Don't wait until its too late. Act now if you know of a child being harmed or mentally damaged in some way - call the authoritie

Why Can't We See Through The Fog

Who is to Blame?

Every day there are horrendous stories of children suffering abuse beyond the level of tolerance that their little bodies can endure. Many are starved to death, some chained up or tied to a chair, some left day and night in cots or rooms alone without even a nappy change. Many are reared in appalling situations where homes are putrid, parents missing or uncaring and the list goes on.

As a parent of 3 beautiful children, now all grown with their own families, it is beyond my comprehension that any parent cannot feel the wonderful joy and love that a small gift from God, packaged in a tiny bundle of soft tender skin, can bring. Every day I thank God for my family and I shed tears for those who have it otherwise.

What is it about drink, drugs, money and life that so many cannot handle? What is it that draws them to destroy that part of their being that loves and enjoys a warm embrace, a beautiful cuddle, a tender kiss? What is it that deprives little children of the warmth, love and protection of parents.

Maybe we cannot solve the world's problems but we surely should solve this one.

We could point the finger at many things in many directions as humans are an imperfect lot. They generally stick to what they know and to 'faith' that is unproven and dangerous. Many adults who abuse children in this way have a belief that no matter what they do to others they will be forgiven and go to heaven on their death.

Religious ideals comprise magic that is nothing more than slight of hand and belief in things that cannot be seen or proven. Why write that here you may be wondering? It's because people hide behind religious doctrines that promotes the mindset they can be forgiven of any crime if they confess it to a priest (slight of hand) and on death can still be accepted into heaven (smoke and mirrors).

This is baloney! We need to come down to earth and examine the facts. Idols made of cement, plaster, wood, or clay are nothing but powerless imagery designed to confuse and control the masses. Priests are only men and not gods and many of them are child abusers, as recent exposures have been publicised globally. They are destroying young lives and children are at risk from them.

Anyone who thinks otherwise has been brainwashed into believing that the ones who claim to speak for God have power to forgive. This is not so as when you are 'in the spirit' you cannot commit a crime and religious leaders do not want you to know that. Their goal is to get ever bigger congregations as this is their livelihood, and through lies they pamper to what people want to hear.

In ancient times men took control of the after-life through wild claims and symbolism. They used images to bring the gods into focus and they credited the ancestors with power beyond the grave. Such symbols included wind, water and sun signs. Natural occurrences like volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, cyclones and so on were considered to derive from the god's anger.

Nothing has changed because two thirds of the world, at least, are still ignorant of basic facts about how these things occur. But ignorance goes further than that. With the age of genetics we know that a living animal must have a double helix, that is a matching set of genes from both parents in order to come into being. This fact is hidden to preserve the so-called virgin births of prophets, which is an impossibility Many of the gods of this backward world are supposedly born of a virgin and while ignorance is promoted to preserve the magic children will remain at risk and women, in particular, will continue to be abused and murdered.

The dead have no living nerves, a vital component of feeling. That means that such things as joy or punishment in the after-life is another misguided perception which must be overturned. These mystical, magical places are supported only by one's imagination and are the key to stopping terrorism and even child abuse.

Let's get things into perspective and start questioning where our beliefs and actions really stem from? Lets get rid of the magic and lies and aim for a better world in which all may be educated into correct thinking. Confusion about life and the after-life is the basis of so much that is happening today and for the introduction of drugs, alcohol, governments and religious organizations that should be targets for common sense. In the past getting drunk was a symbol of god ship, which is why alcohol is called 'spirit'.

People under the influence of alcohol, drugs, religion, gambling, and so on are proving they are capable of harming children, especially their own, and of murder. Children are right now being taught by religious groups to become suicide bombers and terrorists, Young children in some religious societies are forced to wear outlandish clothing, such as that of girls in the Moslem world. Women are treated as nothing in many of those societies as well and we still see honour killings, even in Australia, where religious influence has followed those who come here seeking a better life.

Killing your own child for the sake or religion is horrendous or expecting him or her to die as a martyr is just as bad. Can't we wake the world up to the rubbish that is killing us?

The new horror in places like Afghanistan comes from a young girl who is being pursued by drug traffickers all over the countryside. She is on foot and alone. Her father sold her to the traffickers to repay a debt for money he borrowed. This is common practice in some Islamic ountries, so the story goes. Her fate may be she will be caught and given as a bride to a man. Or, what is now commonplace, she will be drained of blood, which is a saleable commodity and used to repay the debt, as also are her body parts. Her life has no value.

