Technology and the Media
Sex Slave Training Video Game For Sale Under New Euphemism
Published August 05, 2009 @ 12:00PM PT
Earlier this year, women's rights blogger Jen brought you a great story about Amazon.com's refusal to sell the Japanese video game Rapelay, where the main character/player is a stalker and rapist. That company is still selling rape games, plus games focused on "sexual slave training." To skirt regulations, however, they've just given the games new, more euphemistic names.
The website BGamebox which sells these games via download to home computer has recently "removed" the offending categories, but in a Craigslistesque move is just going to rename them. The "ryoujoku" (rape) category has been renamed the "Platinum" category and the and "choukyou" (sexual slave training) category is now the "Thoroughbred" category. They're also renaming individual games. For example, "Gang Raped by the Entire Village: Girls Covered in Milky Liquid has become the slightly-tamer sounding The Trap Set by the Entire Village: Bodies Covered in Milky Liquid. Wow, that new title leaves me totally wondering what on Earth that liquid could be! The content of the games, remains the same.
The fact that these video games, which train players (often young men) how to rape and abuse women and train them as sex slaves, are for sale is bad enough. But these new cleaned up titles mean than now they might be stumbled upon by someone looking for a much less nefarious game. A kid looking for a video game about horses now has a chance of finding one about training women to be sex slaves! How could this possibly be considered an improvement? All this change is doing is marketing exploitative, x-rated video games to unsuspecting audiences.
I did a quick search on Amazon.com for video games and "thoroughbred" and "platinum", and found nothing but games about horses and war, so it looks like Amazon.com is still seeing though the ruse. But the thought of video games that encourage rape and trafficking of women and girls are available to teen boys online is a disturbing one.
Image from escapistmagazine.com
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.
Microsoft, NGO Train Trafficking Survivors in IT Skills
Published July 24, 2009 @ 06:50AM PT
In the Philippines, human trafficking survivors are being given far more than just a safe place to sleep at night. With the help of Microsoft and local NGOs, they are being training in cutting edge IT skills to help them find good jobs and avoid future trafficking.
The IT training program is a partnership between the Visayan Forum Foundation and Microsoft Philippines, and is funded by an Unlimited Potential grant from the latter. Trafficking victims who are rescued by the Visayan Forum undergo training to develop leadership skills and interpersonal communication skills, in addition to their practical IT skills. The goal is to improve their knowledge base and their overall professional capabilities to make them more marketable as workers in the country's mainstream workforce.
Having a marketable skill set can help make vulnerable populations less vulnerable to trafficking and prevent survivors from being re-trafficked. In global economy where even college graduates and professionals are having a difficult time finding work, those without access to education face even more dire financial situations. Many of the skill-building programs which anti-trafficking programs promote are based on manual labor or artisan skills. While those are certainly valuable, IT training can make a survivor especially marketable in the workforce.
Microsoft has repeatedly proved to be a friend and supporter of the abolitionist movement. But this program really shows the innovation of which they are capable.
World Premier: The Killers' New Human Trafficking Music Video
Published July 13, 2009 @ 12:00PM PT
The Killers have teamed up with MTV's Exit Campaign to create a new music video focused on human trafficking. Their previous collaboration with Radiohead produced this, which focused on trafficking in manufacturing. The Killers' video instead focuses on trafficking of children into prostitution.
The world premier of this video is tonight on MTV, but you can watch it here now.
Honestly, I have some very mixed feelings about this video. On the one hand, everything MTV Exit does is brilliantly executed artistically and technically, and this video is no different. I'm also a personal fan of The Killers' music; the song they've created evokes the sort of hip melancholy that usually only happens when an American Apparel store shuts doesn in Brooklyn. On the other hand, the video reinforces some problematic stereotypes- like women and children being trafficking into the sex industry are locked in a room when they're not being raped. I also question who the audience for this music video is. It starts off seeming to be a general awareness activity, but towards the end starts to feel like it's only targeting men who buy commercial sex. I wish it had clearly focused on one group, or the public at large, instead of wavering.
The Radiohead video on human trafficking (as much as I moan about how I'm not a Radiohead fan) did an excellent job of presenting the issue of trafficking as simple and chillingly connected to you as a person. The Killers' video comes across as more sensational and more disconnected from the average MTV viewer. Still despite a few flaws, I hope that this video will help attract MTV viewers and Killers fans (especially those who may buy commercial sex or have friends who buy commercial sex) to learn more about human trafficking.
Now, if only I can download this song onto my Wii for Rockband II, then I can rock out to abolition with The Killers!
