Global human trafficking roundup (March 31, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Michigan: Michigan toughens up its anti-huamn trafficking law through amendment. According to the report, the new amendment will impose longer prison term for involuntary servitude. An expert at Michigan University says that human trafficking is happening all over the state, and tougher measure by law enforcement is required.

Illinois: Sex trafficking is widespread in Chicago. One victim testified that she was raped and forced into prostitution against her will by her friend's boyfriend who called himself as her pimp. She was locked into a room at a house being naked and constantly injected with drugs. She said she was lucky to be escape from the slavery, but many girls are not able to do so.

EUROPE

UK: Former police chief begins his anti-human trafficking work in Wale. According to the police, at least 2600 people were working as prostitutes in England and Wale, trafficked from abroad. He further emphasized the importance of cooperation among law enforcement and charity groups to fight against the crime.

Denmark: Many women from Nigeria and other Eastern European countries are enslaved in sex trade. An advocate says that the number of women trafficked from Nigeria tripled. Victims are afraid of coming forward because when they are caught, they are treated as illegal immigrants and face deportation. Though victims are given reflection period to cooperate with the police investigation, experts say that it does not offer enough time nor incentive to the victims.

ASIA

Vietnam: A Vietnamese woman was sentenced to five years in prison for trafficking women to Malaysia and Singapore. She was convicted of selling seven Vietnamese women to work abroad. However, the woman argued that she was not aware of the victims sold to prostitution because she was only an agent who helped the women find jobs abroad.

Australia: An Australian Christian Lobby says that legal brothels participating human trafficking is a failure of regulation. She said she is not surprised when she heard that licensed brothels were under investigation for human trafficking and child prostitution. She said that legalized brothels have not made prostitution safer because prostitution in itself is harmful to women.

UAE: Two Nigerian women are convicted of human trafficking and sentenced to five years in prison. They are convicted of trafficking three women for prostitution from Nigeria. The women also confiscated the victims' documents and held them in an apartment against their will.

Global human trafficking roundup (March 30, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Georgia: The Senate unanimously approves the new anti-human trafficking bill. The bill, upon implementation, will toughen up the penalties on offenders and seek to improve outcomes for victims. According to a nonprofit, over 370 children are commercially sexually exploited each month in Georgia.

Florida: Federal officials say that human trafficking is a growing problem. Just last year, three people were arrested charged with forcing Haitian migrant workers into labor for several years in a county in Florida. According to a special agent, human trafficking is the largest crime in the U.S. after narcotics.

Texas: Child trafficking case is increasing in Rio Grande Valley, according to the report. A local child advocate says that last two months, he has seen 50% increase in child trafficking last month. Also, he says 72% of trafficking cases are never reported.

Hawaii: The House Judicial Committee on Tuesday advanced the anti-trafficking bill. The bill was amended to include language establishing labor trafficking as crime. However, both attorney general's office and public defender's office opposed the human trafficking language added to the bill. The attorney general's office argued that existing laws in Hawaii is sufficient to address the crime in Hawaii.

New Mexico: Police and federal agents say that human trafficking is increasing in New Mexico. A police suspects that the increase may be caused by the thriving internet sex industry. Another federal agent also said that human trafficking has recently jumped in border states like New Mexico.

ASIA

Vietnam: Four people were sentenced to up to 10 years in prison for trafficking women to China. They were convicted of selling 14 women to a ring headed by a Vietnamese woman living in China. According to a report, the women were forced to marry Chinese men.

Global human trafficking roundup (March 29, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Wisconsin: Police arrested five people and charged three people with running a child prostitution ring in Wausau. They said that three teenagers were also involved in the crime. Police believe that the three adults that were charged were facilitating to run the child prostitution ring on Backpage.com. The police also suspect that the adults bought and sold drugs with the profits that were generated through prostituting minors and said that the three teens may face prostitution charges.

Georgia: A male stripper from Atlanta was charged with human trafficking. He was identified by a minor victim after appearing on television that he helped police nab his roommates for human trafficking. According to the police, he is facing multiple charges including "human trafficking of a minor for sexual servitude, two counts of sexual exploitation of a child, pandering by compulsion and possession of drug related objects."

Utah: A leading anti-human trafficking organization ceases its service to assist trafficking victims after receiving the staff received series of threats on their safety. The victims now receiving helps from the organization will be transferred to another transition house. Meanwhile police said that the threats must be taken seriously even if they were non-specific and generalized.

LATIN AMERICA

Jamaica: A trial of a human trafficking case against a former deacon was postponed. The prosecutor said that the trial cannot proceed because the victim is studying overseas and would not be available on the court date to testify. He was charged with trafficking a minor in 2006 after he allegedly videotaped a 14 year old girl while molesting her in his car. The case has been pending for four years.