Early in July, 2012, a woman of 22 was executed for some trivial offence, according to the religious laws they practice in this country. Even if raped a woman can be executed. Is it any wonder they are too scared to shed the berker or show their face in public? Persecution of females in many places begins at birth and never lets up. They are enslaved to men whom they must serve prodigiously or pay the price.

Child Abuse can and should be prevented

Have you ever been raped or molested?  It can be excruciatingly painful…no lubrication, a big dick, an angry person, a fast person, a violent person, a drugged-out high person…it can hurt like hell as your little body tears or rips.  Vaginal tears can hurt for days and the pain can radiate and feel into the stomach area or other areas in little kids. I used to beg my mom that my stomach hurt, while lying on the floor crying.  You can’t see “down there” so you don’t know what is wrong.  You find blood spots in your underwear, but nobody cares, so maybe nothing is wrong. It might hurt to piss, as the urine burns the tears “down there,” so you try to hold it as long as you can.  If you don’t go, it does not sting.   And as the tears heal, they might itch and add to the uncomfortableness of the experience. Oh and chaffing can happen because your little skin is soft and small compared to a big man who does not use lube rubbing against you.  Oh yeah, and spit doesn’t count as lube.  Fucking causes friction and friction causes fresh chaffing. Chaffing burns and hurts sometimes when you put on underwear or touch it.  It can also sting when you pee, so you hold it.  But again, you can’t really see it because it is “down there” and nobody cares, so maybe nothing is wrong… See? — STOP hurting kids.

Besides rape, abuse can occur when a child is forced to give a BJ?  Think about large a man compared to the mouth of a child.  Children don’t understand and when they are told to “suck the lollipop” or “let the worm go home” it makes very little sense… but what makes sense it the gagging and the feeling of suffocating and not being able to breathe while some big asshole is shoving your head against his lower region so that his dick is getting serviced.  And being forced to swallow slimy, salty, stuff that you have no idea what it is, but you know it doesnt taste like a lollipop.  Or if he pulls out of your mouth but shoots it all over your little face which is worse, because now you “see” what it is. And your insides die everytime because you have no control and you are nothing more than a slave there to service people who really don’t care about you. See? — STOP hurting kids.

when the abuse continues, the person learn defense mechanisms so that he/she feel nothing. Some kids split there world, so that there is a “day daddy and a night daddy” and they forget about the “night” after it happens.  Some kids dissociate, float into the ceiling, the wall, anywhere so “it” is not happening to them… And some, dissociate into “parts” so those “parts” suffer the pain and feelings and the child can continue to live.  With defenses in place, you feel nothing, but you absorb all the shame and guilt and feelings of disgust into your soul.  See? — STOP hurting kids.

And what are the results of hurting children? … the life of the person writing this blog.  See, it affects the child and later the adult.  The pain of abuse does not end when you get free of it. I and many others live with it everyday. I and many others believe the only way out is death.  I and many others never see an end to the effects of years of abuse.

- http://looneytunes09.wordpress.com/2011/03/31/child-abuse-should-be-prevented-every-month/

CHRYSALIS - a girl's journey from sex trafficking to freedom

by Carissa Stutzma

A short film inspired by a true story about a girl caught in sex trafficking and her journey to freedom.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/941880079/chrysalis-a-girls-journey-from-sex-trafficking-to?ref=card

Sorvino: Trafficking near White House

Actress Mira Sorvino raises awareness about human trafficking and says it happens right near the White House.

http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2012/09/29/erin-intv-sorvino-stop-human-trafficking.cnn?iref=allsearch

Syria's internally displaced languish in squalor at Turkish border

By Ivan Watson, CNN

September 27, 2012 -- Updated 1411 GMT (2211 HKT)

Police: Smugglers Swallowed $40,000 In Cash

Police in Colombia say they have arrested two "heavy-set" suspected smugglers in what may be a new form of money laundering.

The pair were detained separately during the past week at the international airport in the Colombian city of Medellin and were on flights arriving from Costa Rica, according to security officials.

In the past, "mules" have used a similar method to smuggle contraband narcotics out of the country, swallowing packets of drugs worth thousands of pounds for sale in lucrative overseas markets.

