Global human trafficking roundup (May 19, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Nebraska: U.S. authority says that corporation needs to wake up to fight against human trafficking. Currently, awareness raising led to legislations in many states to punish traffickers and protect victims. But, authority says that further action is necessary to include corporation to collaborate with countries across the regions to trace supply chains of cheap goods to fight against slavery.

Tennessee: The recent study on human trafficking in Tennessee shows that many children in the age between nine and 17 are transferred from city to city and sexually exploited. Hamilton County, according to the study, is one of eight in the state to report more than 100 cases of adult sex trafficking for the past 24 months. Because of it's geographical proximity to Atlanta and interstates that cross the state, it is conducive to a traveling business.

Canada: RCMP says that the case against a woman to enslaved an African woman is solid. According to RCMP, the woman is a well respected in the community without any criminal record. However, he lured a 24 year old victim from Africa and forced her into long hours of labor without pay in her home for years. The woman is now facing one count of human trafficking and one count of smuggling charges.

Florida: FBI arrested a couple who forced children into prostitution. They are facing charges of recruiting, providing and maintaining minors for commercial sex in a house. According to the criminal complaint, the couple prostituted children as young as 14 year old to have sex with men. One victim said that there were many women and children dancing in front of men when she first walked into the house. She also said that she had sex with the suspect who told her ti was part of orientation.

EUROPE

Belgium: EU proposes better help for victim protection. Currently, the level of protection and assistances for victims differ in each member state. EU argues that this creates confusion about their rights among the victims. EU further argues that a new directive will provide a more unified protection for the victims regardless of where they are from or where they are located in Europe.

ASIA

India: Police busted a human trafficking ring and arrested two people. During the raid, police rescued nine children who were trafficked. The children, including three boys and three little children, were sold to Delhi as domestic servants. The allegedly traffickers received the initially payment from the employers. But, neither the parents nor the children received any monthly salaries for their labor.

AFRICA

Congo: Children are vulnerable to commercial sexual exploitation, a report says. Many of them grew up in a poor family, and they often share financial burdens of their parents. Some are neglected by their own parents and ended up being forced to beg for living on the street or recruited by a brothel madam. While child protection law is in place, it is rarely enforced, according to the report.

Global human trafficking roundup (May 12, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Maryland: A 43 year old man was sentenced to 10 years in jail after convicted of sex trafficking a child. The police made the arrest after receiving a tip from the relative of the missing 12 year old minor. The relative stated that the 12 year old girl was recruited for prostitution. The victim told the police that she met the man in Washington D.C. The man had sex with her in D.C., and recruited her to work for him. The victim also said that she had sex with many men, and the man kept all the profits.

Tennessee: State Senate sponsors a new legislation to combat child prostitution and human trafficking in Tennessee. The new bill will protect the victim status of minors charged with prostitution and would be released to their families or guardians after rehabilitation care. Also, it will make patronizing a person under the age of 18 or a person with disability a Class E felony.

ASIA

China: Authorities arrested 40 people and rescued 22 children from a child trafficking ring. Arrests were made while suspects abducted children in Yunnan providence and sell them to Fujian providence. According to the report, over 200 local law enforcement were deployed to bust this human trafficking ring.

Israel: A recent report by the Tel Aviv migrant worker's hotline says that many migrant workers are exploited with labor. Ever since Israel began allowing non-Palestinian migrant workers entry, migrant workers live under debt bondage and human rights violation. Some employers sell or rent their migrant workers to others.

Thailand: Police arrested a 30 year old woman for recruiting children in the age of 15 -18 for prostitution. The woman admitted to hire minors to work at karaoke bars and the beach and sold them for sex to foreign tourists.

AFRICA

Namibia: ILO study shows that child labor is prevalent throughout Namibia. According to the report, over 800 Namibian children and 27 foreign children are discovered to be exploited with labor throughout the regions. In particular, foreign children are believed to be trafficked from Angola and Zambia for child labor purpose. The children are engaged in chores including "cattle herding, field de-bushing, ploughing, weeding and harvesting on communal, subsistence and commercial farms."

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 ( April 23-25, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

New York: New York doctor is held in prison in Cambodia for molesting a 14 year old boy. He went to Cambodia for volunteer work at a children's hospital. He was arrested in February for purchasing sex from a minor. If convicted, the doctor could face up to 15 years in jail.

Tennessee: Two Nashville men are charged with child prostitution and child porn. The two were arrested after the law enforcement saw the online advertisement for commercial sex of a minor on Backpage.com. The investigators said that one of the men was a photographer, and another was involved in exploitation.

Rhode Island: The UAE colonel case reflects growing problem of human trafficking in New England. One ICE officer says that ICE launched 651 investigation last year, more than twice the number in 2006.

Washington: Governor signed a bill to step up its effort to fight against human trafficking. The new bill expands the definition of human trafficking to include, forced labor, involuntary servitude, commercial sexual abuse of minor, and criminal sex acts. Law enforcement says that current human trafficking statute makes it harder for them to prosecute traffickers. They hope that the new statute will give clearer definition of the crime and make it easier to prosecute traffickers.

