The Natashas

Prostitution profiteers silencing rescuers?

2009-09-25T07:50:00.000-07:00

Here's a story that has newspaper and magazine publishers salivating.

A Salvation Army campaign against human trafficking that depicts prostitutes as slaves and victims of brutal violence isn't sitting well with some people here in Lotusland.

The Sally Ann recently launched a campaign called “Truth Isn’t Sexy” with graphic images of women being throttled or having their heads bashed against a sidewalk. The images can be seen around Metro Vancouver on billboards, in public washrooms and on transit shelters.

The Vancouver Sun recently published this article quoting a ~~shill~~ spokeswoman for a group called the Sex Industry Worker Safety Action Group, who claims the campaign is “misleading, debasing to women and nothing short of sensational.”

Hello? What is misleading or sensational about the notion that prostitution is debasing to women? However, vested interests would like us to think it's a viable career choice ... vested interests who profit from debased and demoralized women trapped in the lifestyle.

Of course, those interests would have us believe that most "sex trade workers" do it by choice. According to this article in Macleans magazine, a spokeswoman for another Vancouver-based "prostitution advocacy group" called FIRST said that that "sex trade workers have been hurt by the campaign" and wants the Salvation Army to "draw a greater distinction between victims of trafficking and those who choose to work in the sex trade."

Right. The Salvation Army does a terrible disservice to women by trying to prevent them from making a "career choice" in which they are very likely to end up in a "work" situation like this ... one highly doubtful that anyone would choose willingly.

You'd think that newspapers and magazines might actually run those Salvation Army ads for free as a public service. But on second thought, that's pretty naive. Business is bad for publishers these days. Very bad. Sex sells, and so does controversy ... so it would be out of the question to pass up the opportunity to publish articles containing both components. What could fit the bill better than pitting good people trying to rescue victimized women from the street against self-appointed "representatives" of prostitutes saying they object to the imagery ... and the notion that prostitution is not a desirable career choice for women?

Who has more to lose when women leave the streets, or stay away from them, than pimps and human traffickers... the ultimate capitalist exploiters?

So what are the chances they'd consider bankrolling a few "prostitution advocacy groups" and offering a nice incentive to a few well-spoken "sex trade workers" to be their spokeswomen?

I'd say fair to middling. Because, if you were a sex-trade worker, wouldn't you rather make money by talking to reporter than servicing a creepy john? And if you were a pimp or human trafficker, wouldn't you be willing to make that small investment to protect the revenues that provide your nice cushy lifestyle?

As for the newspapers and magazines, they probably can't afford to pay reporters ~~enough danger pay~~ to do serious investigative journalism into who runs these "prostitution advocacy groups."

So all we can do in the meantime is draw our own conclusions.

Justice at last - but just a drop in the ocean of pedophilia

2009-09-23T16:27:00.000-07:00

Finally some justice for East European kids victimized by creepy "sex tourists" from North America.

A US customs agent, a single mother, managed to put away two predophiles who preyed on innocent children in Eastern Europe.

One of them liked "violent sex with virgins."

Well lah de dah. Great for the pr--k enjoying it. Not so great for the virgin whose whole life was destroyed in a matter of minutes by some scumbag getting his rocks off.

But the immediate self-gratification of guys with money seems to be a higher priority for a large segment of humanity than the dignity of women and children and the sanctity of their bodies. How else can you explain the dirtbag's wife pleading for leniency 'on behalf of their children"?

Good grief. If I found out I was married to a pedophile, he'd never see those kids again.

The reason pedophilia and human trafficking seem like such insurmountable issues is because so many prefer to look the other way than demand accountability from the perpetrators.

Thank God for those who do demand it.

That American customs agent is one tough cookie with amazing levels of determination, resolve and integrity. And that's just for starters.

She also showed a lot of class when she apologized to one of the victims on behalf of her country for the abuse she suffered. There are a helluva lot more apologies due from this part of the world... from both the perpetrators, and their enablers.

Let's hope this story is a harbinger of an avalanche of similar convictions.

Full story here.

Canadians trying to help combat AIDS in Ukraine

2009-07-20T08:13:00.000-07:00

This article raises the question of how much money, not to mention human suffering, could be saved if "sex tourists" from other parts of the world stayed home, or at least kept their pants zipped up whenever they are near a woman in Ukraine.

Not that it's likely to happen, of course. Just saying.

Meanwhile, until that unlikely day, people who are more responsible and caring can only do what they can to help alleviate the suffering caused by the more primitive and less progressive humans among us.

Dr. James Blanchard, director of the University of Manitoba’s Centre for Global Public Health, and Wendy Schettler, head of public health programs with Winnipeg’s International Centre for Infectious Diseases, are in Ukraine this week to help develop a model HIV/AIDS prevention program there in partnership with UNICEF. ...

A 2008 report by the World Health Organization, UNICEF and UNAIDS estimated the number of people in Ukraine living with AIDS had more than doubled since 2001 to 440,000. ...

Ukraine’s HIV epidemic was originally linked to intravenous drug use, but increasingly the infections have been transmitted through heterosexual intercourse and from pregnant mothers to their children. For female sex workers, the prevalence of HIV is 10 times the general population.

Full article here.

Study on sexual exploitation of children in Canada

2009-07-16T20:08:00.000-07:00

It is very encouraging to see government officials taking the issue of human trafficking and sexual exploitation seriously.

Here is a letter from a Manitoba MP who has an outstanding track record in working on progressive legislation:

Dear friends,

I would like to bring to your attention a study being undertaken by the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights on the sexual exploitation of children in Canada. This study is currently scheduled to be completed by March 3, 2010.

If you or your organization would like to appear as a witness or make a submission, I would encourage you to contact the clerk of the committee, Adam Thompson. His contact information is as follows:

Phone: (613)990-6160
Fax: (613) 947-2104
Email: rights-droits@sen.parl.gc.ca

Mailing Address:
Senate Committee on Human Rights
The Senate of Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada, K1A 0A4

Please note that witnesses will be chosen by the members of the committee’s steering committee. You can find a full list of committee members here.

I strongly believe that Canada must take significant steps to protect our children from exploitation and predators. This study is an excellent opportunity to make key policy recommendations that will result in better protection for our children.

Sincerely,
Joy Smith, M.P.
Kildonan – St. Paul
Chair of the Standing Committee of Health

If you can take part in this study please consider making a contribution.

Crashing western economy good news for "Natashas"?

2008-11-13T10:16:00.000-08:00

I know some disagree with me about the connection I see between economic excess and sexual exploitation.

My reasoning has been that the drive behind the odious flesh trade can be attributed as much to the cavalier attitude of affluent pervs driving the demand as to the greedy thugs supplying that demand and reaping obscene (literal and figurative) profits.

Well, I guess time will tell if there is anything to my theory. But, coincidentally, it seems that suddenly the banking industry has a little economic incentive to ditch its cavalier attitude, according to this article in MacLeans magazine on the "new frugality."

... Deutsche Bank recently informed managers it would no longer pay for visits to strip clubs.

“Deutsche Bank does not approve of any adult entertainments, and such expenditures will not be reimbursed,” said a memo obtained by the German magazine Der Spiegel. “The mood of the super rich is going to change during the next year from ‘How To Spend It’ to ‘How Not To Flaunt It,’ ” wrote Christopher Wood, an analyst with CLSA, in his newsletter Greed & Fear.

“Certain people, particularly the Russians, have not got the point yet. But the backlash is undoubtedly coming.”

Full article here. here.

18,000 women and children trafficked into UK sex trade

2008-07-06T15:55:00.000-07:00

Articles like this are, sadly, hardly a surprise anymore. But they still make my blood boil.

Up to 18,000 females, including girls as young as 14, are working in brothels across Britain after being smuggled into the country to meet the booming demand for prostitutes.

Not that Canadians have the right to point fingers. It's going on right in my own fair city. In Vancouver, money-grubbing sexual exploiters have been trying to drum up public support for legalized brothels. A whack of Olympics sex maniacs will be needing to get their rocks off, and would have us believe we are obliged to provide prostitutes for their pleasure (and the exploiters' profit). But, I digress.

Mr Brain also revealed that a large number of residential properties were being used to sell sex (of the 822 premises raided, nearly 600 were private homes). "In some of the cases, neighbours have not suspected any kind of unusual activity," he said.

How's that?? My next-door neighbour knows when I sneeze. So if I were ever inclined to have an affair (I'm not, btw) I wouldn't dare. At least if I wanted it kept a secret. So what kind of neighbours living near a residential property being used to sell sex wouldn't "suspect any kind of unusual activity"? (Customers, maybe?)

Prostitution and people-trafficking is now the third most lucrative black-market trade in the world after gun-running and drugs-smuggling. It is being driven by growing demand for prostitutes in the UK, with websites promoting sex flourishing and local newspapers carrying advertisements for prostitutes. ...

And those newspapers accepting those ads use what excuse? Or does anyone bother to ask for one? If not, um, why on earth not?

Full article here.

My only question is, where are the feminist lobbyists? You'd think they might band together to fight the rampant sexual exploitation of these women and children. But, nary a peep out of them.

That's another thing that makes my blood boil. To paraphrase a saying: True evil is when good women do nothing.

Hitting a nerve?

2008-04-12T08:43:00.000-07:00

Recently I've had to remove a few comments from some of the posts on this site.

Just as a reminder, that will always be the case for posts with profanity, flaming or any type of abusive comments. That, btw, includes lengthy posts that are irrelevant and/or incomprehensible.

If posts on this site are moving someone to go to the trouble of posting abusive comments here, then clearly the information on this blog and how it's presented is making someone uncomfortable.

As it is intended to.

The pride of the western world

2008-04-06T09:12:00.000-07:00

This sure makes a person proud to be part of a "developed democracy" whose "tourists" are the driving force of this "industry."

It's not so much the scumbags that pay money to violate these children that are the most disgusting, or even the slimeballs that prey on the vulnerable and provide them.

It is the apathy and total indifference of the majority in the "developed world" who allow this travesty to continue.

Watch this and weep.

Canadian government not so progressive ...

2008-02-11T09:28:00.002-08:00

It's a good thing the Conservative Party took the word "progressive" out of its name because its policies are anything but progressive when it comes to attitudes towards human sexuality and violence against women.

Granted, the Conservative-run government is to be commended for rejecting a ludicrous proposal to have legal brothels for "sports fans" visiting Vancouver during the 2010 Olympics, as this article reports:

Justice Minister Rob Nicholson has flatly rejected calls to decriminalize prostitution and dismissed as a non-starter a Vancouver group's hopes of opening a "co-op" brothel in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics ...

That's sensible, but the basis for that decision is reactionary rather than progressive as it simply maintains an old status-quo. As such, it merely politicizes the issue and leaves it unresolved.

Nicholson was responding directly for the first time to a majority recommendation from the committee that federal prostitution laws be amended to stop charging prostitutes and start prosecuting only those procuring sex, or exploiting the prostitutes, such as pimps and bawdy house owners.

Pressed to weigh in on a B.C. coalition's idea of creating a legal brothel in time for the Olympics, Nicholson told the committee the government's opposition is total, and that it is currently demonstrating its commitment to enforcing federal prostitution laws by defending them against constitutional challenges now before the courts in B.C. and Ontario.

This stodgy stance is very disappointing, as a strong lobby can just as easily pressure government to legalize brothels. With the possibility of an election soon, that could actually happen. The problem is that so few seem to comprehend (or care) that by far prostitutes are victims of violence and desperation rather than uncontrolled nymphomaniacs willingly participating in illicit sex acts. Fewer still are willing to follow Sweden's lead in changing the laws to protect and rehabilitate prostitutes who are trapped in the "lifestyle." I agree entirely with Liberal MP Maria Minna who said:

"He doesn't get it ... The men don't get charged. Who gets the record and gets thrown in the clink, it's the woman. She's the victim."

Nicholson is not the only one that doesn't "get it."

Nicholson was joined at the committee by Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day and Immigration Minister Diane Finley. They described the government's three-pronged approach to tackling human trafficking as prevention, protection of victims, and prosecution of those who coerce others into what has been described a modern day form of slavery.

Day acknowledged that prostitution tends to increase around such major sporting events as the Olympics, but the minister said he does not anticipate a significant increase in the cases of women, children and others being trafficked into Canada during that period. He argued traffickers will be deterred by the tight security, plus strict passport and visa requirements, that go with the Olympics.

Right. Those security measures have really been effective in other countries where the Olympics have been held, haven't they? How bloody lame is that.

Of course, when you live in an ivory tower and refuse to come out into the real world, you wouldn't know that traffickers, um, have ways to get around security measures. That they easily issue fake passports and/or confiscate bona fide ones and drop the facade once they're past security.

And especially you wouldn't (want to) know that trafficking happens routinely on our own continent, in the U.S. and in Canada, as these articles (here and here) illustrate. And in cases like the one of a Montreal-based prostitution ring trafficking 12-year old children (yes, right here in the true north strong and free), border security is beside the point.

There are those out in the real world who know that Vancouver already is a major hub for organized crime gangs ... and are trying to educate an indifferent public and political elite that human trafficking is the world's 3rd most lucrative criminal activity and that the link between organized crime and prostitution is undeniable.

It's a tough row to hoe, and progress is slow.

UK newspaper initiative progressive and pro-active

2008-02-11T09:28:00.000-08:00

This is very encouraging ... and about time.

The Newspaper Society is updating its guidelines on those adverts which should be accepted on classified pages.

It wants its members to be especially aware of the link between organised prostitution and human trafficking.

The society has already advised its members on how to spot adverts which might be promoting sexual services. ... The society, which represents most local and regional papers, is suggesting they simply refuse such ads.

It also suggests that payment be made by card or cheque so accounts can be traced, and that papers consult with police.

