Global human trafficking roundup (May 20, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Kentucky: Two parents were indicted on human trafficking charges for selling their daughters' sexual flavors. They arranged their 13 and 14 year old daughters to provide companionship and affection to men for money and goods, according to the indictment. Their mother recruited men at local grocery stores and encouraged them to touch and kiss her daughters to receive money and clothing from the men.

Hawaii: Labor company was fined $340,000 for exploiting more than 400 Thai farm workers. The court ordered the company to pay $153,000 in back wages to 88 temporary workers and $197,000 for penalties. The back wages were calculated based on what was originally promised to the Thai workers.

Nevada: Governor signed a bill to assist women forced into prostitution in Las Vegas. The Assembly bill 6 would allow women forced into prostitution or trafficked to request a district court to erase her conviction.

Georgia: A man gets 12 years in prison for sex trafficking women. When the then 21 year old victim had escaped from the man, he tracked her down and brought her back to his motel. He ordered other streetwalkers to beat her up. Then, he locked her up in a dog kennel.

EUROPE

UK: A woman forced to work as a domestic servant was awarded £5,000 damages after the judge criticized the Metro police for failing to promptly investigate the case. The victim was regularly stripped and beaten with a stick or belt by the church pastor in front of her three children. In 1999 the pastor also stabbed the victim in her head with a heavy meat cleaver. The pastor was sentenced to 11 and a half years in prison after being convicted of trafficking the woman and two other children to UK as domestic slaves.

ASIA

India: Police found a 21 year old woman who was victimized by a trafficking ring. According to the victim, she was sent to Dubai with a promise of a good job but ended up being forced into performing a dance at a bar. She also stayed at a hotel with 20 other girls in the similar situation. When she tried to committed a suicide to escape an enslaved lifestyle, Her trafficker sent her back to India. She was weeping at the Delhi airport, when police found her.

Taiwan: Two teenage boys are arrested for pimping on dozens of girls. The girls as young as twelve years old were recruited through internet for prostitution, working at tea house, and hotels in the capital city. Police said that the teenage boys are the youngest pimps ever.

AFRICA

Senegal: ILO and other international organizations report that Talibes, students of Islam, are forced into begging on the students. They estimate that over 7000 boys are working on the street in the capital city alone. And Human Rights Watch estimates that 50,000 children are exploited nationwide. Children are initially recruited to learn how to read and recite Quran by the religious teachers but ended up living under a poor condition and being forced to beg on the street.

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 (December 14, 2010)

NORTH AMERICA

Florida: A couple were sentenced to 51 months and 78 months in jail for labor exploiting at least 39 Filipino workers. They forced the workers into labor with the threat of deportation and arrest. According to the report, 28 workers slept in one house, and some of them slept on the kitchen floor.

Georgia: The U.S. Marshall captured two fugitives at Tempa Florida. They were listed on America's most wanted in connection to the homicide case in Georgia. They are accused of killing and shooting a recruited prostitute who later ran away from them. The charges against them including murder, sex trafficking of minor, running a prostitution ring, etc.

Colorado: A state senator wants to open a class to educate johns who were arrested for soliciting prostitution. He argued that the new bill will allow johns to be educated on harmful side of sex industry on prostituted women and human trafficking victims. He also argue that after taking the class, johns will not go back to solicit prostitution. The class will also be available to first time offenders as plea bargain that would dismiss the charge if they complete the program.

EUROPE

Denmark: Denmark opted out from signing EU human trafficking directive. The authority argued that the agreement should be based on the decision among the member of union states, which would be a long process. Meanwhile, media slammed on the authority's opt-out on EU human trafficking directive arguing that the opt-out may cause Denmark to become a hub of human trafficking.

ASIA

Taiwan: Police busted Asia's largest human trafficking ring. The ringleader profited from more than 30 cases of human trafficking in the past, according to the report. The arrest was a result of cooperation among the law enforcement in Hong Kong, UK, the U.S., and Thailand. The police arrested seven members of human trafficking and summoned seven others for questioning.

China: Shelter manager arrested for selling homeless as forced labor. Some of the homeless people were mentally disabled. The investigation began after the police visited a factory, where the homeless people with mental disability were working. The shelter manager allegedly sold 11 residents to the factory.