Global human trafficking roundup (May 14-16, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Massachusetts: The Attorney General filed a bill to crack down on human trafficking in the state. The bill will criminalize sex and labor trafficking in the state if implemented. It will also create an Attorney General led human trafficking task force to study illegal trade and increase penalties for Johns.

Minnesota: Lawmakers are considering a bill to treat children who were engaged in prostitution as victims. If the bill is implemented, the state becomes the fifth state to protect children from being prosecuted for prostitution.

Florida: An Orlando man was indicted on child sex trafficking charges. He allegedly forced children into having sex with men from across the country. According to the indictment, the man advertised the children online to set up an appointment with johns. His victims include a child as young as 13 years old.

EUROPE

UK: Trafficking victims testify their experience as slaves. One trafficking victim from Ghana was trafficked to UK and was prostituted by her boyfriend. She was locked into an apartment and forced to have sex with men for 300 days until the escape. Another victim was trafficked as a domestic servant to Italy when she was nine years old. After working seven years without pay, she was trafficked to UK to work for another family as a domestic servant. They both were subject to beating and verbal abuse.

ASIA

China: Police arrested eighteen suspects and rescued nineteen children from a human trafficking ring. The investigation began after the police received a tip regarding a 29 year old woman an several suspects trafficking children out of Yunnan providence and sold them in Fujian providence.

AFRICA

Ghana: Police rescued 116 children from communities around Volta Lake. They are in the age between four and seventeen, according to the report. Police also arrested thirty men in connection to this human trafficking case who were sentenced to 16 months in prison at the court.

Global human trafficking roundup (May 10, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Missouri: A man was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for trafficking people for labor. An Uzbekistan man brought thousands of people from abroad and forced them into labor in local restaurants and hotels. He also larded fees for uniforms and housings. He also had put some of the workers into work for as little as $1 an hour.

Tennessee: Law enforcement busted a human trafficking ring last week. They arrested nine people, including three women at three different residences. Law enforcement said that it's not clear how many women were forced into prostitution by this trafficking ring. The arrest was a result of five month long undercover investigation.

Michigan: A former janitor at the University of Michigan was arrested for bringing a family of four from African to work in his home. He is charged with human trafficking, forced labor, and visa and mail fraud. ICE agents found journals written by the victims detailing abuse by the man at his residence. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison.

New Jersey: Nonprofit group says that New Jersey is a hub of human trafficking. A Polaris Project representative says that labor trafficking males, most male Hispanic migrants, significantly increases during the growing seasons, and transgender youths are forced into survival or commercial sex. Also many foreign women are forced into prostitution in massage parlors throughout the state.

Massachusetts: The state house is considering a bill to combat sex trafficking in the state. The new bill will define people managing prostitutes or pimps as traffickers. The bill will also impose much stiffer penalties on pimps and johns who pay for sex.

LATIN AMERICA

Argentina: A new study reports that U.S. is the destination for many Argentine men, women, and children for human trafficking. 80% of the trafficked victims work as sex workers under pretenses. The study also says that Argentina is a transit point for many women trafficked from neighboring countries.

AFRICA

Kenya: Police arrested a woman who was allegedly involved in child trafficking. The police also found three children that she was going to sell in Kisii. The children were later reunited with their parents, and the woman is still under investigation.

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.

Global human trafficking roundup (February 25, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Oregon: The legislators are considering a bill to get tough on child prostitution. The bill, if implemented, would impose a $20,000 fine for people convicted of paying for sex with a minor. Also, according to the bill, the lack of knowledge of a minor cannot be a defense to an offender.

Massachusetts: A new bill is proposed to combat human trafficking. The bill, if implemented, will establish human trafficking for sexual or labor exploitation as a crime in Massachusetts. The sponsors say that the bill will give a tool to law enforcement to investigate and prosecute human trafficking.

California: A trafficking survivor speaks up about her past. She was sold by her own mother from Belize to Fresno, California when she was 11 years old. She was also forced into domestic servitude, cleaning and caring for a family with four children for a decade. She also endured physical and psychological abuse. One advocate says that her organization has identified 24 victims in Fresno county last year.

EUROPE

Italy: Thousands of Nigerian women are forced into prostitution in Italy. One 19 year old victim says that she left Nigeria for Europe to find a better life five years ago. Then, a man brought her a ticket to Amsterdam to work at a department store, but she was fired in a day because her document was false. She then met another Nigerian woman at a refugee center who promised her to take care of her. But, the woman forced her into prostitution in Italy when she was only a minor.

ASIA

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

AFRICA

Ghana: ILO report says that over 200 million children are exploited with child labor worldwide. The report says that children are exploited with child prostitution, stone quarrying, and mining. Also, though the number of child labor is decreasing in other parts of the world, the report says that the situation is getting worse in Africa.

