Sex Trafficking and Prostitution
The Body Shop Fights Child Sex Trafficking with..... Lotion?
Published July 30, 2009 @ 12:14PM PT
Out of all the things I thought would one day be a great tool to prevent child sex trafficking, I never would have picked hand creme. But then again, I'm not an entrepreneurial and humanitarian genius like The Body Shop founder Anita Roddick.
The Body Shop, which is based out of the UK, will soon launch their "Soft Hands, Kind Heart" cream, which is a silky hand lotion infused with fair trade organic olive oil. I have been fortunate to try this lotion out already and it's wonderful (much like other Body Shop products). Over 50% of the proceeds of this new lotion will go to programs to prevent child sex trafficking. Specifically, the money will go to support ECPAT and the Somaly Mam Foundation, both of whom work directly with survivors of child sex trafficking and who create prevention programs for girls at risk.
As of yet, the lotion does not seem to be available at Body Shop stores in the U.S. Update: The lotion is now available at stores across the U.S. as well as online. However, you can order it online here. The campaign is set to formally launch in 60 countries, including the U.S., on August 3. So hopefully by the first week in August, you can stroll into your local Body Shop and buy a tube of awesome lotion to help prevent child sex trafficking.
Does Craigslist Think We're Stupid?
Published July 29, 2009 @ 07:00AM PT
These days, Craigslist is looking more and more like a naughty child who keeps getting caught with his hand in the cookie jar. That is, if the cookie jar were illegal prostitution and pimping of children. It's time for real change.
Amid increasing pressure (some of it from you, dear readers) two months ago, Craigslist agreed to replace their "Erotic Services" section with the more euphemistically-named "Adult Services" section, as if it now offers mostly wine classes and tax preparation. However, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart who sued Craigslist last year claims that prostitution is still thriving in the Adult Services section under a thin veneer.
According to Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, the rampant prostitution ads on Craigslist are
"...so thinly disguised, the real question is how they are permitted to be there if, in fact, the site is doing the screening and policing that they said they will do."
The pressure on Craigslist to remove their "Erotic Services" section stemmed from several cases of minor and adult human trafficking victims being sold via Craigslist. Craigslist claims the new section has strict qualifications to help avoid the exploitation of minors, but they have not yet released what those qualifications are.
I thought, perhaps, as Craigslist claims, all these sheriffs and attorney generals are only attacking the company for personal or political reasons. So I hopped onto Craigslist to see what I could find. Here are a few of the ad titles:
- Bodywork By Black Stunning Transsexual Beauty
- $100- Super Hot Grad student for massage
- S.U.P.E.R.S.T.A.C.K.E.D.massage
- Young sweet Asian girl massage
- Sexy Sexy Sexy Sexy Sexy Sexy
In most of the ads I looked at, the massage skills of the "masseuse" were not mentioned at all, whereas their supposed ages, physical attributes, and prices were described in detail. Sometime, obvious euphemisms like "100 roses per half hour" or "200 diamonds" are used in place of dollar signs.
Unlike Craigslist, I don't think you're stupid. I think you can look at the ads in Craigslist's Adult Services section and tell if they look like ads for legitimate massages, Or if they look like the same escort and prostitution businesses, some of which were pimping minors, that have been on advertised on Craigslist since its inception. Congress has already called Craigslist on their lack of real change. Now you can tell Craigslist you see through their game too, and you're not stupid.
Interview: Human Trafficking Filmmaker Guy Jacobson
Published July 28, 2009 @ 12:00PM PT
Recently, I had the chance to chat with Guy Jacobson, creator of the critically acclaimed film Holly, about a young girl trafficked into prostitution in Cambodia. While making Holly, Guy also started the Redlight Children Campaign to raise awareness about child trafficking.
Rare in the anti-trafficking movement, Guy walks the fine line between the serious subject and being downright funny. His passionate rhetoric is punctuated with his charming, earthy Israeli accent and sharp, self-deprecating wit. It's with a joking twinkle in his eye that he says his career change from high-powered New York lawyer to anti-trafficking filmmaker was a huge disappointment to his Jewish mother. But it is with grave seriousness that he tells the story of traveling through Cambodia and being solicited by throngs of 7, 8, and 9-year-old girls. He recounts,
"'Me yum yum you,' said one of the little girls. ‘Me no have money, then mamasan be boxing me.' She meant that the madam of her brothel was going to beat her that night if she didn't return with money."
It was then Guy decided he couldn't sit back and wait for someone else to help these children.
Amanda: You mentioned that you made Holly to draw attention to the issue of child trafficking. Do you think you've succeeded?
