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 (April 21, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

New York: U.S. State Department agrees to the UN resolution 86 to ensure the sex workers' access to public services paying attention to their vulnerability and human rights abuse. Sex workers' rights advocacy group argue that the resolution makes the distinction between the sex workers by their own choice and human trafficking victims. However, many anti-huamn trafficking activists argued that this is a political setback.

Hawaii: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission files lawsuit against a few Hawaiian and two other farms, including Global Horizon for trafficking Thai workers. EEOC argued that the defendant engaged in "a pattern or practice of national origin and race discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, when it trafficked over 200 Thai male victims to farms in Hawaii and Washington where they were subjected to severe abuse.” In one case, 60 Thai workers were crammed into one house sharing two bathroom with not enough beds, blankets, etc.

California: Community groups fighting against child prostitution in Oakland see progress. An example of the progress, according to the report, is the convictions of child abuser in connection with child prostitution. Also, for the past three jury trial, the prosecutor was able to receive verdicts for life long sentence conviction.

LATIN AMERICA

Jamaica: Police rescued 14 human trafficking victims including a minor. The victims are from Dominican Republic, Panama, Guyana, and India. Meanwhile, the government authority expressed its plan to further step up its effort to fight against human trafficking. Though Jamaica's rank on U.S. TIP report was improved from Tier 3 to Tier 2, a Senate said that it needs to do more including providing shelters and assistance to victims.

EUROPE

Denmark: Denmark's prostitution law promotes pimping and human trafficking of women. Currently, buying and selling sex are not illegal as long as both prostitute and a john are in the age of 18 or older, and they consented to the solicitation. However, national Police statistics reveal that such legislation with lack of punitive measure and stigma only fosters sex trafficking.

ASIA

UAE: An Uzbek woman appealed the lower court's decision to convict her of trafficking a Moldovan woman. In the lower court, she was convicted of sex trafficking a 21 year old Moldovan woman that she brought to UAE as her maid. The Uzbek woman argued that she has never known the Moldovan woman. The Uzbek woman was arrested when the police raid an apartment after receiving an emergency call asking for help from the victim.

Global human trafficking roundup (April 16-18, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Pennsylvania: A new legislation cracks down on sex trade in massage parlors. The legislation will require parlors to display license to practice massage from the state Board of Massage Therapy. To be eligible to obtain license, a person needs to either attend a massage school or be able to show a five years of experience.

Nebraska: Experts recognized that victim treatment has been improved for the past two decades In the past, the victims are thrown out on the street after the rescue and were told to get better. But, many people recognize the needs of victim assistance and become part of the healing process. In addition, the U.S. attorney applauded the increasing effort of Omaha law enforcement in cracking down on human trafficking.

ASIA

UAE: Two Chinese women are convicted of trafficking two other women and a man. They forced the victims into performing sexual services and massage at a parlor without getting paid. The victims were also subject to threat and confinement.

India: Police arrested three men and rescued three girls in the age between 15 and 17 from a human trafficking ring during the raid. Police suspected that the children were recruited from poor villages to work at a service sector but were going to be forced into prostitution.

Qatar: A new law to combat human trafficking is awaiting for final approval. The legislation will protect trafficking victims in domestic servitude sectors from their abusive employers. It will prevent employers from physically and emotionally abusing their maids and forcing them into labor at a harsh work environment and failing to pay their wages. If convicted, an employer will face up to 15 years and fines running up to QR300,000 under the new legislation.

The Philippines: The local authority in Cebu urged the immigration office to ensure background check on foreign tourists in an effort to fight against human trafficking. The urge to toughen up the measure came about after the recent human trafficking incidents that victimized women and children. Many women and children are forced into prostitution, pornography, and other sexual exploitation in Cebu.

Global human trafficking roundup (April 14, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Rhode Island: A New York man was sentenced to 20 years in jail for forcing two women into prostitution. He brought two women from his home town in New York to Rhode Island by luring them with affection and friendship. He then forced the two women into the internet prostitution by advertising them on Backpage.com. Federal judge released the UAE officer who allegedly forced a Filipino maid into unpaid labor on $100,000 cash bail with GPS monitoring. He was indicted on a charge that he persuaded the Filipino woman to come to the U.S. then forced her into labor for seven days a week without pay. He also is charged with providing false documents stating that he paid her $19,000 to federal agents.

