Why statistics doesn't show it all about human trafficking

Critics in the past have argued that the number of human trafficking have been exaggerated by the feminists and activities of anti-human trafficking movement. They further accused abolitionists of promoting their own agenda to eradicate prostitution and called anti-human trafficking activists opportunists. Certainly, many scholars have difficulty showing a precise number of statistics on human trafficking around the world. But interviews with law enforcement show that the difficulty of the estimation of human trafficking may be attributed to a number of factors involved in the complex nature of human trafficking as a crime. Also, it leads another question of whether lack of statistics should mean that human trafficking does not exist.

Victims: unwilling to come forward

One veteran law enforcement officer in human trafficking expressed her frustration in catching the traffickers in her area. She said that while victim's testimony or cooperation is a key element of prosecuting traffickers, many victims are too afraid to come forward to report their traffickers. What's more, they do not even know who to trust, even after they were rescued by the law enforcement. Another victim's story from Macon Georgia further confirms that many victims are unwilling to report the crimes committed against them. According to the article, a victim was arrested during the prostitution stings held in local massage parlors. Though she was initially taken to the police custody with other prostitutes, law enforcement speculated that she was a victim of human trafficking because of her excessive fear. Therefore, instead of being charged her with the crime, she was placed in a local shelter for trafficking victims. It was only after the two hour long interview with a local nonprofit staff that the victim finally disclosed that her traffickers were holding her identification and that they threatened her with deportation. The nonprofit staff also said that the victim was afraid that her boyfriend in China would find out about her history of prostitution in the U.S. She further disclosed that she came to the States after responding to a job advertisement in China.

Therefore, the law enforcement further stated that the fear of victims inflicted by the traffickers become main obstacles for the victims to testify against their traffickers.

Evidence is harder to come by

Another law enforcement further stated that evidence of human trafficking is even harder to come by than cooperation from the victims. In Macon Georgia, for instance, many victims are not from the area and they move one location to another very frequently. Some victims stay in one location for a week while another may stay for a month or so. Therefore, the law enforcement said that it is difficult to prosecute traffickers when they continue to relocate from one state to another.

Should you rely on statistics?

It'll be nice to have a hard statistics representing the cases of human trafficking in anywhere around the world. But, the lucrative nature and the complexity of human trafficking as a crime are two obstacles to generate a hard statistics. Just as critics say, the number of human trafficking could have been exaggerated by the abolitionists. But, the problem is that no one cay say whether the currently statistics on human trafficking was under-represented, either. Consider the story of a victim mentioned above, for instance. Her case will not be counted as part of the human trafficking statistics regardless of how traumatized she was by her traffickers. If she refused to testify against her traffickers, her case will not be prosecuted as part of statistics on human trafficking case. What's more, consider another example. Many domestic human trafficking victims refuse to testify against their pimps because their pimps are their sole source of affection as a boyfriend. I once had a concerned aunt emailed me about her niece who was willing to go to jail for her boyfriend/pimp on child prostitution charges but stubbornly refused to testify against her pimp/boyfriend. In such case, statistics will not account the victim's story as part of human trafficking cases in the area, since she never pressed the charges against her pimp or boyfriend. But, should you say that her lack of testimony against her boyfriend/pimp shows that the element of human trafficking didn't exist in her case?

Looking for volunteers to post global human trafficking roundup. Please leave a comment if you are interested. Thank you!!!!

Global human trafficking roundup (January 29-31, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Texas: Authorities say human trafficking is hard to prove at the court. Cases involving human trafficking are not only hard to tease from immigration or prostitution offenses but also some victims are unaware of their victimization. Therefore, they are difficult to prosecute.

New York: Buffalo law enforcement says that human trafficking hits close to home. Her youngest victim was 12 and the oldest one was in her 60s. Some cases of human trafficking so horrific that some investigators have to walk out of the scene or have hard time hearing the details. However, human trafficking cases are still difficult to prosecute unless victims cooperate.

Hawaii: A new prosecutor in Honolulu says that Hawaii does not need an anti-human trafficking law. However, he acknowledged that it is an ongoing problem in the state. He argued that while the bill was well intended, it was repetitive form of existing law.

Massachusetts: Senate joins the fight to make forced labor and prostitution illegal in the state. The new bill, if implemented, will not only create new crimes but also make a new task force to fight human trafficking in the state. It will also amend penalties regarding existing statutes to address the demand side of human trafficking.

Michigan: Federal prosecution in Detroit says that child pornography is getting uglier. The victim are becoming younger including infants and toddlers. Some are as young as six month old. According to the report, half of the child pornography circulated in the U.S. are made in the U.S., rather than Eastern Europe or South Asia.