Global human trafficking roundup (February 4, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Louisiana: Indian workers are filing a class action lawsuit against a labor contract company in New Orleans. The lawsuit was filed originally on behalf of seven workers but now the workers' attorney seeks to include all 500 workers who came to the U.S. with a promise of green card. The workers were lured to come to the U.S. after the Hurricane Katrina swept the region in 2005. Upon arrival, they workers never received the green card but forced to lived in a crowded prison like conditions.

Massachusetts: The state Senate and attorney general announced a human trafficking bill to criminalize sexual servitude and labor exploitation in the state for the first time. The bill also gives law enforcement the necessary tools to investigate and prosecute the crimes and and attempts to address supply, demand, and victim service aspects of human trafficking.

Rhode Island: Rhode Island cracks down on indoor prostitution to fight against human trafficking. Two years ago, prostitution is legal in spas and strip clubs. But, as new legislation banned indoor prostitution to curb human trafficking, many spas have been shut down . Also, johns can be punished with a jail sentence for up to a year and cannot expunge their criminal history.

EUROPE

Finnland: Many migrant workers from Eastern Europe are hidden away because they are difficult to be identified. They work for 15 hours a day for 7 euros an hour. They also stay in car wash. Many migrants choose to work in Finland despite of horrific work environment because it is better to be employed for lower wages in the Finland than being unemployed in their own country.

ASIA

The Philippines: The Philippines might lose a million dollar worth of U.S. aid due to its poor anti-human trafficking measure. According to the report, the U.S. State Department expressed its concern that the Filipino administration has caught so few number of traffickers. In response, the authority responded that it would work harder to toughen up countermeasure against human trafficking.

Japan: Kyoto local government is seeking ti implement ordinance to ban child pornography. The expert committee is working out the final draft of the ordinance by the end of this month. Meanwhile, other local governments are working on anti-child porn ordinances. But, Kyoto will be the first one of these kind if implemented according to the schedule.

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

Global human trafficking roundup (January 29-31, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Texas: Authorities say human trafficking is hard to prove at the court. Cases involving human trafficking are not only hard to tease from immigration or prostitution offenses but also some victims are unaware of their victimization. Therefore, they are difficult to prosecute.

New York: Buffalo law enforcement says that human trafficking hits close to home. Her youngest victim was 12 and the oldest one was in her 60s. Some cases of human trafficking so horrific that some investigators have to walk out of the scene or have hard time hearing the details. However, human trafficking cases are still difficult to prosecute unless victims cooperate.

Hawaii: A new prosecutor in Honolulu says that Hawaii does not need an anti-human trafficking law. However, he acknowledged that it is an ongoing problem in the state. He argued that while the bill was well intended, it was repetitive form of existing law.

Massachusetts: Senate joins the fight to make forced labor and prostitution illegal in the state. The new bill, if implemented, will not only create new crimes but also make a new task force to fight human trafficking in the state. It will also amend penalties regarding existing statutes to address the demand side of human trafficking.

Michigan: Federal prosecution in Detroit says that child pornography is getting uglier. The victim are becoming younger including infants and toddlers. Some are as young as six month old. According to the report, half of the child pornography circulated in the U.S. are made in the U.S., rather than Eastern Europe or South Asia.

ASIA

Cambodia: Police work with U.S. special operation agents to fight against child prostitution. One 1o year old victim was interviewed by BBC after her pimp and her aunt who sold her to the foreigner were arrested.

AFRICA

Zimbabwe: IOM assists Zimbabwe to create a comprehensive law against human trafficking. The legislation is intended to protect women and children trafficked in and out of Zimbabwe by prostitution rings. It will focus on raising awareness among government officials and law enforcement.

**Looking for volunteers to post human trafficking roundup during the summer. Please leave a comment if you are interested. Thank you!!!!!!!!!

Global human trafficking roundup ( January 21, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Georgia: An ICE representative says human trafficking is increasing in Atlanta, but the crime is hard to uncover because victims do not come forward. He also pointed out two growing trends; that victims are becoming as young as 14 and that traffickers increasingly use violence to control victims.

North Carolina: Authority says the number of victims for sex trafficking in North Carolina has increased in recent years. Many female victims are lured into coming to North Carolina with a promise of a better job. The Immigration officers therefore work with local and state authority to combat human trafficking in North Carolina.

Massachusetts: A New Hampshire police is searching for a suspect setting up a girl in a Portsmouth hotel room for prostitution. Police arrested a girl earlier this month at a hotel, where she was working as a prostitute. But, police believes that this incident is part of a large human trafficking or child prostitution ring throughout New England.