Oklahoma: Oklahoma is a hub of human trafficking, according to the report. Its position along the I-40 and I-35 corridor makes it a hub for traffickers smuggling from in and out of Mexico and Texas cities. Also, the social problems in the state, including high poverty and incarceration rates, attract more traffickers to recruit vulnerable women and children to exploit.

Texas: Vietnamese workers filed a lawsuit in federal court against several companies seeking $200 million in damages for exploiting them with labor. The lawsuit accuses several Vietnamese companies of engaging human trafficking with their co-conspirator American companies, Coast to Coast Resources and ILP Agency. The workers claimed that they lured with a promise a job with $15 an hour wage, but was forced into indentured servitude and subject to poor living conditions.

EUROPE

Ireland: Experts say Irish criminals are partnering with foreign gangs in sex trafficking. Many foreign victims are recruited and smuggled by the criminals from their countries, they are often kept in Ireland by the Irish gangs. The victims are also broken down by the gangs from their own countries in order to be sold to Irish gangs, according to the expert.

France: France aims to tackle demand side of sex trafficking and prostitution. Johns face fines of up to 3000 euro ( a little over $4300) and six month jail term, according to the new plan. One MP argued that johns are knowingly and unknowingly supporting sex trafficking by visiting prostitutes and brothels. According to the report, approximately 80% of women in prostitution are minor and 64% of street prostitutes are controlled by pimps.

ASIA

The Philippines: The Filipino President announced that the country is now off of U.S. watch list on human trafficking. She also said that the Justice Department and National Prosecution Office made 22 convictions in trafficking cases. The U.S. TIP report attributed the significant progress to the higher conviction and prosecution rates by the law enforcement.

UAE: Two men and a woman were sentenced to five years in jail followed by deportation for forcing a woman into prostitution. The victim was the female defendant's sister that the defendant lured to come to UAE to live with her. The victim testified that she was locked up in an apartment with two other women, raped and forced into prostitution by the defendants.

Global human trafficking roundup ( April 13, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Oregon: Senate passes a bill to combat human trafficking in strip clubs. The bill authorizes Oregon Liquor Control Commission to request the proof that the individuals working at strip clubs meets minimum age requirements. If the person fails to prove his or her age requirement, the OLCC can order them to stop working and cite the employer for allowing underage individuals to work at a strip club.

New York: The New York City Mayor's office releases a new PSA to raise awareness of human trafficking. It urges New Yorkers to help identify human trafficking victims. The signs include people whose passports taken away and being forced into work for a long hours at very low or no wages.

Florida: A woman says that she was forced into sex slavery for five years prior to escape. She was a teenager working at a strip club when she was recruited by a man who she thought was her admirer. Her pimp physically and mentally abused her. She was forced to turn the trick on the street in Ohio seven days a week. FBI agent in Tampa says that they rescued 43 children from sex trafficking since 2009.

West Virginia: The head of the agency overseeing 3000 hair and nail salons said that he would send out inspectors later this year to examine whether human trafficking exists in the businesses like in other states. The executive director of the state's Barber and Cosmetologists said that his agency didn't pay attention to forced labor issue until last summer when Ohio announced that major labor trafficking players could be in West Virginia.

ASIA

UAE: Shelter Centers of Human Trafficking Victims establishes 24 hours hotlines for trafficking victims. The hotline will be available in multi languages nationwide. The representative of the Shelter Centers said that the hotline staff will respond to victims' needs including immediate intervention if it deems necessary.

South Korea: Four people were indicted for trafficking seventy women from North Korea. Police said that they forced the women into prostitution in China after buying them from Chinese brokers. The 70 North Korean women were forced into prostitution and live in a small premise run by the four defendants. The four defendants also profited $28,000 from running a prostitution ring between February and November 2009.

Global human trafficking roundup (April 9-11, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

California: Law enforcement officers and politicians in San Diego gathered last Friday to support a bill to increase penalty for gangs running prostitution ring. The bill will go before the Assembly and will add pimping, pandering, and human trafficking to the list of gang related crimes with increased penalties.

North Carolina: A nonprofit group says that the number of Latin American human trafficking victims is on the rise. She also said that the language barrier and cultural difference make the immigration community an easy target. One Hispanic mother's daughter has been missing for four months after she left the house to go to school. The nonprofit group says many Hispanic victims are snatched on the street and forced into prostitution or domestic servitude.

Texas: Police arrested a woman during the undercover sex sting. An undercover officer contacted a message parlor and spoke to a woman named Karla Winters. Upon arrival, the officer was greeted by the woman and received sensual message. The woman requested $200 after the message. Police also found the evidences that she employed other females to perform sensual message and sexual conducts and collect the fee taking half of their profits.

