Start Early to Prevent Child Sex Human Trafficking

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell recently signed into legislation several bills aimed to combat human trafficking within the state.  There is concern, however, about the future implementation of the legislation that requires the Board of Education and the Department of Social Services to provide awareness and training materials for local school divisions on human trafficking, including strategies to prevent trafficking of children

Holly Smith was 14 years old when a man spotted her in the mall, lured her away from home, and forced her into prostitution.  She knows that prevention strategies are paramount and must begin early. Traffickers target young people in their pre-teen and early teen years who are struggling with self-identity and self-confidence issues. To outsmart traffickers who are preying on our children, we must initiate prevention strategies early on in elementary and intermediate school. The most effective tactic to fighting traffickers is arming children with self-confidence, and the best way to boost a child’s self-confidence is to support them through the awkward, and sometimes painfully difficult, transitions of childhood and to help strengthen their self-identity.  By doing this, a child will be less prone to manipulation and coercion by predators.

FAIR Girls of Washington D.C. was created to empower girls in the U.S. and around the world who have been forgotten or exploited, or who are otherwise at-risk of not reaching their full potential.  Through prevention education, compassionate care, and survivor-inclusive advocacy, FAIR Girls aims to create opportunities for girls to become confident, happy, and healthy.  FAIR Girls offers the following warning signs for potential child trafficking in students:

• A sudden withdrawal from friends or classmates
• Unexplained absences, particularly on Thursdays or Fridays
• A sudden shift in dress – particularly toward provocative or risqué clothing
• A new, much older boyfriend
• A growing occurrence for suddenly texting or wanting to step out of class to talk to someone
• A new, expensive phone and/or clothing that costs outside the student’s price range
• Talk of going “clubbing” or dancing
• Talk of travel or going somewhere outside of the city

Learn more at Holly Austin Smith’s Washington Times article: Start strategies to prevent child trafficking early.

Hotels Stopping Sex Trafficking

Illegal sex trafficking, often involving child victims of human slavery, is a very real and prevalent concern both in the United States and abroad, and now more than ever hoteliers need to remain vigilant.

Incorporating nonprofit Polaris Project’s key points within their own corporate cultures has gone a long way for Hilton Worldwide and the Wyndham Hotel Group. These major hospitality firms have recognized that it is essential to have staff trained to both recognize the hallmarks of human trafficking and take action when prudent. In addition, Hilton Worldwide and Wyndham Hotel Group have endorsed ECPAT’s Code for the Protection of Children in Travel and Tourism.

“Unfortunately, as long as there are criminals profiting from this practice, no single hotel or company will ever be able to fully guarantee that these events won’t occur in the future,” said Christopher Nowak, senior VP of legal at Wyndham Hotel Group. “That said, there are measures that a hotel can take to help lessen the chances of it happening and more quickly put an end to it when it does. This starts with proper training for hotel employees so that they know how to identify when trafficking may be taking place and what to do when they suspect that it is.”

According to Polaris literature, key indicators of trafficking/slavery include:

• Presence of an overly controlling and abusive “boyfriend”
• Inability to look in the eyes or face of people, especially the “boyfriend”
• Injuries/signs of physical abuse or torture
• Signs of malnourishment
• Restricted or controlled communication
• Demeanor of fear, anxiety, depression, submissive, tense, nervous
• Claims of being an adult although appearance suggests adolescent features
• Lack of identification documents (ID, birth certificate, Social Security card)
• Presence of different aliases and ages
• Lack of knowledge of a given community or whereabouts
• Frequent movement
• Claims of “just visiting” and inability to clarify addresses
• Few or no personal possessions
• Inconsistencies in their story

Clues can be subtle—or obvious—but what’s essential is that staff is trained to both recognize the hallmarks and take action when prudent.

Marriott spokeswoman Felicia Farrar McLemore said, “As governments, law enforcement agencies and nongovernmental organizations address human-rights issues, we are aligned with the growing number of corporations that provide their commitment and support to these efforts.”

Learn more at Brendan Manley’s Hotel News Now article: Thwarting the skin trade.

Businesses Can Fight Human Trafficking

The Business Coalition Against Human Trafficking (BCAT) has been newly formed at the Minnetonka, Minnesota headquarters of Carlson, a travel and hospitality corporation.  Led by its chairman and former CEO, Marilyn Carlson Nelson, the Carlson Corporation has been outspoken about the need for businesses to do their part to stop trafficking. Its hotels around the globe have implemented anti-trafficking protocols and training.