Bravo to Britain's Newspaper Society for this initiative. This common-sense approach should be standard in every civilized country.

Full article here.

Tell advertisers not to help human traffickers

2008-02-04T13:42:00.000-08:00

I just was at a website and saw one too many ads for "Ukrainian girls."

So I decided to send Google a piece of my mind. I clicked on "Ads by Google" at the bottom of the page and then on "Send Google your thoughts on the site or the ads you just saw." A feedback form popped up, with a link to "Also Report a Violation" which allows you to comment on the ads.

Here is the comment I left:

Displaying ads for "girls" is tantamount to aiding the slave trade. The vast majority of these girls are trafficked and the criminals trafficking them are using you to legitimize their activities. These ads are highly offensive to those who understand this fact of life.

I plan to do that as often as I can whenever I come across such ads. Please join me. It only takes a minute and sends a very strong message.

Who's behind the push for legal brothels in Vancouver?

2008-01-31T13:32:00.000-08:00

Interesting point raised in this article in the Montreal Gazette:

This bizarre notion that laws on prostitution should be altered, even temporarily, to accommodate the sexual desires of fans at large sporting events is not unique to British Columbia. ...

Germany, host of the 2006 World Cup, campaigned against "forced" prostitution, based on trafficked women and children, and the head of FIFA, soccer's world body, urged soccer fans to use only prostitutes who were "voluntarily" in the business. But voluntary was hardly the order of the day, with reports that as many as 40,000 women and children were trafficked into Germany to service the [sex-obsessed soccer fans].

In an essay this year, [University of Ottawa sociologist Richard] Poulin criticized proposals to relax prostitution laws for sports events ... [He] argued that simply removing prostitution from the streets, as Vancouver's Susan Davis suggests, does not turn prostitution, the business of selling one's body to strangers, into a safe activity. ...

With an estimated 90 per cent of prostitutes having been forced into the sex trade, increasing the number of prostitutes is not a good idea. ...

No kidding. Makes one wonder who exactly Susan Davis is working for. Because very few prostitutes are allowed to work for themselves, especially if there is big money involved.

Which raises the question of whether Vancouver's mayor can't grasp that concept or just doesn't want to. Or, worse, is being influenced by well-placed vested interests to legitimize the very profitable criminal activity of pimping and trafficking.

Anti porn site has excellent resources

2008-01-25T12:31:00.000-08:00

It was gratifying to come across this website and have my instinctive take on pornography validated by some very highly credentialled people.

It's called simply Against Pornography and among the many excellent educational resources are autobiographies of porn "stars" Linda Lovelace and Traci Lords. They throw ice water on the notion that these women exercised any "freedom of choice" in their careers in the so-called "sex industry."

There are many thought-provoking articles and summaries of books on the subjects of pornography and prostitution, especially in the context of the feminist movement's failure to grasp, much less address, the inherent harm (to men as well as women) of the "sex industry."

Highly recommended. It can be found here.

Public system fails to adequately inform

2008-01-21T14:56:00.000-08:00

My step-daughter, who is recovering from over a decade of heroin addiction (and yes, all it entails), made a very good point in a recent conversation we had. She was explaining a huge gap in the public discourse regarding recovery from addiction.

Incidentally, she is putting her life back together quite admirably. It hasn't been easy, but she's doing what has to be done. That includes learning about the harm of addiction .... over and above what she learned from harsh personal experience.

The government ministry in place to help recovering addicts is great with providing info on the former. However, she is rather troubled that there is nothing either on TV programs or in the education system dealing with the realities of the latter.

One of those realities is withdrawal symptoms. Knowledge about that, she feels, is something that could deter young people from even trying drugs. If they only knew what awaited them, and that absolutely no one can recover from addiction without going through the agonies of withdrawal, it would turn them completely off.

So that begs the question. Why aren't the consequences of addiction, presented accurately and realistically, mandatory in public and private schools? Surely this should be part of the curriculum for health and wellness studies on an ongoing (and obviously graduated) basis from K-12.

The same goes for the dangers of human trafficking. Sadly, there are some powerful vested interests that would rather these social problems remain unresolved. And unfortunately, some of those "interests" can be found in government ministries across the board, including public safety and public education.

That's why, I believe, it is up to individuals to take a deeper interest in these issues and hold accountable those elected, as well as appointed, to office. Remember, they're inclined to give us what we as voters demand.

So the first step is simply to let your MLA and MP know what issues matter to you, and why. (If you can offer a solution, all the better.) And they are just a mouse click away.

Sexual Terrorism site blocked by Sudan government

2008-01-18T21:41:00.000-08:00

It's deja-vu all over again. Corrupt officials keep trying to stifle the screams of women subjected to commercial rape. Now they're doing it in cyberspace by blocking access to sites like this that expose injustice and corruption.

A couple of months ago access was blocked to citizens of the United Arab Emirates, as I reported here. Hardly an isolated case, tho. I just got this email from a cyberfriend in the Middle East ...

"A Sudanese contributor just alerted us that our Sexual Terrorism website is now blocked in Sudan (in addition to the UAE and Saudi Arabia.)

As usual, it is NOT because of the "sex" in the domain. It is due to its controversial content.

'Sorry, this page has been blocked by National Telecommunication Corporation.'

We'll see which country comes next. My bet is on Kuwait."

These gals are working so hard and often, not surprisingly, get discouraged. Please take a moment to go to their website and leave an encouraging comment. And while you're there, educate yourself a bit more on the issue. They'd appreciate it.

How victims are trapped

2008-01-18T15:51:00.000-08:00

A video clip on the UN.GIFT website (United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking) shows how easy it is for traffickers to ensnare women, especially those who are young and destitute.

The video is very short, about a minute or so long. It's basically a crash course in the routine operations of this odious "trade."

It can be viewed here.

(H/T to Sexual Terrorism.)

More blogs springing up to help raise awareness

2008-01-09T10:40:00.000-08:00

More "good" news ... at least on the consciousness-raising front.

There are increasingly more blogs springing up highlighting the scourge of human trafficking.

In addition to the one linked to in the previous post, I would recommend a visit to Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation.

It's based in San Diego, California ... but trafficking is a universal, global problem so chances are the information there would be very useful wherever you may be located. Lots of good links as well.

US declares January 11 Human Trafficking Awareness Day

2008-01-09T10:20:00.000-08:00

Good news (here) for those of us trying to raise awareness of human trafficking. What it will do to help eradicate the odious flesh trade remains to be seen, but it's a start.

A resolution passed by the US Senate on June 22, 2007 has forever marked January 11th as a day of awareness and vigilance for the countless victims of Human Trafficking across the globe.

Shared Hope International (SHI) - a leader in the worldwide effort to eliminate sexual slavery – and founder Congresswoman (1994-1999) Linda Smith has launched assessments in 10 U.S. cities that examine the condition of America's trafficked youth. These assessments analyze the identification and treatment of victims of "domestic minor sex trafficking" (DMST) and will empower communities to take action. SHI will also launch a nationwide awareness campaign -featuring amazing undercover footage and emotional survivor interviews - about the epidemic of American youth being trafficked in cities across the United States. ...

Full article here.

Let's hope other countries quickly jump on this very worthy bandwagon.

Canadians, please write to your MPs and demand that our government be among the first.

You can find your MP here. Emails are quick and snail mail is even more effective ... postage free if you send it to your MP at the House of Commons in Ottawa. If you need ideas for what to write, check out the excellent Human Trafficking Watch blog (here).

Ukrainians and other Slavs (and their diaspora communities) need to do the same in (and for) their respective countries. Ditto the Middle East. There isn't even one Middle East country on Shared Hope's list, and the only one East European one is the Czech Republic ...

Help Vancouver's mayor understand the danger of legal brothels

2007-11-16T14:55:00.000-08:00

The Temple Committee Against Human Trafficking at Montreal's Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom (which includes the senior rabbi) is calling on all concerned individuals to send (literally) this message to the mayor of Vancouver:

We are concerned about a proposal that seeks approval to open legal brothels in Vancouver in time for the Olympic Games of 2010.

We are concerned that Mayor Sam Sullivan believes that this would reduce violence against women enslaved in these brothels.

Prostitution is an inherently violent activity against women. Legal brothels will open the door to more human trafficking, as witnessed in places such as Germany, The Netherlands, Australia and Las Vegas.

More human trafficking means more exploitation, enslavement and abuse of women.

Prostitution is not sex between two consenting adults. Research shows that most of these women are duped or coerced into this most heinous human rights abuse.

If you agree with the above, please copy it, sign and email to Mayor Sam Sullivan of Vancouver on December 5, 2007.

Please follow your email with a hard copy to the Mayor’s office:
Mayor Sam Sullivan,
Vancouver City Hall
53 West 12th Avenue
Vancouver, B.C. V5Y 1V4

They will be sending the Mayor a package of information on human trafficking on December 5th. It would be good if he also received a flood of messages and letters "helping" him to see the error of his ways, since he seems to have some problem doing so on his own.

A standard letter mailed within Canada is $0.52. A first-class letter mailed from the United States (less than 1 ounce) is $0.69.

A few minutes and less than $1 in postage seems hardly much to ask of those fortunate enough not be sharing the fate of the enslaved.

Speaking of being silenced...

2007-11-15T09:57:00.001-08:00

I just heard from a reliable inside source that citizens of the United Arab Emirates have been blocked access to a website that exposes the rampant institutionalized sex abuse in that country.

If you go the site, which is called Sexual Terrorism, you will notice, I guess, why the authorities wouldn't be crazy about that kind of buzz being created in their affluent little corner of the world.

So, please go there and comment. Help make it the most talked about site in the blogosphere.

Anonymous commenting

2007-11-07T08:09:00.000-08:00

I just got a comment on an old post from back in December of last year. The anonymous commenter apparently considered my opinion uninformed .. but rather than providing more information he/she chose to try and intimidate me into silence.

I find that kind of anonymous commenting troubling ... for all I know it could be someone I know. I have no idea who it is, although the commenter certainly knows who I am. That is playing dirty, I think.

I've always allowed anonymous comments on this blog. The idea is to allow people who are shy or even afraid of retribution to still be part of the public discourse and have their opinions and voices heard.

However, this rather unfriendly and vaguely threatening anonymous comment did set me back a bit and made me wonder if perhaps I should change my policy.

But I won't. That may well have been the intention. And I will not allow myself or anyone else to be silenced by someone who doesn't have the courage or decency to identify him/herself when challenging an assumption in public.

A point I made in my response to Mr. or Ms. Anonymous.

"Ordinary" professionals identifed as kiddie porn purchasers

2007-11-06T10:43:00.000-08:00

No doubt this is just a drop in the cesspool that consumers of porn swim in. But, it's good that at least some action is being taken.

It would be ideal if the names of these otherwise "respectable" consumers were made public. Surely the self-absorbed, irresponsible consumers of kiddie porn should be made to endure the unpleasant consequences of their reprehensible behaviour. Seems only fair, given what the (sex) objects of their "affection" have had to endure.

Read this and weep:

Scot arrested in child porn probe

... More than 90 people in eight countries have so far been arrested in connection with a website selling tailor-made videos of abuse. ... a 59-year-old man has been charged. ... the Italian-based website had 2,500 customers in 19 countries. ...

The images were mainly made in the [sic] Ukraine, Belgium and the Netherlands and most of the victims were Ukrainian. ... The investigation began in July 2006, when police in Australia found a video on the internet showing an adult abusing two young girls.

The girls were identified by police in Belgium and the offender, their father, was arrested.

He in turn led investigators to the producer of the video, an Italian man who operated in Belgium and the Netherlands but also owned a studio in Ukraine.

... the customers came from many different countries and all walks of life.

"They are from all layers of society. We have identified schoolteachers, swimming instructors, lawyers, IT specialists"...

... the videos had been "tailor made", with customers ordering specific acts to be performed by specific children. In some cases the children had been made to hold a piece of paper with the customer's name on, like a "personal trophy"....

A total of 23 children aged between nine and 16 who were shown being abused have been identified. Of those, 21 are from Ukraine and two from Belgium. ...

Full article here. If you have the stomach for it.

Vancouver trafficking forum update

2007-11-05T20:59:00.000-08:00

Last weekend's Human Trafficking Forum in Vancouver was very well-attended even though the local media basically ignored it. I was in fact the only media person there, and I went as a paying participant rather than working media.... altho of course I will still be writing it up.

Victor Malarek gave another mesmerizing keynote address on Friday night about the realities of human trafficking and the grim lives of the victims. I've heard speak him before and interviewed him twice on my program and he never fails to impress an audience with his passion and knowledge. He got (not surprisingly) a standing ovation.

Saturday consisted of a series of lectures and discussions with locals. It was a very intense day, coming on the heels of a very busy work week for me. And unfortunately I slept in and missed the first session, which was about a new global initiative on trafficking. My profound apologies to my non-Canadian readers for that. I will try and find out from someone who was there what it was about, and post it here.

There was a fair bit of focus on the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics, amid concern that Whistler and Vancouver are in danger of becoming the world's hottest whorehouse for 17 days.

While this is of course a valid concern, quite frankly, to me it seems to smack of NIMBYism a bit. It's all very well and good to let the traffickers and pimps know that we are not open for business here, but really, what message does that send... really? Pretty much just "Go elsewhere." (And what message does that send to their victims?)

Of course I am in favour of letting scumbag traffickers and pimps know that their business is not welcome here in 2010. But it shouldn't end there. Hopefully, it won't.

To be fair, I did come out of the forum assured that some positive strides are being made ... on the home front at least. Liberal Senators Mobina Jaffer and Gerard Phelan spoke about their work to push through Bill S-222, a private member's bill toughening up the wishy-washy current bill to amend the criminal code in regard to human trafficking. BC's provincial government has, I found out there, opened something called the Office for Combatting the Trafficking of Persons about 3 months ago ... but good luck finding their website or even a mention of it on the government's website.