ASIA

New Zealand: The first human trafficking case in Tonga was delayed in ruling. The defense lawyer requested the delay to have more time to review his client's case. The defendant, a Chinese national, has pleaded not guilty to charges including, human trafficking, keeping a brothel. Two victims argued that the defendant forced them into prostitution.

India: A national report says that contraceptive use fosters human trafficking in India. The campaign to promote condom usage earlier this year said that regardless of what brothel one visits, a john is encouraged to use condom. The campaign, the national report argues, endorses prostitution with trafficked victims.

The Philippines: Police rescued over 140 women and 33 minors during the raid operated at a karaoke bar. The raid was conducted after the police saw the karaoke bar advertised on a sex ad site. On the website, the bar advertised that customers can meet hot girls for P4000 ($92.80).

UAE: Three women and a man allegedly lured a female visitor and forced her into prostitution. According to the court document, the victim came to UAE with a promise of a job at a beauty salon. But, upon arrival, the defendants locked her up at an apartment and forced her into sex industry. The defendants denied the allegation.

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 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 (February 26-28, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Colorado: A missing teen's father traveled to speak against human trafficking at a rally. Her teenage daughter was missing since December 28, 2010. The police is spotlighting the ex-boyfriend of the teen's mother as a suspect, since he was the last person who saw the teen. The missing teen's father also said that the police officers wasted a week in search of his missing daughter because of their lack of experience in missing person's case.

Canada: An international watchdogs say domestic helpers may be victims of human traffickers and sexually are abused by the employers. The report recommends that the government must regulate domestic work and recruitment agencies.

EUROPE

Finnland: Many foreign migrants are exploited with labor at shipyards. Twenty workers lived in a small flat room and worked as long as 12 hours a day. They are also placed in industrial buildings even during the winter. However, according to the report, the law is far from protecting these migrants' basic rights.

ASIA

UAE: A carpenter was sentenced to 15 years in jail for sex trafficking seven girls. According to the report, the 28 year old Bangladeshi man locked the victims in an apartment room on the third floor and forced them into prostitution. Police discovered the prostitution ring after one of the victims from Indonesia escaped the apartment by using a rope and reported to the police.

India: Many young women, particularly Muslim girls, are trafficked for forced marriage. One victim from Assam was trafficked to another village and sexually and physically abused when she was 18. Later, her abuser re-sold her to another husband who also physically and sexually exploited her. According to the report, 80% of 100,000 trafficked annually are trafficked for forced marriage.

Indonesia: Three women escaped from a human trafficking ring. They were promised a high paying jobs at a five star hotel in a beach resort. However, after the recruitment agency deducted their salaries, they were forced to drink, sing, and dance erotically with the customers at a local karaoke bar.

AFRICA

Nigeria: Immigration service has installed information technology equipments to fight against human trafficking. The equipments include document fraud readers, scanners, and passenger registration, which will assist the immigration officers to closely monitor who is traveling in and out of the country.

Global human trafficking roundup (February 23, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Arkansas: Local law enforcement receives training on human trafficking and immigration crime. Unlike many people assume, one anti-human trafficking organization says that sex trafficking is happening in Little Rock, Arkansas. one social worker who attended class also stated after the training that she might have been encountered human trafficking a few times over the past years but didn't realize it.

Colorado: A new bill is proposed to tackle demand side of the sex industry in Colorado. If implemented, the bill will require johns to attend classes taught by sex trafficking survivors. However, the program will only be available to the first offenders of prostitution related crimes. According to the experts, the average age at which individuals enter prostitution is 13.

Alabama: Alabama opens the first emergency shelter for trafficking victims and prostitution. The shelter will provide immediate needs for the victims, including, shelter, spiritual guidance, food, and clothing. Eventually, it hopes to provide education opportunities such as GED preparation among many other services.

Arizona: The Senate passed the anti-drophouse bill sponsored by by Sen. Kyrsten Siena. The bill will combat the use of drop houses for criminal activities such as human trafficking. Last year, police discovered that a 9 year old Ecuadorian boy held in captive for four months in a drop house.

ASIA

UAE: An Uzbekistan woman was charged with sex trafficking and running a brothel. She allegedly recruited a female victim from Moldova, locked her up in a room, and forced her into prostitution. According to the victim's testimony during the trial, the woman also confiscated the victim's passport.