ASIA

Cambodia: Police work with U.S. special operation agents to fight against child prostitution. One 1o year old victim was interviewed by BBC after her pimp and her aunt who sold her to the foreigner were arrested.

AFRICA

Zimbabwe: IOM assists Zimbabwe to create a comprehensive law against human trafficking. The legislation is intended to protect women and children trafficked in and out of Zimbabwe by prostitution rings. It will focus on raising awareness among government officials and law enforcement.

**Looking for volunteers to post human trafficking roundup during the summer. Please leave a comment if you are interested. Thank you!!!!!!!!!

Virginia: what's propping human trafficking?

Wednesday January 26, 2011 was Virginian's Lobbying day for Anti-human trafficking bill. Though Virginia currently retains human trafficking law in principle, it is only incorporated into part of state's abduction statute. Also, the conviction was never been made under the legislation because of the legislative loopholes. Therefore, a few good legislators were in the forefront of the fight introduced bills to close such loopholes and further assist victims.

Prosed Bills

HB1893, is a bill to close "the loopholes in the current Abduction statutes and make it easier for law enforcement and prosecutors to target traffickers." The bill will also expand the definition of abduction to include "specified trafficking activities such as the recruitment, solicitation, or enticement of individuals for forced labor or prostitution." It will also provide protection for sex trafficking victims who are in the age of 18 or older. What's more, under the bill a minor victim will no longer have a burden of proof to show force, intimidation, or deception by his or her trafficker. The bill will also "expand the scope of receiving money for procuring a person to include procuring a person for forced labor or services."

HB 2190 will help law enforcements to identify the victims and coordinate the delivery of services such as healthcare, housing, education, job training, and legal services, and HB 2393 will require adult entertainment businesses to feature the National Human Trafficking Hotline. HB 2440 bill would give "a victims of human trafficking an affirmative defense to a charge of prostitution. It will also allow victims to have their criminal records expunged of any arrest, charge, or conviction of prostitution while they were a victim of human trafficking. Lastly, HB 1898 would expand the scope of abduction to include pornography or sexually explicit performances as purposes for which a minor could be abducted for. It also "ensures that lack of knowledge of a victim's age or consent of the victim is not a defense to a change under the statute."

Human trafficking in Hampton Roads and its lucrative nature

Some opponents have argued that federal legislation against human trafficking is sufficient to prosecute traffickers in Virginia. Others also have argued that human trafficking in Virginia is only limited to Northern Virginia region. However, past news reported cases demonstrate that neither argument is true.

In August, 2010, Tyree Walker was arrested for sex trafficking two teenagers. And one of the teen victim was from Norfolk Virginia. The arrest was made after the undercover cop responded to the sex ads posted on Backpage.com. When the girls agreed to meet with the police and have sex with him, they were arrested for child prostitution charges. Meanwhile, neither the children's parents, nor the local and state police in Virginia were aware of the the girl's recruitment for sexual servitude.

In June 11, 2010, Alan Strieper, 25, pleaded guilty to attempted enticement, receipt of child pornography, and possession of material containing child pornography." According to the court records, Strieper began engaging in chat session with an undercover federal police about his interest in child pornography and engaging in sexual acts with children. He later discusses with "the undercover source his desire to kidnap and rape a child as young as two years old." During subsequent chats, "the undercover source agreed to fly from St. Louis, Mo., to Norfolk on Feb. 5, 2010 to put the kidnapping plan into action." After the arrest, ICE agents found evidences of kidnapping plan such as, "two rolls of duct tape, a pre-paid Tracfone, rubber gloves, sponges, bleach and other cleaning materials, several bottles of unknown pills, and a stuffed Elmo doll." Though Strieper was charged in federal court, he was never charged with human trafficking nor abduction.

In July, 2009, Shawn Forrest Eagel, 31, of Virginia Beach was arrested on abduction charge for kidnapping and molesting two minors. In 2008, he brought a then 16 year old minor from Pennsylvania to Virginia Beach to have sex with her at a hotel. He also taped a video of him having sex with the minor. Eagel also took a 13 year old South Carolina girl to Virginia Beach after the girl got into a fight with her family. The girl also said that she had sex with Eagel numerous time.

All of the above cases show that the lucrative nature of human trafficking. Two of the cases were handled by the federal agents after proactive and prolong investigation while the other shows that the victim was recovered at the mercy of an undercover sting performed in another state. Therefore, without active law enforcement investigation on local as well as state level, it is difficult to rescue victims that are hidden from the rest of the society and prosecute traffickers. What's more, all of the cases above show that federal law enforcement alone is not enough to investigate all human trafficking cases. And even if the predator was prosecuted under the current abduction statute, he or she will likely spend less than five years and be fined $2500, which serve no purpose on behalf of victims' restoration.

