Urgent Need to Support Critical Services for America's Sex Trafficked Children by AMANDA KLOER
Each year, over 100,000 American children are trafficked into the commercial sex industry — on street corners, through websites, and in brothels. But there are only 80 shelter beds in the entire country for those 100,000 victims. You can change that by asking your representative to support and fund critical services for American victims of child sex trafficking.
Child sex trafficking of American children into prostitution has become a national epidemic. The average age an American child is first bought and sold for sex is 12-13 years old. While they are being repeatedly sold to men and raped, they often suffer from violence, trauma, sexually transmitted infections, substance abuse, and long-term health problems. Without proper care and rehabilitation, these children risk continued sexual exploitation and in some cases, continuing the cycle of violence by becoming abusers themselves. However, when child sex trafficking victims have access to shelter, counseling, mental and medical health care, and other critical services, they are often able to overcome their trauma. Unfortunately, the current funding of trafficking services in the U.S. makes it very challenging for U.S.-born victims to access these services.
The Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act of 2010 would help get American victims the help they need. If passed, the bill will award six block grants to state or local entities who have a plan to investigate, prosecute and deter sex trafficking, while at the same time providing special services and shelter to victims. It would also help local law enforcement reach out to at-risk populations, like runaway and homeless youth, before the pimps do. And it would help fill the massive gap between the number of children being exploited in America and the number of shelter beds ready for them.
Child sex trafficking of American children into prostitution has become a national epidemic. The average age an American child is first bought and sold for sex is 12-13 years old. While they are being repeatedly sold to men and raped, they often suffer from violence, trauma, sexually transmitted infections, substance abuse, and long-term health problems. Without proper care and rehabilitation, these children risk continued sexual exploitation and in some cases, continuing the cycle of violence by becoming abusers themselves. However, when child sex trafficking victims have access to shelter, counseling, mental and medical health care, and other critical services, they are often able to overcome their trauma. Unfortunately, the current funding of trafficking services in the U.S. makes it very challenging for U.S.-born victims to access these services.
The Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act of 2010 would help get American victims the help they need. If passed, the bill will award six block grants to state or local entities who have a plan to investigate, prosecute and deter sex trafficking, while at the same time providing special services and shelter to victims. It would also help local law enforcement reach out to at-risk populations, like runaway and homeless youth, before the pimps do. And it would help fill the massive gap between the number of children being exploited in America and the number of shelter beds ready for them.
Texas Bar Owner Sold Sex With Undocumented Immigrant Teens by Maia Blume
The search for opportunity that America so graciously promises has ended in despair once again. This time, three young Honduran teens made the long trek up to Texas and landed nice jobs at a local bar in McAllen, eager to start a new life. But rather than being greeted with aprons, cleaning rags and hairnets upon showing up for work on the first day, the three Honduran girls, ages 14, 15 and 17, were given skimpy and revealing clothes. Then, they were put to work wining and dining older men and servicing them sexually for a few small bills.
Beleal Garcia Gonzalez lured the girls to work at his bar by promising a salary of $700 a — a pretty enticing chunk o' change. After making the long and risky trip up to Texas, the girls were then promised a salary of only $120 a week, most of which they never saw because Gonzalez forced them to work off nearly $5,000 in "smuggling" debt.
To the credit of a few very astute U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, the girls were spotted walking home in rather revealing clothing for a cold and rainy winter night and were promptly picked up and rescued. Now, nine months later, their trafficker and pimp has presented his case before a jury. Just last Thursday, jurors promptly handed down a decision. The verdict? Apparently upstanding citizen Mr. Gonzalez was found guilty of sex trafficking and harboring illegal immigrants.
U.S. Commits $10 Million to Fight Child Labor in Chocolate Industry By Amanda Kloer
Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis recently announced that the U.S. would commit $10 million to combat child labor and child trafficking in the cocoa industry. But while the U.S. government might be stepping up to the task of ending child slavery on cocoa farms, Big Chocolate companies are still refusing to act. We need chocolate giants like Hershey and Cargill to stand with the U.S. government and make a real commitment to ending child labor by sourcing Fair Trade cocoa.
The $10 million pledge will create what Solis called "A New Framework of Action," specifically focused on protecting children in the cocoa sectors of Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire. The project will build community-based monitoring systems to investigate and identify child labor and child slavery, get former child workers back into school, and provide trafficked and at-risk children with supportive services. The new plan will be implemented under the Harkins-Engel protocol, a 2001 agreement to reduce child labor, signed with members of the cocoa industry. While Ghanaian officials have praised the protocol as having achieved greater awareness of the problem, critics have claimed the agreement is watered down and toothless. Under the protocol, chocolate companies are required to create their own voluntary standards for reducing child labor, which many have claimed has led to inaction.
