Congress Members Ask Craigslist to Stop Abetting Human Trafficking

Is Craigslist assisting human traffickers?  It appears that some of our congressional representatives are concerned that Craigslist is abetting illegal activity. Despite Craigslist’s pressured replacement of the “Erotic Services” section with a new “Adult Section,” members of Congress sent a letter asking Craigslist to respond to a number of pointed questions:

• “What means do you intend to employ to ensure that those who seek listings in the new ‘Adult Section’ are not victims of unlawful trafficking, and that the ‘users’ of their ’services’ are not unlawful, paying customer johns or violent abusers?
• What level of cooperation do you intend to establish with police agencies to ensure the enforcement of criminal laws and the faciliation of criminal investigations?
• What accountability will there be for employees — and for Craigslist — if listings for illegal activity are posted?”

You can read the entire letter. Congressional Craigslist Letter 2009-06-10

Human Trafficking Books – a theme of hope

Hey Book Person!  Welcome to the Human Trafficking blog.

Are you looking for books related to human trafficking, modern slavery, sex trafficking, bonded labor, and other related issues? I updated the “Have you read these books?” page to add two things:

      

1. Images of the books, because…. hey, we all like pictures, right?
2. Links where you can purchase each of the books.  (I’ve included different book sites so they’re not all just links to Amazon or whatever.)

It can be overwhelming to read about human trafficking.  You can be paralyzed by the enormity of suffering and evil.  However, would it surprise you to know that a common theme in many of these books is HOPE?  These authors will tell you there is hope that slavery really will be history. Read the stories of people that are dedicating their lives to fighting the problem. Many of their accounts remind us that there is a God who cares about the suffering that oppressed victims endure.  You may find that you’ll begin to share their hope that the war against slavery is capable of being won within our generation. 

My 1st request… if you’ve read any of the books in my list, please leave a comment on the “Have you read these books?” page and give your opinion of the book.  Yes! Release the inner NY Times book reviewer in you!  People are much more likely to buy a book when they’ve heard a genuine recommendation from someone like you.  (Full disclosure… I don’t make any money from the sale of the books or by anyone clicking on the links… I just want to connect people with helpful resources.)

And my 2nd request… if you know of any good books on modern slavery, human trafficking, sex trafficking, bonded labor, and related topics, let me know so I can include them in the list.

Finally, if you’re into books,  passionate about fighting human trafficking, and comfortable with computers and blogging, contact me if you’d like to join this blog and maintain the books page. 

Thanks for visiting!  Click on the “Have you read these books?” link on the page header, or click here

-Carl

Poll: Sex Trafficking and the Legitimization of Prostitution

 

For one viewpoint with some helpful resources, read about the prostitution controversy on Amanda Kloer’s outstanding blog in 5 Major Human Trafficking Controversies.  In Ms. Kloer’s discussion on the controversy of legalizing prostitution, she references an article by Jane Raymond of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women International (CATW) that you may find thought provoking.

Slavery Today

Slavery still exists today.  Human beings are bought and sold as property, and in many cases, are treated worse than you’d treat your livestock.  The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center has an article on the basics of slavery today.  Read it. Educate yourself.  Get involved in some small way, even if it means starting a conversation with a friend or family member.  Read a book about modern slavery.  Watch a movie about human trafficking.  Make a donation to one of the organizations listed on the right.  Find out if slavery exists in your community.

Human Trafficking Prevention in Vietnam

One great way to fight human trafficking is to prevent vulnerable people from being trafficked in the first place.  In Vietnam and the U.S., the organization Aid to Children Without Parents is working on trafficking prevention strategies for at-risk children.  According to their web site, the SCIC program is targeting children from the age range from 5 to 14 years old.  Check out their “Saving Children in Crisis” efforts on their web site.