Obstacle: ignorance or apathy?

When I asked Delegate Adam Ebbin what the biggest obstacle in implementing comprehensive anti-human trafficking bill, he pointed out lack of awareness among many legislators and public in Virginia. But, one student lobbyist might have disagreed with the Delegate Ebbin. When she approached Delegate Christ Stolle's office (Norfolk, VA) for her lobbying appointment regarding human trafficking bill, his secretary said that the student needed to make an appointment with him (again). Meanwhile, she also could see Delegate Stolle walking in and out of the office in front of her. One can only hope that the incident that the student ran into was a matter of awareness that can be changed soon.

Global human trafficking roundup (January 28, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

New York: ICE arrested a fugitive wanted on human trafficking charges. He allegedly forced Eastern European women into prostitution at strip clubs in Detroit, Michigan. ICE agents waited for his commercial flight to land. The women were forced to work 72 hours in a week at strip clubs in Detroit. They were subject to sexual abuse, physical violence and threat to turn over all of her earning to the traffickers.

Connecticut: An owner of a bakery shop pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful employment of alien. He employed at least 10 illegal migrants and placed them in a slave like condition. The migrants were subject to physical, verbal, and sexual abuse by the owner and his two sons. The two sons also failed to pay them fairly as well as threaten to evict them if they complained.

Georgia: ICE agents said sex trafficking is a big problem in Georgia as sex trafficking rings are operating various parts in the state. One victim testified that she was forced into prostitution after being brought to Georgia from Mexico. Her captor also told her that she needed to meet $500 daily quota to pay off the cost of coming to the States. She was forced to sleep with 40 or 50 men a day.

EUROPE

UK: Immigration officers arrested two Pakistani men and a Slovakian women have been arrested on sham marriage charges. The officers also found a 19 year old Slovakian woman who they consider a potential victim of human trafficking. She was currently taken into a safe shelter.

Global human trafficking roundup (January 27, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Michigan: Experts said that over 160 underage girls are exploited online in a month during the town hall meeting. According to the study conducted last year, about 159 children were exploited in August and 158 in November, which was up from 117 in February.

California: Police arrested and charged 10 Bay area residents for running a prostitution and human trafficking ring. Each of them is facing five felonies, including pimping and human trafficking. The defendants are part of a human trafficking ring which sexually exploited immigrant Asian women. The victims are brought from Thailand and China and cycled throughout the brothels in Bay area.

Louisiana: Governor Bobby Jindal proposed a bill to strengthen the state anti-human trafficking bill. The proposed legislation will expand current law to include anyone who "advertises children or women for sale or who promotes prostitution involving young people."

Texas: Love146 is launching a campaign against to raise awareness about child sex trafficking ultimately to provide long-term prevention programs for at risk and exploited youth in Dallas.

Indiana: A Marion Superior Court jury makes first conviction of human trafficking case in the county. A 28 year old Chris Smiley was accused of holding a 19 year old woman against her will and and forced her into prostitution and working at a strip club.

Canada: Police circulates mugshots of dozens of suspected pimps to 10,000 strippers at 115 strip clubs to help prevent them from being lured into prostitution in Ontario. The strip club owners are working with the police to post suspected pimps mugshots which they believe will protect their staff.

EUROPE

Ireland: New research has found that prostitution and sex trafficking are rising in Northern Ireland. According to the report, 18 out of 29 police areas across the region reported incidents during the six month period. Also, last year, 17 victims of sex trafficking were identified, highlighting the growing problem of sex slavery in the region.

AFRICA

Nigeria: An authority in Sokoto region stated that 500 victims of human trafficking have been rescued since 2006. Also, he said that approximately 102 cases were received and investigated during the same period. According to the authority, though the number has been reduced recently, this does not mean that human trafficking has completely eradicated in the region.

Global human trafficking roundup (January 25, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

North Carolina: A woman faces 25 years in jail and $500,000 fine for keeping a 17 year old boy as a slave and starving him. She allegedly forced him to clean her 60 yard trailer yard and withdraw his birth certificate. She denied the allegation. Instead, she told the media that she did the boy's father, who is also an illegal immigrant, a favor by agreeing to take care of the boy.

Nebraska: Police have arrested of human trafficking and pandering. A 42 year old man Jarod Rosenow was arrested Wednesday after an 18 year old woman reported the police of Rosenow. The woman met Rosenow on Craigslist while looking for a female encounter. Rosenow posed as a 22 year old woman. He told the woman that the 22 year old woman is actually a 14 year old boy and threatened her to report to the police and register as a sex offender, if she doesn't have sex with him. The woman never met Rosenow in person.