This new financial commitment and rubric from the U.S. government may be just the thing to revitalize efforts to reduce child labor in Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire. But no matter how much money the U.S. is willing to commit or how hard African officials work to implement changes, child labor and child slavery in the cocoa industry will never be vanquished without the help of major chocolate companies. As long as there is a demand for cheap cocoa without labor standards, there will be those willing to enslave children to supply it. And as long as companies like Hershey, Mars, and Cargill refuse to buy Fair Trade cocoa, child labor in the chocolate industry will flourish. It's time to tell Big Chocolate CEOs we want Fair Trade chocolate.
Emma Thompson Releases Anti-Slavery Concept Album by Amanda Kloer
Emma Thompson, who is quickly becoming the hardest working woman in show biz and the and the anti-trafficking movement, has released a concept album seeking to humanize the issue of human trafficking. You can help make work like Thompson's possible by supporting the arts as a tool to end human trafficking.
The album Just Enough for the Real World was created in partnership with UK charity The Helen Bamber Foundation, of which Emma Thompson is the current chair. With musician/producer Phil Knight, Thompson brought together twelve artists to create original tracks that would emotionally connect listeners to the experiences of victims of modern-day slavery. That may sound depressing, but the album itself is the exact opposite of depressing -- it's upbeat, danceable, and even peppy. Tracks range from deep, bluesy rock to almost bubble-gum pop . It's music which in many ways evokes feelings of freedom and joy, not slavery and pain. But according to Thompson in an interview, creating a life-affirming music experience was part of the goal.
Just Enough for the Real World comes on the heels of the re-staging of Thompson's Journey project, a combination art and public awareness instillation that takes participants through the experience of a trafficked woman in a series of container cars. Journey was initially launched in London and New York last year to rave reviews, and will be making additional rounds this year.
Between the art and the music, Emma Thompson is becoming the poster girl for using the arts to raise awareness about human trafficking. The arts have long been a powerful tool to communicate important issues to the public, and Just Enough for the Real World and Journey are bringing that powerful advocacy to the anti-trafficking movement. If you'd like to help make more projects like the ones Thompson has embraced possible, tell your representatives funding arts programs is key to preventing human trafficking.
10 Ways to Fight Slavery While Watching Football by Amanda Kloer
Football season is here, which means that Saturdays, Sundays, and Monday nights around the country are now full of fantasy updates, nachos, and alternating elation and sorrow. But if you have a computer, you can fight slavery and human trafficking from your favorite seat without missing a minute of action. Here are ten ways to fight slavery while watching football:
1. Sign Change.org petitions while you wait: Fill the time during those ever-longer commercial breaks by hopping online and signing some of the hundreds of petitions to end human trafficking at Change.org. Just by signing, you're adding your voice to the thousands who are calling out for change.
2. Talk to your fantasy league: If you're in a fantasy league that chats during games, send out a link to an interesting article about human trafficking. For example, did you know many sports balls are made with child labor? Does the rest of your fantasy league?
3. Update your Facebook: Between updates of the game scores, add in a link to an article or action about human trafficking. For example, tell your friends to ask the Commonwealth Games Federation to stop using child labor to build their stadiums.
4. Tweet during the game: Tweet out a message about modern-day slavery to your followers, especially if you normally tweet sports. You'll find a whole new audience and might inspire some people to get involved.
5. Design a t-shirt during down time:If you like to doodle while you watch, then check out the Blind Project. They're looking for awesome t-shirt designs to help tell the stories of and support trafficking survivors.
"They Would Put Me in a Crate to Hide Me" by Angela Longerbeam
The search for opportunity that America so graciously promises has ended in despair once again. This time, three young Honduran teens made the long trek up to Texas and landed nice jobs at a local bar in McAllen, eager to start a new life. But rather than being greeted with aprons, cleaning rags and hairnets upon showing up for work on the first day, the three Honduran girls, ages 14, 15 and 17, were given skimpy and revealing clothes. Then, they were put to work wining and dining older men and servicing them sexually for a few small bills.Beleal Garcia Gonzalez lured the girls to work at his bar by promising a salary of $700 a — a pretty enticing chunk o' change. After making the long and risky trip up to Texas, the girls were then promised a salary of only $120 a week, most of which they never saw because Gonzalez forced them to work off nearly $5,000 in "smuggling" debt.
