July 2012
14 posts
USA: HOW BACKPAGE.COM WORKS WITH OTHER SITES TO...
DALLAS, Texas, USA by Tod Robberson of The Dallas Morning News (7/30/12) — I received an email two weeks ago from the U.S. Attorney’s office in Dallas mentioning the conviction of a North Texas man for sex trafficking of a minor. He had worked as a pimp and had kept his prostitutes, including a 16-year-old girl, in line using violence and threats. I’ve made a point of always checking these...
USA: THREE TEENS SUE BACKPAGE.COM OVER SEX...
TACOMA, Washington, USA by Kevin Dolak of ABC News (7/30/12) — Three Washington teenagers have filed a personal injury lawsuit against the classified ad website Backpage.com, alleging that the site allowed them to be forced into prostitution for the company’s own financial gain.
The three unnamed girls, now aged 15 through 17, filed the suit in Pierce County Superior Court in Tacoma,...
USA: A SHELTER FOR VICTIMS OF SEX TRAFFICKING...
HOUSTON, Texas, USA by Emily Foxhall of the Texas Tribune via the New York Times (7/14/2012) — On the outskirts of the city, a two-story lodge with a wraparound porch is largely hidden on a 110-acre site in the woods. Horses graze in front of the building, and a volleyball court and educational center stand behind. Down winding paths are a ropes course, a pool and a lake.
But the name of...
USA: HUMAN TRAFFICKING BATTLE MOVES TO THE ER
FORT WORTH, Texas, USA by Marcus Moore of Texas News (07/26/12) — A doctor at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth says human trafficking is a serious problem — and that it is growing.
But medical professionals can be on the front line of defense. “The key is: If you don’t ask the right questions, you won’t ever know,” says Dr. Sophia Grant, a physician who works with...
USA: FIRST FEDERAL SENTENCE FOR SEX TRAFFICKIG IN...
LEXINGTON, Kentucky, USA by Tom Kenny of ABC Local News WTVQ (7/25/12) — Marco Antonio Flores-Benitez, 38, was sentenced Tuesday to 15-years in prison after becoming the first person in Kentucky to be federally convicted of sex trafficking.
His co-defendant, Roxana Serna-Olea, 36, was sentenced to 46-months in prison for persuading someone to travel in interstate commerce to engage in...
WatchVIDEO: “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: The Role of Technology in Human Trafficking” by Microsoft Research. Interesting! http://bit.ly/MX4b6S
INDIA: WHY IS INDIA SO BAD FOR WOMEN?
GUWAHATI, Assam, India by Helen Pidd of the Guardian ( 7/23/12) — Of all the rich G20 nations, India has been labelled the worst place to be a woman. But how is this possible in a country that prides itself on being the world’s largest democracy?
In an ashram perched high on a hill above the noisy city of Guwahati in north-east India is a small exhibit commemorating the life of...
USA: JADA PINKETT SMITH SHINES LIGHT ON HUMAN...
USA by John Parkinson for ABC News (07/17/12) — Congress got an unpleasant wake-up call from Hollywood today: Nearly 150 years after President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, slavery still persists in the United States of America.
Wearing a white T-shirt that declared “Free Slaves” beneath a brown blazer, actress Jada Pinkett Smith testified before Congress today to draw attention...
HOW GOOGLE FIGHTS TERRORISTS AND HUMAN TRAFFICKERS
“Jared Cohen, the director of Google Ideas, talks with Fast Company about illicit networks, reforming extremists, and how illegal arms dealers use the web”. By Neil Ungerleider of Fast Company (7/17/12) —
How do human smugglers use the Internet? What are drug dealers doing with Gmail accounts? Google’s think tank, Google Ideas, is currently holding a conference in Los...
INDIA/NEPAL: THOUSANDS OF NEPALI GIRLS TRAFFICKED...
INDIA/NEPAL, by Palash R. Gosh of the International Business Times (7/12/12) — A district court in Nepal has sentenced a sex trafficker to 170 years in prison, the longest sentence in the country’s history.
Bajir Singh Tamang, 37, was convicted of trafficking poor teenage girls from rural areas to India and the Middle East to work in the sex trade with promises of legitimate jobs.
...
USA: POLICE RAIDS TARGET SPOKANE MASSAGE PARLORS
SPOKANE, Washington, USA by Colleen O’Brien of KXLY.com News (7/10/12) — Early Tuesday afternoon, law enforcement officers raided numerous locations across Spokane in an operation dubbed “Red Light” to crack down on prostitution in local massage parlors.
Multiple locations, including spas, massage parlors and private residences were hit by nearly simultaneously-executed...
INDIA: ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES BEHIND SPURT IN HUMAN...
KOLKATA, India by IANS via New York Daily News (7/11/12) — Human trafficking for purposes other than sex trade has been on the rise in the county. With the increase in the level of economic activities, the demand for cheap labour for industry and agriculture sector has resulted in the increase of the menace, experts say.
“People have a wrong notion that human trafficking is basically...
USA: CALIFORNIANS AGAINST SEXUAL EXPLOITATION ACT;...
CALIFORNIA, USA, by Ryan Gabrielson of of California watch (7/7/12) — Facebook’s former chief privacy officer is bankrolling an anti-human trafficking ballot measure that would dramatically expand how California monitors sex offenders.
The initiative – called the Californians Against Sexual Exploitation Act [PDF] – would toughen penalties for sex trafficking and add those convicted of the...
It’s easier to be ignorant and say I don’t know about the problem. But once you know, once you’ve seen it in their eyes, then you have a responsibility to do something. There is strength in numbers, and if we all work together as a team, we can be unstoppable.” - Craig Kielburger
http://www.architectsofpeace.org/architects-of-peace/craig-kielburger