Ghana Poverty: Ama's story

Child Prostitution - South Africa

Child harlotry victim tells her story

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Child harlotry victim tells her story:

Victims of child prostitution shy away from the The Sunday Mail cameras to save themselves from being shamed by the society.

Shamiso Yikoniko
Child prostitution in Zimbabwe’s mining towns is widespread and authorities trying to deal with the issue say it is “raging like a wild fire”.
Cases of child prostitution are reported to be on the increase, but, sadly, the country has failed to compute reliable statistics due to the secrecy that shrouds this practice.
With the victims usually keeping information to themselves, child prostitution has since evolved into one of the major drivers of HIV and Aids.
Those brave enough to publicly tell their stories are usually viewed with suspicion by a society that finds it difficult to accept their narrations.
The Sunday Mail In-Depth recently linked up with a victim of child prostitution who was ready to tell her story.
Evidence (15) (not her real name), who comes from Mazvihwa Village in Chivi, Masvingo Province, but is now resident in Zvishavane’s mining town of Mandava, said she became a victim of prostitution when she was 11 years old.
“I’m the eldest in a family of three and our parents died of HIV and Aids.  I became the head of the family when I was 11 years,” she said with her head bowed down as if avoiding eye contact with this reporter
Evidence narrated that when she got to Zvishavane, she searched for employment as a housemaid, but she was not so lucky.
Prospective employers turned her down because of her age.
After spending two days in the asbestos mining town sleeping on pavements and with little hope, Evidence decided to venture into one of the nightclubs.
After about three visits to the night spot she could not resist the temptation of men who approached her for sexual pleasures for a fee.
That marked her graduation into adulthood.
But life was not easy and Evidence still wanted to secure a job until she met a woman who offered her free accommodation and food at her house, but for a price.
“The first few months at the brothel were a nightmare. Men were brought to us at any time and the owner of the house would order us into having sex with them,” said Evidence.
“We are not confined to the house because she allows us to go to the streets or clubs at night to make money for ourselves.”
Asked how much she charged per sex session, Evidence replied in shame: “In most cases US$1 for two sessions.”
The young girl has been treated for sexually transmitted diseases about six times.
She has also been a victim of physical abuse at the hands of some rough clients who even refuse to pay for services rendered.
But Evidence recounts some of her good nights when she would hook up a client who paid as much as US$15.
Sadly the better-paying clients do not use protection during the sexual intercourse.
Many young girls are seen parading themselves at various nightclubs and bars in Zvishavane soliciting for men.
Mrs Pauline Muzhewe, the networking and advocacy programmes officer of Padare/Enkundleni, a men’s forum on gender which has intervened to alleviate child prostitution in Zvishavane, said they were working with men at all social levels to stop the sexual abuse of the girl child.
“By engaging men, we are working towards creating a community that protects the rights of these children,” she said.
Child-headed families have been singled as the major driver of child prostitution in small towns.
Investigations also revealed that some children involved in the sex industry in Zvishavane come from families that were affected by the closure of operations at the Shabanie and Mashaba mines.
The mining town has a disproportionately high number of people under the anti-retroviral therapy.
Most rural communities are poverty-stricken, leaving children vulnerable to prostitution.
To support this, Chief Mazvihwa said his area had been hit by poor yields for the last five years, but could not conclude that that was the force behind prostitution in his area.
“I am not in a position to confirm or deny that there is child prostitution taking place in Zvishavane. I have only heard people talking about it,” said Chief Mazvihwa.
“Many children in my area drop out of school to come to Zvishavane to look for employment and nobody knows what they will end up doing at the end of the day,” he added.
A board member of Girl Child Network Zimbabwe, Ms Edna Masanga, said child prostitution was a national problem that needed urgent attention.
“As an activist, I would prefer calling it sexual abuse of the girl child. However, the abuse is on the increase, meaning that laws protecting the rights of children, especially girls, must be crafted,” she said.
Observers say children growing up in morally rotten communities are bound to emulate their elders, hence child prostitution is inevitable.
The chief executive officer of the National Aids Council (Nac), Dr Tapuwa Magure, said the increase in child prostitution across the country was worrying.
“The increase in sexually transmitted infections recorded across the country calls for concern, especially in this day and age of HIV. Indulging in unprotected sex fuels the incidence of HIV in the country,” he said.
According to a Nac annual report, there was a 3 percent increase in the number of new sexually transmitted infection (STIs) cases recorded from to 248 955 cases in 2010 to 255 821 in 2011.
This is, however, in contrast to the 30 percent increase that occurred between 2009 and 2010. For the year 2011, STI cases per province are as follows: Harare 46 978,  Bulawayo        14 747, Manicaland 45 661, Midlands 32 164, Masvingo 53 611, Mashonaland Central 25 992, Mashonaland East 27 503, Mashonaland West 25 640, Matabeleland North 9 851 and Matabeleland South 21 240.

Young girl kidnapped raped and trafficked for prostitution in india Video

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Young girl kidnapped raped and trafficked for prostitution in india Video

In Bombay, children as young as 9 are bought for up to 60,000 rupees, or US$2,000, at auctions where foreigners bid against Indian men who believe sleeping with a virgin cures gonorrhea and syphilis. Child prostitution is more common here in India than any where else in the world. India has more than 1.3 million children in its sex-trade centers. The children come from relatively poorer areas and are trafficked to relatively richer ones. Karnataka, Andha Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu in India are considered "high supply zones" for women in prostitution. Bijapur, Belgaum and Kolhapur are common districts from which women migrate to the big cities, as part of an organised trafficking network. In India, 26 women, 27 girls, 71 boys and 13 children of unknown gender are held in Lilua Shelter, Calcutta; Sheha Shelter, Calcutta; Anando Ashram, Calcutta; Alipur Children's Home, Delhi; Nirmal Chaya Children's Home, Delhi; Prayas Observation House for Boys; Delhi; Tihar Jail, Delhi; Udavam Kalanger, Bangalore; Umar Khadi, Bangaore; Kishalay, West Bengal; Kuehbihar, West Bengal and Baharampur, West Bengal. 

