Global human trafficking roundup (May 12, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Maryland: A 43 year old man was sentenced to 10 years in jail after convicted of sex trafficking a child. The police made the arrest after receiving a tip from the relative of the missing 12 year old minor. The relative stated that the 12 year old girl was recruited for prostitution. The victim told the police that she met the man in Washington D.C. The man had sex with her in D.C., and recruited her to work for him. The victim also said that she had sex with many men, and the man kept all the profits.

Tennessee: State Senate sponsors a new legislation to combat child prostitution and human trafficking in Tennessee. The new bill will protect the victim status of minors charged with prostitution and would be released to their families or guardians after rehabilitation care. Also, it will make patronizing a person under the age of 18 or a person with disability a Class E felony.

ASIA

China: Authorities arrested 40 people and rescued 22 children from a child trafficking ring. Arrests were made while suspects abducted children in Yunnan providence and sell them to Fujian providence. According to the report, over 200 local law enforcement were deployed to bust this human trafficking ring.

Israel: A recent report by the Tel Aviv migrant worker's hotline says that many migrant workers are exploited with labor. Ever since Israel began allowing non-Palestinian migrant workers entry, migrant workers live under debt bondage and human rights violation. Some employers sell or rent their migrant workers to others.

Thailand: Police arrested a 30 year old woman for recruiting children in the age of 15 -18 for prostitution. The woman admitted to hire minors to work at karaoke bars and the beach and sold them for sex to foreign tourists.

AFRICA

Namibia: ILO study shows that child labor is prevalent throughout Namibia. According to the report, over 800 Namibian children and 27 foreign children are discovered to be exploited with labor throughout the regions. In particular, foreign children are believed to be trafficked from Angola and Zambia for child labor purpose. The children are engaged in chores including "cattle herding, field de-bushing, ploughing, weeding and harvesting on communal, subsistence and commercial farms."

Global human trafficking roundup (April 8, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Texas: House passes human trafficking bill. The bill makes it a felony to force children into prostitution, extends the statute of limitations for the crime, and requires any sex trafficking offenders to register as sex offenders.

Hawaii: Senate Judiciary Committee passes packages of the bills that will crackdown johns and pimps in the state. According to one advocate, Hawaii is one of the four states that do not have a comprehensive anti-human trafficking law in the U.S. But, under the new bills, buying sex and forcing someone into prostitution are made to be a felony. The legislation is expected to pass both the House and Senate as soon as next week.

Maryland: Two anti-human trafficking bills passed the state Senate. The bills, if implemented, will provide funding for education on human trafficking and investigations for the crimes. They will also allow the state to seize the profits from human trafficking activities and post National Hotline Numbers in truck stops and rest area.

ASIA

Taiwan: US officials says that Taiwan has improved its effort to combat human trafficking. U.S. Ambassador at large, Luis CdeBaca said that both Taiwan and South Korea the two most active countries to fight against human trafficking in Asian countries during the Senate hearing.

Israel: A Russian tourist was charged with human trafficking. According to the indictment, he conspired with others to transfer women from Russia to Israel for prostitution.

The Philippines: Women and Child Protection (WCP) unit says that victims refuse to file lawsuits against their predators. The WCP chief believes that the victims are hesitant to file a lawsuit against the predators because they think that their relatives are involved in falsifying the documents to facilitate illegal recruitment by the predators.

India: A victim pleads the authority not to legalize prostitution. She was sold to the brothel when she was ten years old. She was forced into prostitution until she was rescued by an activist 10 years later. She argues that legalizing prostitution will not benefit women. Instead, she argues that the state should crackdown on demand for prostitution.

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.