Businesses can play a key role in the fight, said Deborah Cundy, a vice president with Carlson who is active in the coalition. “Once you’re aware of the problem, it’s very difficult to walk away from it,” she said. “There aren’t too many companies that can’t help in some way to make sure that they are not unwillingly involved in human trafficking.”

Learn more at Allie Shah’s Star Tribune article: Businesses play trafficking cops.

Showing Women the Way Out

Tears still flow when Theresa Briscoe talks about the physical and emotional abuse she endured as a child.  “Those events convinced me I was worthless,” she said. “I ran away from home and that was when things went from bad to worse.”

Before long, men who noticed the homeless little girl sleeping under bridges and picking through trash cans for food recognized a victim ready to be made and offered her money for sex. At age 15 she was being sold for sex. This is Theresa Briscoe’s story about becoming a victim of human trafficking, but it is also the story of a majority of the young women working in prostitution across America. For over a decade she was arrested for prostitution, beaten by pimps and johns, drugged almost to death and taken from state to state when legal troubles got too serious.

After they received threats on their lives, the authorities moved Briscoe and her daughter to Great Bend where the next chapter of her life would begin to be written. “Those women [of the Baptist Church] were relentless,” Briscoe said. “Finally, they asked us over for a meal and we went. Soon I was in a car with them and they led me to the Lord.” Finding Jesus didn’t make the problems of the world go away for Briscoe. There was a lot of damage inflicted in 30 hard years. But a little more than a year of Theophostic Prayer Ministry has led to a devotion to both her God and the girls who she wants to rescue from the streets. She now works with church groups and other organizations to try to help those who are still living that life to get out.

“We have to pray for these girls. We have to love them enough to do something,” she said. “The church needs to go to these girls and not be intimidated,” she said. “There are so few survivors like me who can go on the streets and reach out to these girls directly. But the church is huge and God can make a major difference through the church.”

Learn more at Kent Bush’s Augusta Gazette article: Briscoe shows women the way out.

Prostitution and Sex Trafficking

While some people propose legalizing prostitution, those who have actually been involved with this sordid trade know just how wretched it is, and why it never should be legalized. The harm it does to women, men, children, families and societies is just far too great.

Tania Fiolleau, a former prostitute and madam, states: “… it is a tragedy for any young girl or women to enter into the hell of prostitution. They become our nation’s lost women. They become victims of a dark and sinister sex enslavement. Their life is one of agony and horror. Jail-time and social humiliation is too little of a punishment for those who engage in or perpetrate the crime against women … What we need is more organizations to help women exit prostitution. As a society, we need to drastically focus on prevention. We need serious legal deterrents for the Johns and pimps. We need to raise awareness on the effects prostitution has on society. We need to get into the high schools and colleges to do preventative work with our nation’s children before it is too late. The women of our country are worth it. Our young girls are worth it. The future of our nation — which now stands at a cross road — is worth it. Legalized Brothels and prostitution cannot be an option.”

Learn more at Bill Muehlenberg’s Culture Watch article: Prostitution and Sexual Trafficking.

Political Convention Expected to Attract Trafficking

The Clearwater, Florida police anticipate at least a 50 percent increase in sex trafficking cases when the Republican National Convention comes to Tampa in August.

To get out ahead of it now, Clearwater Police Detective George Koder says that a task force of federal, state and local officers is strengthening tipster relationships with adult entertainment clubs and hotels, planning reverse stings closer to the Republican National Convention, and sharing information with similar task forces across the country.

“We want people to know we won’t tolerate it. We’ll prosecute it. We want families to know that we are protecting their kids … these are people being taken advantage of at the point of being forced to have sex. It’s a horrible violation to them.”

Learn more at FL Democracy 2012 article: Police anticipate spike in sex trafficking during GOP convention.

Running from Life of Degradation

Shetaye Bekele loves to run. She always has.

For a long time, though, running was the last thing on her mind. Just two years ago, Bekele was rescued from a brothel in Ethiopia, where she had spent the previous year and a half as a sex slave.

Now she is competing as an elite runner with goals of one day making the Olympics.

“I never thought I would be in this place, from where I was,” she said Friday through a translator. “My hope was dead and I really felt in darkness. But now, when I see myself here, I am very excited, very happy.”

When her parents died, Bekele was forced to care for her younger siblings. She went to Addis Ababa, the country’s capital, looking for work. Like many poor African girls, she fell into the underworld of sex slavery and human trafficking.

In 2010, Bekele heard about the International Crisis Aid (ICA) organization and, with its help, escaped to a safe house in Ethiopia. “I couldn’t believe that God made it for me,” she said. “It was like a dream. A couple of days, I was sleeping and woke up [thinking], ‘Is this really happening to me?’”