ASIA

The Philippines: A businessman was charged with trafficking a 13 year old minor for child pornography and prostitution. According to the report, the man allegedly engaged in sex act with a minor at a motel for a number of time. The victim met the businessman through her friend. Police also found other pornographic pictures of more than 20 young school girls in his digital camera.

AFRICA

Nigeria: Immigration officers rescued four trafficking victims and arrested four suspects. The victims were in the age between 12 and 17. According to the report, the suspects brought children from Togo and forced them into labor in different parts of Nigeria. One of suspects also allegedly trafficked more than 40 children for forced labor just last month alone.

Global human trafficking roundup (March 26-28, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Illinois: A 46 year old man faces up to 3o years in prison for running a prostitution ring in and around Chicago. According to prosecutors, the man rented motel rooms and forced the women to see up to 25 men a day. The women said that he threatened to beat or kill them if they refused to follow his order. He also told the women to call him "Magnificent."

Canada: A Montreal based company that provides caregivers is facing charges against forced labor. According to the report, the company allegedly has been trafficking Filipino women under the federal government Live-in Caregiver program. The victims were came to Canada with a promise of high paying salaries and a residence in Canada within 36 months after their arrival. However, upon arrival, they were forced to sign a lease to live in a slum and open a bank and life insurance account that the company thought was best for them. The company also collected $4000 agency fee and airfare to come to Canada from each woman.

Kansas: Labor department cracks down on work visa fraud. The proposed rule changes are aimed at closing the loopholes of H-2B program that are exploited by traffickers. If it is made to final, the new rule will eliminate job contractors from the program.

EUROPE

UK: Two women are facing child prostitution charges. They allegedly prostituted four children in the age between 13 and 17 and facing four counts of arranging the prostitution of child and one count of controlling a child to prostitute. Children were taken into social services after the women's arrest.

Kosovo: A former trafficker talks about human trafficking in Kosovo. He says that sex trafficking in Kosovo is highly organized from top to bottom that no law enforcement can stop the crime. He also pointed out corruption involved in human trafficking.

Scotland: Police began investigating a possible human trafficking case after an Eastern European woman claimed that she was forced into prostitution. She turned up at a sexual health clinic in Capital last week and told the staff that she feared for her life in the hands of her partner and begged for help. The police however stated that the inquiries are currently at an early stage.

ASIA

India: The authority in Orissa establishes anti-human trafficking unit. The anti-human trafficking unit will gather intelligence to investigate traffickers and rescue victims from the trafficking rings. In the state of Orissa, women and children are particularly vulnerable to human trafficking as they are forced into domestic servitude or prostitution, according to the report.

UAE: A woman was sentence to five years in prison for forcing another woman into prostitution. The 38 year old Uzbek was found guilty of forcing a 21 year old Moldovan victim into prostitution by using coercion, beating, and false imprisonment.

AFRICA

South Africa: Two Chinese women are facing criminal charges for running a brothel and trafficking women. According to the report, police received a tips from local newspaper advertising massage parlor at a residence. During the raid, police found two Chinese women in the age of 25 and 29 that were forced into prostitution. The women also told the police that they were raped and told that they would be engaged in prostitution upon arrival in Cape Town.

The Philippines: poverty caused by the Government fosters human trafficking

If you have been following the recent news on human trafficking in the Philippines, you probably have noticed the Government's intensified efforts to curve human trafficking. Since the U.S. State Department published the Trafficking in Person report in 2010 and placed the Philippines on Tire 2 Watch List, the Filipino government has diligently shown its attempts to fight against human trafficking in prosecution and victim rescue. At least, the news reports suggest that it has. But, another report suggests that the Government has intensified its anti-human trafficking effort solely not to lose its eligibility for the U.S. aid in the near future. If it works to advance victims' rights, the Filipino government's primary motive behind its anti-huamn trafficking effort would not be such a big of deal. But, because of its wrong focus on the anti-human trafficking efforts, the Filipino government has persistently failed to address the real cause behind the human trafficking in the country for decades.

WHAT THE REPORT SAYS ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT'S EFFORT

The following is the summary of the news articles on anti-human trafficking effort by the Filipino government:

January 20, 2011:

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.

February 9, 2011:

The court has made the first conviction of labor trafficking case. A woman is convicted of recruiting victims for housemaids in Malaysia without compensation. The victims testified that they worked for 9 months for their Malaysian employers but were not paid at all. According to the report, there have been total 38 conviction of human trafficking case, out of which 37 cases involved sex trafficking.