10 Abolitionists to Follow on Twitter
Published July 12, 2009 @ 09:00AM PT
While Twitter can help you find when your friends are doing their laundry or what celebrity has recently shown her underwear in public, it can also be a good tool for abolitionists. For example, you can keep up-to-date with this blog @endhumantraffic on Twitter. Here are 10 more abolitionists to follow on Twitter:
1. @DianaScimone:Diana Scimone updates frequently, and has posted a lot of good links to news articles and other items of interest related to trafficking.
2. @Not_For_Sale: This is the account for the Not for Sale Campaign. They have a mix of information about their activities and programs and news items.
3. @IJMHQ: The International Justice Mission posts updates of raids and activities from the field- a great use of Twitter.
4. @mtvexit: The MTV Exit campaign announces their new projects from time to time, which starting Monday is a new video on trafficking with The Killers.
5. @trafficksucks: The name is a true sentiment. Plus, they post helpful updates and inspirational messages.
6. @cliniclegal: This is Catholic Charities' legal arm, but their tweets go beyond both faith-based and legal issues in scope.
7. @ecpatusa: ECPAT has reasonably frequent updates on cases of child sex trafficking and sexual exploitation.
8. @traffickfree: They have great links to news items. And who doesn't love Bono quotes?
9. @thesoldproject: It's more conversation than links at The Sold Project, but the conversation is topical and interesting.
10. @aplusk: This is Ashton Kutcher. He doesn't tweet about trafficking most of the time, but when he does, I always try and reply and encourage him. It's always helpful to have celebrities interested in the issue.
So now that you've got a good start, get tweeting and following. You can also join the human trafficking Twibe I founded here.
Do you know of any abolitionists on Twitter who you'd like to add to this list?
The New Market of Mobile Porn
Published July 08, 2009 @ 07:14AM PT
The porn industry has always been at the fore-front of developing new technologies. It popularized the VCR in the 1980s and quickly blanketed the Internet in the 1990s. And now, porn is going mobile. Mobile phone, that is.
Already, wireless companies in Japan are having capacity issues, as so many users are downloading more and more pornographic films and photos to their mobile devices. And those same companies estimate the amount of revenue from adult mobile downloads will double between now and 2013 to the tune of $4.9 billion. Now that's a lot of porn. In the U.S., the attitude is slightly different. After an app entitled "Hottest Girls" (decidedly soft-core, featuring scantily clad women) appeared in their app store, Apple announced they would not allow pornographic apps on their devices. However, the estimates of the market size- $3.5 billion by 2010- are similar to the Japanese.
So what's the problem with vast amounts of porn being downloaded and watched on cell phones across the country? As with most porn issues, the problem is kids. When porn is mobile, the industry is much harder to regulate. Already, there have been several cases of child pornography showing up on cell phones. It's also harder for parents to monitor what their children are looking at when porn can fit in pocket. And some of the porn that's out on the Internet these days is not of the "Hottest Girls" vein; it's hard-core, violent, and sometimes grotesque. A thriving mobile porn industry makes it much harder for parents and schools to protect children, both from child predators who would harm them and from disturbing and violent pornographic images.
The mobile porn industry is young enough that few meaningful national conversations about how to regulate and control this newest medium have happened. But if we're looking at what will be a $3.5 billion industry in a couple years, well then it's time to start talking.
Image from theiphoneblog.com
10 Weirdest Phrases People Have Googled to Get to This Blog
Published July 05, 2009 @ 09:00AM PT
Like most bloggers, I get curious from time to time how readers find me. A fair amount of the traffic to this blog comes from Google searches, most of which involve the phrase "human trafficking" in some form or another. However, there are always a few search terms people use that perplex me beyond belief. So, just for the sake of amusement, here are the ten weirdest things people Googled to get to this blog:
10. "Corona": Have I ever written about Corona? I don't think so. Have I ever written with a Corona? Probably.
9. "congenital amputee": I had to Google this myself to see what it is, and it's a person born missing a limb. I learned something new, but it has nothing to do with human trafficking.
8. "what causes free sex?": Ummmm.... alcohol? Fourth dates? House parties hosted after a recent break-up? There are a lot of answers to this one.
7."chipotle spam": Was this person looking for a recipe or a way to send unwanted email to Mexican fast food chains?
6. "congressional erotica":Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!! Please, Senator, put it back on!
5. "barely legal 16-18 teen sex": Something tells me this guy wasn't looking for information on human trafficking at all. Talk about a deflating search result.
4. "the truth about the underwear affair":Ok, hipster band or race horse? Or is this an investigator doing some Internet homework? We may never know the truth.
3. "where can I go to buy a lego strip club?": Unfortunately, I had the answer.
2. "brie legal porn": I'm pretty sure sexual interactions between man and cheese are legal in the U.S. Maybe not in Utah, though.
1. "appleseed ex machina hentai nude": WTF?!?! I cannot even begin to guess.
