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 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 ( 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.

Human trafficking roundup (January 11, 2010)

NORTH AMERICA

New York: A woman suspected of trafficking Korean women for prostitution in New York and other areas in East coast was arrested while gambling at a casino in Connecticut. The 52 year old woman has been sought by the police since August 2006. She is facing numerous charges including conspiracy to engage in human trafficking.

Wisconsin: Jury found a man guilty of 11 felonies related to human trafficking. His case was the first prosecution for human trafficking at state level in Wisconsin. The details of the case is not stated on the report.

California: Riverside county launches anti-human trafficking program. Operation Safe House, an organization that runs network of shelters for runaway teens, is hosting session to train law enforcement officials and social service providers. The organization representative emphasized the importance of law enforcement individuals treating victims as victims to provide rehabilitation and assistance programs to them.

Florida: Federal agents said that a couple allegedly forced 39 Filipino workers at a few exclusive country clubs in South Florida. The couple also set up a staffing agency and sent out the workers to posh the clubs for long hours with little pay.

ASIA

Cambodia: A 54 year old British man was arrested for sexually exploiting four boys. According to the report, he molested the boys who were working at his Souvenir store as book sellers. The arrest was made after the boys reported the police of the incidents.

Pakistan: Authority announced that approximately 250 children in the age between 10 and 18 have been trafficked for sexual exploitation by an organized crime. The criminals first lure the children with alcohol and other substance abuse, which normally become very expensive habits to afford for many children. After their substance dependency, children are forced into pornography or other sexual activities in order to obtain more substance by the organized criminals.

AFRICA