February 25, 2011:

Trafficking conviction doubled in eight months under the current administration, according to the report. So far, the Filipino court made convictions in 39 cases.

March 19, 2011:

The government launches a hotline for human trafficking victims. The hotlines will be available for 24 hours to the victims in Manila City and providences in emergency situations.

March 24, 2011:

The local government in Talcoban City announced that it would strengthen its effort to fight against human trafficking. According to the Philippines government report, the campaign is launched to protect Filipino migrants from human traffickers warning the traffickers of dire consequences of their crimes. In 2010 alone, the authority says that 11 out of 19 victims were served in the region.

According to the reports above, the government seems to be doing pretty well on surging through its fight against human trafficking by prosecuting traffickers and rescuing victims.

THE REAL PROBLEM LIES ELSEWHERE

Sadly, according to a local nonprofit group, the reality of human trafficking and sexual exploitation of children are still very much rampant in the country. In Angeles City, for instance, a nonprofit group reports that some police and government officials are predators themselves that foster commercial sexual exploitation of children. Also, parents blatantly sell their children for prostitution to foreign tourists for financial gain because they have a very limited means to meet their daily needs. What's more, one advocate argues that many police and government officials are in denial of ongoing exploitation of victims regardless of the prevalence throughout the city. Another report moreover points out that local Filipino men accounts for greater demand for child prostitution than foreign tourists. But, no report so far has shown the evidence that the police has neither investigate nor crackdown on local Filipino men exploiting children with commercial sex.

THE GOVERNMENT AND POVERTY

Whether they are talking about international, domestic, labor, or sex trafficking of Filipinos, many people agree that poverty is one of the primary causes behind human trafficking in the country. As mentioned above, poverty is the reason why many parents prostitute their children as well as it is the reason why many victims leave the country and fall into the hands of traffickers abroad. But, poverty in the Philippines has never been proliferated itself on its own. Rather, in the case of the Philippines, the Government's economic mismanagement and corruption have consistently and precisely been the reasons why many Filipino have become poor and remained in poverty. Yet, the administration's anti-human trafficking efforts only superficially focused on the prosecution of traffickers and foreign sex tourists and neglected to address the root cause of human trafficking and child commercial sexual exploitation.

POLICY FAILURES BY THE FILIPINO GOVERNMENT

Asian Development Bank, an international entity for development in South Asia region explains government policy failures that have fostered poverty in the Philippines as follows:

Because of the [Filipino] Government’s fundamental limitations in human, financial, and physical resources, aggravated by excessive red tape (an excessive regulation or rigid conformity to formal rules that is considered redundant or bureaucratic and hinders or prevents action or decision-making), graft (Unscrupulous use of one's position to derive profit or advantages; extortion.) , and corruption, ( the Government has generally been unable to properly run the country). It has failed to ensure the efficient delivery of necessary public services, and has not brought about the economic development and widespread prosperity the country deserves [emphasis added].

THE U.S. AIDS FOR NONPROFITS, NOT THE GOVERNMENT

In a country like the Phlippines, where corruption is proven to be rampant by an international organization, foreign aids will highly unlikely be put into good use to fighting against human trafficking particularly when it is directly handed to the Government itself. Besides, had the Filipino Government had been willing to fight trafficking for victims' sake, it would have already done so long before the TIP 2010 report was generated. Also, the victims would not have had reasons to leave the country nor would they have been sold to the traffickers by their family members to begin with. What's more, the local police and government officials turning a blind eye to the victims shows that the government is really not interested in the justice for the victims therefore, their effort will unlikely address the real issues. Hence, donors are rather encouraged to hand the aids to the local nonprofits working directly with the victims in the Philippines than the Filipino government.

Global human trafficking roundup (March 25, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Tennessee: A group of Mexican workers files a lawsuit against their former employer for exploiting them with labor. They claim that they were under constant threats and surveillance. Their employers also allegedly took away their passports and immigration documents and forced them to live in company housing, where they were not allowed to leave without permission.

Illinois: Cook county makes the first conviction under the new human trafficking law. A 46 year old man was convicted of "involuntary servitude, trafficking in persons for forced labor and pandering, and faces up to 30 years in prison." According to the prosecutor, he threatened to beat or kill victims if they refuse to prostitute and turn over the profits to him.

Georgia: A man was convicted of sex trafficking women and sentenced to 40 years in prison in federal court. According to the prosecutor, he and his co-conspirators lured young girls from Mexico into coming to the U.S. and forced them into prostitution. They also "beat the girls with wooden and metal rods, disfiguring them permanently, and threatened their families in Mexico if the girls tried to get away."