But authorities said they were unfamiliar with use of the same technique to sneak cash into the country.

"This type of money laundering activity is new in Colombia," said Wilson Patino, a regional immigration director based in Antioquia state in northwestern Colombia.

The two suspects, a Colombian and a Venezuelan, were both described as being "heavy-set" whose large stomachs apparently did not have much difficulty accommodating the wad of illicit currency.

Officials did not provide details about how the cash was recovered, but did describe how one of suspects came to be arrested.

The Colombian man drew the attention of authorities when he appeared to be nervous and agitated while going through airport security.

He was asked to pass through a scanner again and the X-ray revealed numerous unusual items in the abdominal area. These turned out to be about 40 capsules, each containing $1,000, officials said.

Authorities believe drug traffickers were behind the unusual plot, although they have not ruled out the involvement of other organised crime syndicates, possibly those engaged in arms or human trafficking.

http://news.sky.com/story/985351/police-smugglers-swallowed-40000-in-cash

Children for sale

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4038249/ns/dateline_nbc/t/children-sale/#.UGdLuU0xrGo

’90210′ Star Opens Up About Sex Abuse Past

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2012/09/90210-star-opens-up-about-sex-abuse-past/

US Courts Weigh Asylum for Sex Kidnapping Targets

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press

NEW YORK September 28, 2012 (AP)

They were two young women living alone and in fear in Albania, where they say they were ripe targets for sex traffickers notorious for kidnapping their victims and forcing them into prostitution in other countries.

Both fled to the United States, and now appeals courts in Chicago and New York are confronting a vexing question about their fate: Should their claim that all young single women living alone in Albania face persecution qualify them for asylum?

So far their answer is no.

But a recent 2-to-1 ruling by the federal appeals panel in Chicago led the remaining judges on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to vacate the decision and stage a rare hearing of the full court Thursday to consider the issue.

The close scrutiny by the judges is appropriate, says Simona Agnolucci, a lawyer who submitted legal papers on behalf of the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies in San Francisco.

"It's modern slavery," she said. "These characteristics — their gender, their youth, and their singlehood — are what put them at risk in Albanian society and in the world at large."

She wrote to the 7th Circuit that the issue is relevant beyond Albania's borders, since "women worldwide are subjected to trafficking and forced prostitution because of their gender."

Although fewer than 10,000 asylum applications were granted from 1990 through 1993, they have ranged between 20,000 and 30,000 in the last decade, with about 25,000 being granted in 2011. The number of Albanian applicants granted asylum has fallen from 894 in 2002 to 156 in 2012. Also, the United States settled 56,000 refugees into the U.S. in 2011, with nearly 17,000 Burmese refugees from Thailand and Malaysia, 9,388 from Iraq, 2,032 from Iran and 7,685 from Somalia.

To win asylum in the United States, someone who has fled another country must establish a well-founded fear of persecution based on religion, race, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. Appropriately defining a social group is where the Albanian women have fallen short in the courts' eyes.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati in 2005 rejected claims almost identical to those now being made. That court ruled that if a group eligible for asylum is defined "simply as young, attractive Albanian women — then virtually any young Albanian woman who possesses the subjective criterion of being 'attractive' would be eligible for asylum in the United States."

The opinion was cited on Tuesday when the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the claims of a young Albanian woman who entered the U.S. in December 2004 with a fake Italian passport. She later sought asylum on grounds that the Albanian mafia had twice tried to kidnap and force her into prostitution and that she feared she, like her sister and cousin, would be kidnapped and killed in Albania.

Scott A. Keillor, an immigration lawyer in Ypsilanti, Mich., who argued the 6th Circuit case, said his client was forced to return to Albania. He said the last he heard, she was trying to return to the United States.

"My case sadly gets cited a lot," Keillor said.

Keillor said U.S. asylum laws seem arbitrary.

"There's a lot of black and white, you fit into a category or you don't. They say: 'Well that's not a particular social group that can be readily identifiable,'" he said.

At Thursday's hearing in Chicago, Judge Richard A. Posner asked Cleveland attorney Scott E. Bratton why weak men in prison or people living in dangerous neighborhoods with high murder rates would not constitute social groups for asylum purposes.