To the credit of a few very astute U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, the girls were spotted walking home in rather revealing clothing for a cold and rainy winter night and were promptly picked up and rescued. Now, nine months later, their trafficker and pimp has presented his case before a jury. Just last Thursday, jurors promptly handed down a decision. The verdict? Apparently upstanding citizen Mr. Gonzalez was found guilty of sex trafficking and harboring illegal immigrants.
U.S. Commits $10 Million to Fight Child Labor in Chocolate Industry By Amanda Kloer
Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis recently announced that the U.S. would commit $10 million to combat child labor and child trafficking in the cocoa industry. But while the U.S. government might be stepping up to the task of ending child slavery on cocoa farms, Big Chocolate companies are still refusing to act. We need chocolate giants like Hershey and Cargill to stand with the U.S. government and make a real commitment to ending child labor by sourcing Fair Trade cocoa.The $10 million pledge will create what Solis called "A New Framework of Action," specifically focused on protecting children in the cocoa sectors of Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire. The project will build community-based monitoring systems to investigate and identify child labor and child slavery, get former child workers back into school, and provide trafficked and at-risk children with supportive services. The new plan will be implemented under the Harkins-Engel protocol, a 2001 agreement to reduce child labor, signed with members of the cocoa industry. While Ghanaian officials have praised the protocol as having achieved greater awareness of the problem, critics have claimed the agreement is watered down and toothless. Under the protocol, chocolate companies are required to create their own voluntary standards for reducing child labor, which many have claimed has led to inaction.
This new financial commitment and rubric from the U.S. government may be just the thing to revitalize efforts to reduce child labor in Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire. But no matter how much money the U.S. is willing to commit or how hard African officials work to implement changes, child labor and child slavery in the cocoa industry will never be vanquished without the help of major chocolate companies. As long as there is a demand for cheap cocoa without labor standards, there will be those willing to enslave children to supply it. And as long as companies like Hershey, Mars, and Cargill refuse to buy Fair Trade cocoa, child labor in the chocolate industry will flourish. It's time to tell Big Chocolate CEOs we want Fair Trade chocolate.
Emma Thompson Releases Anti-Slavery Concept Album by Amanda Kloer
Emma Thompson, who is quickly becoming the hardest working woman in show biz and the and the anti-trafficking movement, has released a concept album seeking to humanize the issue of human trafficking. You can help make work like Thompson's possible by supporting the arts as a tool to end human trafficking.The album Just Enough for the Real World was created in partnership with UK charity The Helen Bamber Foundation, of which Emma Thompson is the current chair. With musician/producer Phil Knight, Thompson brought together twelve artists to create original tracks that would emotionally connect listeners to the experiences of victims of modern-day slavery. That may sound depressing, but the album itself is the exact opposite of depressing -- it's upbeat, danceable, and even peppy. Tracks range from deep, bluesy rock to almost bubble-gum pop . It's music which in many ways evokes feelings of freedom and joy, not slavery and pain. But according to Thompson in an interview, creating a life-affirming music experience was part of the goal.
Just Enough for the Real World comes on the heels of the re-staging of Thompson's Journey project, a combination art and public awareness instillation that takes participants through the experience of a trafficked woman in a series of container cars. Journey was initially launched in London and New York last year to rave reviews, and will be making additional rounds this year.
Between the art and the music, Emma Thompson is becoming the poster girl for using the arts to raise awareness about human trafficking. The arts have long been a powerful tool to communicate important issues to the public, and Just Enough for the Real World and Journey are bringing that powerful advocacy to the anti-trafficking movement. If you'd like to help make more projects like the ones Thompson has embraced possible, tell your representatives funding arts programs is key to preventing human trafficking.
10 Ways to Fight Slavery While Watching Football by Amanda Kloer
Football season is here, which means that Saturdays, Sundays, and Monday nights around the country are now full of fantasy updates, nachos, and alternating elation and sorrow. But if you have a computer, you can fight slavery and human trafficking from your favorite seat without missing a minute of action. Here are ten ways to fight slavery while watching football:
1. Sign Change.org petitions while you wait: Fill the time during those ever-longer commercial breaks by hopping online and signing some of the hundreds of petitions to end human trafficking at Change.org. Just by signing, you're adding your voice to the thousands who are calling out for change.