ASIA

The Philippines: Police rescued 80 women from alleged trafficking ring that was planning on sending them to Malaysia and Middle East. Police also said that the Filipino women were about to be sent to Malaysia, Egypt, Libya, and Lebanon. The women were recruited from nine providences and the capital city.

Global human trafficking roundup (March 24, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Texas: An anti-human trafficking bill passed the Senate on Wednesday this week. The bill is aimed at strengthening penalties against traffickers. Prostitution of children will be upgraded to the first degree felony and punishable by a minimum of 25 years in jail. The bill also seeks for better victim assistance. Currently, it is awaiting for the governor's signature after receiving the state House approval. Teenage girls allegedly trafficked to Rio Grande City for prostitution. Three men allegedly raped and abused Mexican girls who were across the U.S. border to work as prostitutes. Their sex trafficking ring was uncovered during March 17 traffic stop. The girls were as young as 13 years old and sexually abused by their smugglers. The three men were charged with smuggling, but were not officially charged with human trafficking yet.

Alaska: A lawmaker proposed a bill to strengthen the fight against human trafficking. The bill is aimed at closing the loopholes and tightening punishments. Human traffickers will be charged with a felony for enticing someone to move within the state to engage in sexual conduct or forced labor under the new bill.

EUROPE

UK: A Hungarian man was charged with controlling prostitution for gain. Though he claimed to fly to Dublin and drove them to Belfast because he was in love with one of the women. But, the investigator revealed the evidence that up to 70 women may have been trafficked to UK. The investigator also presented the evidence of contacting one of the women who came to Ireland to work at a restaurant but was forced into prostitution during the court hearing. The Hungarian man was remanded in custody to appear again via video link next month.

ASIA

The Philippines: The local government in Talcoban City announced that it's strengthening its effort to fight against human trafficking. According to the Philippines government report, the campaign is launched to protect Filipino migrants from human traffickers warning the traffickers of dire consequences of their crimes. In 2010 alone, the authority says that 11 out of 19 victims were served in the region.

Australia: Prostitution laws in Canberra City leaves police powerless to rescue child prostitution victims. According to the report, more than two years after a 17 year old victim who died of drug overdose in a brothel, police say their ability to investigate children working at legal brothels were limited and constrained. Authorities are also concerned that they would be remain in the dark about what goes on in illegal sex operations.

AFRICA

Ivory Coast: Many children on the street are vulnerable to child prostitution in the capital city. Children in the age between 9 and 14 are in search of godfather, uncle, or boss who will give them food, money, or clothes in exchange of sexual favors. Some of johns include politicians, and children, in times, receive death threats when they reveal their johns' identities.

Global human trafficking roundup (March 23, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Texas: Texas governor proposes a legislation to fight against human trafficking. The bill, if implemented, will toughen penalties for human trafficking. It will also impose life sentences on repeated offenders and provide civil remedies against traffickers.

Colorado: The bill to combat sex trafficking in Colorado passed the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill will create hefty fines for soliciting, pandering, and patronizing prostitute. It would also create john schools for first time offenders.

Tennessee: A man was arrested for solicitation of minors. During the two month long operations, police discovered that he requested a person to arrange the purchase of a child in the age of 12 or under for purpose of sex. Police also confiscated his computer and other digital media.

EUROPE

UK: UK sings up for Europe wide measure against human trafficking. The UK government initially criticized for opting out EU directive against human trafficking. However, immigration minister said that by waiting until the final wording was agreed, UK's interest has been protected. The new legislation will, according to report, increase protection for human trafficking victims and increase the chances to prosecute traffickers.

ASIA

China: The authority arrested approximately fifty people on human trafficking and prostitution charges during the raid. Police also rescued twenty women who are smuggled into Taiwan. The gangs who ran trafficking rings offered cash rewards to Chinese women who help recruiting other women from China. Though some Chinese women voluntarily engaged in prostitution Taiwan, police continues to investigate whether any woman was forced into prostitution.

UAE: A group that provides assistance to human trafficking victims says that total 124 sexual abuse cases were reported since 2009. Many of them are foreign victims who are trafficked to UAE for sexual exploitation. Most of them come to UAE with visitors' visa through family and friends, but some of them come to UAE with a false promise of a good job.

Cambodia: Cambodian government calls for crackdown on labor trafficking. The prime minister in Cambodia announced the crack down and urged the public to seek employment within Cambodia. The announcement was made after the government faced the criticism from the human rights group on its regulation of training centers for Cambodians seeking employment abroad. They are often held against their will while waiting to be sent abroad.

The Philippines: Child prostitution and sex tourism receives criticism from child advocacy group. One 14 year old child prostitution victim was sold to an Australian man by her parents. She was literally kept as a sex slave. Although such child sex tourism or prostitution case is common, its prosecution is rare. Some locals even believe that a child should be rightly available for sexual gratification for foreign sex tourists.