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 (February 15, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Texas: Police charged 59 people on prostitution related crimes in Arlington during the days leading up to and on the day of Super Bowl. According to the report, thirteen of them were visitors in the area, three men were believed to be pimps, and one faces a human trafficking charge.

Washington: Two men have pleaded guilty to forcing young women into prostitution. According to the federal prosecutor, they facilitated women's prostitution by providing cell phones, transportation, and motel rooms. They also used threats to force them into prostitution. The arrest was made after the 17 year old victim called her brother and said that she was held against her will at a motel.

South Carolina: The state authority creates a sex offender watch website to protect children from the criminals, including child traffickers. The new website allows a family to monitor registered sex offenders who are prohibited from residing within 1000 feet from school, day care, and children's recreation center, etc.

South Dakota: Three men from South Dakota and Iowa face commercial sex charges after online sting. If convicted, they all can face life in prison. The men were arrested after responding to the online ads posted as part of undercover operation by Homeland Security and the South Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

EUROPE

UK: A Nigerian female pastor is facing a jail term for trafficking children and a woman to keep them as domestic servants in UK. According to the court document, she allegedly smuggled the victims into UK with false passports in 2000. Since then, the victims were kept as domestic workers and routinely subjected to physical abuse.

ASIA

UAE: Four women received jail term for sex trafficking other women in two different cases. One woman was sentenced to three years in jail for sex trafficking another women. Another woman and her assistance each received two year and a year jail sentence for forcing a victim into prostitution. The other woman received three year jail term for sex trafficking her victim. All of them will also face deportation after serving their jail terms.

The Philippines: Police intercepted nineteen victims of human trafficking before they were leaving for Malaysia, according to the report. The victims were illegally recruited by an agency and was about to board a commercial ferry. The interception was part of anti-human trafficking operation at ports in Zamboanga City.

Global human trafficking roundup (February 12-14, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Florida: Planned Parenthood is urged to support human trafficking victims. The organization is currently under the FBI investigation for assisting abortion process for minor trafficking victims. According to the report, the writer pleads the organization to look beyond the politics to help trafficking victims escape sex industry.

Georgia: The governor introduces a new bill to combat human trafficking. The new bill, if implemented, impose tougher penalties on traffickers and provide better assistance to the victims.

Arizona: A CEO of two health food supermarkets is arrested during the child prostitution sting. He was arrested after arriving at a hotel to meet what he believed was an underage prostitute he met online.

EUROPE

Spain: Police busted a prostitution ring in Madrid. The prostitution ring exploited many young girls from various nationalities in four brothels in Madrid. Police also arrested 11 gang members and charged them with human trafficking and other related crimes.

UK: UK launches the first fair trade hallmark for gold. The supporters of the fair trade argues that it will allow the gold to be fully traceable with a certification. According to UN, gold mining is another industry in which children as young as 5 year old are exploited with labor.

ASIA

The Philippines: A woman was convicted of trafficking Filipino women. The investigation began after she recruited two women with a promise of job that did not exist at that time. She also promised the victims' mothers with high salaries but the cost of recruitment would be deducted from their salaries. The victims were forced to work as domestic servants without compensation. One of them was also forced into prostitution.

Pakistan: Ministry of Labor orders the Federal Investigation Agency(FIA) to stop taking complaints regarding human trafficking or overseas recruitment. Instead, National Action Plan for Human Trafficking will be responsible for taking all complaints related to human trafficking and other crimes, according to the report. FIA, however, argued that the order makes the agency a toothless tiger in prosecuting human trafficking.

China: Online effort to reunite missing children with their parents is flawed, the report says. Some critics argue that traffickers may react to the new campaign by taking the children to underground and more lucrative market.

UAE: Three Asian people are arrested for trafficking girls including a 15 year old minor. According to the prosecution, the victims were lured into coming to UAE and forced into prostitution upon arrival. The victims were also locked into a house that was guarded by one of the suspects.

AFRICA

South Africa: Human trafficking in South Africa alarms the authority. According to the report, traffickers often bring women from Zimbabwe by demanding large sum of money. When victims fail to pay the amount, the gangs confiscate the victims' cellphones and jewelry. The traffickers then call victims' family to ask for money or exploit them with labor or sex.

Global human trafficking roundup (February 2, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Arizona: StreetLight opens a safe house for sex trafficking victims. The founder of the organization was a trafficking survivor who became a prostitute in the age of 15. She said that many victims end up being in foster care or even juvenile detention which are not adequate to support victims' needs.