South Carolina: Police charged a woman in connection with her role recruiting and harboring a 20 year old woman into prostitution. She allegedly forced the 20 year old victim into prostitution to pay off her smuggling fee. Police is still looking for two other men in connection with the case.

EUROPE

Greece: Police dismantled a baby trafficking ring in Bulgaria and Greece. According to the report, five people were arrested in Bulgaria and nine people were arrested in Greece for trafficking Bulgarian babies to Greece. The criminal gang transported pregnant women who agreed to sell their babies in Greece.

ASIA

UAE: Two women were charged with trafficking three women for labor and sexual exploitation. They allegedly forced the victims into prostitution at a massage parlor. According to the report, this is the first case that women are charged with human trafficking.

AFRICA

Ghana: The trial date for three sisters who allegedly forced women into prostitution in Nigeria was postponed. The court was adjourned after the sisters' lawyer withdrew his service because he is traveling. The three sisters allegedly recruited women from Ghana with a promise of job security in Nigeria. Upon arrival, victims were forced to sell porridge during the day and prostitute at night.

Uganda: Police arrested two men for trafficking Ugandan women to Malaysia for prostitution. One woman was promised a job in Malaysia but was locked up in a brothel and forced into prostitution. The victims also had to pay for their own food, water, and electricity on the top of $6000 plane ticket to Malaysia to the traffickers.

Global human trafficking roundup ( January 22-24, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Wisconsin: A Milwaukee man was sentenced 14 years in jail for pimping on a 14 year old girl. He admitted in court that he found the victim working the street last May. Though his lawyer argued that the man didn't realized that she was an underage girl and that she was already prostituting herself, the judge wanted to send a warning to other men who might be tempted to follow the man's example.

Washington: Seattle and Portland crack down on child prostitution. Though the two cities are labeled as a hub of sex trafficking, one report states that the actual problem of human trafficking in the two cities are not any worse than other cities. Meanwhile, Seattle has consistently shown the most juveniles rounded up in prostitution crackdowns for three years running now.

Oregon: The major of Portland city says that imperfect data on human trafficking in Portland does not diminish the crime of human trafficking. He also argues that because sex trafficking is hard to track, because victims often are afraid of come forward to report the crime. However, instead of an inaction, he argues that Portland should redouble its effort to fight human trafficking.

Vermont: According to a report released last week, Vermont should join 41 states with anti-human trafficking law. The Vermont Attorney General's office reported that though report suggests small number of human trafficking cases, the problem is likely to be much larger because of lack of awareness among public.

New York: Key federal, state, and local authorities launched anti-human trafficking task force in Westchester last month. According to the founder of task force, there have been major human trafficking cases in Westchester county, and the task force will further shed lights on more human trafficking cases in the area. There are many factors that make Westchester county as a prime location for human trafficking, including high immigration population, living circumstances requiring the presence of all types of workers.

LATIN AMERICA

Haiti: U.S. government announced additional $4.75 million to fight human trafficking in Haiti. The grant was distributed among the US organizations fighting against human trafficking. In 2010, Trafficking in Person estimated that over 200,000 children were enslaved before the massive earthquake

EUROPE

UK: Birmingham is a hub of child prostitution, police says. Children as young as 12 are pimped out of Birmingham by foreign gangs for as little as 10 pounds. A nonprofit representative says that last year, there were 100 girl and five boy victims, but this does not mean that there were only 105 children who were at risk.

ASIA

China: The authority announced that Chinese women are increasingly trafficked for forced marriage or prostitution abroad. Majority of victims are trafficked to Southeast Asia, Europe, and Africa, according to the authority. Also, many victims are lured into leaving China and end up being forced into prostitution by criminal organizations that offer high paying job opportunities to them.

UAE: Prosecutor seeks a life sentence for three people who trafficked a woman from Bangladesh. The female victim came to UAE with a promise of a maid job by her brother. But, upon arrival, she was forced into prostitution.

Florida: door to door sales is an emerging trend of trafficking young people

A couple years ago, three young men in a clean suit knocked on my door. Though bit annoyed as it was a distraction from finishing my homework, their speech certainly warmed my heart. These young men said that they were from inner city schools in Georgia and trying to go to college by collecting donations from the neighborhoods. They also said that I could either contribute some money for them or buy a subscription to a magazine which would help out inner city kids like themselves. But, little did I know then that these three young men might have been forced into door to door sales by their traffickers after being tripped of their identifications as runaways or missing children.

Door to Door Sales; the new growing trends of human trafficking

This morning, one local news report in Palm Beach, Florida, reported that the residents are experiencing the same incidents of children or young people selling magazines subscription. One local advocate says that it is a story that she is very well aware of and familiar with. According to the advocate, if the young people are not selling enough subscriptions, they are subject to punishment like physical abuse or starvation. One female victim, according to the report, was locked into a car for three days because she failed to meet her daily quota. The advocate also said that most of these young men and women are runaways or missing children. What's more, many of theses victims do not return from the tour. Instead, they are either sold to sex industry or even overseas, according to the advocate.