EUROPE

Finnland: Four Latvians are convicted of human trafficking through Russia and Balkan states. They smuggled 80 people from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria in 2008 and 2009. The victims also paid $10,000 for smuggling fee. The Latvians received jail sentence ranged between 14 months and 5.5 years. Whether the victims were forced into slavery is unknown.

UK: A female applicant for refuge status is found herself to be in the center of the biggest human trafficking investigation in the north of England. According to the report, she was forced into having sex with men at a massage parlor by gangs members. She was beaten and raped by the gang and forced to work six or seven days a week. Sometimes she was forced to have sex with as many men as 10 a day.

ASIA

Indonesia: Police arrests a new suspect in child prostitution ring. The ring victimized at least 98 children by kidnapping and raping. Police also said that the suspect is one of 18 people who were involved in the child prostitution ring.

Global human trafficking roundup ( January 20, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Tennessee: A man is accused of selling a minor for sex online, and police is now looking for more victims of his company. The arrest was made after the parents of the 16 year old victim informed the police of the incident.

Massachusetts: The state Attorney General is unveiling a new legislation to fight human trafficking. The new legislation will make it a felony to exploit people with labor and sex. It will also focus on providing services for victims' aftercare.

District of Columbia: The U.S. department of state estimates that there were approximately 12.3 million people who are trafficked worldwide. But, because of its lucrative nature, the estimates of the victims can be vary, according to the report. Meanwhile, there were only 4,166 successful prosecution of traffickers in 2009.

Texas: A Texan felon admits to sex trafficking a minor. He has been in custody since his arrest in April 2010. If the plea agreement is acceptable to the court, he will spend minimum 15 years in prison but no more than 20 years.

EUROPE

Spain: Spanish Secretary for General calls for complete ban on all newspaper ads for prostitution. She argues that majority of sex ads on newspapers are used to exploit women by criminal gangs and encourages activities like human trafficking. According to the report, Spanish Media generates 60% of revenues from sex ads.

ASIA

Burma: Police charged two soldiers for trafficking 16 Burmese citizens in December 2010. The victims are female in the age between 15 and 48. If convicted, the two soldiers will face a jail sentence for more than 15 years or fines.

The Philippines: The Philippines government tackles corruption involved in human trafficking. 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.

Indonesia: Facebook is used as a channel to recruit trafficking victims, according to the report. The traffickers use facebook to present the victims, and johns contact traffickers after looking through the victims' pictures on facebook.

Global human trafficking roundup (January 8-10, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Florida: Publix, a produce corporation, in South Florida receives criticism for its apathy towards labor exploitation in its supply chains. According to the report, during the interview with a press last month on labor exploitation at the corporation's supply chains, the representative of Publix said "if there is some atrocities going on, it's not our business. Maybe it's something the government should get involved with."

Massachusetts: A Massachusetts immigration and refuge group scheduled an educational event to raise the awareness of human trafficking. According to the report, the event will be held Tuesday this week outside of Worcester City Hall, where the group will distribute literature to educate public about human trafficking.

California: FBI says Sacramento is hub of child sex trafficking. Because of its location on the I-5 corridor at the intersection of Interstate 80 and Highway 50 and large immigration population, Sacramento is appealing to traffickers, according to the report.

Texas: Police arrested a man for forcing a 13 year old girl into prostitution. According to the report, he allegedly forced her into prostitution after raping her for 19 times and releasing her from a local motel in Dallas. The girl had been missing since she left a middle school basketball game with two 20 year old men last month.

LATIN AMERICA

Jamaica: Court extends the bails for business man and his stepdaughter who allegedly trafficked foreign women. The two suspects were charged with several counts of human trafficking, money laundering, and others. They were arrested during the police raid on a local nigh club and a residence. Police also rescued thirteen people, including six foreign women from Latin American countries and a few minors.

Fiji: Immigration Department provides a training program to its officers to combat human trafficking. The program is response to the alarming report on the number of human trafficking and the first conviction of a trafficker last year.

ASIA

Saudi Arabia: A Saudi woman was jailed for exploiting her Indonesian maid. The woman was sentenced to three years in prison for beating, stabbing, and burning her Indonesian maid with Iron. The woman physically abused her severely that the assault caused the maid's internal bleeding. Meanwhile, the maid's attorney said that he would appeal the case in order to bring harsher punishment to the woman.

India: The number of child trafficking victims in Manipur state in 2010 was 139, reaching the highest number ever in the state. According to the report, many of them were trafficked to other states after being promised with free education and jobs. In January 2010 alone, more than 50 children were trafficked to Tamil Nadu and later rescued by Child Welfare Committee.

AFRICA