Guy: I would like to believe that the last 7 years of my life have made whatever amount of tiny impact to put this issue more on the agenda, to make it slightly more mainstream. We've tried to use the film to get law firms and associations and corporations involved and active. I hope that people will hear about this issue because of [Holly], people who may not want to hear an academic panel about trafficking but will go see a film. If not, (he chuckles) my mother was right and I should have stayed an attorney and made more money.
Editors Note: Holly has inspired perhaps hundreds of news articles and other media pieces on this issue, so despite Guy's commendable modesty, he has made much more than a slight difference.
Amanda: One of my favorite things about listening to you speak is your use of humor. Given the seriousness of the subject matter, where is there room for humor in anti-trafficking activism?
Guy: In my case, I am just a smartass! But seriously, child trafficking is an incredibly difficult issue, and maybe the reason this issue is not discussed more regularly is that it so emotionally difficult and taxing. It is a gross human rights violation and a crime against humanity. It involves the word "sex", and it makes people want to put their hands on their ears and go "la la la!" So I use a little bit of humor; it's a way to ease people into the issue. Humor can allow people to hear it more easily.
Amanda: Sounds like between your wit and the film you chose to make, you're all about making this issue accessible to as many people as possible.
Guy: Then bottom line is you can't only preach to the choir. You can't only talk about trafficking to the people who already know about it. I realized I knew so little- the scope, the ages of the children, the location and the prevalence. If I didn't know these things, and I'm reasonably educated, then the issue is not in the media. I thought maybe I can leverage mass media to reach the masses.
Amanda: Do you have plans to make another anti-trafficking movie?
Guy: I think there are enough contracts on my life after the first one (he laughs)! When we shot Holly, at the same time we started working on a documentary. It's called Redlight, and Lucy Liu is the producer and narrator. It follows the story of Somaly [Mam] and the kids [in her shelter] for five years. We're in the polishing stages, and we hope it will be premiered in the major international film festivals later this year and released in theaters in 2010. Beyond that, as a filmmaker, I personally don't have another story to tell on this issue.
You can find out more about Holly, Redlight, and Guy's other projects at www.priorityfilms.com and www.redlightchildren.com. The trailer for his Holly is below, and it is now available on DVD on the Priority Films website.
The All-You-Can-Screw Buffet At Danish Brothels
Published July 23, 2009 @ 08:06AM PT
It's tough economic times all over the world, and if the all-you-can-eat buffet is the answer for the struggling restaurant industry, then why not the "all-you-can-screw" promotion in Danish brothels?
This issue recently came to the attention of an anti-trafficking organization when five Eastern European women were forced to participate in this offer at a suburban brothel outside of Copenhagen. The women were forced to perform unlimited sex acts for 900 Kroners (or $170). The organization was tipped off to the situation when a customer complained how little the women were being paid.
Prostitution, like most industries, is seeing an increase in customers looking for a bargain as unemployment rates remain high all over the world. To attract more customers and fetch a higher price, some women have had to offer to engage in acts which they refused to engage in before because they are demeaning or dangerous.
This trend of discount prostitution is frightening, because it indicates a rise in children in prostitution, women in prostitution against their will, and women being abused and controlled by pimps. As prostitution prices drop and discounts like the "all-you-can-screw" package become more popular, the few women in prostitution who control their own prices and work will be pushed out by the cheaper and likely trafficked competition. In the same way diners looking for a discount may be visiting a Golden Corral rather than a Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, prostitution customers may choose the $30 Ukrainian woman over the more expensive Dutch woman. Chances are the former is cheaper because she's not really keeping that money.
All-you-can-eat buffets may be cheap, but they're not really that good or that good for you. All discounts have a price, and prostitution is no exception.
Image from rageagainstthemachine.com
America's Trafficked Children Are Being Arrested, Not Rescued
Published July 22, 2009 @ 12:00PM PT
This was the topic of an unprecedented congressional briefing on capitol hill that took place yesterday. Co- sponsored by the Caucus on Victims' Rights and the Caucus on Human Trafficking, Congressman Chris Smith, Congressman Ted Poe, and Congressman Jim Costa were attentively listening to the challenges and recommendations of the panelists in addressing child sex slavery in America. In addition to the Congressman in attendance - the room was packed with nearly 80 congressional staffers and professionals. A clear message was sent that we are concerned about every victim exploited through the crime of human trafficking and that includes hundreds of thousands of American kids - every year.
The congressional briefing was spurred by the National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: America's Prostituted Children written by Shared Hope International. The report reveals the shocking findings of three years of intensive research on the issue of child sex trafficking in America from ten locations across the U.S. While the research locations ranged from areas as diverse as Salt Lake City, Utah to Clearwater, Florida and Las Vegas, Nevada the findings were hauntingly similar - underage American girls are the bulk of victims in commercial sex markets and are too often being arrested rather than rescued. Additionally, nearly every interview revealed that American child sex trafficking victims were being misidentified or not identified at all by Child Protective Services and social service providers who are responsible for providing proper treatment and care. The arrest and lack of specialized services for these children is causing revictimization.