RedLight Children Benefit at Japonais NYC – June 4th 2009

Jackie left a comment elsewhere on this site and told me about a cool benefit at a posh restaurant in NYC this week.  I hope some of you can make it!   I copied her information about the event here:

—————————————————–

Japonais
Thursday, June 4
7:00pm
111 E. 18th Street
NY, NY
 
Join us at this red carpet, high profile cocktail event, featuring Japonais’ signature dishes, open bar from William Grant Portfolio, and entertainment provided by Dj Serg. Francky L’Official will style the Geisha hostesses with additional clothing and makeup design by Welden Layne and Vincent Oquendo from Artists by Next Agency.
 
Tickets at $40 in advance, $50 at the door.
VIP tickets including table service and gift bags $250.
All tickets include Japonais’ signature hors d’oeuvres and open bar from William Grant selection, 7-9PM.
 

Buy $40 Tickets via PayPal 
Buy $250 Tickets via PayPal

 
For VIP tables and corporate sponsorship payment information please contact Charlotte@priorityfilms.com
 
Proceeds benefit the RedLight Children Campaign, a non-affiliated 501(c)3 organization targeting all forms of child sexual exploitation, human trafficking, and slavery. For more information please visit www.redlightchildren.org.
 
In conjunction with an extensive awareness and education campaign, RedLight Children works to create and implement more effective programs to decrease modern day slavery. Child sexual exploitation is a global epidemic affecting over 2 million children worldwide. In the United States nearly 500,000 children, some younger than 10 years old, are being forced to work into the world of prostitution.
 
Most recently, the US State Department and Condoleezza Rice recognized RedLight Children for their work combating global human rights violations, awarding founder Guy Jacobson and RedLight Children the prestigious Global Hero anti-trafficking award.

Putting their money (and sweat) where their mouths are…Free The Slaves

Kevin Bales and the team at Free The Slaves have a great set of resources at http://www.freetheslaves.net. Kevin was kind enough to post a comment on the post below (How do you free 27 million slaves?) and let me know about his books, web site, and video resources.  Please visit their site, educate yourself further, and consider volunteering or making a donation to help the fight.

If anyone not affiliated with Free the Slaves has read Disposable People or any of the other books or resources at Free the Slaves, please post a comment with your thoughts on their material. 

Also, what other excellent sites and books have you found regarding human trafficking or modern slavery, child soldiers, forced prostitution, bonded slave labor? I welcome your comments.

How do you free 27 million slaves? One at a time…

Bringing light to women and children in Bangkok

My friend Don referred me to this article on Breakpoint, which mentions NightLight Bangkok, also highlighted earlier on this blog.  It turns out that NightLight Bangkok seems to have started as a beauty shop for prostitutes, where caring former prostitutes can hear the heartbreaking stories of girls currently in the trade, and help them to find ways out. 

If we’re going to free 27 million slaves, each one of them is going to have to be rescued, helped, loved, protected, and empowered for a new life.  Articles like the one in Breakpoint spread the news, and groups like NightLight Bangkok do the work.

If you know of articles or books related to human trafficking and modern slavery, please leave comments here and I’ll try to review them and post links.  Thanks Don!

The Olympics, Human Trafficking, Prostitution, Aboriginal Women

While most of the world is getting ready to host, compete, attend, watch, protest, or exploit the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, a group of aboriginal women in Vancouver are preparing to fight forced prostitution and sex trafficking connected with the 2010 Winter Olympics in British Columbia, Canada.  The June 2008 issue of the Stop Trafficking Newsletter highlights issues of prostitution and sex trafficking of aboriginal and indigenous women in Canada and the US.

In addition to informing the reader that aboriginal women in Canada are significant numbers of the prostitutes there, the writer of the lead article asserts that legalized prostitution not only doesn’t protect women prostitutes, but it increases their subjugation, and legitimizes the pimps and johns who keep them there.  Do you agree?

What is a Person Worth?

“A woman or child sold into prostitution can earn up to $150,000 annually for a crime boss,” according to a 2003 report by Melvin Levitsky titled Transnational Criminal Networks and International Security . No wonder the crime is so prevalent and attractive to criminals that it earns $10-12 Billion dollars a year!