Apart from government lip service, it does seem that public awareness is growing, and there is a bit more media attention given to the matter. The forum was organized by a local Catholic group and there were a number of Roman Catholic nuns there. They are actually working very hard (and, it seems, effectively) to raise awareness. They are also working to provide services and support to victims of trafficking... and as such walking the walk as so many just talk the talk.

I'll be posting more this week as I sift through the reams of notes I took as well as the backlog of articles I haven't had a chance to comment on yet.

More reasons why legalizing prostitution would be a disaster

2007-11-05T20:56:00.000-08:00

I would ask all those who are under the illusion that the ludicrous notion of legalizing (or decriminalizing) prostitution has anything to do with protecting women to watch this video.

Then, after hearing survivors who managed to exit the wonderful "sex trade" tell their harrowing and heart-breaking stories, come back and tell me again why it is such a good idea.

Oh, yes and tell me what you thought about the part where the unemployed air hostess in the Netherlands was told to go to work in a brothel in order to re-enter the work force, and whether you would be happy if EI presented such an option to you ... or your daughter.

Think about it. Is this what we want in our country, too? For our daughters and grandaughters, nieces, cousins, sisters, aunts and mothers to be forced BY THE STATE into a degrading and potentially life-threatening situation?

And don't tell me it wouldn't happen here. Why wouldn't it ... when the precedent has already been set in the model country for legalized prostitution?

Victor Malarek to speak in Vancouver tonight

2007-11-02T08:21:00.001-07:00

Tonight the forum on human trafficking here in Vancouver starts, and I'll be heading over to the Polish community centre to hear keynote speaker Victor Malarek and connect with like-minded locals.

Tomorrow will be a full day with speakers on a new global initiative on human trafficking for NGOs, a national (Canadian) perspective on human trafficking, combatting human trafficking in BC, and implications for 2010.

Will keep you posted...

Ottawa sex trade [sic] customers, you've got mail

2007-10-12T21:20:00.000-07:00

Big whoopee deal.

Ottawa police are literally sending home the message that customers of the city's street-level sex trade [sic] aren't welcome in its neighbourhoods.

[As of this week] a special "community safety letter" will be mailed to the residence of any driver who is stopped by police while talking to prostitutes in certain Ottawa neighbourhoods ...

"The letter is geared to inform the driver of the vehicle, the potential john, that their activity is not wanted in the concerned neighbourhood," said police Supt. Gilles Larochelle. "It's a letter that educates the individual."

The letter warns the driver that there is a "clear correlation" between street prostitution and drug use and that there are health concerns such as HIV and hepatitis. It also says community members are concerned about children finding used needles and condoms in playgrounds and about increased traffic.

Well, golly gee, I guess someone figures that if folks knew better they would do better. So, what ... the Ottawa police figues that these johns just don't know about this "correlation" and that if they did, they would stop using prostitutes? Sure, they're just respectable, hard-working guys looking for a bit of release, eh? No big deal. The fact that the women who provide that release have to numb themselves with drugs to keep on doing it is not their concern, of course. There are more important things to worry about, like covering legal asses (so to speak):

Patrol officers have been told that if they witness a car that appears to be in a neighbourhood to solicit prostitutes, they should talk to and identify the driver. They should also make sure he was speaking with a prostitute, said Larochelle, who confirmed that speaking with a prostitute is not illegal. The letter would then be sent to the driver's home.

That concerns Jack Mackinnon, president of the Civil Liberties Association, National Capital Region. He said the program is well-intentioned, but infringes on people's rights.

Yeah ... but whose rights, exactly? It looks like the only ones who would "suffer" would be those banging drug-addicted women willing to sell their bodies to feed their habit. Clearly, such infringement doesn't concern the residents:

... the program has wide support from residents of inner city neighbourhoods plagued by drugs and prostitution. In fact, police said it was residents who suggested the program in the first place. ...

The program has also won praise from Gordon Keith, president of the Cartier-Vanier Business Improvement Association, who said he wants a clean and safe neighbourhood free of prostitutes that will attract new businesses.

"If there's no johns there, the prostitutes won't be there either," he said. "So let's attack the root of the problem."

Something tells me no one is truly, genuinely interested in attacking "the root of the problem." If they were, they would be doing a whole lot more than sending namby-pamby, euphemistic letters to prowling johns.

This is just more of the "out of sight, out of mind" general mindset of Canada's wealthiest city and seat of the country's power.

Full article here.

Sex "trade" relies on slave labour

2007-10-12T17:38:00.000-07:00

The comments in this BBC article indicate what an uphill battle this is ... the cold indifference of some people is mind-boggling. Speaking of cold, it is cash that motivates the exploiters and entraps the victims.

In the industrialised parts of the US and Europe, a forced sex worker earns an average $67,200 per year on behalf of her (or his) master, according to an ILO estimate.

Yet by Bulgarian standards - one of the poorest countries in Europe where the average annual wage is about $2,600. A forced prostitute in the transition countries brings in profits of $23,500, making sex slavery 10 times more lucrative than other forced labour in these countries...

As for the suppliers of the cash that drives this "market"... they are beyond disgusting.

A 2003 survey of 185 clients [sic] ... found that more than three quarters of the respondents "expressed a preference for prostitutes aged 25 or under, 22% preferred those aged 18 or below".

Many of the prostitute clients openly admitted to a preference for young and unfree persons because they are more docile, the report added. ...

Full article here.

Human Trafficking Forum 2007 in Vancouver

2007-10-12T13:53:00.000-07:00

The 2007 Forum On Human Trafficking takes place on November 2-3, 2007 in Vancouver in order to help bring forth community, and interfaith partnerships to help provide more awareness of this issue, and to further discover how we can work together in unity to suppress the trafficking of human beings politically and socially.

“The only way for evil to thrive is for good people to do nothing”-Edmund Burke

Each year, the UN estimates that up to 4 million people are trafficked, making it the third largest illegal market after drugs and arms. Trafficking persons has been described as a modern form of slavery. In Canada, the RMCP believes that over 800 of these victims end up on Canadian streets annually, with Asian victims trafficked more frequently to Vancouver and Western Canada, while Eastern European and Latin American victims are more often trafficked to Toronto and Eastern Canada.

Keynote speaker is Victor Malarek, and award-winning journalist who currently works at CTV. In addition to his news reporting, Malarek has written five non-fiction books. His most recent work, The Natashas - The New Global Sex Trade (2003) is about the worldwide sex industry.

Registration details and form here.

Video of Roundtable on trafficking now available

2007-10-10T22:09:00.000-07:00

A video recording of "Roundtable: HumanTrafficking from Eastern Europe: North American and EU Responses" is now available ...

The roundtable consisted of two separate panels, the first of which focused on human trafficking in the European context. ...[T]he problem of human trafficking from and within Eastern Europe has transcended the transition-from-communism paradigm and has become institutionalized in the region. ...

The second panel focused on Canadian responses to human trafficking. ... [T]he Canadian government offers temporary visas to people who have been trafficked into the country, but it is very difficult for victims to prove that they have been trafficked. Furthermore, the Palermo Protocol against trafficking in persons, to which Canada is a signatory, is an inadequate mechanism for dealing with the issue. According to the Protocol, the main victim of trafficking is the state to which people are trafficked; the people being trafficked are viewed as the "contraband" brought into the country. Thus, the current international approach is one that focuses on international crime as opposed to the violation of the human rights of the victims.

Clearly, human trafficking is a pressing global human rights and crime problem: it is the third most lucrative international crime business after drugs and arms smuggling. Yet, it does not get the attention from governments that would lead to a solution, or at least mitigation, of the crisis. ...

The roundtable took place on Thursday, January 25, 2007. Video is available here.

Canadian anti-trafficking author/activist/jourmalist receives award

2007-09-22T17:09:00.000-07:00

Victor Malarek, Senior Reporter at CTV's W-FIVE, was named recipient of the John Syrnick Award for Journalism, sponsored by the Ukrainian-Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko. The award is named in honour of John Syrnick, who served as editor of Ukrainian Voice from 1947 to 1970.

Malarek is also the renowned author of five books of non-fiction. His most recent book, The Natashas - The New Global Sex Trade (Viking), was published to critical acclaim in 2003. In 2006, he was instrumental in CTV's production of a documentary W-FIVE: Forgotten Children which highlighted the plight of orphans in Ukraine.

With a keen eye for hard-hitting investigative journalism, Malarek has worked for The Globe and Mail, CBC television's Fifth Estate and currently for CTV. He has received a Michener Award for investigative reporting a record four times, most recently in 2001 for his exhaustive study of the Toronto police union. He received a Gemini Award in 1997 as Canada's Top Broadcast Journalist.

In 2003 UCPBA(O) invited Victor Malarek to do the Ottawa launch of his seminal book on the topic, The Natashas .... Working with community groups and government agencies, they helped organize the Forum on Human Trafficking in 2004. This year, working with the Embassy of Ukraine and community groups, they brought speakers from the Anti-trafficking Initiative of the Children of Chornobyl Fund to speak in Ottawa. It is gratifying to see the person who inspired such action recognized by the wider Ukrainian Canadian community.

Malarek was chosen from a short list of Canadian journalists who provide illuminating coverage of issues important to a readership of over one million Ukrainian Canadians. The Award was presented by Andrew Hladyshevsky, President of the Shevchenko Foundation in Toronto on May 14, 2007, at the Faculty Club, University of Toronto. Invited guests included Ontario dignitaries, leaders of the Ukrainian-Canadian community and the media.

More on Malarek's book The Natashas here.

Let's dance on this industry's grave ...

2007-09-07T09:11:00.000-07:00

So music videos are a dying art form...

With the music industry in crisis from falling sales and file sharing, labels have less cash to subsidize elaborate videos that will mostly be seen in miniature on computers. The result has been a major shift in the art form, as artists increasingly embrace the YouTube esthetic with cheap, stripped-down, low-production videos.

Too bad, so sad. It's an industry that deserves to die. It has created such an incredibly jaded attitude of indifference towards women's dignity that pimps have become fashionable and what they do apparently not only acceptable but worth emulating.

Even Kanye West - one of the most video-conscious artists in music - experimented with a small, quirky clip ... [starring] white comedian Zach Galifianakis.

Pimping an orange tractor on a country farm, he lip-syncs: "Homey, this is my day."

What the hell does that mean? Pimping a tractor??? Is that cool-speak for selling a tractor? Or earning money by working on one? Or just a laughable attempt by pompous urbanites who consider themselves cool to glamourize farm work?

Of course, the imagery is so ridiculous that you might wonder if the unnamed writer(s) of this article and/or the editors at AP are so desperate to be considered cool they are trying to to re-create the English language in the entertainment industry's image. In which case, how pathetic is that?

By using such deplorable, lazy writing, they are being irresponsible and are just perpetuating that blasé attitude of disrespect towards women. Not to mention our society's growing idolization of those who trash even the idea (let alone display) of respecting the dignity of women. (And less importantly, but still deplorably, respect for the English language and good writing.)

However, no doubt that arrogant attitude is considered ultra cool in the media/entertainment industry, and I'm just not. Anyway, who wants to be responsible? That's no fun. And, I'm told, it doesn't sell papers.

Whatever. At least every now and again there is justice in life, thanks to the force of the marketplace (and no thanks to those who try to manipulate it).

... a longtime producer of videos for acts ranging from Britney Spears to Will Smith, doesn't expect to ever see another $2 million video: "The record industry as a whole has shrunk. There's not as much money to throw around."

[He] sees the effect particularly in hip-hop, where sales declines have been the steepest ...

You can read the full article here. I, for one, am not weeping over this news. With any luck, publications and newswire services that sacrifice quality to be "cool" will soon follow.

War on sex trafficking declared in cyberspace

2007-08-28T20:40:00.000-07:00

It's encouraging to read that more and more people are starting to use the internet to fight back against the scumbags that use it for sexual exploitation.

The Sexual Terrorism blog reports that in Bahrain, a human rights group has launched a cyber-campaign with a dual purpose: to inform victims victims and expose victimizers.

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights is already investigating the perpetrators behind websites that are offering sex to customers here and in other Gulf countries, and now with the same technology it hopes to help solve the problem.

It believes raising awareness about sex trafficking and offering victims a way out are the keys to making a difference.

The society plans to approach companies, bloggers, recruiters, organisations and others to post on their website a banner in various languages that will contain information about sex trafficking and useful contacts for victims.

Similar information will be sent through an e-mail campaign.

Full story here.

Exposing these creeps and their tactics can work if it's done on a large scale. You can't count on bureaucrats in established institutions doing it, however, because there is so much corruption and collusion within them in every country.

Thank God for the internet.

Priorities just a little screwed up?

2007-08-28T10:26:00.000-07:00

No one loves animals more than I do (I feed feral cats and pet them if they'll let me) and I think that anyone who mistreats them should be drawn and quartered.

But aren't people every bit as important? Where is the public outrage over the countless "natashas" who suffer far more than even these poor animals?

Embattled Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick could face prison time for pleading guilty to a dogfighting charge. ...

Vick, 27, was accused of helping to run an interstate dogfighting outfit ... Court documents said that when the kennel's dogs won, the gambling proceeds were generally shared by Vick's three co-defendants ... documents also revealed that Vick and two of his co-defendants killed a number of dogs that did not perform well in practice sessions. The dogs were executed by drowning or hanging.

... the conspiracy charge is punishable by up to five years in prison.

Full story here.

Meanwhile, here in Vancouver, the Province reports that the first person charged in Canada with human trafficking was convicted in Vancouver on June 21.