EUROPE

Russia: Thirteen international gang members were charged with trafficking women for prostitution abroad. The defendants include Russian, Israeli, and Moldovan citizens. Also, one of the gang members was a retired top intelligence officer from Russian government. They will be sentenced on Monday at the Moscow district office.

ASIA

UAE: UAE authority sees increasing number of human trafficking cases at courts. According to the annual report, the number of human trafficking cases prosecuted in 2010 were 58, up from 43 cases in 2009. The report also said that labor trafficking cases more common than sex trafficking cases last year.

AFRICA

Kenya: Corruption gives rise to human trafficking of children in Kenya. Many young girls and infants become primary targets of human trafficking to Western Europe. Though children go missing, police takes a little or no actions to fight against the crime. Also, the Kenyan law treats people who have been missing for more than seven years as deceased.

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 (March 23, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Texas: Texas governor proposes a legislation to fight against human trafficking. The bill, if implemented, will toughen penalties for human trafficking. It will also impose life sentences on repeated offenders and provide civil remedies against traffickers.

Colorado: The bill to combat sex trafficking in Colorado passed the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill will create hefty fines for soliciting, pandering, and patronizing prostitute. It would also create john schools for first time offenders.

Tennessee: A man was arrested for solicitation of minors. During the two month long operations, police discovered that he requested a person to arrange the purchase of a child in the age of 12 or under for purpose of sex. Police also confiscated his computer and other digital media.

EUROPE

UK: UK sings up for Europe wide measure against human trafficking. The UK government initially criticized for opting out EU directive against human trafficking. However, immigration minister said that by waiting until the final wording was agreed, UK's interest has been protected. The new legislation will, according to report, increase protection for human trafficking victims and increase the chances to prosecute traffickers.

ASIA

China: The authority arrested approximately fifty people on human trafficking and prostitution charges during the raid. Police also rescued twenty women who are smuggled into Taiwan. The gangs who ran trafficking rings offered cash rewards to Chinese women who help recruiting other women from China. Though some Chinese women voluntarily engaged in prostitution Taiwan, police continues to investigate whether any woman was forced into prostitution.

UAE: A group that provides assistance to human trafficking victims says that total 124 sexual abuse cases were reported since 2009. Many of them are foreign victims who are trafficked to UAE for sexual exploitation. Most of them come to UAE with visitors' visa through family and friends, but some of them come to UAE with a false promise of a good job.

Cambodia: Cambodian government calls for crackdown on labor trafficking. The prime minister in Cambodia announced the crack down and urged the public to seek employment within Cambodia. The announcement was made after the government faced the criticism from the human rights group on its regulation of training centers for Cambodians seeking employment abroad. They are often held against their will while waiting to be sent abroad.

The Philippines: Child prostitution and sex tourism receives criticism from child advocacy group. One 14 year old child prostitution victim was sold to an Australian man by her parents. She was literally kept as a sex slave. Although such child sex tourism or prostitution case is common, its prosecution is rare. Some locals even believe that a child should be rightly available for sexual gratification for foreign sex tourists.

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 19-21, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Tennessee: FBI says human trafficking exists in east Tennessee. While he says that human trafficking cases are not common in the area, east Tennessee is a prime location for traffickers to set up a shop because of its proximity to interstate highway and the crowded tourist areas.

Texas: The three count indictment against ten people who forced young Mexican women into prostitution was unsealed yesterday. According to the indictment, the defendants were involved in transporting Mexican women and girls to the U.S. with the false expectation of legitimate jobs and forced them into sex slavery between 1999 and 2011.

Kentucky: A man was arrested for posting child pornography on his facebook pages under a pseudonym. According to the report, he used thirteen different profiles to send illicit images of children to others. The arrest was made after another man named facebook watcher reported him to the Kentucky law enforcement. After further investigation, FBI discovered that the suspect is a pastor at a local church in Kentucky.

Washington: A new bill was proposed to fight child prostitution in the state. The bill, if implemented, will allow the law enforcement to tape the conversation between suspected pimps and the child victims without a warrant. The bill aims to give law enforcement another tool to build evidence against pimps.

ASIA

UAE: Police busted a human trafficking ring that forced an Asian woman into prostitution. The arrest came after the victim texted her friends of her situation. When the police found the victim, she was locked up in a room. Police also arrested five men for sex trafficking the victim.

The Philippines: A Korean man was arrested for allegedly running a sex tourism business in Manila. According to the Immigration Bureau, he posed as a tourist guide at a travel agency to carry out his illicit activities.

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,1-3, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Tennessee: Law enforcement receives applaud for dismantling a human trafficking ring preyed on girls nationwide. According to the report, the persistent effort of law enforcement in Nashville charges most of gang members selling Minnesota girls to sex trade in Tennessee. Report also states that girls as young as twelve years old were enslaved in sex industry for more than a decade while some of them were sold for as little as a bottle of brandy.