Global human trafficking roundup (March 22, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Oklahoma: Truck drivers learn signs to spot human trafficking. Students who learn truck driving will be offered a course to recognize the signs of human trafficking. They will also learn to report the crime to the national hotline for trafficking victims.

Georgia: A professor says that human trafficking can be stopped by using a public health crisis model. He argues that the government can fight against trafficking just as it does against smoking, community violence, or other public health hazards.

Texas: Studies show that some 100,000 children are trafficked for sex each year, and some are trafficked to East Texas. Experts and advocates argue that many children are involved in sex trafficking cases while they only seem like prostitution cases. In times, one minor is used to bring other minors into sex trafficking ring.

Connecticut: Law makers are looking into the ways to treat prostituted children as victims, not criminal. The bill is currently awaiting for the approval before the General Assembly. If implemented, it will require the police to notify the department of Children and Families when minors are found involved in sex trafficking in the state.

EUROPE

Ireland: Police rescued two human trafficking victims and arrested a 34 year old man during the raid in Belfast. According to the report, the police believe that two 21 year old female victims were trafficked to Belfast for prostitution. The women are currently taken to the victim assistance facilities.

The Netherlands: Dutch airline crew receives training to recognize human trafficking victims. They will be trained on how to recognize signs of trafficking or kidnapping victims on the planes. However, the trade union for airline personnel argued that the crews are already overwhelmed by the amount of training, and the new training on recognizing trafficking victims will be too much for them.

ASIA

Myanmar: The authority cracks down prostitution in capital city. The massage parlors, restaurants, and karaoke lounges are therefore held up to more strict regulations including implementing transparent glass in the room and adequate lighting. Also, those who are caught running a brothel will be subject to a jail sentence.

Global human trafficking roundup (March 19-21, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

South Dakota: A nonprofit group named "Be Free" plans to open a safe house for trafficking victims. The shelter will provide a space for 8 to 10 women and offer other services and support to them. According to the Be Free director, sex trafficking is underreported and is likely to increase in the state.

Georgia: Delta Airways becomes the first airline company to sign the code to fight against child trafficking. Upon agreement, the company pledges to train and educate employees to identify child trafficking victims so that the employees can report child trafficking incidents to the authority.

Colorado: Lawmakers tackles johns to crack down on prostitution. The new bill proposed will require the first offenders to attend johns school, where they will learn about human trafficking. As a result of participation to the program, the first offenders will be able to avoid jail sentence.

New York: Police arrested five women on the charges of prostitution during the undercover prostitution sting. One of them also was charged with endangering the welfare of child for bringing a 15 year old girl to engage in prostitution acts under her direction. They used the internet website, Backpage.com to set up a meeting with johns for commercial sexual services at motels.

LATIN AMERICA

Jamaica: Police rescued seven human trafficking victims and arrested one person on human trafficking charges last Friday. According to one former employee of the arrested individual, he was allegedly brought to Jamaica from India with a promise of a good job. However, upon arrival, his passport was confiscated and was forced to work for months without pay.

EUROPE

UK: A report reveals the reality of human trafficking in UK. Many sex traffickers bring women from abroad and forced them into prostitution. However, even if they are jailed for committing such horrendous crime, they rather brag about their wrong deeds. Also, children from Vietnam are trafficked to UK and exploited with labor in cannabis farm. One Vietnamese teenager came to UK with a promise of a good job and a new life, but ended up being locked up in a cannabis farm and exploited with labor. For many foreign victim cases, however, police is faced with difficulty to crack down on the crime because of language and cultural barriers.

ASIA

Malaysia: The national authority announced that over 300 people were arrested for human trafficking between February 2008 and February 2011. What's more, approximately 1900 people have been rescued during the same period. The government representative further warned the childless couples of child trafficking among adoption agencies.

The Philippines: The government launches a hotline for human trafficking victims. The hotlines will be available for 24 hours to the victims in Manila City and providences in emergency situations.

Global human trafficking roundup (March 18, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Texas: A 36 year old man pleaded guilty to sex trafficking young women. According to the report, he recruited young women, especially vulnerable single mothers from troubled backgrounds and forced them into prostitution. He also required each woman to meet a daily quota and wire the funds to his account. Under the terms of the plea agreement, he is facing 30 year long prison sentence.

District of Columbia: Two U.S. Senators introduced a bill to fight against sex trafficking in the U.S. The senators argue that Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act will give law enforcement the tools and funding to investigate, prosecute, and incarcerate pimps and traffickers. It would also authorize block grants of 2-2.5 million dollars to six locations considered as major hubs of sex trafficking.