Take Action

The advocate therefore encourages the residents to ask these victims what and where they are about or how long they are going to be in town. Also, the advocate encourages the residents to contact law enforcement or outreach programs.

Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-3737-888.

Global human trafficking roundup ( January 21, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Georgia: An ICE representative says human trafficking is increasing in Atlanta, but the crime is hard to uncover because victims do not come forward. He also pointed out two growing trends; that victims are becoming as young as 14 and that traffickers increasingly use violence to control victims.

North Carolina: Authority says the number of victims for sex trafficking in North Carolina has increased in recent years. Many female victims are lured into coming to North Carolina with a promise of a better job. The Immigration officers therefore work with local and state authority to combat human trafficking in North Carolina.

Massachusetts: A New Hampshire police is searching for a suspect setting up a girl in a Portsmouth hotel room for prostitution. Police arrested a girl earlier this month at a hotel, where she was working as a prostitute. But, police believes that this incident is part of a large human trafficking or child prostitution ring throughout New England.

EUROPE

Finnland: Four Latvians are convicted of human trafficking through Russia and Balkan states. They smuggled 80 people from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria in 2008 and 2009. The victims also paid $10,000 for smuggling fee. The Latvians received jail sentence ranged between 14 months and 5.5 years. Whether the victims were forced into slavery is unknown.

UK: A female applicant for refuge status is found herself to be in the center of the biggest human trafficking investigation in the north of England. According to the report, she was forced into having sex with men at a massage parlor by gangs members. She was beaten and raped by the gang and forced to work six or seven days a week. Sometimes she was forced to have sex with as many men as 10 a day.

ASIA

Indonesia: Police arrests a new suspect in child prostitution ring. The ring victimized at least 98 children by kidnapping and raping. Police also said that the suspect is one of 18 people who were involved in the child prostitution ring.

Global human trafficking roundup ( January 20, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Tennessee: A man is accused of selling a minor for sex online, and police is now looking for more victims of his company. The arrest was made after the parents of the 16 year old victim informed the police of the incident.

Massachusetts: The state Attorney General is unveiling a new legislation to fight human trafficking. The new legislation will make it a felony to exploit people with labor and sex. It will also focus on providing services for victims' aftercare.

District of Columbia: The U.S. department of state estimates that there were approximately 12.3 million people who are trafficked worldwide. But, because of its lucrative nature, the estimates of the victims can be vary, according to the report. Meanwhile, there were only 4,166 successful prosecution of traffickers in 2009.

Texas: A Texan felon admits to sex trafficking a minor. He has been in custody since his arrest in April 2010. If the plea agreement is acceptable to the court, he will spend minimum 15 years in prison but no more than 20 years.

EUROPE

Spain: Spanish Secretary for General calls for complete ban on all newspaper ads for prostitution. She argues that majority of sex ads on newspapers are used to exploit women by criminal gangs and encourages activities like human trafficking. According to the report, Spanish Media generates 60% of revenues from sex ads.

ASIA

Burma: Police charged two soldiers for trafficking 16 Burmese citizens in December 2010. The victims are female in the age between 15 and 48. If convicted, the two soldiers will face a jail sentence for more than 15 years or fines.

The Philippines: The Philippines government tackles corruption involved in human trafficking. The authority wants to clear up its record showing that some of public servants are involved in human trafficking. The newly appointed representative of the Philippines Overseas Employment Administration stated that his department will fully support investigation as soon as investigations show up.

Indonesia: Facebook is used as a channel to recruit trafficking victims, according to the report. The traffickers use facebook to present the victims, and johns contact traffickers after looking through the victims' pictures on facebook.

Global human trafficking roundup (January 19, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

New York: The Supreme Court refuses to hear the appeal to overturn a conviction of a couple enslaving two Indonesian girls. The wife is now facing a sentence to 11 years in jail, and her husband is facing 3 years in jail for forced labor case in 2007. The wife argued that "pre-trial publicity prevented her from getting a fair trial, while her husband argues that he shouldn’t have been convicted for aiding and abetting because he didn’t stop his wife."

Texas: The Coastal Bend Addressing Human Trafficking Coalition, a new group to fight human trafficking, held an inauguration meeting yesterday. This was the first group of people gathering together to combat human trafficking in southern Texas. According to the report, there had been a handful of human trafficking cases in Coastal Bend, including a 14 year old found working at a local strip club.