But not on the 22 counts of human smuggling he was brought to trial to face.

Michael (Wai Chi) Ng, who lured women to Canada as waitresses only to put them to work as prostitutes in his East Vancouver massage parlour, was found guilty in provincial court of one count of keeping a common bawdy house, two counts of helping create false documents for women to travel under and two counts of procuring a person to have illicit sexual intercourse with another. Had Ng been convicted on the human trafficking charges, he faced a possible life sentence and a $1-million fine.

He'll be sentenced on the lesser charges Oct. 5. Right, and no doubt he'll be home for Christmas.

Yes, because the law is an ass. It is disgusting that animal abusers are punished far more severely than human traffickers, pimps, producers of kiddie porn and other scum that abuse people.

But might that be due to complicity on the part of some of those who are supposed to be protecting the public? And perhaps to members of the public who create the demand for prostitutes and porn that human traffickers and other scum are only too happy to meet?

When good men do nothing ...

2007-06-20T20:04:00.000-07:00

I was aghast to see this post by a blogging guru, one I had deep respect for.

Old Media Versus New Media Spills Into Adult Biz

From the recent industry conference:

Power is shifting away from the old guard — video producers — and toward the online sector ... but the old guard will not cede the field. ...

"The problem in this industry is that anyone can make porn ... " [says an "old guard" video producer]

Hmmm. Anyone can make content - doesn’t that sound familiar?

This "biz" is one that justifies calling lucre "filthy" and this post justifies those who vilify capitalism and commerce.

Yes, the guru is making a point about how the internet is changing business models across the board.

However, being so nonchalent about the commercial exploitation of women, and even worse, giving the exploiters free publicity (and thereby legitimacy), is actually being complicit in it.

It's a variation on the theme of "evil happens when good men do nothing." Men can do so much more than women can to stop the exploitation, and prevent the mistreatment that results from it. Unfortunately, few men do. And so, many women, and increasingly children, suffer.

Why prostitution is evil

2007-06-19T21:34:00.001-07:00

Here is an interesting article that explains, far better than I ever could, why prostitution should be banished from this planet.

... Most of the responses to prostitution of world, city and state governments, of media, of ‘right thinking’ citizens, of UN agencies, of the Financial Pages of newspapers for whom it is a nice little earner, are based upon the idea that prostitution is inevitable. ... The burgeoning sex industry has greatly affected the world that we all inhabit and makes it very hard to imagine a world beyond prostitution. Despite the recognised harms of prostitution, the massive multibillion dollar industry of trafficking women and girls into prostitution and pornography, the psychological and physical harms to the women in the industry, the degradation of neighbourhoods by men’s prostitution behaviour and the ill effects of training new generations of men that it is OK to pornographise and prostitute women, there is still an overwhelming sense that prostitution is ‘natural’ and nothing can be done about it. ...

In a world beyond prostitution there would not be the great gulf between women that has traditionally been created by men’s prostitution behaviour. Men have separated women into madonnas and whores, good and bad women, for their own purposes. ... ‘Respectable’ working women have been separated from their prostituted sisters. The gap between the young female executive and her prostituted sister is apparently huge, but it can collapse if she acquires gambling debts. ... Women outside prostitution are encouraged to think that prostituted women are somehow different, women who actually like to take the smelly penises of many different men into their bodies every day. But they are not different, only made so for men’s purposes. ...

This article is written by a very thoughtful woman in Australia for CATWA ... the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women - Australia. Read it here. Highly recommended.

There's also one about the dismal failure of legalization of prostitution in Australia. It bears out my claims that legalization just makes things worse for women. Read it here. Also highly recommended.

Alarming growth of human trafficking in Middle East

2007-06-19T09:40:00.000-07:00

Here is another eye-opener for those who tend to romanticize prostitution:

... sex trafficking is a huge issue in the Middle East, especially the Gulf. My concern is not women who choose to do this for their own personal reasons. My concern is women and young girls who are forced to do this on a daily basis with no form of support or help whatsoever.

This kind of corruption is almost always dismissed as “something that exists in every society,” so fighting it is apparently “useless.” This is not an excuse. This is a poor reaction to a major crisis that shouldn’t exist today. The fact remains that it does exist, and it’s happening right here in front of our eyes while we dismiss it, justify it, and ignore it in silence or ignorance.

The link for this blog came to me in a heart-breaking email plea from a reader of this blog who took the time to track me down and email me personally.

She is desperate for help, as the misery is increasing for the trafficking victims she is trying to help. And I feel so sick that all I can do is put up a link to this blog and hope that maybe it will melt the cold heart of someone who dismisses the whole affair as just part of "the oldest profession."

As Victor Malarek said at his book launch here in Vancouver, the fact that "men are pigs" is just as old.

Obviously, not all men are pigs. But someone else said that true evil happens when good men do nothing. And unfortunately, too many good men (and women) do just that.

I wish I could do more. Maybe I can, and just don't see the forest for the trees. I'm always open to suggestions (and help). I hope at least that putting up this link helps, somehow. Maybe just being aware and making other people aware helps. One can only hope.

Catholic nuns warns of trafficking danger at 2010 Olympics

2007-06-18T14:17:00.000-07:00

This story in The B.C. Catholic illustrates how difficult it is to speak frankly about human trafficking, much less to actually do something about it.

As athletes around the world train with all their hearts for the 2010 Vancouver-Whistler Olympics, a darker element will likely tag along to the Winter Games, warns Sister Joan Dawber.

[Criminals] are preparing to operate the euphemistically-termed "comfort houses" which involve trafficking in humans, most often women and children, while the games play on.

At a day of reflection, entitled “With Open Eyes, With Open Ears, With Open Hearts,” Sister Dawber and Sister Marie Elena Dio examined the root causes of world poverty and trafficking in humans ... The reason a subculture which traffics in humans can exist in our midst, reflected Sister Dawber, is simple: profits from such activities are as large as the plight of its victims ...

Certainly that's true, as trafficking in humans is the third most lucrative illicit trade globally, after drugs and arms. But with all due respect, Sister Dawber glosses over the ugly reality that human trafficking is a black market dealing primarily in sexual exploitation.

Some trafficking victims are industrial slaves, but most are enslaved in the horrifying, soul-destroying "sex trade" that caters to the voracious appetites of men in affluent countries for no-strings sex.

Buying fair trade products and lobbying govt and corporations, as she suggests, might make us feel like we're doing something about human trafficking. However, I doubt it will do much to stop the ruthless mafioso that trafficks in human beings.

With all due respect, I think it's time for everyone, the Sisters included, to face the harsh reality of what exactly drives the market that this mafioso caters to.

I hate to sound like a stuck record, but Victor Malarek's book, The Natashas: The New Global Sex Trade, lays it all out pretty clearly.

The Sisters (and the writer) might also want to talk to anti-pedophilia crusader Doug Stead of Port Coquitlam. They might be surprised to learn that many of the patrons (and profiteers) of this lucrative market are otherwise fine, upstanding citizens working in law enforcement, the judiciary, education, business and just about every public institution in existence.

It's all very well and good to create good optics by drinking fair trade coffee and the like. But I think it would be far more effective to take personal responsibility for our own part in the problem. If nothing else, we could educate ourselves and face the ugly reality. Maybe a good next step would be to start demanding accountability on the part of the patrons and profiteers of this disgusting and dehumanizing "trade" instead of calling on the government to do it for us.

I do appreciate, however, that drinking coffee is much easier ... and safer.

Canadian government decides against decriminalizing prostitution

2007-05-09T08:13:00.000-07:00

According to a recent National Post article, the Canadian government will not decriminalize prostitution but will continue "to address prostitution by focusing on reducing its prevalence."

...the government considers prostitution to be "degrading and dehumanizing" and that it is "often committed and controlled by coercive individuals against those who are frequently powerless to protect themselves from abuse and exploitation." ...

It's too bad those in favour of decriminalizing prostitution don't seem to get that this is the reality for the overwhelming majority of women who end up as prostitutes. Only a small minority of women and girls consider prostitution a viable career choice, so you have to wonder who and what is behind this decriminalizing movement.

Unfortunately, the government "stopped short of accepting a committee recommendation to develop educational programs about the costs and risks of getting into prostitution."

Educational programs really are the only hope in neutralizing the damaging effects on impressionable minds of such irresponsible yet influential films as the celluloid Cinderella fantasy popularized by Julia Roberts and Richard Gere... not to mention the wholescale glamourization of the so-called "sex trade" by media and business.

H/T to Ruth at Rootleweb.

Hope for trafficking victims?

2007-04-26T09:52:00.000-07:00

In case anyone has noticed, I haven't been posting much lately here.

There's been less stuff coming through on the private Natashas email list. But mostly, it's because this topic can be so depressing ... the overwhelming enormity of it makes it seem futile.

And, I've discovered The Secret, and have been focussing on the positive or, rather, getting positive results in my own life. Adjusting one's life outlook requires a paradigm shift, and that takes a big chuck of concentration.

As with the Holodomor, I've been reluctant to personally get too deep into the trafficking issue, lest despair overtake me.

But, as I apply The Secret in my own life, I wonder if maybe that reluctance is actually working at cross purposes to my desire to do something to help trafficking victims. I put up this blog thinking it was one thing I could do, and while it's moving up in the Technorati rankings, it's not exactly getting a gazillion hits a day, a week, or even a month... much less improving the situation.

What I've done in my own life is use The Secret to visualize my stepdaughters' recovery. They have been addicts all their adult lives. Both are now in their 30s. We've watched them go in and out of recovery programs, feeling helpless to do anything as they certainly did not want any help we could offer them.

One of them has 4 beautiful children and a wonderful husband, and had abandoned them for life on the street and crack cocaine. But just a little over a week ago, it occurred to me to use The Secret to help her (and her sister). So I told hubby that we need to just visualize and believe that she is healed, healthy and happy. In truth, we had in the past never really got beyond the hoping stage, you know, the old "hope for the best but expect the worst" mindset.

Well, wouldn't you know it, but the very next day we got a call from her husband, saying she'd left a "farewell" (I'm going to commit suicide now) message on his cell phone, which he rarely takes to work, but for some reason did this day. We'd shared The Secret with him, and so he asked "The Universe" for instructions and then immediately called 9-1-1.

Within 10 minutes the police found her, brought her into the hospital and locked her into a psyche ward where, for the first time in over a decade, there was finally a shrink actually interested in helping her and getting her completely off drugs instead of just giving her another prescription.

The next day, her husband was not able to go and visit her, and it just so happened that I was going to a meeting that morning that had been postponed from an earlier day. Wouldn't you know it, I was going to be very near the hospital. Although I had no idea if she'd be receptive to a visit from me, and in fact I had sworn I would never again have anything to do with her (that's how bad the situation was), I felt compelled to go and see her. There, we made polite small talk, but I was able to briefly mention The Secret. I asked her to promise me that she would start to think of what she wants instead of what she doesn't want, i.e. addiction and the misery it has brought her and the rest of us.

I left her, rather depressed after our encounter which seemed at the time a waste of time.

It wasn't. What I said apparently has resonated so strongly with her that, according to her husband, she actually is changing her behaviour, facing her past (for the first time) and facing the future with optimism. She is a believer of The Secret and hasn't even read the book or seen the movie!

And, that same day that she was brought back, my husband heard from her sister, for the first time in about two years.

The rapidity of these turnabouts is nothing less than astounding and cannot possibly be attributed to anything other than our faith in The Secret and applying the law of attraction. While we asked on their behalf, it was actually for ourselves, because we so want them to be healthy, happy and whole, and part of our lives. Their complete and total recovery is very real to us, and the speed at which our vision is manifesting itself is almost dizzying.

So it makes me wonder.... if enough people believed and applied The Secret to trafficking victims, couldn't it result in similar success for them?

Legalizing prostitution a stupid idea

2007-04-03T13:01:00.000-07:00

I vehemently disagree with those (probably) well-meaning but misguided souls advocating to legalize prostitution.

In theory, it's fine, but in reality it would be a travesty. All you'd be doing is allowing pimps and traffickers to visit even more misery on women (and children) in order to cash in on the growing sex-on-demand "industry."

If it were a bona-fide "trade" that women choose voluntarily, that would be a different story. How many little girls do you know who aspire to being a prostitute? Is that a "profession" you would encourage your daughter to take up?

Maybe some do enter the "trade" of their own volition, but they're in the minority and usually are soon disabused of any romantic notions of a "Pretty Woman" lifestyle. Most, however, enter it out of desperation and despair, or because they are trafficked.

Personally, I think it is possible to treat the victims (i.e. the women and children forced into prostitution) with dignity without legalizing the so-called and very mis-named sex "trade." It is the johns, rather than prostitutes, who should be carted off to jail.

It's not a matter of changing the law, but of changing attitudes. Unfortunately, it is much easier to change laws.

If you still think prostitution should be legalized, watch this.

The film is in English. So watch it.

And weep, like I did.

"Becoming Natasha" - Toronto performances

2007-03-20T10:26:00.000-07:00

If you're in the Toronto area, consider taking this in ... and invite others along, especially advocates of legalized prostitution and casual consumers of pornography.

Becoming Natasha will be performed at the Robert Gill Theatre 214 College St. (Robert Gill Theatre, 214 College St. 3rd floor (use St. George St. entrance) Not wheelchair accessible.

Performances are Friday, March 23 and Saturday, March 24th at 8pm and will be followed by a panel discussion. Tickets are $10 and can be bought at the Robert Gill Box office: 416-978-7986. Email for group reservations.

This production contains explicit language and is not recommended for those under the age of 18.

Full details in press release here.

Event: Stop the sexual exploitation of children

2007-03-09T13:50:00.000-08:00

If you're in the Vancouver area, here's a worthwhile event to take in.