California: A man was convicted of pimping on teenage girls in San Francisco, Oakland, Reno, and other cities. He was convicted of forcing two teenagers in the age of 14 and 16 into prostitution in 2006. Because of his previous conviction in Nevada for pandering, he was sentenced to life in prison.

LATIN AMERICA

Argentina: Many farm workers live in a slavery conditions, according to the report, They are forced to work 14 hours a day and live in a mud-floored dorms or sheet material trailers with no water and electricity available. Also, they only receive a small compensation after the costs of food, clothing, and transportation were deducted from the wages.

EUROPE

Portugal: More than 31,000 people signed a petition to fight against child sex trafficking in the country. The petition is aimed at urging the lawmaker to strengthen the measure against child traffickers and was part of Body Shop campaign against child trafficking.

UK: A retired doctor was found guilty of enslaving an African woman. She was convicted of forcing the African woman into sleeping on the kitchen floor and feeding her two slices of bread a day, etc. for three and a half years. The doctor also confiscated the victim's passport and kept her belongings locked in the backyard. The doctor was sentenced to nine months in jail and ordered to pay 25,000 pounds to the victim.

ASIA

Thailand: Surrogate rings are trafficking foreign women to bear children for wealthy couples in Thailand. The ring is spread out through South Asian countries, such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Taiwan, and Thailand. Just last month, the police rescued 20 Vietnamese women and arrested four individuals who trafficked these women.

India: Police rescued sixteen girls in the age between two and seven years old from brothels in Mandaur district. According to the report, the girls were from Bachhras tribes, in which the families keep tradition of selling the first daughters to prostitution to receive financial support. The little girls were held in captivity so they can prostitute when entering puberty.

Global human trafficking roundup (March 17, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

South Dakota: The governor signs a new state human trafficking law. The new legislation will allow law enforcement to prosecute human trafficking. The new legislation will impose 10 year prison sentence and a $20,000 fine on convicted traffickers.

Oregon: The legislators are looking into the ways to crackdown on human trafficking. Law makers introduced at least nine bills to give law enforcement tools to deter child prostitution. One of the bills will impose a $20,000 fine on a john who solicited sex with minors. If he fails to do so, his name, address, and photo will be published online or a newspaper.

New Jersey: A 25 year old woman was arrested for pimping on several women, including two high school students. She was charged with human trafficking and promoting prostitution. According to the report, she allegedly operated in and around casinos.

Wisconsin: A man and two women were arrested for forcing minors into prostitution. The arrest was made after a 17 year old girl reported to the police that she was forced to perform prostitution against her will. The girl met one of the women at a party, where she was asked to become a prostitute. The woman also posted pictures of the teen only wearing underwear and advertised sexual favors on backpage.com.

ASIA

India: A 16 year old girl was rescued from prostitution. She was sold to a brothel owner by her uncle for $2200 while looking for a domestic worker job. She was rescued during the raid conducted by an anti-human trafficking organization. According to the report, she was placed at a government shelter for rehabilitation after the rescue.

Cambodia: Cambodia sets age limits on foreigners who pursue international marriage with Cambodian women. The new law will ban foreign men in the age of 50 or older from marrying Cambodian brides. Also, foreign men earning less than $2580 per month will be forbidden from marrying Cambodian women.

Global human trafficking roundup (March 16, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Texas: The anti-human trafficking bill received an initial approval from the Senate committee on Tuesday, this week. The bill, if implemented, will give prosecution a separate tool to prosecute human trafficking for labor and sexual exploitation. Also, it will extend statutory limitation for human trafficking crime and increases punishments for traffickers.

California: An expert says that San Bernardino County is the biggest transit point for human trafficking in the U.S. In case of domestic trafficking, gangs are heavily involved in pimping, and they recruit victims from schools and malls.

Minnesota: Dakota County officials testified before the House committee to curb child prostitution in the area. Studies show that child prostitution is a growing problem in the state with that the average age of girls entering prostitution is 14.

EUROPE

The Netherlands: The authority introduces a new system to hold johns accountable for using commercial sexual services. From now on, johns are required to call the government registration system to ensure that the prostituted woman is registered and over 21 year old prior to the brothel visit. If johns fail to do so, they will face criminal charges, according to the report.

ASIA

Saudi Arabia: The Appellate Court reversed the lower court's decision to convict a Saudi Arabian woman for exploiting an Indonesian domestic worker. The Court said that there was not enough evidence to support the Indonesian maid's claim.

