human trafficking Archives - Page 3 of 4 - Shared Hope International

April 27, 2012 by SHI Staff

Back to Our Beginning: What is happening to Jamaica’s missing youth?

What is happening to Jamaica’s missing youth?

2,000-3,000 Jamaican youth have gone missing in Jamaica. Field leaders we met this week described the profiles of missing children that plastered the recent nightly news reports as teens around 14 years old from low income neighborhoods–a major concern for those in the anti-trafficking field.

During our visit to Jamaica, we met with partners and leaders of the National Taskforce Against Trafficking. Members present at our meetings in Kingston, Jamaica’s capital, agreed that more needs to be done to investigate the connection between the missing children and human trafficking. Some studies have suggested at least one in five of these children could be victims of human trafficking–a huge number for a country whose total population is 2.8million–and some indicated the number could be greater.

More research is a desired deliverable for the Trafficking taskforce, as there has been little research published since 2007, the same year Shared Hope International released the DEMAND report, a profile of sex trafficking in Jamaica, the Netherlands, Japan and the U.S. Other goals of 2012 include a more robust public awareness effort and communications plan, more residential services for victims, and quarterly meetings with NGOs.

TM-and-ER-in-Jamaica — Shared Hope staff meet with students to discuss the reality of sex trafficking

The taskforce’s plan to increase NGO involvement was welcome news to our partners on the ground in Jamaica. They work directly with young Jamaicans who have been or are at risk of being victimized by human trafficking, and welcome the opportunity to inform the Ministry of Justice led taskforce of the challenges and trends they are seeing on the ground. The meeting also provided great insight to Shared Hope’s understanding of the current issues our partners face.

During our visit we also had the privilege to view a video preview of the acclaimed new production by Kevin, “Nana Moses,” Calvert, “Where’s Melissa?”. The performance, based on information received from Shared Hope partners, uses Jamaican proverbs and music to tell the story of a young girl lured into sex slavery. Producers of the musical stage performance hope to perform in schools across Jamaica, and eventually other countries. This engaging production is a great introduction to the issue of sex trafficking–especially in Jamaica where people are hesitant to believe the problem exists.

Stay tuned for our next update as we head to Negril, one of Jamaica’s most popular tourist destinations and home to our other Jamaican partner who provides services to vulnerable Jamaican teens who are often victimized by the demand for commercial sex that unfortunately thrives in these “all-inclusive” travel destinations.

March 14, 2012 by SHI Staff

Ari’s Story of Hope

Ari’s story begins in Secundrabad, Andhra Pradesh. As an infant, her mother ran from her unfaithful husband and took Ari to live on the streets of Pune, surviving only by begging at the railway station. When Ari was five years old, tragedy struck as the hard street life claimed her mother, leaving Ari alone and desperate.

Ari was adopted by her mother’s friend but was soon sold to a brothel. At first, Ari was used for housework, but at eight years old she was forced into the sex trade. When she refused customers, she was beaten with an iron rod. Her fragile body was not able to tolerate the pain and she became paralyzed on one side. With this condition, she was unable to satisfy the demands of her exploitation and was sent to the hospital for treatment.

Ari recalls a pimp saying:

“If she recovers bring her back if she dies throw somewhere and don’t mention it to anyone.”

While in the hospital, Ari met a social worker who took great pity on her and placed her in a shelter once she recovered. What could have been reprieve proved dangerous. After witnessing the death of three children due to poor care, Ari and a young boy fled the shelter. Ari learned the boy had a 10-year-old sister enslaved in the red-light district of Pune. Ari helped rescue the sister and, with the help of police and a social worker, was able to rescue three other young girls from the brothel.

Alone again, Ari survived by begging on the streets. At 13 years old, she married a street boy, with whom she endured a dangerously violent marriage. When she gave birth to their daughter, Nan, her husband attempted to kill them by dousing them with kerosene and trying to burn them. Her mother-in-law rescued Ari and Nan but they quickly fled to the streets of Pune. With a child and no one to care for them, Ari became desperate and was forced to do what she despised the most, sell sex to survive. During this time, Ari married again and gave birth to a second daughter, Sajni.

In her darkest hour of desperation, help arrived. Our partner in India met Ari and Nan and brought them home to a loving community where they receive spiritual support and education. Though Ari was born into poverty and sold into slavery, she was rescued into freedom. Today Ari and Nan are thriving with the help of Shared Hope and our partner in India.

February 24, 2012 by Guest

USAID’s New Counter-Trafficking in Persons Initiative

The United States has a long history of helping developing nations around the world. USAID has been the forefront agency involved in extending U.S. assistance overseas from the time it was created in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy. Beginning in 2001, USAID has played a major role in U.S. efforts to eradicate modern day slavery. On February 23, 2012, we were honored to join other leaders in the anti-human trafficking field for the launch of USAID’s new Counter-Trafficking in Persons (C-TIP) initiative.

The Counter-Trafficking in Persons (C-TIP) initiative contains 5 objectives that incorporate the 4 P’s – Prevention, Protection, Persecution, and Partnership – in hopes of reducing human trafficking around the globe.

