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 6, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

District of Columbia: The passage of domestic sex trafficking bill was postponed because of the opposition by Senate Jeff Sessions. According to the report, while the bill unanimously passed the House, it failed to do so because of the amendments removed by the House. The amendments removed by the House were imposing "a mandatory minimum sentence “for transporting, receiving or distributing” child pornography and expanded subpoena authority to the U.S. Marshals Service over unregistered sex offenders.

California: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger commuted Sara Kruzan's sentence, a child prostitution victim who was received a life sentence in prison without parol for murdering her pimp. She was sexually and physically abused since she was little and gang raped by her neighbor pimp in the age of 13. When she was 16, she received a jail sentence for life after killing and robbing her pimp. According to the report, he commuted sentence doesn't mean that she will be free from the prison but that she will be given an incentive to continue her rehabilitation and an opportunity to show up on her parol board that she has done so.

ASIA

Philippines: Two policemen are hot pursuit of a possible human trafficking ring at Nino Aquino International airport. The investigation began after the immigration authority uncovered nine Filipino women leaving for Lebanon with fake visa stamps and passports.

Malaysia: The Malaysian authority says that it will receive request IOM to review its human trafficking law. The authority said that it wants to make sure that the national anti-human trafficking law is in accordance with international standards. He further emphasized the importance of international cooperation.

UAE: Abu Dubai appellate court postponed a case involving 13 people accused of trafficking a woman. The lower court trial was held after a woman complained that she was forced into prostitution by the 13 individuals. They also threatened to physically abuse her if she refused.