“The film opened my eyes to the scope and scorching pain of the human trafficking problem. While it is difficult to watch—you should see it. The best weapon against this blight is awareness.” — David Jacobson, Ambassador of the United States of America
“The portraits of the women featured in the film are powerful and heart-rending… Suitable for some mature high school classes and for college courses in cultural anthropology, anthropology of women/gender, anthropology of globalization/neoliberalism, and Eastern European studies, as well as general audiences.” - David Eller, Anthropology Review Database
Several years ago I posted an audio interview with Partrick Trueman on pornography, prostitution and child sex trafficking. I met Mr. Trueman,former Chief of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Criminal Division, U. S. Department of Justice, face-to-face in Washington, D.C. for the taped interview. The stories he shared in that interview made a case for a clear connection between forced sexual slavery and the internet porn industry.
Sometimes, however, words aren’t enough. We need more.
Chris Johnson sent me this music video by Mr. J. Medeiros and it has haunted me. As the description on YouTube states, this is hip-hop take on how the Philippines has been “victimized by Human Trafficking. It was directed by Sam Sanchez of Stick Productions in 2006. It has inspired an international human rights movement called the “Constance Campaign.” Mr. J spearheaded the movement and has partnered with Non-Profit’s like HumanTrafficking.org.”
he’s about to turn six into six thousand
and all you have to do is click on your web browser
its not illegal to use raping as a cash crop
as long as it says she’s 18 on your laptop
And it’s happening under our noses here in the U.S. as well. What will you do with this information?
Hidden in the news of last year’s United Nations panel discussion about how news organizations are dealing with the topic of modern slavery and human trafficking, was a women who has been on the forefront of this discussion for a good portion of her life. The event, covered by The Huffington Post and recently brought back into the light by AOL, was cosponsored by The Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University. Elaine Schuster is the main reason why.
Since 2004, Elaine Schuster committed $5.5 million to create and develop the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University which has a project devoted to in-depth reporting on Human Trafficking & Slavery. Yet, for the most part, her name remains hidden in the those associated with this most laudable cause. Her generosity and tireless passion is paying off. This panel and the Schuster Institute’s reporting project committed to original reporting that shines a light on this shocking human rights issue are evidence of that.
As reported by the Huffington Post: “Among the main points: Panelists urged reporters and editors to avoid salacious details and splashy, “sexy” headlines that can prevent a more nuanced examination of trafficked persons’ lives and experiences. Journalists lamented the lack of solid data, noting that the available statistics are contradictory, unreliable, insufficient, and often skewed by ideology.” – The News Media’s Role In Exposing Human Trafficking
Here is the closing video from the session. In this segment, Antonio Maria Costa adresses the often asked question, “How can I help?” All of the videos from this session can be seen on YouTube at The Schuster Institute.
A staggering 46% of all traffficking in the United States feed prostitution. The average age of beginning in prostitution in the US is 13. Read more: End Slavery Now
As a society, we have to begin to label crimes accurately. Is a teen who is reported missing by her family, kidnapped and forced to work in an underground brother guilty of prostitution or a victim of human trafficking? Both can’t be true.
Children forced into sexual service are not being held by “pimps.” Pimp is a word that has lost it’s negative power. These children are being held by slave traders. This problem might be treated differently if we can change the words we use to describe it.
“As if ignoring all those red flags wasnt bad enough, the LAPD actually arrested a 17-year-old girl, who by virtue of her age is automatically a trafficking victim. The girl had even been reported missing by her family. Yet somehow, it didnt occur to the LAPD that if one trafficking victim was kidnapped and forced to work at Club 907, perhaps others were as well.” via Change.org.
I wrote back in 2008, that Ohio has no human trafficking law. On Decebmber 23, 2010, over two years later, Ohio finally passed legislation that makes human trafficking a felony in that state.
Toledo, Ohio, is the third-largest city for human trafficking and sexual slavery in the United States; just recently a Somalian sex trafficking ring was busted in Columbus. The Buckeye State is known for football, chili, and the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame. It now finds itself among the several states in America that have been confronted with the horror of human trafficking.
You’d think it would be simple to prosecute someone for enslaving another human being. You’d be wrong.
Changes to existing laws are required to insure that authorities have the tools necessary to expedite the prosecution of those involved in sex traficking and modern forms of slavery. Arizona House Bill 2673, penned by Krysten Sinema, is an example of the kind of simple changes required to make it easier. The bill did away with a provision that police need to prove that a trafficked person was acquired “for transport” to be considered being trafficked.
“This bill gives law enforcement a greater ability to fight heinous crimes like human trafficking for sex or slave labor,” Sinema said. “It’s a simple fix that makes a huge difference for public safety in our neighborhoods and offers a real solution to violence along the border.”
Kudos to Arizona. Thank you, Representative Sinema.
Contrary to a common assumption, human trafficking is not just a problem in other countries. Cases of human trafficking have been reported in all 50 states, Washington D.C., and some U.S. territories. Victims of human trafficking can be children or adults, U.S. citizens or foreign nationals, male or female.
According to U.S. government estimates, thousands of men, women, and children are trafficked to the United States for the purposes of sexual and labor exploitation. An unknown number of U.S. citizens and legal residents are trafficked within the country primarily for sexual servitude and, to a lesser extent, forced labor.
The Kuwait Times is reporting that the embassy of Netherlands in Kuwait is sponsoring a three-day workshop about fighting human trafficking to be held, coincidentally, on Monday, the same day the United States is observing National Human Trafficking Awareness Day.
“The workshop aims to help the State of Kuwait to benefit from increasing Kuwaiti employees’ qualifications by offering the required training in this regard,” Iman Ereiqat, the officer in charge of the IOM’s regional office, told the Kuwait Times. Source: New steps to counter human trafficking.
