NORTH AMERICA
Florida: Three men pleaded guilty to sex trafficking conspiracy. They ran an organization called Please Talk Paper and ran a prostitution ring at international and national hotels in Broward County. They also shared the women and children working for the organization, transportation, computer, and hotel rooms for their profits.
Iowa: The state authority is attempting to shut down Craigslist adult service section. Iowa state Attorney General joined other attorney generals from 17 states and argued that sex sells on Craigslist adult service website.
Missouri: A 29 year old Moldovan man pleaded guilty for racketeering conspiracy and fraud in foreign labor contracting. He admitted that he supervised foreign workers to Kansas city with the promise of good jobs. But, he threatened them with deportation to exploit them with labor.
Ohio: Six women were arrested for prostitution sting at massage parlors in Springfield. The arrest was made after two years of undercover cop operation. The police is still looking into the possible human trafficking and its potential global connection. The city officials is hoping to shut down the two massage parlors by using nuisance laws.
EUROPE
Finland: The death of a Thai man brings labor exploitation of Thai migrants under the spotlight. According to the report, many Thai men pay money to the agents, buy their own flight tickets and devices to pick berries. Yet, because there is no employment contract protecting their labor rights, they often ended up being exploited. Last summer, because berry crop wasn't very fruitful, many of them returned home ended up owing more money.
Sweden: Police arrested eight traffickers, who pimped on 10 African women by using Voodoo intimidation. According to the report, the suspects including a 29 year old Cameroonian woman brought 10 young females, including 16 year old Nigerian girl, to Sweden for prostitution. The victims found out that they were under the debt bondage worth more than $70,000 owed to the trafficker. Even after the debt was paid off, the 16 year old victim, according to the report, was told to pay the half of her earnings from prostitution to the 29 year old woman.
ASIA
Thailand: A Belgian man was arrested in Thailand for molesting children and a Thai national was arrested on the charge of supplying the children for the Belgian man. The 41 year old Belgian man paid the Thai man $30 for every child that was brought to the apartment for molestation. The Belgian met with the Thai man at a bar in order to choose the boys from the pictures that the Thai man was showing him.
Iraq: Human trafficking of Iraqi women continues to prosper regardless of the U.S. promise to end it. As Iraqi war left many women and children widowed and orphaned, it led them become sole heads of their households. The war also became a push factor for these women and children to be vulnerable to the traffickers in Jordan and Syria.
India: Anti-Christian violence held in Orissa state in 2008 left many women and children vulnerable to human trafficking. Recently, a 16 year old girl who was trafficked along with two other girls and her sister, was rescued from Delhi City. She was also one of at least 60 people missing since the violence took place in Orissa. The report however states that the two other girls and her sister are still missing.
Myanmar: Many women who were victims of human trafficking became traffickers themselves after the rescue. The report alleges that the phenomenon is caused by the lack of victim assistance in the country. The government victim assistance is so meager that it is far from sufficient to cover the victims' living expenses during their transition to a normal life.
Comments