Bratton, who represents Johana Cece, a 33-year-old Aurora, Ill., woman in the Chicago case, said the number of women in Albania who would be in danger similar to his client was relatively small because there were not many single young women living alone in the country with a population of 2.8 million. He said his client would not comment publically. She did not return a phone message for comment.

In court papers, he and other lawyers cited similar asylum cases, such as classes of young women who are threatened with female genital mutilation, women who escaped servitude after being abducted by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC, women in Jordan who flouted repressive moral norms and faced a high risk of honor killing and women in Cameroon who feared circumcision.

Andrew MacLachlan, a Justice Department lawyer in the Office of Immigration Litigation, told the 7th Circuit that Cece was essentially seeking asylum because of her fear of persecution.

"Under the particular circumstances of this case, the validity of the social group proposed by the petitioner would eviscerate the asylum statute," he said.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/us-courts-weigh-asylum-sex-kidnapping-targets-17351696?page=2#.UGdGtk0xrGo

Romney, Obama Give Dueling Speeches at Clinton Event

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Sep 25, 2012 9:17 AM CDT 

(NEWSER) – President Obama and Mitt Romney are giving dueling speeches at the Clinton Global Initiative today to discuss foreign policy issues. Here's the lowdown:

• Mitt Romney kicked things off, and Bill Clinton gave him a glowing introduction, lauding his work on behalf of City Year. Romney thanked him, saying, "If there's one thing we've learned in this election season, it's that a few words from Bill Clinton can do a man a lot of good." The crowd chuckled appreciably.

• Romney's speech focused on fostering private enterprises overseas. Foreign aid "can't sustain an economy. It can't pull the whole cart," Romney said. He said that successful states were those that are most economically free.
• He also promised to renegotiate America's trade agreements, and said he'd expand the trans-Pacific partnership and create a "Reagan Economic Zone" made up of "any nation willing to play by the rules of free and fair trade." He summed up his approach thusly: "We're going to pair aid with trade."
• He also took a not-so-veiled swipe at Iran, referring to "a voice of unspeakable evil and hatred" threatening Israel. "I'll never apologize for America," he added.
• Obama too praised Clinton, calling him a "great treasure," and again joking that he should be the "secretary of explaining things." He also thanked Clinton for understanding "record-breaking number of countries visited by our secretary of state."
• Obama's speech focused more or less entirely on the "injustice, the outrage, of human trafficking, which must be called by its true name of modern slavery." He urged Congress to renew the Trafficking Victims Protection Act—which he dubbed a "no-brainer"—said that multi-national corporations must ensure their supply lines "are free of forced labor," and urged the world to both directly combat slavery,  and address its underlying causes. "Nations must speak with one voice: our people and our children are not for sale."

http://www.newser.com/story/154681/romney-obama-give-dueling-speeches-at-clinton-event.html

802 Busted in Chinese Child Trafficking Rings

CHINESE POLICE RESCUE 181 CHILDREN

By the Associated Press

Posted Jul 6, 2012 11:51 AM CDT

(AP) – Chinese police arrested 802 people on suspicion of child trafficking and rescued 181 children in a major operation spanning 15 provinces, the Chinese Ministry of Public Security said today. The recent operation broke up two trafficking rings and led to the arrests of the ring leaders. The national operation was set up earlier this year after local police spotted trafficking signs, including frequent appearances of out-of-town pregnant women, in a clinic in north China's Hebei province. State media reported that parents wishing to sell their babies could find potential buyers through the clinic.

One of its doctors was among those arrested. Trafficking in children is a big problem in China. Its strict one-child policy—which limits most urban couples to one child and rural couples to two if their first-born is a girl—has driven a thriving market in babies, especially boys because of a traditional preference for male heirs. Many trafficked babies are abducted, but some are sold by families who are too poor to care for a baby or do not want a girl. State media report that a baby girl can fetch $4,800 to $8,000 and that a baby boy sells for $11,200 to $12,800.

http://www.newser.com/story/149606/802-busted-in-chinese-child-trafficking-rings.html

Child Sex Trafficking Growing in the U.S.: 'I Got My Childhood Taken From Me'

By HUMA KHAN (@humaik)

WASHINGTON, May 5, 2010

M.S. was 12 years old when she first fell in love. It was his "swagger" that attracted her, she recalled, laughing.

The pre-teen, who lost her mother at a very young age and only saw her father on holidays, said she desperately craved a father figure. All she ever wanted was to be loved, she said, and she thought she found that in the man who patrolled up and down her street wooing her.

"I just fell into his arms," said M.S., who didn't want her full name revealed because she is a minor.

One day, the man invited M.S. to go on a drive with him. She did, and she never returned home.

For four years, M.S. was forced into child prostitution with four different pimps. She was taken from city to city, forced to have sex with random men against her will. She rarely got to keep any of the $1,500 she made every day. Instead, she was abused mentally and physically by both her pimps and other girls who he housed.

"I got my childhood taken from me," M.S., now 17, told ABC News. "I used to think this is what I'm supposed to do, and I just did it. ... It was normal to us."

M.S. was scared to run away, afraid that her pimps would turn their threats into hurting her family into reality. Even when, two years after being sold into sex, M.S. found out that her grandmother and sister had put out fliers looking for her and had even put her name on the missing persons list, she didn't contact them.

"I was scared of them judging me," she recalled.

M.S. is one of thousands of American girls who are part of sex traffickingchains in the United States. It is a problem many associate with developing countries, but is one that is increasingly plaguing the United States.

"I think many Americans are more willing to accept that there are girls enslaved in Cambodia or Delhi, and really can't imagine that it's happening right here," actress Demi Moore said at a briefing on Capitol Hill Tuesday. "As a society, we owe it to them to ensure this doesn't happen to anyone else."

Moore and her husband, Ashton Kutcher, recently created The Demi and Ashton Foundation to raise awareness about the issue of sex slaveryworldwide.

The Department of Justice estimates that more than 250,000 American youth are at risk of becoming victims of commercial sexual exploitation. The average age of entry for female prostitutes in the United States is between 12 and 14 years, and children and youth older than 12 are prime targets for sexual exploitation by organized crime units, according to a2001 report.

In addition to domestic girls who are exploited, about 14,500 to 17,500 girls from other countries are smuggled into the United States for this purpose, according to the State Department.

"We know so little about our daughters who are bought for sex," said Malika Saada Saar, president of The Rebecca Project for Human Rights, which organized the briefing Tuesday to bring attention to the issue of domestic sex trafficking.

There is a "cyber slave market that is being built up by Craigslist and other Web sites," Saada Saar said, and most of the time, the pimps who buy and sell these girls are never arrested or jailed.

Many of the children sold into the sex trade come from broken families or the foster care system. Often times, as in the case of M.S. and Asia, they are looking for an escape and for the one thing they say they didn't find at home, love.

This is a new and emerging phenomenon. Ten years ago, there were not the same disturbing stories of traffickers seeking out and preying on girl runaways within 48 hours after they have left home," Saada Saar wrote in the Huffington Post.

"Why is this happening? There is the Internet, which has created an easy and accessible venue for the commercial sexual exploitation of children. As a result, young girls are the new commodities that traffickers and gangs are selling. And, there isn't a culture of crime and punishment for selling girls as there is for selling illegal drugs," she wrote.

Asia, who was lured into the trade at the age of 18, says it was eerie how well her pimp knew what she was looking for.

"It's like he knew I was vulnerable, and he was looking for people like me," she told ABC News. "He told me constantly he would take care of me, it wasn't going to be like this. ... It was like false promises but he made it sound so good. That's what he does, he was an expert at it."

Sex Trafficking Becoming Growing Problem in U.S.

The now 20-year-old who is studying criminal justice said her sole mission back then was to get through the day. Even when she was sick or stricken with infection, she was forced to have sex, often for up to 10 hours a day with 10 different men.

"I feel like all I was trying to do was survive, get away from home, just be happy, but it was never like that," said Asia, who was raised by her grandmother.

Asia said that once she was part of the sex trade, she didn't feel she had anyone to turn to. Like M.S., she didn't want to go back to her family out of shame and fear, and she didn't feel safe outside the vicinity of the hotels she lived in.

"It was like I was in a totally different world in society," Asia recalls. "Like when we would go out to eat, I felt everyone knew who I was and what I did and there was embarrassment. ... Being outside, you feel vulnerable."

Both M.S. and Asia said they were arrested and thrown into jail, and that the police treated them like criminals, even when they knew they were minors. Often times, police officers solicited their services, the girls said, or they had relationships with pimps.

"They would just send me to jail and keep me here for like a couple of months, then they'd release me thinking everything's good," M.S. said. "I was scared to run to the police or cops or something because you know... I don't think they'd really listen. They try to set up a date with you knowing that you were a minor. They didn't care."

Under U.S. law, human traffickers can get life in prison if convicted. But many of these traffickers are never caught. Both M.S. and Asia said their perpetrators are still roaming free.

Government officials say a key problem is lack of coordination between states and agencies, but that the government is looking at the root causes and how they can be eliminated.

Francey Hakes, the Justice Department's national coordinator for child exploitation prevention, said Tuesday the agency has arrested and charged hundreds of people with sexual exploitation and that it was doing more to address sex crimes against children.

"This is modern day slavery at its worst, and it's a winnable war," said Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., who sponsored a law targeting sex trafficking in the House.

The girls said all they want to do now is look to the future. M.S., who sought help at one of the Crittenton Foundation facilities, said she hopes to write a book some day to tell other girls in her position they can move on with their life. The 17-year-old said she is still having a hard time integrating into society because she can't trust anyone, even those who are trying to help her, but she will do anything to not return to her old life.

"I've seen a lot of girls get kidnapped. I've seen a lot of people get killed out there. I've seen a lot of things," M.S. said. "I would do anything to be a strong, independent woman."

Asia, who is currently a volunteer mentor at non-profit Fair Fund, said she wants to help change the system she was once a part of, but said the stigma of being a prostitute is not one that she can recover from easily. The student said she was supposed to go to the White House for meetings but was not able to get access because of her record.

"I'm not a criminal. I never hurt anybody. My intention was just to survive and it's just hard, it's not fair," she said. "Just look at me as a victim. Don't let my past prevent me for being the best person I can be, don't let it prevent me from getting a job or doing day-to-day things."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/domestic-sex-trafficking-increasing-united-states/story?id=10557194&page=3#.UGcYfU0xrGo

Voice Out

146 convicted for human trafficking in Nigeria this year – NAPTIP

THE National Agency  for the Prohibition of Traffic In Persons and Other Related Matters (NAPTIP) has said that about 146 suspects have been convicted in the country this year by the court over human trafficking as well as other related cases.
The Director of intelligence and International Cooperation, Mr.Tsumba Terna stated this on Saturday in Lokoja, Kogi state.
According to him, the Agency is winning the war gradually as he advised parents to stop sending their wards into child labour.
He lamented that male children are  the most  vulnerable to dangers of  hard labour, while the girls are also exposed to sexual abuse.
Mr. Terna called for a better understanding between the Agency and the security agencies in bid to curb child abuse and human trafficking in the country.
The Director who decried the release of the recent suspects and traffickers in  Kogi state by the Police  without proper investigation,called for a better understanding between the Agency and the security agencies in bid to curb child abuse and human trafficking in the country. - http://dailypost.com.ng/2012/08/05/146-convicted-human-trafficking-nigeria-year-naptip/

Say No to this

The Price of a Life: Human Trafficking in Lane County

By Maria Anderson, EDN

When you think of human trafficking, it is often third-world countries that first come to mind. Cambodia and Cuba, Saudi Arabia and Sudan. Last year roughly 27 million people were trafficked worldwide, according to the US State Department. Over 200,000 of those are US citizens trafficked in the United States. These numbers are inherently difficult to gauge, but it’s safe to say this: trafficking is a problem, and it’s a problem right here in Lane County. The Pacific Circuit is a human trafficking ring on the West Coast which makes use of Interstate-5 to run its victims from Seattle to San Francisco. The hotspots on I-5′s underbelly are Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco, and places as small as Eugene have a surprising amount of people flowing through as a result of this corridor.

In Lane County, hundreds are sold into sex slavery each year.

What is human trafficking, exactly? According to the OATH (Oregonians Against Trafficking Humans) website, human trafficking involves “the recruiting, transporting, selling, or buying of people for the purpose of various forms of exploitation. Trafficked persons are often controlled through force, fraud, or coercion.” Many of those trafficked are forced into prostitution.

In Lane County, hundreds are sold into sex slavery each year. Sergeant Curtis Newell of the Eugene Police force believes there are too many affected to count. In a KVAL interview, he says,

“It’s a bigger problem than I think most people in the community realize.”