2. Talk to your fantasy league: If you're in a fantasy league that chats during games, send out a link to an interesting article about human trafficking. For example, did you know many sports balls are made with child labor? Does the rest of your fantasy league?
3. Update your Facebook: Between updates of the game scores, add in a link to an article or action about human trafficking. For example, tell your friends to ask the Commonwealth Games Federation to stop using child labor to build their stadiums.
4. Tweet during the game: Tweet out a message about modern-day slavery to your followers, especially if you normally tweet sports. You'll find a whole new audience and might inspire some people to get involved.
5. Design a t-shirt during down time:If you like to doodle while you watch, then check out the Blind Project. They're looking for awesome t-shirt designs to help tell the stories of and support trafficking survivors.
"They Would Put Me in a Crate to Hide Me" by Angela Longerbeam
I’ll be honest – I don’t often watch videos on the subject of human trafficking, as they’re more than a bit intense. My imagination responds actively enough to written accounts, thank you very much. However, every once in awhile at least, it’s important to open one’s eyes and really see. From Sept. 17 to Sept. 30, Explore.org is running a Human Rights Series that includes a video from the Rescue Foundation on sex trafficking in Mumbai, addressing the approximately 25,000 girls there who are forced into prostitution.
Hailing from India, as well as Nepal and Bangladesh, the girls are kidnapped by strangers while going about their daily business and trafficked into a brothel. Or, subject to extreme poverty, they are sold or otherwise abandoned by their families. The outlawed practice of Devadasi, too, often leaves women and girls with no other options than brothel life.
Subject to both physical and mental tortures in darkened rooms, starved, beaten and drugged to ensure their compliance, the girls are made to feel completely hopeless and trapped by their brothel owners – sometimes quite literally. One girl noted that whenever police strode by the building, “They would put me in a crate to hide me.” And Rescue Foundation workers note that this practice of hiding away is not uncommon, as during raids, they often do not see the girls right away.
Demi and Ashton Launch "Real Men Don't Buy Girls" with Snoop Dogg, Others by Amanda Kloer
This week at the Clinton Global Initiative, Hollywood power couple Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher announced the launch of their "Real Men Don't Buy Girls" campaign to fight child sex trafficking. Rumored to be on board with the campaign so far are Ben Stiller, Michael Phelps, and even Snoop Dogg. If Demi and Ashton can get Snoop Dogg to speak out against pimping, maybe they can actually get men to stop buying sex from children.
The campaign is being launched through the DNA Foundation, the organization the pair created to further their efforts to fight human trafficking, and specifically sex trafficking of children, here in the U.S. Unsurprisingly, the two techno-philes will be working closely with an impressive slew of tech companies, including Microsoft, Google, Twitter, Facebook, Square, and Blekko to develop tech-based solutions to the problem of child sex trafficking. This component of the partnership is critical, as more and more child sex trafficking moves into the cyber realm, facilitated through websites, smartphones, and social networking.
The forethought that has gone into the "Real Men Don't Buy Girls" campaign marks Demi and Ashton as true activists who have risen far above the stereotype of celebrities giving lip service to popular causes. They are digging in and bringing an impressive cadre of men along with them -- a comedy icon, a star athlete, and a hip-hop legend. Hopefully, the campaign will inspire more male celebrities to stand up and speak out against child sex trafficking.
"Real Men Don't Buy Girls" is based on the idea that high-profile (and quite frankly, enviable) men speaking out against child sex trafficking can help reduce the demand for young and younger girls in the commercial sex trade. Celebrities modeling behavior for the rest of us may seem like one of the oldest tricks around, but its still one of the most effective. We already follow the lead of many of our favorite celebrities, whether its their shoes, their hair, or their stints in rehab. Now men around the country will have powerful and influential voices telling them not to buy sex with girls, and opening up a conversation about how demand for commercial sex can lead to trafficking.
You can help Demi and Ashton's efforts to reduce child sex trafficking online by asking Village Voice Media to stop advertising for prostituted children on Backpage.com. You can also check out their announcement at Clinton Global Initiative after the jump:
The campaign is being launched through the DNA Foundation, the organization the pair created to further their efforts to fight human trafficking, and specifically sex trafficking of children, here in the U.S. Unsurprisingly, the two techno-philes will be working closely with an impressive slew of tech companies, including Microsoft, Google, Twitter, Facebook, Square, and Blekko to develop tech-based solutions to the problem of child sex trafficking. This component of the partnership is critical, as more and more child sex trafficking moves into the cyber realm, facilitated through websites, smartphones, and social networking.