Bekele also was able to run again. She started to train while still at the safe house, and ran in her first race in Ethiopia about a year later.

Now Bekele runs for a bigger cause – to raise awareness and, hopefully, money to help girls suffering in sex slavery who are not as fortunate as she is. “I really now have another goal: To help other girls who are in the darkness,” she said. “That way I really run for them. I can feel them when I am running for them.”

When asked about her plans for the Pittsburgh Marathon, “I want to be the first,” she said. “The winner.”

Learn more at Sam Werner’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article: Runner profile: Woman runs from life of degradation.

A lurid journey through Backpage.com

A lurid journey through Backpage.com video, posted with vodpod

On CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360,” correspondent Deborah Feyerick reported on controversy surrounding the nationwide classified-advertising website Backpage.com. While working on the broad problem of sex trafficking, she and producer Sheila Steffen became aware of the website’s adult section and how prosecutors say it’s being used by some pimps to peddle girls online.

Learn more at Deborah Feyerick’s and Sheila Steffen’s CNN Freedom Project article: A Lurid Journey Through Backpage.com.

Source: Cable News Network, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.

Films Aim to Heighten Awareness of Human Trafficking

Most people think slavery is a thing of the past. Almost no one thinks about a 13-year-old girl who was taken from her home and forced to work in the sex industry. People are still trafficked, even though slaves aren’t used to work in cotton or tobacco fields now. They are forced to work in dark alleys and hotel rooms.

Laila Mickelwait, Director of Awareness for Exodus Cry – an anti-slavery  organization based in Kansas City, Missouri, says that one of the primary reasons human trafficking for the sex trade exists is because good people simply don’t know how rampant it is.

In order to shine a light on the issue, Exodus Cry spent almost five years creating a documentary called “Nefarious – Merchant of Souls,” which was released this week on DVD.

“We hope to help end this form of slavery through prayer, awareness and reform,” Mickelwait said. “This movie is a tool to raise awareness.”

Mickelwait said part of the problem across the globe is there are no “lighthouses” to give the women a place to stay as they transition back into a normal life. These issues are just a few of those Mickelwait said Exodus Cry wanted to bring to the surface with “Nefarious.”

“Movies change people and people change the world,” she said. “We hope people see the movie and begin the process to stamp out the problem.”

Exodus Cry has already begun work on a second movie focusing on the demand side of the sex industry.

“We are looking into what kinds of societies create men who are willing to buy and sell women for sex,” Mickelwait said. “The third movie will focus on the ideological and religious reasons for slavery.”

Learn more at Kent Bush’s El Dorado Times article: Slavery continues as problem in many societies.

Stings Aim to Curb Sex Trafficking of Minors

She ran away from her Fulton County, Georgia home and met Archie Richard Byrd, who gave her food and shelter and probably even bought clothes and jewelry to make her feel loved and special.

But eventually, Byrd likely told the teen that she needed to help support the other girls and women in the home he gave them — by selling her body to strange men. Byrd psychologically enslaved the teen and other women, making them so dependent on him they wouldn’t think of leaving or going to authorities no matter how badly he treated them.

But the girl was saved during a sting last month orchestrated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) and Athens-Clarke police.

“This was a girl who neither parent wanted and had run away from home several times, and at some point she came under the control of Archie Byrd,” said John Whitaker, special agent in charge of the Georgia Bureua of Investigation’s Human Trafficking Unit.

About 100 underage girls are sexually exploited each night in Georgia. Atlanta is one of 14 U.S. cities with the highest child-prostitution rate and pimps have branched out their human slave trade to outlying areas like Athens-Clarke County.

That’s why the GBI formed its Human Trafficking Unit last July, to combat one the largest illicit businesses in the country — second only to drug trafficking, to train local officers, and to conduct stings to determine the extent of human trafficking locally.

When authorities find an underage prostitute, they place her with a victim service agency, like Wellspring Living for Girls, which has administrative offices in the Atlanta suburb of Tyrone. The nonprofit maintains one home with a total of 14 beds for girls aged 12 to 17, but this month plans to complete a second home with at least 10 more beds.

Wellspring provides safe haven, counseling and education to help transition the girls from the prostitution lifestyle. “We try to provide a very loving and caring environment for these girls because the pimps have skewed their view of love and trust,” Wellspring spokeswoman Jessica Smith said.

Learn more at Joe Johnson’s Athens Banner-Herald article: Athens prostitution stings aim to curb trafficking of young girls.