According to Newell, sex traffickers handpick their victims in the heart of Eugene, in public areas like the library or the bus station:

“Until we can knock down the demand a little bit or maybe increase the punishment for some of the customers and definitely the pimps or the traffickers, we are going to continue to have a problem.”

The Economics of Trafficking

With earnings topping $32 billion each year, human trafficking is tied with arms dealing as the second largest criminal industry in the world. That’s more than MLB, the NBA, and the NFL combined. Gangs and other individuals have figured out that trafficking girls can be more lucrative than trafficking drugs.

Stanley Mack Spriggs, Jr., or “Bug,” a 29 year old Portland-based pimp, used two minors to earn his share of the $32 billion. That is, until he was caught and sentenced to over 15 years in federal prison after an investigation by the FBI and the Eugene Police. Together with his two cohorts, sister Hollie Spriggs and girlfriend Sharlise Duckworth, he’ll pay $23,204 in restitution. What is more significant than Spriggs’ jail time and fines is this: the investigation leading to his arrest uncovered over 100 women and children in the Eugene area working as prostitutes and via sex ads posted on Craigslist. The youngest was 14. The case was the largest trafficking bust in the country, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

The perennial homeless are most at risk, particularly runaways or those who have lived in foster homes. In a sentencing memo for Spriggs, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kemp Strickland said research suggests that 1 in 3 homeless teens are approached for prostitution within 48 hours of leaving home.

Hope Ranch Ministries

There are several groups in Lane County working to help those affected by trafficking. Diana Janz runs one such group, and has encountered women for whom the 48-hour window Kemp Strickland mentioned has been a reality.

Hope Ranch Ministries is a faith-based fellowship committed to providing safety, healing, and hope for survivors of human trafficking and intensive sexual trauma. Janz started Hope Ranch a year and a half ago, and has been working with trafficked women for three years. Although she does not have a safe house at this moment, Janz is in the process of opening a home in the area. Janz says,

“I would say trafficking is a large problem here. I have heard that the local FBI agent has two new cases of children every month. And of course behind these are many more.” Janz sees signs of human trafficking everywhere in Eugene. She points out, “They’re not just statistics. They have names.”

The pimps learn to recognize which of the three girls at the bus stop they can approach, which ones will be most susceptible to coercion. Janz explains,

“Unfortunately, a lot of people have been abused, and it really sets them up.”

She cites those coming from foster homes as being particularly at risk. When asked what her advice would be to those who find themselves vulnerable, Janz says,

“Learn what the signs are of someone trying to physically entice you into it. There is a specific way that they do it. Usually it isn’t someone being forced. You’re being set up. Someone seeing what your needs are, telling you you’re beautiful, that they love you.”

One of Janz’s goals is to speak at organizations, service clubs, and other places.

“Our vision [at Hope Ranch Ministries] is to really make everybody aware, because with awareness comes more safety for all of us. We’re looking out for our neighbors, for our kids, for our friends’ kids.”

Janz also works with Trevecca Winters at OATH (Oregonians Against Trafficking Humans). Last weekend she ran a communication workshop, and she is taking part in a Las Vegas marathon this winter to spread the word.

The Pornography Connection

Janz believes porn is part of the problem with the demand for prostitution.

“The US produces 50% of child pornography in the world. So if you think about all those children, and those are children who are being forced or trafficked, and those are things going on behind closed doors, you begin to get some idea of how big this is.”

The child pornography industry earns $3 billion worth per year, and 1 in 5 pornographic images is of a child. Over half of these come from the United States.

Janz also spoke about how trafficking has met the digital age, and referred to a recent article in theWashington Post that discusses this phenomenon.

“You can watch porn anywhere, but now they have all these ads. Ordering a prostitute is now as easy as ordering a pizza — though of course not all prostitutes are trafficked.”

Porn is everywhere and is readily accessible. The challenge is not only limiting  access, but addressing the underlying issues. The article that Janz references states the underlying issues to be,

“the illegal purchase of sex, the fact that most American prostitution is a result of human trafficking and the reality that the plastic, bleached and enhanced world of online sex is a myth that twists ideas of human sexuality and relationships.”

Kids are clicks away from degrading, violent, graphic sex videos. Not only that, but they are often encouraged to “take it to the next level.” And those online are getting younger and younger.