North Carolina: A local church uses holidays to support human trafficking victims around the world. On Christmas day, The pastor shared a sermon on human trafficking victims around the world, which led the congregation to raise $128,000 for trafficking victims.

Michigan: Advocates call for tougher measures against human trafficking. One advocate says that Michigan is particularly vulnerable to human trafficking as an agricultural and a border state. Another advocate pointed out that lack of awareness among public and law enforcement authorities are another reason why many victims are not rescued in Michigan.

EUROPE

UK: A group of nonprofit pressures the authority to adopt EU directive to fight against human trafficking in UK. They argue that hundreds of children are at risk of trafficking for labor and sexual exploitation. The group believes that EU directive, upon adoption, will increase protection of children and prosecution of traffickers. Meanwhile, the UK government announced that it would launch a new plan to combat human trafficking in spring.

AFRICA

Rwanda: The authorities are working to deport Bangladeshi human trafficking victims to their country. A Bangladeshi man was arrested for trafficking 64 men in the age between 20 and 50 years old. Prior to this event, the man was arrested in 2006 for smuggling a group of Bangladeshis in Mozambique.

Global human trafficking roundup (December 11-13, 2010)

NORTH AMERICA

New Mexico: A man is convicted of trafficking a woman into prostitution. This was the first conviction through the state's human trafficking legislation in New Mexico. He admitted to coerced the victim into prostitution at a local motel by using threats, force, and coercion. He is facing three year jail term.

Tennessee: Police arrested five people from Columbia on human trafficking charges. Police also stated that Nathaniel Roberts used Backpage.com to advertise victims. He also boasted that he learned $100,000 as a pimp on MySpace.

Nevada: Cab drivers benefit from providing transportation to prostitutes and customers to message parlors, brothels, etc. in Las Vegas. According to the report, a $140 massage at a parlor can result $70 in a driver's pocket. Cab drivers also benefit from sex industry by bringing tourists to the brothels and clubs, where they can receive profits the most. According to the report, IRS is making the drivers accountable for the fast cash generated from delivering prostitutes.

LATIN AMERICA

Jamaica: Twin sisters were denied on bail after being arrested for allegedly prostituting a teenage girl. According to the report, the teenage victim ran away form her home to live with the twins who introduced her to a man. The man later took her to his home and forced her to have sex with other men at his house. Police also arrested the three men who had sex with the victim. But, the men were offered bail in the amount of $100,000.

EUROPE

Bulgaria: Police arrested an Italian man who pimped on women in France. According to the report, he appeared at a court in Strasburg for his trial in 2005. But, he moved to Italy then Bulgaria in order to avoid the four year jail term in France. After the arrest, he however requested a voluntary extradition to France to Bulgarian police.

The Netherlands: A 27 year old man was arrested for abusing more than 50 children for child pornography. He worked as a substitute carer at a daycare in Armsterdam and advertised babysitting job on internet. The investigation began after a number of child pornography generated from the Netherlands were found in the U.S.

ASIA

Nepal: A 24 year old man was charged with trafficking a 17 year old girl and sold her to a brothel in Mumbai. He pleaded guilty to luring the victim with a promise of a marriage and a lucrative job and sold her to sex trade in India.

AFRICA

South Africa: A 32 year old Nigerian man was arrested on human trafficking charges. He allegedly lured a 18 year old girl with a promise of a job as a house sitter. But, when she arrived in Durban, he drugged her at his apartment, where she was supposed to work as a house sitter. After she was drugged with cocaine, he forced her into prostitution. He was denied the bail.

Global Human Trafficking Roundup (December 7th, 2010)

NORTH AMERICA

California: A youth radio exposes human trafficking and child prostitution in Oakland and San Francisco area. High rates of unemployment, drug abuse, and incarceration are pushing youths further to the streets to be vulnerable to traffickers.

Tennessee: A local sherif catches an international fugitive while pulling him over for speeding. The 28 year old fugitive is wanted in Romania in connection with human trafficking. When the sheriff typed the fugitive's name in the database, the data showed that he is a dangerous and could be armed. The fugitive will be transferred to FBI at an unknown time according to the police.

Texas: Attorney General office is searching for four suspects who are accused of running brothels in three houses in Houston. According to prosecutors, the suspects allegedly were working with a criminal organization at brothels in Houston. The ring leader was arrested on sex trafficking charges last August.

EUROPE

UK: The judge releases the name of a convicted trafficker. His name is Graham Cochrane. He is convicted of one count of conspiracy to sex trafficking of women and two charges of trafficking women into UK for sexual exploitation.

ASIA

Vietnam: Police arrested four Vietnamese for trafficking women to Singapore. The ring leader was sentenced to eight years in jail for trafficking women, and his three other accomplice were sentenced to between three and six years in jail.

Australia: Advocates are calling for tougher rules on strip clubs. They argue that strip clubs should not be treated as night clubs, and alcohol consumption should be banned in strip clubs. they also argue that strip clubs in Victoria are sex venues, where women are grabbed and molested by the customers.