STOP the Sexual Exploitation of Children and Youth Awareness Week Kick-off

Saturday March 10, 2007
10am - 4pm
Safeway at 1033 Austin Avenue, Coquitlam
KICK OFF at 1pm

FREE EVENT! OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Hosted byTri-Cities Community Action Team. This event is also in conjunction with a fundraising event for Children of the Street Society, in partnership with Safeway. Purchase $30 in groceries and receive a Safeway coupon book FREE.

For more information contact Stephanie Owen at childrenofthestreet@telus.net or 605-777-7510.

H/T to Put Kids First.

Telus - questionable judgement?

2007-02-21T08:16:00.000-08:00

You gotta hand it to Telus, that forward-thinking good corporate citizen that holds its customers' concerns so dear to its (black ink stained) heart.

Why, this company is so in tune with its customers that it caters to them using 20/20 hindsight ... after they've taken their business to more, um, reputable competitors who have a different take on "responsibility" vis-a-vis pumping (should that "u" be an "i"?) pay-for-porn cell phone service.

Read all about the flexible minds and morality at Telus here.

Cross-posted at Nash Holos.

The glamour of exploitation

2007-02-19T21:44:00.000-08:00

Why does this article make me see such a parallel between the fashion industry and the human trafficking and pornography "industries"?

Could it be because so many Ukrainian and other East European girls and women are being exploited by all of them?

So, where are all the women's rights advocates? One could be forgiven for wondering if contemporary feminists care as little about these women and girls as those who profit from their bodies. If not less.

Update on Ukrainian infants killed to harvest stem cells

2007-02-17T16:49:00.000-08:00

A French publication recently published an update on the scandal involving healthy Ukrainian babies being murdered to harvest their stem cells.

... In the [sic] Ukraine, investigators are exploring the possibility that healthy infants and preborns were killed for stem-cell experimentation. It is speculated that the babies’ organs were extracted after allegedly being stolen from mothers by staff at Maternity Hospital Number Six in the eastern city of Kharkov [sic].

... Pictures from the autopsies reveal tiny dismembered bodies with missing organs and brains. Since dismemberment of bodies is not a standard post-mortem practice, it is likely the babies were harvested for the high amounts of stem cells in their brains and bone marrow.
... Due to the increasing worldwide demand for stem cells, it is possible healthy newborns are now being used to feed this demand. These healthy babies mysteriously "die" following a successful birth.

... Bioethicist Wesley Smith believes the demand for hundreds of millions of eggs and stem cells will lead to fetal farming. [T]he allegations of the stolen Ukrainian babies come only months after Family News in Focus reported [Ukrainian] women ... were being paid $200 to abort their babies for the acquisition of stem cells. More specifically, according to Smith, the women were paid to get pregnant for the sole purpose of aborting the babies at eight weeks gestation so the stem cells could be used for an anti-aging beauty treatment.

The Institute for Regenerative Medicine (IRM) in Barbados uses such a treatment that supposedly improves one’s fitness, sex life, mental capacity, and sleeping patterns. ... The treatment involves injecting clients with stem cells from seven- to ten-week-old aborted babies.

Full article here.

One down, millions more to go

2007-02-07T08:28:00.000-08:00

While this child porn bust is good news, it's disheartening to realize how endemic a sickness is man's inhumanity to children.

Authorities in Austria have uncovered a major international child pornography ring that stretches across 77 countries and involves more than 2,360 Internet addresses -- including at least 19 from Canada. ... The Canadians are suspected of paying to access videos on a website of young children, aged 14 and under, being sexually abused.

... the FBI was investigating about 600 Internet addresses in the United States, German authorities were looking at 400 addresses, France at 100 while his country was looking at 23. ...
Austrian police are calling the case "a strike against child pornography unprecedented in Austrian criminal history."

"Girls could be seen being raped, and you could also hear screams,'' said [the] Austrian police expert on Internet crime who headed the investigation. ...

... In Austria, the youngest person implicated in the case is 17 and the oldest is 69. ... the videos were all posted on a Russian website that is now defunct. To access the material, users had to pay US$89. Investigators believe most of the videos were made in Eastern Europe and uploaded somewhere in Britain.

Read the full article here.

Just discovered ... Human Trafficking: The Movie

2007-01-29T11:07:00.000-08:00

A Hollywood movie called Human Trafficking, starring Mira Sorvino and Donald Sutherland, was made back in 2005. Apparently it premiered in October, although it's not clear from the website if that was Oct 2005 or 2006.

Interesting that it's taken this long to learn of this movie. Given Hollywood's sleazy standards, however, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that a movie like this wouldn't be widely promoted.

Also interesting is how, once the shock wears off revelations like this, any intial activism seems to comes to an abrupt halt.

Roman Catholic nuns in Ontario raising awareness of human trafficking

2007-01-11T08:37:00.000-08:00

An excellent article was published recently about a few Roman Catholic nuns in Ontario who have taken on the gargantuan task of educating the public about human trafficking for sexual exploitation.

Shock talk probably isn't what you would expect from a nun. But Sister Dorothy Goetz's message about the global sex-slave trade leaves listeners stunned. They're numbed by estimates that 700,000 to two million people a year are traded like livestock....

The shock waves go both ways. Goetz herself is disconcerted that people are so surprised ...

Goetz and fellow members of the School Sisters of Notre Dame are leading workshops to raise awareness of the huge trade in humans.

So far the sisters have visited three Roman Catholic churches in Waterloo Region ... about eight of the sisters and several volunteers formed a committee to raise awareness by speaking at churches.
The sisters open each talk with the Prayer for The End to Human Trafficking. They show a video and then use a PowerPoint presentation ...

Only one male has attended a committee workshop to date. That disappoints Goetz. ... Men have many skills and contacts that could help women fight human trafficking....

Full article here.

Some human rights abuses harder to expose than others

2007-01-11T07:46:00.000-08:00

It's very commendable of rock stars to help expose human rights abuses around the world.

British rock legend Peter Gabriel has formd an organization called Witness that provides video equipment to human rights activists to record such abuses.

I suspect he may not be aware of the horrific abuses suffered by hundreds of thousands of young women and even children, at the hands of human traffickers pandering to men seeking instant, no-strings-attached sexual gratification.

In which case, someone should send him a copy of The Natashas: Inside the New Global Sex Trade.

Then again, no doubt it would be extremely difficult to film what goes on behind the closed doors and barred windows of brothels and "breaking grounds", much less expose it to public view.

There but for the grace of God...

2007-01-02T20:52:00.000-08:00

An American student at Duke University, who only recently realized she escaped the horrible fate of so many young Ukrainian women, writes ....

I grew up with mummy and daddy who sent me to private school instead of a brothel ... The truth is, a few years ago trafficking in humans barely registered on my radar.

Therefore, I would like to extend my gratitude to all those members of Duke’s international community who, in the past, have branded me a “Russian whore” and told me, with much glee, about what women like me do back in their countries. Without your little jibes, whether uttered in jest or in a calculated attempt at humiliation, I might have never woken up. I would have never seen firsthand the kind of complacency that allows for human beings to be sold like cattle into this special service industry.

... I’ve been shocked out of my shell, reminded of the fact that while I was growing up in a cozy little enclave in Charlotte, North Carolina my compatriots were being beaten into submission by meaty thugs and pawed by drooling clientele.

Read the entire article here. A very worthwhile, if gruesome, read.

Pop icon video raises awareness of trafficking

2006-12-26T18:06:00.000-08:00

Ukraine's female pop icon Ruslana is using her celebrity for for a very good cause.

A big "Brava" to her for putting out this video and raising awareness of the scourge of human trafficking.

The lack of comments at the video site drove home to me that human trafficking, especially for purposes of sexual exploitation, is one of the few remaining "taboo" topics in today's society.

Perhaps that's because it so clearly illustrates the barbarity of contemporary society ... and the reality that despite being more liberal, we are not really as advanced a society as we may like to think.

Cross-posted at the Nash Holos blog.

More on Ukraine baby murders

2006-12-19T17:07:00.000-08:00

Here is another one of the rare articles on the babies murdered in Ukraine for stem cell "research" and some rather dubious beauty treatments for affluent westerners.

The plastic bag looks as if it contains meat. But then a right leg is taken from it and placed surgically on the morgue table, followed by the left one. Then the torso. The head follows, a gaping cavity where the brain used to be.

But it is only when the gloved hand of the pathologist examines the tiny fingers of a baby aged about 30 weeks that the full horror of what I am witnessing sinks in.

This shocking scene was captured on video at post-mortem examinations carried out on behalf of Ukrainian mothers who claim their babies were stolen from them at birth.

[Some] 300 families ... believe their healthy babies were ... taken at birth to have their organs and stem cells harvested ... [for treatments to, among other things] reverse the effects of ageing. ...

... the Council Of Europe is now carrying out its own investigation ... The wall of silence is crumbling. And it may yet reveal a very ugly side to the global beauty business. ...

Full article here.

Whistleblower in baby murder investigations sacked

2006-12-18T19:32:00.000-08:00

World Net Daily reports that an investigator looking into stem-cell trafficking in Ukraine has been fired. Very disturbing. But equally disturbing is, I think, the lack of any focus on those who create the demand that drives this "market." Would the affluent west perhaps be a tad too squeamish to look closely into the mirror?

In the midst of growing interest in reports of a gruesome stem-cell and human-organ black market that traffics in newborn babies taken from their mothers, an investigator looking into the matter has been sacked 'for political reasons,' she says, because she was getting too close to the truth. ...

The Council of Europe is scheduled in February to investigate allegations that newborn babies have been killed to provide stem cells and internal organs. ...

Officials will focus on the role, if any, played by Ukranian research centers and maternity hospitals in the international trade in stem cells. An earlier investigation in 2004 was dropped for lack of firm evidence, but the latest charges have caused the case to be reopened.

Full article here. (H/T Kiev Ukraine News Blog)

This Telegraph article corroborates that report, but suggests the babies may have ended up being adopted in the West. Maybe. Or, maybe not.

Ukraine babies killed for stem cell trade

2006-12-13T10:03:00.000-08:00

According to this BBC News Report, new-born babies in Ukraine are being killed to harvest stem-cells for international traffickers.

There is a trade in stem cells from aborted foetuses, amid unproven claims they can help fight many diseases. But now there are claims that stem cells are also being harvested from live babies.

The BBC has spoken to mothers from the city of Kharkiv who say they gave birth to healthy babies, only to have them taken by maternity staff.

In 2003 the authorities agreed to exhume around 30 bodies of foetuses and full-term babies ... [the Council of Europe] describes a general culture of trafficking of children snatched at birth, and a wall of silence from hospital staff upwards over their fate.

Journalist Urges More Enforcement of Laws Against Human Trafficking

2006-12-07T21:19:00.000-08:00

How long will the powers-that-be, and well as ordinary people, ignore the need for action, as this article illustrates?

Victor Malarek, a well-known investigative journalist, spoke at the U.S. Department of State [recently about] the global problem of trafficking in women, calling it “a disaster of epic proportions.”

Malarek, author of the book The Natashas: Inside the New Global Sex Trade, was introduced by Ambassador John Miller, director of the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons and senior adviser to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on human trafficking.

Human trafficking, according to Malarek, continues to flourish unabated because laws already on the books in most countries are not being enforced. He acknowledged that the sex trade “won’t go away,” but he said minimizing it should be a top priority of all nations.

... Malarek had especially harsh words for the “deceptive mantra” of those in favor of legalizing prostitution, saying that in countries where prostitution is legal, organized crime has grown more powerful and human trafficking has increased. ...

In countries where women have access to “real jobs that don’t require them to shed their clothes,” Malarek said, local brothel owners rely on traffickers to keep their brothels stocked with prostitutes from other countries such as Russia, Moldova, Romania and Ukraine.

Nor does legalized prostitution control the spread of HIV/AIDS... There is nothing, he said, to protect the women from the men who use them.

“Tolerance is a dangerous game,” Malarek said. “The decriminalization crowd is a pack of wolves in sheep’s clothing.” The only way to tackle the problem, he said, is “to go after the men who demand the women.”

... Malarek emphasized that trafficking is “a huge human rights abuse” and that dignity for women should be a top priority. According to State Department statistics, about 600,000 to 800,000 people -- mostly women and children -- are trafficked across national boundaries each year. This figure does not include the millions trafficked within their own countries. ...

Read entire article here. Some good links to other sources there as well.

Docs target inappropriate advertising - about time!

2006-12-04T08:33:00.000-08:00

A doctor's group in the US has made the brilliant observation that advertising influences attitudes in children, and has come out with a call for the government to do something about it.

Inappropriate advertising contributes to many kids' ills, from obesity to anorexia, to drinking booze and having sex too soon, and Congress should crack down on it, the American Academy of Pediatrics says. The influential doctors' group issued a new policy statement in response to what it calls a rising tide of advertising aimed at children.

Rising tide? Have these guys been operating in a vacuum during the last 40 or so years?

... These pervasive ads influence kids to demand poor food choices, and to think drinking is cool, sex is a recreational activity and anorexia is fashionable, the academy says. Interactive digital TV, expected to arrive in a few years, will spread the problem, allowing kids to click on-screen links to Web-based promotions...

Well, duh. But it's pretty naive to expect the U.S. government to take on the big money ad agencies, the big money businesses who shell out big bucks for the ads, and the lawyers paid to look after big-money interests. The backlash against the docs is already starting.

Critics of advertising restrictions say it's a free-speech issue. ...

Of course they do. But still, while demanding change won't bring it about completely, at least it's a start.

Last year, the Institute of Medicine agreed that evidence suggesting that TV ads contribute to childhood obesity is compelling and said industry should market healthy foods to kids. And in September, the Federal Communications Commission said it will study potential links between TV ads and rising rates of obesity in U.S. children. The food industry has started to respond.