AFRICA

Nigeria: A BBC report says that child trafficking in Nigeria is rampant. Many children are kidnapped by the domestic workers hired by their parents. Last year alone, police arrested more than 400 traffickers.

Global human trafficking roundup (March 4, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Texas: Law makers propose new human trafficking bills to toughen up the measure against the crime. The House bill 7 and HB 1122 each addresses pimps and johns who exploit children. Governor Perry is in support of the bill after hearing the crackdown report during the Super Bowl game.

Canada: Heath care workers are surprised to find out about rampant human trafficking in Canada. They were shocked to hear that many migrants in Canada live in debt bondage or sex slavery. One health care worker said that she was overwhelmed to think about how many victims that she might have come across in the past and didn't realize it.

Maryland: An NJ man was arrested for trafficking a 19 year old victim. The victim initially came down to Maryland voluntarily with other three women for prostitution at local motel. But, when the victim said that she wanted to go home, she was held against her will and denied the mail she reached out to her relatives in NJ.

EUROPE

Ireland: An alleged human trafficking case in Belfast moved to Scotland. A 47 year old Scottish man was initially charged with human trafficking and controlling prostitution, running a brothel, and converting criminal property in Northern Ireland. He is scheduled to appear before Belfast Magistrates Court to be arrested on Scottish warrant.

UK: Police arrested a convicted pimp who has been on the run since last November yesterday. He became a fugitive since he failed to appear before the court for two hearings. He was convicted of "trafficking women within the UK for sexual exploitation, conspiracy to traffic women within the UK for sexual exploitation and controlling prostitution for gain and converting £67,075 of criminal property."

ASIA

The Philippines: Police rescued three minors from child labor along with thirty other adult victims. The three minors were recruited with a promise of high paying job with free lodging and food. But, they only received 1/7th of what was promised, and the fees for using utensils and food were deducted from the salaries. The thirty adults were also subject to forced labor.

Global human trafficking roundup (March 3, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Missouri: The House passed the bill to fight human trafficking in Missouri. The current legislation makes sex and labor trafficking a felony punishable by up to 15 years in jail. The new bill will strengthen those laws by allowing prison terms up to 20 and 30 years, or life in some cases. It will also ad fines up to $250,000.

Hawaii: An anti-advocate says that the lawmaker turns away anti-human trafficking bill. She and other lobbyists approached her representative's office in regards to the upcoming hearing of anti-human trafficking bill, but they were not able to meet with him. The representative, during his interview with the local news reporter, said that this anti-human trafficking bill may be re-introduced next session, but it won't be heard this time.

Georgia: The House passes anti-human trafficking bill yesterday and is awaiting for Senate's approval. The bill, if implemented, will increase the minimum sentence from 1 year to 10 years and adds fines up to $100,000 for a conviction. If a minor is victimized, the bill imposes minimum prison sentence of 25 years on traffickers.

Virginia: Lawmakers try to address human trafficking in Virginia. The new bill passed the General Assembly and now it is awaiting for the governor's signature. A legislator who sponsored the bill says that the bill will develop a state plan to enable victims to apply for aftercare assistance.

Texas: A 20 year old man is accusing of forcing a 13 year old girl into prostitution. He threatened to take her to Mexico and kill her family if she refused to prostitute. The victim met the man who initially told her that he was 17. Soon after he began dating her, he took her to a mobil home and forced into prostitution with men for $300 per session.

California: A couple were arrested for pimping on a 22 year old woman. They set up sex dates at their South Sacramento home, then the wife rented motel rooms while the husband solicited johns for the woman. The arrest was made after the 22 year old victim ran off and called the police. The couple also had seven children who were taken to the protective custody after the wife was arrested.

ASIA

Australia: The law enforcement urges the public to report human trafficking incidents. According to the report, 83% of trafficking victims in sex industry are women. Also, the law enforcement discovered many trafficking incidents in the past, particularly during the raid in local massage parlors.

Global human trafficking roundup (March 2, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Canada: A sex trafficking case involving two Fijian women failed to fall through after the prosecutor couldn't locate two key witnesses. The two women came to Canada to find a better job opportunity, but ended up being forced into prostitution at a massage parlor. They were rescued after the police raided the parlor. However, because of lack of key witnesses available, the prosecution had to drop multiple charges against the alleged trafficker, including human trafficking, unlawful confinement, etc.

Iowa: A special agent says that sex trafficking is a problem in Iowa. He said that since Craigslist was censored, the traffickers moved their venues to other sites to carry out online prostitution. Many victims do not realize that they were in sex slavery because of pimps' manipulation. Also, pimps recruit many young people from Iowa City.

EUROPE

Azerbaijan: The national authority reports that 70 out of 183 criminal cases were related to human trafficking. According to the report, there were 39 individuals who were prosecuted for human trafficking, and 34 victims were rescued.