The five objectives can be broadly separated into two categories:

1. Education: compiling the knowledge of current anti-trafficking methods to improve future endeavors and training for USAID staff members

2. Assistance: integrating human trafficking efforts into already-established programs, and increase investment in high-risk regions

During the launch, Shared Hope was one of only two NGOs noted at the meeting and was commended for our domestic efforts, with special praise for our Rapid Assessments on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking in Washington, Arizona and Virginia. We were honored to be recognized.

Speakers at the briefing emphasized the utilization of technology to help fight trafficking, as well as increased communication between and among governments, organizations, missions, etc. Technology has already proved its usefulness: two boys enslaved on a fishing boat in Asia saw the Human Trafficking hotline number on MTV, called, and were rescued. Technology and collaboration, coupled with the new C-TIP initiative may help in the decline of modern day slavery.

June 27, 2011 by Guest

Hide but not seek. Changing America’s response to trafficking.

“Harriet ran away from home when she was 11 years old and moved in with a 32-year-old man who sexually and physically abused her. Then he convinced her to become a prostitute. In the next two years, Harriet became addicted to drugs and contracted numerous sexually transmitted diseases. The police arrested Harriet when she was 13 and charged her with committing prostitution, and placed her on probation for 18 months in the custody of juvenile probation officials. Her lawyers have appealed the decision, arguing that since she could not legally consent to sex, she cannot face prostitution-related charges. The police made no efforts to find her pimp.” (United States Department of State)

Harriet is just one example of 100,000 American children who are sexually exploited through prostitution in the United States each year. Many children are vulnerable for sexual exploitation because of their age, emotional instability due to unstable home life, history of sexual abuse, and/or being a chronic runaway. As many as 2.8 million American children run away from home each year. Within 48 hours of hitting the streets, experts estimate one-third of these children are lured or recruited into the underground world of prostitution and pornography.

The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (TVPA) in 2000 created the tools to enable the U.S. government to address the prosecution of traffickers, protection for victims, and prevention of human trafficking. However, protecting victims and prosecuting traffickers is a challenging and complex process.

One of the greatest challenges faced in the prosecution of domestic sex traffickers and pimps is the separation of the victim from their immediate environment long enough to help them realize they are in fact victims. Most are under the severe psychological and physical control of their pimp, and trauma bonds between victims and pimps are very difficult to break. Trafficking victims often remain loyal to their trafficker, sometimes suffering arrest and prosecution to protect the identity of their trafficker. When this occurs, victims may be sent to juvenile facilities or back to their often dysfunctional family, instead of receiving safe shelter and necessary care such as psychological counseling. This experience could re-traumatize the child, causing greater distrust against the criminal justice system and increasing the possibility of the child returning to their trafficker.

States have increasingly started recognizing the importance of identifying and protecting trafficked minors through legislative and advocacy efforts; however, it is still not enough. The ongoing efforts of the justice system, NGOs, and non-profit organizations are crucial to meet and overcome the challenge of protecting the children in our country

March 16, 2011 by Guest

Don’t Let First Responders Be the Last to Know

The process of restoration for victims of domestic minor sex trafficking can be a long and difficult struggle for healing. Just as in any trauma case, first responders are crucial to the advancement of that journey. However, a shortage of shelters specifically dedicated to victims of sex trafficking has positioned organizations such as rape crisis centers to receive and care for these victims in the absence of more specialized services. In fact, the most commonly accepted estimate reveals that there are probably no more than 100 beds in the U.S. specifically dedicated to sex trafficking victims. When compared to the 100,000 individuals forced into the industry each year, it is clear that America is in desperate need of resources for DMST victims. So, how can rape crisis centers provide the necessary services to these victims with very specific needs?

Rape crisis centers may be one of the first responders in sex trafficking cases, especially with DMST victims, because of their hospital advocacy services and 24hr crisis hotline. In some cases, when a victim is admitted to a hospital for sexual trauma, the hospital will contact a rape crisis center immediately. Hospital advocates assist the victim during forensic exams and forensic interviews with the police in addition to providing the victim with valuable resources about the organization’s services. Rape crisis centers often offer free individual and group therapy that can assist a victim of sex trafficking in their long term healing process. Many rape crisis centers even offer legal advocacy services for those individuals seeking to heal through the justice system, or those who are unjustly being charged with prostitution. Rape crisis centers can be wonderful resources for DMST victims because of their deep understanding of victim empowerment, which is vital to the healing process, as well as their ability to help restore victims at their own pace.

While rape crisis centers can be pivotal in the healing process of sex trafficking victims, there are still many areas of improvement necessary in order to better assist individuals in this unique population. Like many other first responders, rape crisis center advocates and counselors are often not trained to recognize indicators of sex trafficking. This can hinder service provision for the unique needs of this victim population. Rape crisis center advocates and counselors need to be educated on the revealing signs that an individual has been trafficked and the appropriate treatment that individual should receive. Service providers may incorporate these tools by adjusting intake questions to reveal aspects of commercial sex exploitation. Fortunately, there are many online resources, including Shared Hope’s INTERVENE, to help rape crisis centers gain essential knowledge for identifying victims.

Rape crisis centers and other local resources can continue their fight against sexual abuse by expanding their efforts and knowledge to the issue of sex trafficking in their communities. Each of us has a role in this fight, and only by working in tandem at the national and local levels can organizations effectively combat the sexual exploitation of our children.