This is good news. But how long will it take for an advocacy group to lean on the entertainment industry? Might be a while. As they say in the advertising world, sex sells. It's an even bigger cash cow than food, and there doesn't seem to be much public concern over the escalating encroachment of porn into every aspect of advertising.

Full article here.

Researcher at Alberta university jailed for child porn

2006-12-04T07:17:00.000-08:00

This is the calibre of people in our universities, influencing future generations ...

A British researcher with the University of Lethbridge has been sentenced to 15 months in an English jail ... Robin Phillips pleaded guilty last month to four charges including taking indecent images of children and possessing indecent images of children. Phillips is a British astrophysicist who worked as manager of a research project in Lethbridge.

No doubt this low-life was highly-paid for his "research"... courtesy Canadian taxpayers. And yet said taxpayers quietly fork over their hard-earned dollars, with barely a whimper much less a demand for some sort of accountability. Is that apathy, complacency, or both?

Story here.

U.N. official urges Ukraine to strengthen efforts to combat children trafficking

2006-10-28T06:34:00.000-07:00

This article quotes a UN official taking Ukraine's government to task.

I remain concerned at the low rate of prosecution and sentencing of traffickers, authors of child pornography and other crimes against children," said Juan Miguel Petit, a U.N. official in charge of the world body's efforts to stop child prostitution, child pornography and other crimes against children.

Petit said that the government should strengthen its efforts to combat the problems.

And isn't that just a classic case of blaming the victim?

Ukraine remains a primary source for men, women and children trafficked to Europe, the Middle East and Russia for sexual exploitation and forced labor, according to international experts. Low salaries and high unemployment force thousands of Ukrainians to seek employment abroad, increasing their vulnerability to exploitation, they say.

Why doesn't the UN insist the EU let Ukraine join so the Ukrainian economy would be able to support its population? Then maybe its women and children wouldn't be so "vulnerable." But no. Instead he calls for an impoverished country to create:

... a separate juvenile justice system, naming a special ombudsman on children's rights and setting up a national commission to protect children rights ...

And the money to pay for that will come from where, exactly?

Why doesn't the UN suggest that "destination' countries foot the bill for developing countries to "strengthen their efforts" in combatting human trafficking? Countries like, say, Britain, Germany, Thailand, Turkey, Israel, Canada, the US, and every other country in the "developed" world where trafficked people end up being exploited. Some of those destination countries are, um, UN members.

Oh, wait. That probably wouldn't go over well. In those countries, pornography is highly profitable ... and the media is doing its best to transform sleaze into a glamour industry and lend it respectability. Can't be annoying the avid consumers creating the demand driving the odious "sex trade" now can we.

Much easier to just create good optics by asking the impossible of those who haven't sufficient resources to even object.

Forum to examine New York's response to human trafficking

2006-10-26T11:16:00.000-07:00

The Center for Global Affairs at NYU, The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and Vital Voices Global Partnership, in commemoration of the United Nations International Day for the Abolition of Slavery announce:

Human Trafficking: A Global Challenge in Our Own Backyard

What is human trafficking?

The State Department estimates that there are between 600,000-800,000 people trafficked across country borders throughout the world each year.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime estimates that there are cases of human trafficking originating in 127 countries for exploitation in 137 countries.

This special event will examine the response to human trafficking in the New York region within the global context and feature leaders who call on all of us to act on this worldwide challenge - as diplomats, government officials, educators, businesspeople, and members of our respective communities.

Thursday, November 30, 2006
6pm - 8pm
New York University

Pre-registration will be required as seating is limited. Registration information and event details will be announced in November.

Featured Panelists Include:

NICHOLAS KRISTOF- Pulitzer Prize Winning Columnist, The New York Times (featured speaker and moderator)

RUCHIRA GUPTA- Vital Voices Global Leadership Council Member and Executive Director, Apne Aap Women Worldwide (India)

THE HONORABLE CAROLYN MALONEY- United States Representative, 14th District, New York City

AMBASSADOR JOHN MILLER- Director, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, United States Department of State

MARILYN CARLSON NELSON- CEO and Chairperson, Carlson Companies

JULIA ORMOND- Actress and UN Office on Drugs and Crime Goodwill Ambassador for the Abolition of Slavery and Human Trafficking

For more information, please e-mail Wenchi Yu Perkins.

Upcoming Forum on Human Trafficking

2006-10-24T21:10:00.000-07:00

Every year up to 900,000 people are trafficked across international borders
Most are forced into the sex "trade"
80% are women

Stop the Slavery!
A Forum on Human Trafficking

Saturday, November 4, 2006
9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

In the Library at ‘YHO’
145 Evans Avenue (at Islington)
Etobicoke, ON

This forum will further expose this terrible crime, and build national support for the Private Members Motion on this issue, to be introduced by Joy Smith, MP for Kildonan-St. Paul

Keynote speaker:
Joy Smith, MP - Member of Parliament for Kildonan-St. Paul (Manitoba)

Speakers:
Julie Meeks - Human Trafficking Coordinator, RCMP
Irena Soltys - HUHTC Anti-Trafficking Initiative
Orysia Sushko - National President - Ukrainian Canadian Congress

This FREE forum sponsored by:
Ukrainian Canadian Women’s Council, Toronto Branch
Ukrainian Canadian Congress (National)

For more information:
Irena Patten - 416-767-8134
Orysia Sushko - 905-572-9626

Industry fights anti-porn law

2006-10-24T09:33:00.000-07:00

This Wired News article makes me despair that business will ever redeem itself. Being self-employed, I am of course pro-free enterprise. But I find it disgusting that so many "enterprises" want to be free of social responsibility, as does the detestable and self-serving ACLU.

Salon.com, Nerve.com and other plaintiffs backed by the American Civil Liberties Union are suing over the 1998 Child Online Protection Act. They believe the law could restrict legitimate material they publish online -- exposing them to fines or even jail time.

Of course. Their commercial interests are more important than the well-being of children, especially if they can be exploited. These "good corporate citizens" wouldn't exactly come out and admit that, but if penalties were removed then they would be free to do just that, wouldn't they? And if they position themselves, rather than the children, as victims they just may have a shot at winning their case.

The Justice Department argues that it is easier to stop online pornography at the source than to keep children from viewing it.

Nice to see that someone has some sense, and isn't afraid to say so. But it would be nicer yet if their actions showed that they really meant it.

The law, signed by then-President Clinton, requires adults to use some sort of access code, or perhaps a credit-card number, to view material that may be considered 'harmful to children.' It would impose a $50,000 fine and six-month prison term on commercial Web site operators that publish such content, which is to be defined by 'contemporary community standards.'

It has yet to be enforced, however...

BC Premier's reply to message re "Bully" video

2006-10-24T07:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I got this very nice reply from Premier Campbell (well, ok, the Premier's Office) in response to an email I sent about that stupid "how to be a bully" video game:

Thank you for your letter regarding the video game entitled “Bully.”

I am sharing a copy of your letter with the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, the Honourable John Les. I have asked that Minister Les, and his staff, include your views in any future discussions on the matter of the effects this type of product may have on young British Columbians.

Again, thank you for writing. I appreciate your taking the time to share your thoughts on this very important issue for our society.

So, fine. That's all very nice and everything, but I sort of feel like I've just been patted on the head.

It irks me that the matter ends with "young" British Columbians. Youngsters who become expert schoolyard bullies today will one day enter the adult sphere, and assume positions of authority. Who's to say whether or not they will have "grown out" of the mindsets and attitudes acquired during the course of gaining their expertise?

I would not be one bit surprised if the company that produced this abomination got tax breaks and other "leg-up" programs available to business.

In which case, it would seem that "business is business" is the MO locally and globally when it comes to the commercialization of vice, be it video games, human trafficking, or pornography (euphemistically referred to as "adult content" by its promoters and profiteers).

We can only hope that this issue will go under the Minister's Solicitor-General hat and not just the Public Safety hat. If the government does nothing else, it should at least ensure that our tax dollars are not being spent promoting and supporting "industries" and companies that create and market sleazy and inhumane products and services.

AIDS epidemic in Ukraine

2006-10-23T14:41:00.000-07:00

This Homemakers.com article illustrates the heartbreaking consequences of trafficking in drugs and humans, and the courage of a group of women determined to fight back.

Rampant drug abuse and sex trafficking have made Ukraine the site of Europe's worst AIDS epidemic ...

In 1991, just five years after the catastrophic Chornobyl nuclear explosion, Ukrainians gained independence from oppressive Soviet rule ... It didn't take long for criminal networks to flood the country with illegal drugs, readily available through the porous borders of Central Asian countries that connect the heroin fields of Afghanistan with Ukraine. ... The crime rings also [lured millions of desperate and unemployed women] into the sex trade via bogus job offers and sold [them] into slavery in Turkey, Russia, Germany and other countries.

... today Ukraine is not only battling drug and human trafficking epidemics but also an escalating HIV epidemic. ... A recent United Nations AIDS report predicted that by 2010, six per cent of Ukrainians will have HIV. (In Canada the rate is 0.3 per cent.) ... Ukrainian women account for 40 per cent of those infected, and without access to antiretroviral drugs, these women are at risk of having babies born with HIV, too.

Trafficking Alert newsletter

2006-10-18T12:52:00.000-07:00

Vital Voices has introduced a slight change to its newsletter Trafficking Alert.

The October 2006 issue includes a section entitled, “Other Women’s Rights Issues” which contain articles on issues such as violence against women, domestic violence, and HIV/Aids.

Vital Voices has just recently completed a training program on Domestic Violence Prevention and Anti-Trafficking for Russian leaders. This week-long training not only gave the delegates ... an opportunity to learn about US anti-trafficking and domestic violence prevention efforts, it also gave their American colleagues a chance to gain knowledge of the current status of women in Russia and their leaders’ innovative work. This training was also in commemoration of Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Vital Voices recently returned from China and the Russian Far East to identify emerging women leaders who strive to make a difference for women and girls in their countries. ... They strive to elevate the visibility of these women’s issues, and most importantly, to change society’s behavior and attitudes towards women and girls in China.

In the Russian Far East, two Vital Voices’ alumnae, inspired after receiving their training in 2005, worked with their state government to organize an Asia Pacific regional forum on human trafficking to bring awareness and build political will in addressing this global scourge.

Around the world, anti-trafficking initiatives are on the rise.

A Printable Version of the Trafficking Alert is available here.

To subscribe to the Trafficking Alert, please go here.

Depths of depravity

2006-10-18T09:56:00.000-07:00

According to this CBC report, a Vancouver company has produced a "How to be a bully" video game ... which the US parent company is marketing as 'brutally funny."

Ah yes, vice and violence. Those are the great Canadian values such corporate citizens promote. And of course, it's all in good fun, so why not make a buck at it.

After all, they and their customers truly, sincerely and vehemently believe that, as this article puts it, what is dumped into a kid's head hour after hour, day after day, year after year, could not possibly have behavioral consequences. No siree, the defenders of such depravity will tell you that game players are all very sophisticated and every single one of them knows it's "just a game."

So, there you have it. Harmless fun and a nice wholesome activity for the whole family.

OK then, what's next? A "How to be an international rapist and human trafficker" video game, maybe?

Oh right. We don't need a game for that. It's already a big money-maker.

(Cross posted at the Nash Holos blog.)

yahoo removes ads, but does it do right with other sites?

2006-10-16T08:49:00.000-07:00

Well, it looks like yahoo has taken all "sponsors" off my broadcaster's site. The E-Poshta list, which has 9000 subscribers, has had a similar experience.

So it's a good thing those disgusting ads are gone from our respective sites. But I can't help but wonder if the nice fellow who cleaned them up and promised to clean yahoo up was over-ruled by higher management who may not want to lose the revenue for those ads.... which in all probability is quite significant.

I suspect that yahoo is just blocking all ads to our sites altogether, figuring the old "out of sight, out of mind" adage applies.

Unfortunately, to a large extent it does. Because to make a bigger issue of it, I'd have to visit some rather unsavoury sites to check up on them, which I absolutely don't want to do. (I don't want a trail of such sites on my computer.)

So all I can do is content myself that there's a chance I've made a point to some of the folks at yahoo. If they are continuing to place those ads, they now know that at the very least, there is a possibility those women in the ads aren't there because they want to be.

And I can only hope that between us, we may have caused a few (otherwise decent) men to give second thought to engaging in "anonymous" sex and thus slowed down, however imperceptibly, the growing demand for porn and prostitutes.

In the end, though, I realize that what I've done and could possibly do to thwart human flesh peddlers and their patrons is so heartbreakingly little.

Dumb and dumber

2006-10-14T23:55:00.000-07:00

Reading this FOXNews story didn't exactly make me feel proud to be Canadian.

[An] Ottawa couple is selling individual self-help book jackets sporting comical titles — and they're hoping readers with an active funny bone will help themselves...

Among their eccentric offerings are ... 'How to Make Your Mother a Porn Star' ... [and] "How to Murder a Complete Stranger … and Get Away With It".

Isn't that ever hilarious.

Maybe someone should send this tasteless, tactless and clueless couple and their retailer a copy of The Natashas . I'd be interested to see what kind of book jacket they would suggest for it.

yahoo promises to do right

2006-10-10T12:15:00.000-07:00

Well, my encounter with yahoo groups is proof of what "squeaky wheels" can accomplish.

The offending ads are gone from my site and other groups I belong to. In fact, yahoo promised the moderator of another Ukrainian list similarly saddled with those ads that not only are they removing the ads from our respective sites, but from all of yahoo groups entirely.

The moral of this story is that everyone can do something to stop this scourge, however little. As they say, every little bit helps.

