Friday, August 27, 2010

Zurich planning drive-in sex-boxes

Dear Friends:

More proof that truth is stranger than fiction, and that men will stop at no lengths to protect prostitution. I mean really -- prostitution would diminish if we actually demanded that men started controlling themselves!

Abolition!

Lisa

One of the German Sex-Boxen that Zurich police are planning to implement

Police chiefs in Switzerland are planning to build a series of drive-in sex-boxes to enable prostitutes to conduct their business with punters without disturbing the neighbourhood.
The idea - imported from German cities like Essen and Cologne - is being proposed by Zurich police chief Daniel Leupi as a way to let prostitutes work in a more discreet way.

The idea comes after thousands of complaints by householders whose homes overlook the thriving red light district in Zurich.

'They get up to all sorts in broad daylight - and we're sick to death of looking at it,' said one.
Police spokesman Reto Casanova (his actual name) said: 'We can't get rid of prostitution, so we have to learn how to control it.'
Read more!

Attorneys general call for Craigslist to get rid of adult services ads

By the CNN Wire Staff
August 25, 2010 7:57 p.m. EDT

(CNN) -- Attorneys general in 17 states have banded together to call on Craigslist, the online classified ad website, to discontinue its adult services section.

"The increasingly sharp public criticism of Craigslist's Adult Services section reflects a growing recognition that ads for prostitution -- including ads trafficking children -- are rampant on it," the attorneys general said in a Tuesday letter to Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster and founder Craig Newmark.

The letter continued: "We recognize that Craigslist may lose the considerable revenue generated by the Adult Services ads. No amount of money, however, can justify the scourge of illegal prostitution, and the suffering of the women and children who will continue to be victimized, in the market and trafficking provided by Craigslist."

A Craigslist spokeswoman said Wednesday that the site agreed with at least some of the letter.

"We strongly support the attorneys general desire to end trafficking in children and women, through the Internet or by any other means," Susan MacTavish Best, who handles media inquiries for Craigslist, told CNN Wednesday.

"We hope to work closely with them, as we are with experts at nonprofits and in law enforcement, to prevent misuse of our site in facilitation of trafficking, and to combat such crimes wherever they appear, online or offline."

In their letter, the attorneys general highlighted an open letter, which appeared as a Washington Post ad, in which two girls said they were sold for sex on Craigslist.

When the ad came out, Buckmaster wrote a blog post in response that said, "Craigslist is anxious to know that the perpetrators in these girls' cases are behind bars."

The letter also highlighted a report in May by CNN's Amber Lyon, who posted a fake ad in the adult section. She received 15 calls soliciting sex in three hours.

Earlier this month, Lyon interviewed a woman named "Jessica" who sells sex on Craigslist. She told Lyon a Craigslist ad was "the fastest, quickest way you're for sure going to see somebody that day."
In a later blog, Buckmaster said Craigslist implemented manual screening of adult services ads in May 2009. "Since that time, before being posted each individual ad is reviewed by an attorney." He said the attorneys are trained to enforce Craigslist's posting guidelines, "which are stricter than those typically used by yellow pages, newspapers, or any other company that we are aware of."

Attorneys general from Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia made the request a week after accused "Craigslist killer" Philip Markoff committed suicide in jail.
Markoff was charged with the April 2009 killing of Julissa Brisman. Boston Police said that Brisman, a model, advertised as a masseuse on Craigslist, and Markoff might have met her through the website.
In 2008, under pressure from state prosecutors, the website raised the fees for posting adult services ads. In 2009, it started donating portions of the money generated by adult ads to charity.

A CNN investigation of Craigslist's "adult services" section, which replaced "erotic services ads" two years ago, counted more than 7,000 ads in a single day. Many offered thinly veiled "services" for anything from $50 for a half hour to $400 an hour.

Newmark has defended his site, saying it is doing more than any other site that hosts adult ads to help filter out underage prostitutes and report them to police. Best, the Craigslist spokeswoman, said that fewer than one ad in 10,000 meets the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's guidelines for anti-trafficking action.

"Only Craigslist has the power to stop these ads before they are even published, and sadly they are completely unwilling to do so," