Sex trafficking warning film to be shown in RB - Pomerado News | Pomerado News

http://www.pomeradonews.com/2012/01/05/sex-trafficking-warning-film-to-be-shown-in-rb/

By Elizabeth Marie Himchak

A short film warning parents and their teenage daughters about the dangers of the girls becoming sex trafficking victims will be shown for free on Wednesday, Jan. 11 in Rancho Bernardo.

“Indoctrinated: The Grooming of our Children into Prostitution” is a locally made 33-minute documentary sponsored by the San Diego County Office of Education.

“It’s great,” said Judy Horning, who saw a preview of the film last month. “It is geared toward parents and teens, and shows how easily (teens) can get swept into (prostitution) without knowing what they are getting into.

“All parents and teenage girls should see it,” Horning said.

In conjunction with National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, the Rancho Bernardo and Poway chapters of Soroptimist International will host a free showing of the film and panel discussion.

It will be in The Church at Rancho Bernardo sanctuary, 11740 Bernardo Plaza Court, on Wednesday, Jan. 11. Doors will open at 6 p.m., with the film shown at 6:30 p.m. Immediately after, there will be a panel discussion with Marisa Ugarte, Bilateral Safety Corridor Coalition’s executive director, and Kathi Hardy, Freedom from Exploitation’s founder. The free event will be over by 8 p.m.

Horning, a Rancho Bernardo Soroptimist and BSCC member, said so that enough brochures are available, attendees are asked to register in advance at http://stat.eventbrite.com or www.indoctrinated.org. However, walk-ins will be welcome.

According to Horning, authorities have identified the San Diego region as a “high intensity child prostitution area.” She said vulnerable teens are often recruited at shopping malls, schools, parks, concerts and beaches, and on the Internet.

“A runaway girl, 80 percent of the time, will be picked up within 48 hours (of leaving home) and end up involved in prostitution without (initially realizing it),” Horning said, adding teenage boys can also become victims.

She said parents should be interested in attending since there is little public awareness about the human trafficking and sex exploitation issue.

According to the documentary’s website, the film shows tactics used by pimps and gangs to recruit, groom, psychologically coerce and indoctrinate victims into a life of sexual exploitation and violence. It also teaches parents and teens how to avoid this situation.

Due to the subject matter, Horning said the event might not be appropriate for those under 13 years.

Horning said Soroptimist International made human trafficking one of its focuses several years ago and locally, eight clubs formed a coalition called Soroptimists Together Against Trafficking.

For event details, call Horning at 858-748-0069 or go to www.indoctrinated.org.

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VISTA: Group takes stand against human trafficking

By Elena Cristiano - For the North County Times | Posted: Saturday, January 9, 2010 6:50 pm

[Photo] A few hundred people take part in the "Walk for Awareness" Saturday, part of the Vista Soroptimists' third annual "National Human Trafficking Awareness Day" event in Vista. (Photo by Don Boomer - Staff photographer)

A few hundred North County residents took to the streets of downtown Vista on Saturday afternoon for a one-mile "Walk for Awareness" in recognition of the United States Senate's National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, which is Monday.

The Vista event ---- which included a gathering at the corner of Indiana and Main Streets with music, booths and guest speakers ---- was a strange sight for some passersby, who seemed surprised so many local residents turned out for the cause.

"Human trafficking, really?," asked Betsy Samuels of Vista as she slowed down her car to read the signs carried by the walkers, including one that said "Human Trafficking is Modern Day Slavery!"

Dave Hall of Escondido joined his daughter for the walk and said he too was initially surprised by the notion that human trafficking is a local issue.

"I had always thought of it as something that happened somewhere else, far away," said Hall. "But here it is, here in North County."

Members of Soroptimist International of Vista, which sponsored the event, are trying to combat the idea that human trafficking ---- defined in this case as the sale, transport and profit from human beings who are forced to work through prostitution ---- is something that occurs elsewhere, not in the United States.

"It is imperative that we here in San Diego realize it's not a global problem, it's right under our noses," said guest speaker Kimberly Hunt, a Channel 10 News anchor who has done several stories on the subject over the last 18 months. "The border from Mexico is easy access and helping exacerbate the situation."

Hunt said that she had personally seen the evidence when she toured a small canyon in Carlsbad with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in 2009.

"There I was looking up at a ridge of multimillion dollar homes, and right below are the remnants of an open-air brothel that agents were able to bust," said Hunt. "The last of the three traffickers ---- a brutal, evil ... sex trafficker that did despicable things to these women ---- was convicted yesterday."

Vista City Councilman Steve Gronke said Saturday that better legislation, and tougher prosecution and sentencing, is the next step in fighting the problem.

"We need to hit these people in their wallets and take away their freedom, " said Gronke. "That's the message we want to send."

Saturday's gathering featured live music, t-shirts for sale, and several booths where information cards, emergency phone numbers and fliers, and contact information for support organizations were distributed.

According to organizer Kay Van Nevel of Vista "an event of this size and magnitude" takes team work. She said the gathering was made possible by the North County Anti-Human Trafficking Collaborative.

The collaborative includes members from the Bilateral Safety Corridor Coalition; Soroptimist International of Oceanside, Carlsbad, Poway & Rancho Bernardo, Fallbrook, and North Coast San Diego; Operation Hope, Girls Incorporated of San Diego County, San Diego County Sheriff's Department, Vista Unified School District, Boys and Girls Club of Vista, Director of Legislation for California Concerned Women of America (CWA), City of Vista, Congressman Darrell Issa's office, Salvation Army, Not For Sale Campaign, Vista Community Clinic, Women's Resource Center, Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, Child Protective Services and the San Diego County District Attorney's Office..

The group meets every three months to tackle the issue. For more information ,contact Van Nevel at kgvn@cox.net

Posted in Vista on Saturday, January 9, 2010 6:50 pm Updated: 7:02 pm.

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VISTA: Group takes stand against human trafficking