The forethought that has gone into the "Real Men Don't Buy Girls" campaign marks Demi and Ashton as true activists who have risen far above the stereotype of celebrities giving lip service to popular causes. They are digging in and bringing an impressive cadre of men along with them -- a comedy icon, a star athlete, and a hip-hop legend. Hopefully, the campaign will inspire more male celebrities to stand up and speak out against child sex trafficking.
"Real Men Don't Buy Girls" is based on the idea that high-profile (and quite frankly, enviable) men speaking out against child sex trafficking can help reduce the demand for young and younger girls in the commercial sex trade. Celebrities modeling behavior for the rest of us may seem like one of the oldest tricks around, but its still one of the most effective. We already follow the lead of many of our favorite celebrities, whether its their shoes, their hair, or their stints in rehab. Now men around the country will have powerful and influential voices telling them not to buy sex with girls, and opening up a conversation about how demand for commercial sex can lead to trafficking.
You can help Demi and Ashton's efforts to reduce child sex trafficking online by asking Village Voice Media to stop advertising for prostituted children on Backpage.com. You can also check out their announcement at Clinton Global Initiative after the jump:
Commonwealth Games Stadiums Built By Children As Young As Three by Amanda Kloer
Horrifically, children as young as three have been building stadiums for the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India. And worse yet, construction managers have actually bribed poor parents to bring their children
to the dangerous work site. It's time to tell the Commonwealth Games Federation that child labor is not sporting.
For those of us on the West side of the pond, the Commonwealth Games are like the Olympics for former members of the British Empire. This year, the games will be held in Delhi starting October 3. Scheduled to compete are athletes from England, Scotland, Australia, India, and several other countries. But construction of the arenas has been lagging, and the Commonwealth Games Federation has been getting desperate to get the stadiums built on time. Their answer? Send in the children!
Construction managers have been offering desperate Indian workers incentives like extra bread and milk to bring their children with them to the construction site of the stadiums. The result? Children as young as three have been seen working in dangerous piles of rubble on a construction project that has already killed at least 45 people, including a two-year-old girl. Pre-school aged children rake pebbles into bags that kids who should be in elementary school haul away. One 15-year-old boy claimed he was paid just $5 for a 12 hour shift of heavy manual labor. The work is brutal and the days are long,but Indian families need the money and the extra food being used to lure their children into the fray.
Last month, a human rights investigator for the UN said the Delhi Commonwealth Games should be called off, since they have caused widespread displacement of the Indian people and horrific child labor. Many officials have also expressed safety concerns about the construction of the stadiums. But despite documentation of child labor and other human rights and safety issues, the Commonwealth Games Federation declared that the games are still on. However, they have made no indication they will stop using child labor in construction or stop bribing poor workers with milk to risk their children's lives. Ask the Commonwealth Games Federation to stop using child labor immediately.
Horrifically, children as young as three have been building stadiums for the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India. And worse yet, construction managers have actually bribed poor parents to bring their children
to the dangerous work site. It's time to tell the Commonwealth Games Federation that child labor is not sporting.For those of us on the West side of the pond, the Commonwealth Games are like the Olympics for former members of the British Empire. This year, the games will be held in Delhi starting October 3. Scheduled to compete are athletes from England, Scotland, Australia, India, and several other countries. But construction of the arenas has been lagging, and the Commonwealth Games Federation has been getting desperate to get the stadiums built on time. Their answer? Send in the children!
Construction managers have been offering desperate Indian workers incentives like extra bread and milk to bring their children with them to the construction site of the stadiums. The result? Children as young as three have been seen working in dangerous piles of rubble on a construction project that has already killed at least 45 people, including a two-year-old girl. Pre-school aged children rake pebbles into bags that kids who should be in elementary school haul away. One 15-year-old boy claimed he was paid just $5 for a 12 hour shift of heavy manual labor. The work is brutal and the days are long,but Indian families need the money and the extra food being used to lure their children into the fray.
Last month, a human rights investigator for the UN said the Delhi Commonwealth Games should be called off, since they have caused widespread displacement of the Indian people and horrific child labor. Many officials have also expressed safety concerns about the construction of the stadiums. But despite documentation of child labor and other human rights and safety issues, the Commonwealth Games Federation declared that the games are still on. However, they have made no indication they will stop using child labor in construction or stop bribing poor workers with milk to risk their children's lives. Ask the Commonwealth Games Federation to stop using child labor immediately.
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