Hoping for Redemption

It isn’t just men at fault, Janz points out:

“Women are pimps, women are johns, women are involved too. I’m not out there to say you’re evil. The perpetrators are just as wounded as the people they’re wounding. There needs to be redemption all the way around.”

Though redemption may be a long way off for “Bugs” and others like him, organizations such as Hope Ranch Ministries, OATH, and Freedom’s Breath are working hard to chip away at Lane County’s trafficking problem. Jessica Richardson, co-founder of Freedom’s Breath, experienced trafficking firsthand. According to Richardson,

“For far too long we as a society have accepted pornography, prostitution, and the sex industry without realizing that in doing so, we are exploiting our own children. Even as I was trafficked I could not see that I was a victim, a victim of this very ignorance and inaction. It is time to remove these blinders and take action to bring freedom to those who are still enslaved.”- http://eugenedailynews.com/2012/09/26/the-price-of-a-life-human-trafficking-in-lane-county/

News & Updates - humantrafficking.org

News & Updates

IOM reports child trafficking and labor trafficking cases are rising

April 10, 2012

Child victims of human trafficking helped by IOM increased to 2,040 in 2011, up 27 per cent from 1,565 in 2008, according to new IOM data.

 

It shows that the number of adult victims referred to 89 IOM missions in 91 countries during the same period rose 13 per cent to 3,404 from 3,012.

 

While the number of female victims remained stable at 3,415, compared to 3,404 in 2008, the number of male victims rose 27 per cent to 2,040 from 1,656, reflecting growing public recognition of the trafficking of men for the purpose of labour exploitation.

 

Labour trafficking cases rose 43 per cent to 2,906, up from 2,031 in 2008. In contrast, cases of trafficking for sexual exploitation dropped 19 per cent to 1,507 from 1,866 four years earlier.

 

International trafficking cases fell 13 per cent to 3,531 in 2011, down from 4,066 in 2008. But domestic cases shot up 140 per cent from 713 in 2008 to 1,708 last year.

 

The fall in international cases may reflect more efficient immigration and border controls, while the increase in the number of domestic cases may reflect greater public awareness of trafficking and improved domestic law enforcement, according to IOM Head of Counter Trafficking Laurence Hart.

 

Out of a total of 5,498 victims helped by IOM in 2011, 1,606 were in Europe, 1,049 in South and Central Asia, 984 in the Western Hemisphere, 860 in East Asia and the Pacific, 696 in the Middle East and 303 in Africa, according to IOM 2012 Case Data on Human Trafficking: Global Figures and Trends.

 

Roughly a third (36 per cent) of cases involved children under the age of 18. Nearly two thirds (62 per cent) of the total were women and a little over a third (37 per cent ) were men.

 

In Europe, Asia and the Pacific, Central and Southern Asia, women outnumbered men by roughly two to one. In the Middle East, the Western Hemisphere and Africa, the gender gap was less pronounced.

 

The top ten countries of destination for human trafficking victims helped by IOM in 2011 were the Russian Federation (837), Haiti (658), Yemen (552), Thailand (449), Kazakhstan (265), Afghanistan (170), Indonesia (148), Poland (122), Egypt (103) and Turkey (101).

 

The top ten countries of origin for victims were Ukraine (835), Haiti (709), Yemen (378), Laos (359), Uzbekistan (292), Cambodia (258), Kyrgyzstan (213), Afghanistan (179), Belarus (141) and Ethiopia (122).

 

In Europe, IOM Ukraine recorded the most victims assisted with 814 of the total. Belarus recorded 142, Moldova 98 and Germany 69.

 

In Central and South, Asia Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan topped the totals, accounting for 202, 204 and 199 cases respectively.

 

In the Western Hemisphere, IOM helped 656 victims in Haiti, 65 in the United States and 49 in the Dominican Republic.

 

In Asia and the Pacific, Thailand accounted for 260 cases, Laos for 195, Cambodia for 122 and Vietnam for 102.

 

In the Middle East, IOM offices recorded 513 cases in Yemen and 100 in Egypt. In Africa IOM handled 47 cases in Tanzania, 45 in Uganda, 44 in Ethiopia and 32 in Mali.

 

IOM provides a wide range of services to help victims of human trafficking, including shelter, medical and legal assistance, vocational training, assisted voluntary return to the country of origin, and reintegration assistance once they return home. http://www.humantrafficking.org/updates/894