Someone said that evil happens when good men (and women) do nothing. So while we can't stop the traffickers, or even block a lot of internet traffic, we can stop them from trying to legitimize their so-called "trade" by insinuating themselves amongst decent folk and masquerading as innocuous "dating and escort services."

We can do it simply by deciding not to turn a blind eye to such attempts, and doing whatever we can to re-stigmatize sleaze. By and large, horny young (and old) guys prowling for porn and prostitutes don't think much about the the women they're screwing, or viewing ... much less whether or not they are trafficked. But regardless of whether or not they care, they need to be made aware that someone does.

This little victory is, of course, just a drop in the bucket. But if, as the Ukrainian saying goes, a drop of kerosene can spoil a barrel of honey, I imagine the reverse can be true as well.

So maybe a congratulatory note of thanks to yahoo would be in order.

blog of interest

2006-10-05T12:20:00.000-07:00

Check out this blog: StopSexPredators

It has an interesting point to make about hypocrisy in the media frenzy surrounding the Senator Foley scandal in the US ... namely that if the media had cared a whit and been doing its job, this would all have been exposed ages ago.

yahoo apologized

2006-10-05T08:57:00.000-07:00

Well, it seems I was a tad impatient with yahoo... they seem to be making good on my complaints:

PM,

Apologies for the inappropriate ads on your group.

Our ad systems are entirely automated and sometimes these systems make mistakes: both in terms of what sponsors are allowed to buy ads and what groups these ads are paired with. We rely on users like you to let us know when these types of mistakes are made.

In any case we are now taking action to remove these ads from your group (we are just getting to this email now, so if one of the ads stopped appearing earlier it was just a coincidence). It usually takes 12-24 hours for these changes to fully propagate through our systems, so you may continue to see these ads for that long. If they continue after that, please let me know.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

- [name deleted]
Yahoo Groups Team

I have to give the guy credit for this very polite reply to my rather [er] strident complaint. I'm not sure if he got the entire message, tho, so I sent him this:

Thanks, [name deleted]. I appreciate your attention to this matter.

If you're at all interested in why I was so incensed about these innocuous-looking ads, check out this book: The Natashas: The New Global Sex Trade by Victor Malarek. It's available at Amazon and you could also get it at the local library (perhaps on interlibrary loan).

These "companies" are not as innocent as they look. They live off the avails of prostitution, and they trade in human misery.

Thanks again for cleaning these disgusting ads off my site.

Best regards.

So, that's done then. I fully expect those ads never to appear on my list-serv again.

I do sincerely hope yahoo also considers it a mistake to allow such "sponsors" to buy ads on their service. I'm not, however, as confident about that.

Yahoo is very well named

2006-10-04T19:20:00.000-07:00

Well, yahoo took the offending sponsor off my list-serv, but I had to complain again. Here's what I said:

I sent you a message this morning asking you to remove this sponsor [URL deleted] ... which you did and for which I thank you.

However, you have since replaced it with two more just like it.

Are you people daft?

I STILL do not want my site to be associated in any way with a "company" that even remotely appears to solicit customers for the purposes of prostitution! Especially with women who are likely victims of human trafficking.

Can you understand that? No "mail order brides" or "inter-dating" or "sexy singles" or any such service, PLEASE!

These are the offending sites: [URLs deleted]

Please remove them immediately. You have put one there which is radio related. That is perfectly fine. I actually welcome respectable sponsors.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE take better note of the type of companies you promote.

No more sleaze, please!

I use yahoo groups because it is convenient and easy. However, my webhosting company offers the same service, and if this sleazy sponsorship continues I will switch, and take as many yahoo groups subscribers as I can with me.

We'll see what transpires tomorrow.

second query to Yahoo

2006-10-04T08:45:00.000-07:00

I tried another angle, and found a place that deals specifically with sponsors, links, etc. So I just sent yahoo this message:

I do not want my site to be associated in any way with a "company" that even remotely appears to solicit customers for the purposes of prostitution.

These women may well be victims of human trafficking, as a large percentage of prostitutes are, especially in that part of the world.

At any rate, this kind of sleaze is not what I expect from yahoo. Please remove this advertisement immediately.

Police break up Ukraine-Cyprus sex trafficking ring

2006-10-04T06:55:00.000-07:00

Once, the Zaporizhian Sich was a headquarters for brave men who defended Orthodox Christianity, tried to free Ukrainian men, women and children from serfdom, and protected them against intruders (mostly from the Ottoman Empire) raiding Ukraine for slaves .

Today, this is what it's come to:

Authorities arrested the director of a local firm that enticed women to travel to and work as dancers in the Middle East. ...

One of the victims [said] that her passport and return ticket were confiscated ... while she was in Cyprus. The woman phoned back to Zaporizhya and filed a complaint against the female director of the firm. If convicted, the director faces up to twelve years behind bars. The firm has reportedly been in operation for the past two years.

At least, the culprit is facing the consequences. (Interestingly, and perhaps ironically, the Cossacks didn't allow women in the Sich.) Maybe, given that so many traffickers get off scott free, there is a tiny remnant of the old Cossack moral strength left in Zaporizhya.

low wages primary cause of human trafficking in Ukraine: NGO

2006-10-03T22:17:00.000-07:00

Ukraine's Channel 5 reports that according to an NGO study ...

Low wages are one of the primary causes of trafficking of Ukrainians abroad.

... in the early 1990s, lack of jobs was the primary reason Ukrainians were so willing to leave the country. Today, the jobs are in place but wages are too low...

Thus far this year, authorities claim to have thwarted nearly 300 attempts at trafficking of Ukrainians abroad, primarily women.

Yahoo a commercial pimp?

2006-10-02T17:01:00.000-07:00

I moderate a list-serv on yahoo and just today noticed that one of the "sponsors" they put on this group's "free" web site looks for all the world like a human trafficking outfit.

Here's the ad:

Ukrainian Women - InterDating - InterDating - VIP Club. Luxury introduction tours to Kiev, Ukraine. Quality services for upscale men to meet Ukrainian women of exceptional beauty and intelligence.

Here's what I sent to Yahoo:

I strenuously object to this "sponsor" on my group's website.

I do not wish my list to be associated in any way with a company that solicits johns to sexually (ab)use women who are more than likely trafficked.

How you could possibly condone this??? Please remove them from my list-serv, and please assure me that yahoo is not a commercial pimp.

We'll see what kind of response I get.

UPDATE: Two days later, still no response from yahoo. Usually there's something. I'll send it again.

Economist article on human trafficking in Odessa

2006-10-02T08:56:00.000-07:00

The Economist recently published another chilling look at the realities of the human slave trade from the perspective of the trafficked:

A hub of the modern slave trade

THE ex-slaves are easy to spot among the passengers disembarking from the Istanbul ferry at Odessa. As other women wobble merrily away up the Potemkin steps, the victims of human trafficking look hungry, carry little luggage and, in winter, shiver in their summer clothes.

Odessa grew rich in the 19th century by exporting Russian grain. These days one of its main trades is in flesh. The city is a collecting hub for women from across the former Soviet Union who, unbeknown to them, have been snared by traffickers. From Odessa and elsewhere in Ukraine they are conveyed west to Europe and east to Russia, or south to Turkey and the Middle East. Twice a week ferries from Istanbul bring back those, often ill and pregnant, who have been deported by the Turks.

Entire article here.

Petition raises awareness in Germany

2006-08-31T21:37:00.000-07:00

A susbcriber to e-POSHTA, a mailing list on Ukrainian topics, wrote in to thank readers for their stand against prostitution at the World Cup in Germany.

Some weeks ago (many of) you signed a petition related to sex trafficking and the World Cup which took place in Germany last month. I am writing to let you know that we appreciate your help and that our petition contributed to a global outcry against sex trafficking with particular attention directed to the German government.

A few weeks ago, we delivered the names of all 34,000 people from all over the world who signed our petition criticizing the government for not cracking down on this awful situation of prostitution at the World Cup. We did not get a response from the German government; we didn't really expect one. But we did get notes of thanks from Germans who were outraged at the developments related to the World Cup. You will be pleased that our campaign also contributed to demonstrations in front of more than one German government facility around the world.

I say, well done and many thanks.
All the best,
Austin Ruse
President C-FAM

Japanese businessmen arrested for trafficking

2006-08-29T08:45:00.000-07:00

Four Japanese businessmen have been arrested for trafficking in young women from Russia and Ukraine to work in nightclubs, according to this article....

Takashi Mori, 58, Koji Akagawa, 48, and two accomplices from Osaka sent false documents to the Japanese consulate in Khabarovsk, in Russia's Far East, with a request that visas be issued to a group of specialists for a period of training at one of the city's professional schools. A group of young Russian women entered Japan shortly after April 7.

The investigation established that this and other groups, totaling 40 women, rather than taking courses were employed as hostesses at local restaurants and nightclubs.

It is insidious how these scumbags can make themselves look legitimate. Even worse is the incredible payola that makes it worth the risk.

What a very unflattering reflection of human nature... that men so routinely abuse women for the sake of sexual gratification.

CBC Documentary on trafficking

2006-07-31T08:05:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, July 30, CBC's Newsworld aired a documentary called Sex Slave$. It originally aired back in December but IMHO they can't repeat it too many times.

And also IMHO, every sex offender should be made to watch this documentary, as should every patron of pornography and prostitution. Although, sadly, I suspect it might not have as much of a (positive) impact as most decent people would hope.

Sending a thank you to CBC for airing and producing it would be in order, and takes only a minute.

Activists who care about this travesty might also want to contact CBC and enquire about purchasing a copy and arranging screenings for their local communities.

not exactly an ideal career opportunity

2006-06-13T08:46:00.000-07:00

This article illustrates the glass ceiling in the sex "trade."

An Australian brothel owner was sentenced to 10 years in prison Friday for keeping five Thai women as sex slaves.

Not that this woman doesn't deserve her fate, but why aren't they able to catch, prosecute and jail men "with prior convictions" who ruin the lives of far more than five women and treat them even worse?

... the women were brought from Thailand to the southern city of Melbourne with the promise they would be able to work legally in the sex trade and send money home to their families. Prostitution is legal in Australia in limited circumstances. ... Ms. Tang had faced a maximum sentence of 25 years in jail, but the judge said he took into account her lack of prior convictions and the fact that the women were well fed.

Perhaps lawmakers consider that if they're "well fed" then things must be looking up for sex "trade" workers, and they just need a good strong union to improve conditions in other "workplaces" ... such as those Victor Malarek describes in his book The Natashas: The New Global Sex Trade.

Rogers hypocrisy

2006-05-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

So Rogers has launched a PSA Campaign to Combat Online Sexual Exploitation. What good corporate citizens.

Rogers Communications will continue its support of Cybertip.ca's national awareness campaign about online sexual exploitation, by producing two Public Service Announcements for television that aim to raise awareness for Cybertip.ca.

Wonder if Rogers will be running the PSAs during their "adult entertainment" offerings?

Uh, probably not.

Ukraine's SBU liquidates human trafficking channel

2006-05-15T19:51:00.000-07:00

Ukraine's Security Service, Kherson Department, detected and liquidated [an] illegal channel for human trafficking from Ukraine to Turkey ...

Article and discussion here .

Canada pledges assistance for victims of human trafficking

2006-05-11T13:03:00.000-07:00

Stop The Trafficking Coalition applauds the recent announcement by the office of the Honorable Monte Solberg, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, regarding the federal government's adoption of new measures to help victims of human trafficking in Canada.

Canada as an international leader has long needed to demonstrate its deep commitment in treating human trafficking as a crucial and serious human rights issue. While Canada has ratified the U.N. Protocol to Prevent, Punish and Suppress Trafficking in Humans, and has taken the laudable step of passing amendments to the criminal code (Bill C-49), protection of victims of trafficking has , until now, been largely either over-looked or not addressed in terms of definitive constructive planning and commitment.

The victims, often women and children, have for the most part been deported to their country of origin, without proper medical and psychological rehabilitative assistance. It is time that Canada take responsibility for those we have victimized. It is also Canada's responsibility to be an international leader in stopping human trafficking by actively working with other countries to find solutions to this abuse of human rights, both in prosecuting the perpetrators and assisting those innocently victimized.

The proposed guidelines for "Assistance for Victims of Human Trafficking" were outlined this morning during a conference call, chaired by Ben Perrin, Senior Policy Advisor to the Minister for Citizenship and Immigration, Monte Solberg. Participants included government representatives and various non-governmental organizations, including Stop The Trafficking Coalition (STT).

Stop The Trafficking Coalition looks forward to future collaboration and work with the CIC and all those committed to putting these new measures into practice: government and law enforcement bodies as well as non-government organizations, social and immigration service organizations, and grass roots community volunteers.

Irena Soltys
Co-Chair, Stop The Trafficking Coalition
416-806-4469

Free training program on human trafficking in Illinois

2006-05-03T19:51:00.000-07:00

Illinois Regional Institute for Community Policing,
Illinois Fraternal Order of Police,
Illinois Law Enforcement Education Foundation

Training Opportunity
Human Trafficking Awareness
May 8
Illinois State Police Academy
Springfield, Il

A June class will also be at ametro-east Illinois location and day to be announced

Presenter(s): Specially trained Instructors will be from the Illinois State Police and the Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights.

Description: The course curriculum will present issues relative to: modern-day slavery involving the exploitation of persons for commercial sex and forced labor; the global problem and its multibillion-dollar industry; recognizing the U.S. as a country of destination for human trafficking; the laws relative to the crime; the need for interagency cooperation; and the application of the community policing tactics of partnership building and problem solving.

Students will learn about:

Introduction to human trafficking;
Legal overview
Investigative considerations
Victim service providers
Immigration issues
Interagency cooperation
Engaging the community

To register for this FREE presentation, Sheriff and Police Departments, and other interested organizations, should contact Sue Patterson at (217) 206-6029, or email her at spatt1@uis.edu. You may also fax your request to (217) 206-6063. Seating will be limited for this training class.