District of Columbia: The U.S. Department of State pledged to fight against human trafficking in more aggressive manner. The State Department therefore is joining federal task force to fight against human trafficking. According to the report, out of million people in servitude, only 5000 were identified as victims. The problem is also most acute in southern states, according to the report.

Michigan: The alleged ring leader who trafficked hundreds of Eastern European women for prostitution in Detroit had lived in Ukraine with a fake name since 2006 to avoid being captured, the report says. When arrested, he had counterfeit Russian passport, which he used to obtain Ukraine citizenship under his fake name.

New York: A human trafficking survivor shares her experience as a victim to fight against human trafficking. The 23 year old woman met her pimp when she lived in group home in the age of 15. He beat her and forced her into prostitution. She also emphasized the importance of awareness raising.

EUROPE

Russia: Two men were arrested on the charges of human trafficking. The authority captured them when they arrived in Minsik to find sex slaves. According to the report, the two young men allegedly recruited three young females and planned on taking them to Moscow for prostitution.

ASIA

Japan: The 2011 report says that the number of human trafficking cases fell by nine from the previous year to 19. The number was the lowest since the government began accounting the number of human trafficking cases in 2001. According to the report, out of total 37 victims, 24 victims were Filipino, 12 Japanese, and a South Korean. Many Filipino women are lured into coming to Japan with a promise of sham marriage to a Japanese citizen but ended up being forced into working at adult industry.

UAE: A male worker and a woman were charged with human trafficking for forcing two women into prostitution. The allegedly traffickers are from Bangladesh and held the two women against their will under debt bondage. The victims were also subject to beating and false imprisonment when they refused to prostitute.

**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 (February 1, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Texas: Authorities say that they are expecting flood of human trafficking during Super Bowl in northern Texas. The conclusion is based on the past mega sports events, in which pimps bring women and children in the area and forced them into prostitution in local motels and hotels. Nonetheless, Super Bowl committee refused to work with the Attorney General by opting not to incorporate anti-human trafficking informations in its event materials.

Missouri: A state representative announced the plans to introduce bill to increase penalties for human trafficking conviction in Missouri. He said that the measure would boost the state's penalties for human trafficking to the same level as federal statute. If implemented, the bill will therefore increase maximum penalties from 15 years to life in prison.

Louisiana: Police arrested a man who forced a 15 year old teenager into prostitution. The victim was sold online for commercial sex and stayed at a local motel for several days after running away from her group home. The tip came after the victim called her aunt who suspected that the teen was trafficked and convinced her to leave her pimp. Police said that there is a possibility of more victims.

Georgia: A 26 year old Louisiana man was sentenced seven years in jail for sex trafficking two minors. He was convicted after the investigator said that he took the teens to Alabama then back to Georgia advertising their commercial sex online.

U.S: Facebook is used by pedophiles who share horrific depicts of child sexual abuse, one report says. According to the report, a closed group on facebook share pictures of child pornography, including the ones that children are duck taped and being raped.

ASIA

UAE: A couple received five years in prison for human trafficking conviction. The man is a 36year old Nigerian guard and the woman is 32 year old Ghanaian citizen. The were convicted of luring two women from African into coming to UAE with a promise of job. Then they forced the victims into prostitution by threatening them with emotional and physical abuse.

AFRICA

Ghana: Two girls opted for court settlement after allegedly trafficked to Northern region for prostitution. They were part of ten victims who were trafficked to the area by three siblings. The girls were scheduled to testify against the siblings but decided to receive compensation from the village elders in Northern region. The details of the compensation is unknown.

Global human trafficking roundup (January 25, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

North Carolina: A woman faces 25 years in jail and $500,000 fine for keeping a 17 year old boy as a slave and starving him. She allegedly forced him to clean her 60 yard trailer yard and withdraw his birth certificate. She denied the allegation. Instead, she told the media that she did the boy's father, who is also an illegal immigrant, a favor by agreeing to take care of the boy.

Nebraska: Police have arrested of human trafficking and pandering. A 42 year old man Jarod Rosenow was arrested Wednesday after an 18 year old woman reported the police of Rosenow. The woman met Rosenow on Craigslist while looking for a female encounter. Rosenow posed as a 22 year old woman. He told the woman that the 22 year old woman is actually a 14 year old boy and threatened her to report to the police and register as a sex offender, if she doesn't have sex with him. The woman never met Rosenow in person.

South Carolina: Police charged a woman in connection with her role recruiting and harboring a 20 year old woman into prostitution. She allegedly forced the 20 year old victim into prostitution to pay off her smuggling fee. Police is still looking for two other men in connection with the case.