Hawaii: Justice department announced yesterday that two more people were charged with human trafficking case in Hawaii. Grand Jury returned the indictment that two men were co-conspirator to trafficking 400 Thai nationals in Hawaiian farm for labor exploitation. According to the indictment, Thai workers were forced to work as indentured servants after defendants incurred insurmountable debts with high recruitment fees. They were also worked for little or no pay.

EUROPE

Ireland: Police in Northern Ireland says that human trafficking is on the rise in the region. Police also stated that fifteen people were rescued between April and December last year, and 4 people were charged with links to the case.

UK: Human trafficking ring in Munchester exposed. Two victims were from poverty stricken region in Romania and forced into prostitution by a father and his 23 year old son. The women were starved and live under violence to perform commercial sex for their traffickers. Even after being remanded, the father and the son tried to silence the victims with threat.

ASIA

India: Police rescued two teenage girls trafficked to countries in Gulf region. According to the report, victims stated that they were lured and forcibly taken into brothels, where 20 other Indian girls were working as prostitutes. The two girls, in the age between 14 and 17, had been missing since 2007 and 2008.

Cambodia: Three Cambodians jump into river to escape from a fishing boat, where they were forced to work and held against their will. According to the report, one of them reported to the police, which led the rescue of six people, but two people are still missing.

Global human trafficking roundup (January 18, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Georgia: A local news radio station reports sex trafficking in Atlanta Georgia. A victim testifies her experience as a sex slave. In the absence of loving parents, the victim became a runaway in the age of 13. She met her pimp in the age of 18 when she was a homeless and desperate single mother. She was forced to prostitute on the street by her pimp who required her to bring $1000 a night. Her livelihood therefore became dependent upon her pimp.

Guam: U.S. attorney's office hosted a Regional Conference to combat human trafficking and other crimes. More than 300 people attended the event, including military representatives. One of the speakers emphasized the importance of law enforcement training in the area of crimes like human trafficking because of the special needs of the victims.

New York: Attorney General assists a human trafficking victim from the Philippines. The victim was exploited with labor since she arrived in New York city 10 years ago. According to th e report, Attorney General's office vowed to assess whether they can filed a criminal charge against the victim's former employer. The victim said that she was subject to physical and psychological abuse by her employer and lived an isolated life for 10 years.

EUROPE

Ireland: The authority launches a campaign against human trafficking in Ireland. The Blue Blindfold campaign will last until March 28th, and it will involve series of ads placed in the major newspapers. Also, posters and leaflets will be posted in libraries and heath centers across Ireland. Dublin ma who ran a number of brothels in Ireland was sentenced to five years in jail for running a prostitution and other charges. According to the report, prostitution is not a crime, running a brothel to obtain financial gain from other women's sexual services is illegal.

UK: A man who ran a brothel by forcing women into prostitution was sent back to his country, China. The arrest was made after the police in UK raided his brothel last October. Since then, he was sentenced to four months in jail and currently facing deportation. The border agency is also working on returning Chinese female victims to China.

ASIA

Philippines: A Senator pushes for a tougher measure against human trafficking. He argues that approximately 2000 Filipino are still victimized by traffickers annually, which he believes it to be caused by the legislative flaws.

Pakistan: People with disabilities are trafficked into Iran and forced to beg on the street. One victim said that he was trafficked into Iran by human trafficking ring after the traffickers lured him into coming to Iran with a promise of a good job opportunity with a great income six months ago. However, he was forced with other victims with disabilities and turn all of the profits to the traffickers. The victim also stated that some of the victims were minors with disabilities.

Global human trafficking roundup (January 15-17, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

New Hampshire: Child pornography is high on the new list of New Hampshire law enforcement. One strategic assessment report states that child pornography is becoming more violent and increasing in number.

Ohio: A critic says while anti-human trafficking law implementation is a good start, much needs to be done more to combat human trafficking. He further urges the lawmakers and public to treat child trafficking victims as victims, instead of criminals. Also, the business must be held accountable for forced labor of their employees.

New York: The founder of Stop Child Trafficking Now (CTNow) says that pornography fuels sex trafficking of children. She says more children are victimized by child trafficking partly because of child pornography, which is in great demand. She also says that her organization wants not only bring awareness but also go after perpetrators to combat human trafficking.

LATIN AMERICA

Argentina: Police rescued 133 seasonal working employed by a Dutch company living in a condition that "resembles poor concentration camp." Police also arrested seven executives for forced labor and fined the company more than $160,000. The workers used a pesticide container for bath and two holes for toilets. They also had no electricity and were forbidden fro leaving the plantation.

EUROPE

Russia: Russian investigators arrested members of an international human trafficking gang that trafficked hundreds of women to Western European countries. Police charged three people with human trafficking made up of Russian and Greek citizens. The gang recruited women under the pretense of job recruitment agency and forced them into prostitution upon their arrival in their destination countries.

