffickers.
The right to education is at the center of Apne Aap's legal campaign to stop the forced prostitution of all girls. During Nisha's rescue, Apne Aap lobbied the Chief Minister of the state of Bihar to take action to prevent parent-traffickers from pulling their children out of schools and safe houses. As a result, the Chief Minister ordered a new School and Hostel facility built for Apne Aap and has committed to extend funding to allow what was previously a 9-month bridge program into a full middle and high school.
Mitchell introduces bill targeting clandestine industry
By Robert W. Dalton
bob.dalton@shj.com
Published: Sunday, December 6, 2009 at 3:15 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, December 6, 2009 at 12:40 a.m.
It's a multibillion-dollar industry with thousands of units sold each year.
By the numbers
- It is estimated that at least 27 million people are enslaved around the world.
- About 800,000 people annually are trafficked across national borders. About 80 percent of these victims are women and girls, and up to 50 percent are minors. The majority of females are trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation.
- It is estimated that human trafficking is a $32 billion-a-year industry, making it the second most lucrative crime in the world, behind only the sale of drugs.
Every 10 minutes, a woman or child is trafficked into the U.S.
- Forced labor is most prevalent in five sectors of the U.S. economy: prostitution and sex services (46 percent); domestic service (27 percent); agriculture (10 percent); sweatshop/factory work (5 percent); and restaurant and hotel work (4 percent).
Source: Not for Sale
ON THE WEB
Not for Sale South Carolina: www.notforsalesc.org
The Polaris Project:
www.polarisproject.org
But it's not houses or cars that are being moved. The products are human beings.
Human trafficking victims are most often forced into prostitution. But they also are a source of cheap labor for sweat shops, farms and restaurants.
"There's a market, and that's the sad thing about it," state Rep. Harold Mitchell said. "A lot of people don't realize it's a problem, but it's something we need to nip quickly. We don't need to let it grow."
Mitchell, D-Spartanburg, has introduced a bill he hopes will do just that. If approved, the legislation would require a minimum sentence of five years and raise the maximum penalty to 30 years -- up from the current maximum of 15 years -- for anyone convicted of human trafficking.
Mitchell learned about the scope of the problem while attending the Clinton Global Initiative's annual conference in September. Founded by former President Bill Clinton in 2005, the initiative's goal is to partner governments with private-sector groups to confront pressing issues worldwide.
One of CGI's "commitments to action" is to halt human trafficking. Mitchell said he was happy to get on board.
"You can spend money and create programs, but I wanted to deal with it from a policy standpoint and see if we could make a dent in it," he said.
Mitchell's bill still might not be enough. The current law has been on the books since 2006, and the next human trafficking case tried in state court will be the first.
Seventh Circuit Solicitor Trey Gowdy said the problem of charging someone with human trafficking is twofold. First, law enforcement might not be aware that such a charge is an option. Second, suspects might be charged with other crimes, such as kidnapping, because the penalties are greater.
"If all (Mitchell's bill) does is raise awareness that it is either an issue or a potential issue and puts law enforcement on notice that while considering charges they have an additional arrow in their quiver, then it's a good thing," Gowdy said.
Maryse Gartner, the state director of Not For Sale South Carolina -- an organization whose mission is to raise awareness and assist law enforcement and victim's groups in combating human trafficking -- said the crime is largely underreported because people don't know what to watch for.
"People may see something fishy going on, but they don't know how to identify it or who to call," she said.
Gartner said the ribbon of interstates 26 and 85 that made the area a popular route for running drugs and guns between New York and Miami also make it attractive for human traffickers.
"It's just blossomed in the state because of where we are located," she said.
Gartner said many victims are Hispanic or Asian, but authorities are starting to see more Eastern Europeans.
But it's not just people from other countries who are victims of trafficking. U.S. citizens, especially runaways, also are susceptible. Anyone younger than 18 who is forced into prostitution is, according to the law, a trafficking victim.
Karen Stauss, legal counsel for the Polaris Project, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that provides direct services to human trafficking survivors and assists law enforcement, said an estimated 100,000 children become trafficking victims in the U.S. each year. The hidden nature of the crime makes hard numbers difficult to come by, but she said trafficking has increased over the past 10 to 15 years because of globalization.
"People have the ability to cross borders," Stauss said. "They are seeking a better life, but it makes them more vulnerable. They don't know where to turn for help when people are exploiting them."
Stauss said more than 40 states have laws specifically dealing with human trafficking. About 95 percent of all trafficking cases are prosecuted at the state level.
"Local law enforcement are the eyes and ears," Stauss said. "For them to be engaged and understand what the crime is, we need to have that law on the books in states."
Gartner said it's important to raise awareness of trafficking "in all constituencies," including law enforcement.
"It's kind of like a dirty little secret," she said. "It's awful, and people don't want to think about it. But we have to make the general public aware."
Mitchell's bill is a good start, Gartner said.
"We're thrilled that he's realizing how important it is to increase the penalties. We're not going to be able to abate the problem without the traffickers realizing that we're not going to put up with it in this state," she said.
U.S. Attorney Walt Wilkins has prosecuted two human trafficking cases in South Carolina, one in Columbia and one in Greenville. Wilkins said the cases were "casually" connected.
Wilkins said putting together a trafficking case that results in a successful prosecution requires a great deal of law enforcement resources. Undercover work is nearly impossible because of language barriers and the tight ranks of the traffickers.
"Unless there's a tip, law enforcement is not going to know about it," Wilkins said. "It's very clandestine."
In the Columbia case, a 16-year-old Mexican girl was forced into prostitution. She was moved around to different brothels in several states and forced to see about 10 men a day.
She was able to slip away from her captors and call family in Mexico. Her family got in touch with authorities, who were able to find her by using a series of informants.
In the Greenville case, a john contracted a sexually transmitted disease. He told the nurse treating him the locations he had frequented and the nurse reported it. Law enforcement interviewed the john, who was willing to help.
Wilkins said another issue is what to do with the victims, who are breaking the law.
"If they are truly human trafficking victims, you don't want to incarcerate them," he said. "But you have to do something with them."
Gartner said trafficking victims often blame themselves for their circumstances.
"When law enforcement goes in to investigate, the victim will not identify as a trafficking victim," she said. "They may think they are responsible and may not understand that they've been abused and battered until after a conversation with a victim's advocate."
Wilkins has put together a coalition of victim's assistance groups -- Gartner is one of the members -- and law enforcement officials. Their goal is to have a process in place to deal with all aspects of a trafficking case.
"This is really a strong group that has gotten together," Wilkins said. "If another case comes along, we'll be prepared to handle all the issues that come up."
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