Mumbai India : Minors in Sex Trade Video

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Mumbai India : Minors in Sex Trade Video

A brothel-keeper buys a minor girl for a price anywhere between Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh and earns over Rs 23 lakh in the next five to six years. 
MUMBAI: Sapna's (name changed) hopes of a better life dimmed when a policewoman on a "routine vist" to the dank room in Jamuna Mansion brothel
advised the 13-year-old to stay on, assuring her that it was the safest place for her.

Having done her bit, the policewoman pocketed the 'hafta' (bribe) from the 'gharwali' (brothel-keeper) and walked out. 

Tens of thousands Indian girls kidnapped and forced into prostitution Video

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Tens of thousands Indian girls kidnapped and forced into prostitution Video

In Bombay, children as young as 9 are bought for up to 60,000 rupees, or US$2,000, at auctions where foreigners bid against Indian men who believe sleeping with a virgin cures gonorrhea and syphilis. Child prostitution is more common here in India than any where else in the world. India has more than 1.3 million children in its sex-trade centers. The children come from relatively poorer areas and are trafficked to relatively richer ones. Karnataka, Andha Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu in India are considered "high supply zones" for women in prostitution. Bijapur, Belgaum and Kolhapur are common districts from which women migrate to the big cities, as part of an organised trafficking network. In India, 26 women, 27 girls, 71 boys and 13 children of unknown gender are held in Lilua Shelter, Calcutta; Sheha Shelter, Calcutta; Anando Ashram, Calcutta; Alipur Children's Home, Delhi; Nirmal Chaya Children's Home, Delhi; Prayas Observation House for Boys; Delhi; Tihar Jail, Delhi; Udavam Kalanger, Bangalore; Umar Khadi, Bangaore; Kishalay, West Bengal; Kuehbihar, West Bengal and Baharampur, West Bengal. 

Flood-hit youth being pushed to prostitution

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Flood-hit youth being pushed to prostitution

UMERKOT: As reported by the Dawn News on Tuesday, floods washed away the infrastructure, economy, houses, hearths crops and livestock but mafias are taking advantage of the situation shattering the dreams of future generations by sending Sindh’s youth into male prostitution. Floods have made many a princes pauper bringing them to a naught. Their homes, belongings and future prospects all drained down in waters. Fifteen-year-old Nadeem Chandio of Larkana lost everything to floods and was living with his family in a roadside camp in Hyderabad. He fell in an ugly trap for substance. He was lured for a waiter’s job by an Ustad (mafia man) but is learning to dance. This is only a tip of the iceberg as many thousands of vulnerable children are being trained first to become dancers and subsequently prostitutes. Exploitation of children is now a lucrative business for those in this business and they find ample of opportunities to milk these innocent boys. Chilling realities came to fore when Dawn’s correspondent bumped into some youths who were staying in hotels near railway stations. The place, it came to knowledge, was previously occupied by some dancing boys which was now replaced by some new comers. Further investigation revealed that a mafia was on a lookout for flood-affected families and their children. Posing as gentlemen, mafia people first gel into families through fake kindness and then successfully become guardian of their children by promising job and money both, while children end up as dancing boys who are then sent to festivals, private functions, dance parties and prostitution. Not only their dreams get shattered but their education, social and physical prospects are totally drowned in the sea of vice. These poor chaps wearing anklets not only dance to the tunes of music but are also used for sexual amusements. Ustad Hashim Chandio is busy exploiting the vulnerability of such families by hiring their boys for fake jobs while brain-washing their innocent mind with his evil thoughts. Nadeem is not alone as there are scores of boys from Thatta, Dadu, Ghotki, Sukkur, Larkana, Qambar Shahdadkot and Jamshoro districts and were tricked into becoming dancers and languishing in hotels-cum-sexual amusement dens near Karachi, Lahore and Mirpurkhas railway stations and at places near Badin stop, new bridge, Railway station Hyderabad. Another 16-year-old boy hailing from Tando Adam narrating his ordeals said that he came to Hyderabad three years ago with one of his teenaged relative who said that he was working at a bungalow. The two boys shared the same hotel room where his relative sexually exploited him and eventually he too, became like his relative. Few among them work as masseurs for enticing such customers. Ustad Chandio’s den is near Mirpurkhas railway station. He blames is diabetes for not letting him do a proper job work and thus teaches dancing to teenage boys and sends them to festivals with each earning Rs1000 to Rs1500 per night, of which he bears expenses of transportation, makeup, laundry, food and accommodation and gives Rs7,000 to parents of each boy. He doesn’t fear any action for having good relations with local politicians while paying police its share regularly. He says that he is not the only man involved in this business as many Ustads in Sindh and other provinces provide entertainment to politician, feudal lords and police officials, he said. Recruitment of children for dancing is a severe crime and falls into the domain of child trafficking or forced labour. Moreover, Prevention of Human Trafficking Ordinance 2002 prohibits any kind of exploitation in which children are exposed to abuse.

Flood-affected youth being tricked into ‘evil’ jobs. Courtesy: Dawn News

 

 

 

The complete article can be found at Dawn News

Urgent Need to Support Critical Services for America's Sex Trafficked Children by AMANDA KLOER

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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.

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

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:

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.