EUROPE

Greece: Police dismantled a baby trafficking ring in Bulgaria and Greece. According to the report, five people were arrested in Bulgaria and nine people were arrested in Greece for trafficking Bulgarian babies to Greece. The criminal gang transported pregnant women who agreed to sell their babies in Greece.

ASIA

UAE: Two women were charged with trafficking three women for labor and sexual exploitation. They allegedly forced the victims into prostitution at a massage parlor. According to the report, this is the first case that women are charged with human trafficking.

AFRICA

Ghana: The trial date for three sisters who allegedly forced women into prostitution in Nigeria was postponed. The court was adjourned after the sisters' lawyer withdrew his service because he is traveling. The three sisters allegedly recruited women from Ghana with a promise of job security in Nigeria. Upon arrival, victims were forced to sell porridge during the day and prostitute at night.

Uganda: Police arrested two men for trafficking Ugandan women to Malaysia for prostitution. One woman was promised a job in Malaysia but was locked up in a brothel and forced into prostitution. The victims also had to pay for their own food, water, and electricity on the top of $6000 plane ticket to Malaysia to the traffickers.

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.

Global human trafficking roundup (January 6, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

District of Columbia: The passage of domestic sex trafficking bill was postponed because of the opposition by Senate Jeff Sessions. According to the report, while the bill unanimously passed the House, it failed to do so because of the amendments removed by the House. The amendments removed by the House were imposing "a mandatory minimum sentence “for transporting, receiving or distributing” child pornography and expanded subpoena authority to the U.S. Marshals Service over unregistered sex offenders.

California: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger commuted Sara Kruzan's sentence, a child prostitution victim who was received a life sentence in prison without parol for murdering her pimp. She was sexually and physically abused since she was little and gang raped by her neighbor pimp in the age of 13. When she was 16, she received a jail sentence for life after killing and robbing her pimp. According to the report, he commuted sentence doesn't mean that she will be free from the prison but that she will be given an incentive to continue her rehabilitation and an opportunity to show up on her parol board that she has done so.

ASIA

Philippines: Two policemen are hot pursuit of a possible human trafficking ring at Nino Aquino International airport. The investigation began after the immigration authority uncovered nine Filipino women leaving for Lebanon with fake visa stamps and passports.

Malaysia: The Malaysian authority says that it will receive request IOM to review its human trafficking law. The authority said that it wants to make sure that the national anti-human trafficking law is in accordance with international standards. He further emphasized the importance of international cooperation.

UAE: Abu Dubai appellate court postponed a case involving 13 people accused of trafficking a woman. The lower court trial was held after a woman complained that she was forced into prostitution by the 13 individuals. They also threatened to physically abuse her if she refused.

Global human trafficking roundup (January 4, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

District of Columbia: A woman joins to push a bill to fight against human trafficking around the world. She met up with a few representative to receive support for the bill. The bill, if implemented, will provide multi-year assistance to build criminal system to investigate and prosecute traffickers.

Canada: An organization based on Edmonton launched a national hotline to assist victims of human trafficking. The hotline will provide adequate psychological counseling to the men and women who are victims of human trafficking. The organization representative said that many victims have no place to turn for help. She hopes that the hotline will be available 24 hours a day by spring. Currently, it is open from 12:00 p.m. and 6 a.m.

EUROPE

Ireland: The authority steps to tackle human trafficking. many teens are forced to into prostitution and surrender the profits to their pimps under the threats of violence. But, pimps rarely are brought to justice. A recent case of an Irish man prosecuted for controlling prostitution and money laundering broke the myth that Ireland is immune to human trafficking, according to the report.

UK: A South Yorkshire MP stated that human trafficking conviction on Government report is unbelievably low. According to the Government report, there were only 139 conviction between 2004 and June 2010. The MP further argued that unless the authority began tackling demand side of human trafficking, there would be little change to the shocking figure.

ASIA

Lebanon: Lawmakers will soon pass legislations to combat human trafficking in the country.

According to the report, though Lebanon has separate legislations to fight against human trafficking, the country lacks a comprehensive measure to do so. The judges often make decisions contrary to the international standards because no national legislation in agreement with international laws is available.

UAE: A woman is accused of forcing two women into prostitution and is facing trial. According to the report, the victims stated that the woman met them in their country and lured them into coming to Dubai to work at an African restaurant in Dubai. However, the woman denied the allegation claiming that she never left Dubai.