ASIA

Qatar: A nonprofit in DOHA says that it received over 140 complaints from trafficking victims last year. The victims requested assistance for different needs including shelter and lodging, but many of them were asking for legal remedies against their traffickers. According to the advocates, Qatar is on the process of implementing an anti-human trafficking legislation.

The Philippines: The U.S. citizen was charged with child pornography and human trafficking. He allegedly videotaped seven topless women, including three minors. Police seized the camera and a battery pack that he used to record pornographic images of the women. The victims are currently taken into the shelters, and the man was denied on bail.

AFRICA

Uganda: A 58 year old witchdoctor was sentenced to 50 years in jail for trafficking a boy. He was convicted of kidnapping a seven year old boy and cutting off his genital with his three accomplice. The arrest was made after the boy identified him to the police before he lost his consciousness.

Global human trafficking roundup (March 1, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Texas: A man and a woman were jailed on Monday for forcing a Houston girl into prostitution. They allegedly recruited the 17 year old victim on a social network site called Mocospace for commercial sexual services. The arrest was made after the man responded to the phony profile posing a 16 year old girl, which was set up by the undercover cop. They exchanged the text message and agreed to meet at Fort Worth bus station for sexual flavors and prostitution.

Massachusetts: State rep. and joins state Attorney General, Martha Coakley to announce a comprehensive state human trafficking law. Massachusetts currently has no legislation against human trafficking. The bill, if implemented, will therefore give a tool to law enforcements to investigate and prosecute the crimes and attempts to address all aspects of human trafficking.

Missouri: Two men were sentenced to federal prison for labor trafficking foreign workers. They were two of twelve individuals who were charged with trafficking more than 1000 workers with labor. The workers were exploited with lower wages and substandard living conditions. If they complained, they were threatened with deportation. Each of the two men received 41 month and 21 month long prison sentence in federal court.

Tennessee: FBI says many people are trafficked in Memphis. According to an FBI agent, many men, women, and children are locked down and beaten to a point that they are too afraid of leaving their traffickers. A local anti-human trafficking group, Operation Broken, Silence, says that based on its four month long investigation, most of cases are sexually exploitation carried out on Backpage.com.

District of Columbia: Child trafficking is rampant in the U.S. advocates in D.C. say that most johns who commercially exploit children with sex are affluent, including politicians, college students, business men, etc. Experts estimate that the average age of a child entering prostitution is 13 years old, and at least 300,000 children are at risk of human trafficking annually.

Canada: A new court document reveals allegedly child bride incident in 2006 -2008. According to the court document, the children in the age between 12 and 18 were taken to be wed to polygamists in the U.S. It also alleges that three girls in the age of 12 and 13 were taken to the U.S. by their parents to be wed to the jailed polygamist leader, Warren Jeffs.

Oregon: Local legislators say that new bills proposed will increase protections for minor trafficking victims. One Senate says that five Senate and one House bill will provide "money for human services and special law enforcement squads, to fining offenders up to $20,000, to placing minors in foster care when they are found with an adult in sex trafficking."

LATIN AMERICA

Argentina: Women's groups propose to penalize johns to fight against human trafficking. The government agencies also agree that prostitution degrades women in prostitution and must be banned. According to the U.N., though Argentina implemented anti-human trafficking law, its ineffectiveness calls for an urgent reform.

Peru: National authority rescued 54 trafficking victims during the raid in downtown. The rescued victims included four minors and young women in the age between 18 and 21. According to the report, the victims initially denied the allegation that they were forced into prostitution, but the investigators discovered their victim status based on their contradicting testimonies.

EUROPE

Croatia: Police arrested a couple for selling their daughter to a father and a son. Their daughter was sold in exchange for horse and cash, which the report estimates 1080 euro. According to the police, the girl was believed to be sold for forced labor on a farm.

ASIA

Nepal: Many teen girls are forced into prostitution at restaurants in the capital city, Kathmandu. They were lured into coming to Kathmandu from their poor villages. One nonprofit says that sex trafficking at restaurants in the city are not uncommon. Also, sex with victims are available along with food and beverages at restaurants regardless they are mentioned on the menu.

AFRICA

Ghana: IOM is ending rescue mission of child trafficking victims in fishing industries due to lack of financial resources. The program launched in 2003 to rescue many boys and girls from forced labor in fishing industries. Also, the program rescued more than 700 child victims and provided extensive medical and other extensive assistances to them since 2003. IOM has relied on the U.S. government funding up until recent. The IOM represent urged the needs to find other funding sources for ongoing efforts to rescue the children from forced labor.