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 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.

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 (February 10, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Illinois: Twin brothers were sentenced to four years in prison for sex trafficking young women. The two 18 year old men pleaded guilty to human trafficking charges. Their operation involved taking pictures of victims and making hotel reservation for commercial sexual services, according to the prosecutor. The victims include an underage girl.

Missouri: A House committee hears bill about human trafficking. The bill, if implemented, will allow the court to impose convicted traffickers to pay minimum amount of $100,000 restitution to victims, among many other things.

Indiana: A 27 year old Chris Smiley gets 10 years in jail for trafficking a 19 year old girl for prostitution. The victim was held against her will, beaten, and forced into prostitution by the man. The victim was also taken into hostage in the age of 18 in February 2010 and forced to strip at a west side show club after her mother's boyfriend did not pay Smiley for crack cocaine.

New York: Actor Paul Haggis reveals human trafficking incidents in Scientology. After 34 years of membership at the Church, he recently walked away from the religion. He also stated that Scientology is guilty of human trafficking, sexual abuse, and forced labor, which involve child victims in some cases.

EUROPE

Germany: A man is on trial for allegedly sexually abusing her step daughter for more than two decades and forcing her into prostitution. The DNA test also shows that he at least fathered seven children by his step daughter that he molested.

ASIA

India: Police busted one of the biggest human trafficking rings in India. The arrest was made after the tip from a young woman in New Delhi. According to the police, more than 40 victims were trafficked from their home states and resold in the capital city.

China: A Chinese microblog helps missing children to reunite with their family. One parent found his son through the site, on which the reunion was posted. The site currently has 170,000 followers as of Thursday, and six more children were found through the site.

Looking for volunteers to post human trafficking roundup over the summer. If interested, please leave a comment. Thank you!!!!!

Global human trafficking roundup (December 15, 2010)

NORTH AMERICA

Illinois: A undocumented madam was indicted on Monday after she was arrested for pimping on young women. One of the women was 16 year old high school girl, who was picked up from school by the madam several times a week. The victims testified that they were lured into prostitution by false pretense and forced to perform sex acts with threat by the madam. One victim said that she was told that her daughter would end up dead if she refused to prostitute. Another victim was told by the madam that she would end up dead on the street if she refused to prostitute. Investigators said that six women were working for the madam at an apartment, and johns paid more for the 16 year old girl.

LATIN AMERICA

Mexico: The authority arrested five individuals and 50 illegal migrants. They were arrested on a bus while traveling between Sonora and Chihuaha states in Mexico. According to the report, they attempted to smuggle migrants from Latin American countries into Mexico. But, their final destination is the U.S. While one of the individuals was charged with human trafficking, the report is silent on details of human trafficking activities.

EUROPE

Belgium: EU adopts new directive to fight against human trafficking. The new legislation will punish those who assist smuggling gangs with 5 through 10 years of prison term. The new law will also toughen up the measures against labor trafficking. What's more, if the trafficker is a legal entity, the new directive will impose fines or exclude the entity from public funding.

UK: Anti-child trafficking group in Derby may be hit by government cut. The group, in the past, helped law enforcement with catching pimps who preyed on children as young as 12 with prostitution and assist the child prostitution victims. However, the chief executive of the group fears that the government funding cut for her group will affect the level of service that her group can provide for the victims.

ASIA

China: A family was reunited after being trafficked 30 years ago. The wife followed her uncle's neighbor to meet her husband who was working in different state. She also brought her son and a daughter with her. However, instead of meeting her husband, she was sold to one family with her daughter while her son was sold to a 72 year old man as a son. The mother and the daughter escaped and reunited with the father. But, they couldn't find the son anywhere for a long time. Recently, police however found the tips to find the son and reunited him with his family.