UK: Romanian couple were sentenced to two and a half years in jail for forcing their seven children to beg and steal. The children are in the age between 2 and 16. When the police found the children, they were sleeping on the floor in their home.

ASIA

India: Police rescued nine people, including teenagers. The investigation began after the police received a tip that suspects recruited a minor in connection to the Australian killing case in Zambles. The rescued victims were in the age between 14 and 20.

Discussion: What are your ideas to help human trafficking victims?

I don't do this a lot, but this is worth to talk about to brainstorm together.

Because of the economy, many organization financially suffers from financial

contribution from the donors. It's not just anti-human trafficking

organizations per se, but this is a challenging that most nonprofits face these

days.

Having said that, what can we do to support the organizations to help

trafficking victims? Any ideas?

I got one.

Like I mentioned earlier on one of my articles, bake sale is a good way to do it.

( well, if you are a stay at home preggo like me ;)).

I actually made a little more than $47.67 just by selling about muffins

charing 50cents and 75cents. And guess what. I found out that with $47,

I can rescue two girls from traffickers in Nepal. So, what is your way of

helping trafficking victims?

Global human trafficking roundup (January 14, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Washington: Police nets two pimps who allegedly forced a 16 year old girl into prostitution. Police also charged a 55 year old state employee for purchasing sex from a minor. He admitted that he paid $400 to a man he called Prince to have sex with the 16 year old victim.

Oregon: Police denies previous statistics that police find two cases of child trafficking on daily basis. The controversy involves a news release citing police statistics after the mayor of Portland claimed that the city is a hub of human trafficking. The supervisor of police sex crime unit later said that the statistics is unreliable because police doesn't track down such statistics.

District of Columbia: Coalition of women's groups urges legislators to find easier ways to enforce the current anti-human trafficking law. The new bill will give law enforcements a stronger tools to fight against human trafficking by helping police convict traffickers. The current legislation requires police to "get consent from both parties being recorded to get recorded voice evidence for human-trafficking cases", and the new bill aims to eliminate such requirement.

Ohio: Two Russian women were charged with promoting prostitution and practicing medicine without license. Police is still investigating whether possible human trafficking ring is involved the case. According to the police, thought the advertisement only offered massage service, it suggested commercial sexual service.

ASIA

India: A human trafficking survivor launches an anti-human trafficking organization. She was trafficked and subject to physical and psychological abuse by her employer about 30 years ago. When she was sold again to adoption agency by her employer, she was sent to Canada then the U.S., where her adoptive parents helped her be healed. In New Delhi, young girls escaping from anti-Christian violence are preyed by traffickers for sexual exploitation. More than four girls are trafficked to Delhi, where they were sold to the placement agency. According to the report, police found two of the victims, and one of them returned home. However, the last one is still missing.

AFRICA

Ghana: Three siblings appeared before the court for trafficking 10 girls to Nigeria for prostitution. According to the report, the victims were also forced to sell "porridge kooko" during the day and turn over the profits to the traffickers.

Global human trafficking roundup (January 13, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Milwaukee: Manpower Inc., a Milwaukee based global staffing agency, forms an alliance with a nonprofit group to assist domestic sex trafficking victims. Under a memorandum of understanding, the two entities plan to work together to identify a long-term employment opportunity for domestic trafficking victims and other at risk women.

Texas: U.S. Senator John Cornyn and Mayor Tom Leppert pledged to fight against human trafficking during Super Bowl. Though the law enforcement said that it is difficult to estimate the flood of sex trafficking victims, the FBI and Attorney General already pledged resources to combat human trafficking.

EUROPE

UK: Nine Asian men are investigated by the police over the claims that they groomed teenagers for prostitution. The suspects in the age between 20 and 40 were arrested for child prostitution, sexual activity with children under the age of 16, etc. One report stated that approximately 14 girls in the age between 13 and 15 were drugged before they were taken into the properties for sex.

ASIA

Israel: Activists urge religious leaders to fight human trafficking. The activists held a conference to encourage influential religious leaders and educators to address sex trade in Jerusalem. According to the report, high portion of more than 20,000 people in prostitution are human trafficking victims. And the demand for prostitution mainly come from religious leaders and Arabic population.

Saudi Arabia: A Filipino woman claimed that she escaped from her employer after she was sexually abuse. According to the report, she informed the police of the incident, but the Saudi police did not take any action against the abuser. She then sought help from Filipino embassy, where she is being protected.

AFRICA

Ghana: An expert says that domestic servitude in Ghana needs holistic approach to solution. She argued that though children may live with other families, they should not be humiliated and exploited. Further, she suggests microcredit programs for parents in order to prevent domestic servitude of children in Ghana.