Important key findings:
- At least 100,000 children are used in prostitution every year in the United States.
- The average age of entry into prostitution is 13 years old.
- Prostituted girls are often controlled by a pimp who recruits them into sex trafficking by posing as a boyfriend, caretaker, and protector.
- The 3 primary manifestations of child sex trafficking in America is: pimp-controlled prostitution, familial prostitution, and/or survival sex.
- The business of sex trafficking of America's youth is flourishing as demand for commercial sex with young, innocent girls and boys continues to occur with little and low punishment.
- Child sexual slavery is fueled by a cultural of tolerance which glorifies pimping and normalizes the sexual exploitation of children.
Domestic minor sex trafficking is a serious problem in the U.S., and one that will not be solved overnight. But the first step is admitting to ourselves that it's not just foreign kids who are vulnerable- it's our kids. And this report is the first step to learning to admit that.
Nigerian Baby Farms Breed Slaves from Slaves
Published July 21, 2009 @ 09:00AM PT
I wish this article were a joke, and that the term "baby farm" was an exaggeration for what is happening to teen girls and their children in Nigeria. It's not. Nigerian girls are being trafficked to breed children in factory farm-like conditions to then be harvested and sold. Both the teens and their children are victims of the baby harvesting industry.
Here's how the baby farm operation works. Poor teen girls are lured into traffickers' hands in many of the ways traffickers lure teen girls for sex- promises of jobs, money, love, or stability. But instead of simply enslaving these girls in a traditional brothel, the traffickers bring them to an illegal clinic where they are raped until they become pregnant. During the pregnancy, they are cared for medically. After they give birth, the babies are sold into slavery for anywhere between $2,500 and $3,800 and the girls are paid $170 for their baby and their "work".
These clinics operate like a factory farm- the seeds are sown via rape into the teen mothers. The babies are then allowed to germinate, are harvested, and are sold as a commodity. I have rarely in my years working with human trafficking systems seen a process so completely dehumanizing to all the people involved. The girls are treated not just as objects but as factories, and the babies are treated as a product. A disturbing addition to this already disturbing story is the fact that some of these children are adopted by well-meaning parents, who believe the clinic is a legitimate adoption agency. They see the payment as an adoption fee and don't realize their child was created via human trafficking and rape in order to turn a profit. Other children, however, are not sold to well-meaning parents at all. Some are sold into slavery.
Thus far, I don't know of any confirmed cases of baby farms outside of Nigeria where the teen mothers were trafficked into the situation. There have been reports of baby farms in other countries like India where the women were all supposedly participating of their own free will. But I cannot help but believe that where there is a profit to be had by the sale of human beings, there will be traffickers willing to do what it takes to make that profit. This is not a uniquely Nigerian crime- in fact, Nigeria has laws preventing the sale of children in the same way the U.S. and the UK and many other countries do.
The photo above is a little tongue-in-cheek, but the reality of these girls' experiences is bleak. The outlook for some of their children is no brighter.
The Pros and Cons of Prostitution Court
Published July 20, 2009 @ 12:00PM PT
Baltimore is certainly not the first city to develop such a specialized court. Dallas began a diversion program last year which has helped women who wanted to leave prostitution but had no options get out. And other cities around the country are starting to re-think the way their criminal justice systems handle prostitution cases.
But do specialized prostitution courts "work"? Many of these programs are only a couple years old, so few cities have hard statistics on whether or not such a court program has significantly reduced the amount of prostitution in the area. A huge pro of having a specialized court system for women with prostitution charges is that it becomes much easier to train the people working in that court to identify children in prostitution and women in prostitution against their will. It also gives women who perhaps entered prostitution willingly but have since wanted to choose something else a way out of the industry.
On the other hand, one con of this system is that some specialized courts and diversion programs may deny due process to the women arrested, forcing them into the treatment program instead of allowing them a full trial to deny the charges. However, this problem seems possible to avoid if the diversion program/specialty court were optional as opposed to mandatory. Another con is that depending on how such a court is handled, it could be used to further stigmatize women charged with prostitution.
As cities like Baltimore and Dallas begin to track the progress of their specialized courts, other cities will be able to use their data and experiences to improve their own court systems. Hopefully, these specialized courts will help other criminal justice systems focus more on providing services to women in prostitution and identifying which women are trafficking victims. Do you have a specialized prostitution court in your area? Do you think it has worked?
Image from sharonherald.com