German government biggest friend of human traffickers and pimps

2006-05-02T10:09:00.000-07:00

This travesty illustrates that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

As many as 40,000 additional women are expected to be added to the approximately 400,000 prostitutes in Germany's sex industry. German authorities are rushing to accommodate the trade in women by facilitating the construction of mega-brothels and 'sex huts.' Moreover, cities hosting the [World Cup] games will issue special permits for street prostitution, creating a virtual partnership with brothel owners, pimps and traffickers.

In 60+ years the German government hasn't come very far from the days it was forcing women to breed Aryans and bringing slave labourers into the country. Obviously, governing elites in that country have learned little, if anything, from history.

George Washington University hosts play and panel discussion on human trafficking

2006-04-26T19:39:00.000-07:00

The online student paper of Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, MD reported that on April 22, the George Washington University (GW) hosted a play exposing the harsh truth of human trafficking, followed by a panel discussion with experts.

The evening focused on informing the audience about sexual slavery, which annually forces 700,000 women and children into prostitution ... The presentation included a portion of the play 'Becoming Natashas,' a dramatization of the book The Natashas: Inside the New Global Sex Trade by Victor Malarek.

According to Samantha Healy, a member of Shared Hope International, human trafficking occurs for various reason in Eastern European nations, but the most common condition tends to be economic disparity. ... The actors feel that the play has been widely accepted and beneficial to raising awareness on human trafficking.

Full article here.

For more information on the campaign to stop sexual slavery, visit Shared Hope and Human Trafficking.

Child sex abuse investigator gets naked on radio

2006-04-10T07:32:00.000-07:00

According to WFTV and the Miami Herald, a Florida child sex abuse investigator went on the vile Howard Stern radio program and removed all her clothes so Stern and the rest of the show's cast could assess her body.

She went on the progam not once, but twice, with her police detective husband, who talked about his sex life and gave Stern a t-shirt and a replica of his badge.

Classy.

There's a straw poll on the Miami Herald site asking whether or not she (and, presumably, her husband) should be disciplined. So far the majority of those voting don't think she should.

What a great society that hires such people to "serve and protect," pays huge sums of money to promote perversion, and makes it highly profitable to do so.

ABA-Africa recruiting for four positions

2006-04-07T18:07:00.000-07:00

The American Bar Association’s Africa Law Initiative (ABA-Africa) is a public service project that provides assistance in support of legal reforms in Africa.

Currently, ABA-Africa is recruiting for the following positions:

Country Director/Anti-Trafficking Advisor for a Four Year Anti-Trafficking Program in Nigeria

The ideal candidate for the Anti-Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Advisor is a senior legal professional with demonstrated success in the area of criminalprosecution, including sex crimes and domestic violence, as well as rule oflaw programming and management in Africa. The Anti-TIP Advisor will haveprimary responsibilities in developing programmatic synergies between Government Entities, NGO’s and the donor community. To this end, the Anti-TIP Advisor will:

· Develop work plans
· Assist in the design and implementation of training resources
· Trainings in country participants
· Provide oversight of technical specialists
· Provide financial oversight of program; and
· Engage program partners and the donor community.
*Candidate is required to have relevant Africa-based experience.

To apply, please submit a cover letter, resume, and 3 references to abaafrica@abanet.org
No phone call accepted.

******************
Country Director/Human Rights Advisor for Liberia

ABA-Africa is currently seeking a Senior Attorney to provide leadership in the development of two legal aid centers in Liberia. The two centers will promote a culture of human rights in Liberia, provide human rights education training and coordinate the training of community based mediators. One center will provide legal aid to the accused. Another center will provide support for victims through legal aide, health awareness and promoting access to the law. The Senior Attorney will:

- Develop and conduct on-going training
- Provide oversight of technical specialists; and
- Ensure effective partner and donor coordination.

To apply, please submit a cover letter, resume, and 3 references to abaafrica@abanet.org
No phone call accepted.

*********************

DC –Based Staff Attorney

The Staff Attorney’s principal activities will include day-to-day oversight, program and grant management, responding to inquiries from donors and partners regarding program activities as well as identification of new opportunities to provide additional support and collaborations. The Staff Attorney will oversee the work of the ABA-Africa Program and Finance Associate, in-country staff as well as the work of the ABA volunteer members and sub-grantees.

The Staff Attorney will be charged with ensuring that program activities remain consistent with program and grant objectives. The Staff Attorney must also pay close attention to other organizations in the region and in the countries to ensure program activities are complementary and notredundant. The Staff Attorney should have a law degree with at least five years experience in international development and rule of law programs in Africa. He/she should have spent time working in Africa or working on programs in Africa. Their experience should include program development, training, proposal writing as well as program and grant management, and fundraising.

The Staff Attorney should be able to work independently and have a working knowledge of the political and legal systems in Africa. Special understanding of challenges to program implementation especially in post conflict situations is paramount to this position. Up to date knowledge of major donors’ rules and regulations is required.

*French and Arabic language skills preferred but not required.
*A fair amount of travel is required for this position.

To apply, please submit a cover letter, resume, and 3 references to abaafrica@abanet.org
No phone call accepted.

********************

DC-Based Program and Finance Associate

The Program and Finance Associate provides programmatic, financial, and administrative support to attorneys on international technical legal assistance projects. This includes assistance with project development (including preparing detailed budgets and research for grants proposals) and implementation; processing of expense reports, grant budget analysis, tracking and preparation, and maintaining contact with overseas personnel regarding programmatic and financial matters; planning and staffing of meetings, drafting correspondence, and maintaining files.

The Program and Finance Associate is responsible for assisting the Director and Staff Attorney in coordinating activities in the program specific countries and for assisting the Director and Staff Attorney in coordinating the activities of other non-country specific projects. The ProgramAssociate is responsible, together with the Director and Staff Attorney, for monitoring all aspects of the programs in the countries under his/her supervision, including the substantive content of specific projects;c ommunications with representatives overseas; relaying of research requests and providing other support for the ABA- Africa representatives overseas; and communications with U.S. Government and Foreign Embassy personnel.

The Program Associate should have an undergraduate degree with a background in international and cross-cultural relations, and knowledge of the region, including history, politics and geography. Candidate should have at least two years of related work experience and strong written, interpersonal and organizational skills.

To apply, please submit a cover letter, resume, and 3 references to abaafrica@abanet.org
No phone call accepted.

Call for Papers on trafficking

2006-04-05T16:38:00.000-07:00

CALL FOR PAPERS

"Anti-Trafficking, Human Rights, and Social Justice"
Special issue for Wagadu, Journal of Transnational Women's and Gender Studies. SUNY Cortland.

This special issue of Wagadu, Journal of Transnational Women's and Gender Studies aims to explore the life experiences, agency, and human rights of the women who are involved in a variety of activities that are characterized as "trafficked" terrains in a deterritorialized and reterritorialized world, in order to shed light on the complicated processes in which anti-trafficking, human rights and social justice are intersected.

While previous studies have highlighted popular discourses, national and international policies, and the victimization and struggles of the trafficked women, few studies have centered on the stories of the migrant subjects themselves to offer a critical reading of the recent competing definitions of trafficking and the complex ways in which the intertwined configurations of gender, race, ethnicity, and nationality complicate the contemporary hegemonic discourse on trafficking.

This special issue will fill this lacuna through theorizing and conceptualizing the intersecting discourses on anti-trafficking, human rights, and social justice from the perspectives of the transnational migrant populations. Specifically, this issue will include articles that will rearticulate the trafficking discourses away from the state control of immigration and the global policing of borders, and reassert the social justice and the needs, agency, and human rights of migrant and working communities.

Some of the topics of investigation may include: a critical analysis of the conflation of trafficking with sex work in international and national discourses and its effects on migrant women; effects on the vulnerable population as a result of the anti-prostitution policy and a denial of human rights of sex workers; suggestions of more effective anti-trafficking interventions that will ameliorate social justice and human rights of the migrant populations; the sociocultural effects on the migrant population as a result of the global and national laws against trafficking, immigration and smuggling; the debate between the recognition of women's human rights to migrate and work as sex workers and the anti-trafficking policy that classifies sex workers as trafficked victims and slaves; a critical analysis of the global anti-trafficking policy and the root causes for the undocumented migration and employment; the relationship between the human rights of the vulnerable population and the state approaches to trafficking; the effects upon the migrant population as a result of the ways in which the state and international policies define "trafficked persons" and "undocumented migrants." the complicated intersections of forced and voluntary labor and migrations at the national and international level.

Please send abstracts (75 words) in English and complete essays (approximately 5,500-7,500 words) by August 1, 2006. Submissions should be sent electronically in MLA or APA format to mailto:zhengt@cortland.edu
TiantianZheng
Sociology/Anthropology
State University of New York
College at Cortland P.O. Box 2000
Cortland, NY 13045
Office phone number: 607-753-2478
Fax: 607-753-5973
Email: zhengt@cortland.edu

More than 60 trafficked women detained

2006-04-04T14:48:00.000-07:00

[On 14 Feb 2006] Kyrgyz security forces on Tuesday removed dozens of young women from a plane in the southern city of Osh set to transport them to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), allegedly for sexual exploitation. ...

Some detained girls from Uzbekistan ... said that they had been offered jobs as cooks and waitresses in the Gulf state. "I was going to work as a cook in a restaurant there," Zalina, an 18-year-old from the central Uzbek city of Samarkand, said, wiping her tears away. Many of the Uzbek women detained were from Samarkand and said they were going to Dubai to take up "an invitation from a sister living there."

However, some appeared to have no illusions about what lay ahead of them. "I knew that I would be making money there, perhaps through sex work, but I don't have any choice. I am an orphan, with no job and no means to survive," said Olesia, 20, from the eastern Uzbek city of Ferghana.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Central Asia is a growing region of origin for human trafficking, with women mainly going to the Gulf states. The main country of origin is Uzbekistan, given that it has the largest population in the region.

Full article here.

2005 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Canada

2006-03-31T09:01:00.000-08:00

2005 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Canada

(See section: Trafficking in Persons)

Although the law prohibits trafficking in persons, there were reports that persons were trafficked to, from, and within the country.

On April 14, Vancouver police brought the first case under IRPA against the owner of a massage parlor who was charged with two counts of human trafficking for bringing women into the country under false pretenses and coercing them into prostitution. The case was pending at year's end.

... During the 12-month period ending in February, authorities charged at least 31 individuals under the criminal code with trafficking-related offenses and obtained 19 convictions.

The country was a destination and a transit point to the United States for women, children, and men trafficked for purposes of sexual exploitation, labor, and the drug trade. In its February 2004 assessment, the RCMP indicated that 800 persons were trafficked annually into the country, and 1,500 to 2,200 persons were trafficked from the country to the United States.

More here.

2005 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Ukraine

2006-03-31T08:30:00.000-08:00

2005 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Ukraine

(See section: Trafficking In Persons)

The country remained a point of origin for internationally trafficked men, women, and children. The main destinations were Turkey, Russia, West and Central Europe, especially Poland, and the Middle East. ... South Korea, Japan, Nigeria, and Liberia.

Ukraine was also a destination country for individuals trafficked from former Soviet republics and South Asia. ... mothers trafficked their underage children and forced them to beg. There were also reports that both women and men were forced to work in agriculture ... men were mainly trafficked as construction workers and miners. Children who were trafficked across the border or within the country were forced to provide sexual services, engage in unpaid work, or beg. The overwhelming majority of trafficking victims were women, who were used as sex‑workers, housekeepers, seamstresses, and dishwashers. Trafficked women were also used to bear children for infertile couples. ...

... one 1 of every 10 persons knew someone in their community who has been trafficked.

... approximately five to seven million citizens lived and worked abroad, many without legal protection, and were therefore potentially vulnerable to traffickers.

Traffickers used a variety of methods to recruit victims... Traffickers often presented themselves as friends of other friends and deceived the relatives of potential victims. Most of the traffickers were members of organized crime groups.

Corruption in the judiciary and police continued to impede the government's ability to combat trafficking. Local officials reportedly aided organized crime groups involved in trafficking ... local police and border guards received bribes in return for ignoring trafficking.

... investigations of human trafficking revealed abuses of power by governmental officials responsible for issuing passports. ... The low number of prosecutions of government officials for such activities raised questions about whether the government was willing to take serious disciplinary action, especially against high-level officials.

More here.

Victor Malarek speech on human trafficking uploaded

2006-03-27T10:46:00.000-08:00

Henry attended a recent trafficking conference in Montreal and has made an mp3 recording of Victor's speech.

It is in two parts. You can download them here and here.

Note: with a dial up connection, it will take more than an hour to download each file.

Symposium on Canada's response to human trafficking

2006-03-17T12:58:00.000-08:00

International Human Rights Program & The Global Anti-Trafficking Working Group presents Ben Perrin, Executive Director of “The Future Group” and U of T Law Alumnus

“Falling Short of the Mark”: Canada’s Inadequate Response in the Fight against Human Trafficking

Wednesday, March 22, 2006
12:15 – 2:00 p.m
Flavelle House – Room FLA
78 Queen's Park
Toronto

The Future Group's international study entitled "Falling Short of the Mark" evaluates the record of various developed countries in protecting victims of human trafficking. Why did Canada get a failing grade? Come and find out at a presentation by the study's main author, and learn about how U of T law students helped out.

In addition, short film “Svetlana’s Journey” will be screened. Winner of the “Best Short Subject” award at the Hollywood Film Festival 2005, it depicts the true story of a young girl who is lured into the sex trade in Bulgaria.

A light lunch will be provided.

More information about The Future Group here.