Government and culture, not poverty, cause human trafficking

Earlier this week, one organization made a bold statement that poverty causes human trafficking. The theory is based on the strong correlation between a country's GDP and human trafficking. According to the report, "every $1000 increase in a country's GDP makes the country nearly 10 percent more likely to be a destination for international human trafficking victims." Is poverty the root cause of human trafficking? Or, is it a byproduct of the third factor that also causes human trafficking?

OTHER CASE STUDIES SHOW OTHERWISE

A number of studies on different countries' case suggests that poverty is more than likely a co-existing factor to human trafficking, not the root cause of human trafficking.

Case #1: Myanmar

Take a look at this impoverished country of source, which pushes out many human trafficking victims to its South Asian neighbors. On the surface level, one can argue that poverty pushes many migrant workers to leave Myanmar while traffickers are waiting to prey them on in anyway on the other side of the country's borderline. According to no where else to go, an in-depth report by a nonprofit, the military regime's economic mismanagement and high tax are two driving factors for the Burmese victims to flee the country. The research also states that the victims are hesitant to report cases against police corruption involving human trafficking because the close connection between the military regime and the many NGO representatives would only bring the victims themselves under the accusation of taking part in the human trafficking ring. Therefore, many victims' reports remain unreported. The Burmese military regime, according to the report, is also in charge of a large percentage of aids and social welfare programs. Therefore, government is the reason for any traffickers to flee the country as well as a hindrance to their victim assistance.

Case #2: Kenya

The human trafficking in Kenya, in particular, those of Maasai girls, is another example that caused by government corruption and mismanagement. While some analyst even attempted to blame climate changes in the past, the fact is clear that the draught and climate change has been fact of life for Maasai people. Regardless of the draught and poverty, however, history shows that Maasai found their way of self-sustaining life-style. And, they had good life within the community until the British government stepped in with economic mismanagement and corruption. According to a research, corruption involving blood relationship and personal ambition played significant factors behind mismanagement of the subdivision of the land introduced by the British. Only a few rich people have benefited from the system at the expense of exploiting the rest of the poor Maasai people. In addition, according toone report by Heritage Organization, a policy think thank based in D.C., corruption is highly pervasive in Kenya as the country ranks 147th out of 179 countries in Transparency International's Corruption Index in 2008. Further, the lax property rights and extensive corruption limits the country's overall economic freedom. ( For further information on history of Maasai community in regards to human trafficking click here).

Case #3: South Korea & China

South Korea and China are members of OECD countries. South Korea's GDP, according to World Bank, reached $832.5 billion and China's GDP was 4.985 trillion in 2009. Both countries' GDPs in 2009 were conspicuously higher than that of Switzerland ($491.92) and Demark in the same year. In case of China, its GDP is much higher than Italy ($2.1 trillion), UK($2.18), and even France ($2.65) and even Germany($3.33). Yet, both China and South Korea have been the main sources of sex trafficking victims in the U.S. In particular, according to the Attorney General's office in 2006 report, South Korean women made up 23.5% of human trafficking victims in the U.S., which was the highest percentage of victims among the reported cases followed by Thailand (11.7%) and Mexico (9.6%). Likewise, according to the Coalition Against Trafficking of Women, 5000 Chinese women were prostituted in Los Angles in 2007. In the same year, BBC news reported that Chinese women were being trafficked into the United States in New York and North Carolina. BBC also stated that these women were held in $40,000 debt bondage.

If the analysis that poverty causes human trafficking based on the correlation between a country's GDP and human trafficking data is true, neither Chinese women nor South Korean women would not be enslaved in the US. Rather, one will witness more number of sex trafficking victims from UK, Switzerland, Demark, Italy, and France than those from China in the U.S.

One thing is clear that regardless of their high GDP, both China and South Korea do not have policies supporting women's rights as much as many western countries with the similar economic development status. For instance, in South Korea, it is much more difficult for a woman to take out bank loan than it is for her male counterpart. What's more, today's report on a South Korean celebrity who committed suicide after being forced into prostitution and others for her successful career shows the glimpse of the reality for South Korean women.

CONCLUDING THOUGHT

Above examples show that poverty is a co-existing factor to human trafficking, not a root cause. It is true that many migrants from poor countries flee their countries in order to escape poverty for better job opportunities abroad. It is also true that they often are preyed by human trafficking in one way or the other. However, this does not mean that poverty itself is causing victims to be trafficked. Rather, government's economic mismanagement, corruption, lack of policies on women's rights, and the culture that embraces and even promotes sexual and labor exploitation are to blame the ongoing atrocity of human trafficking around the world.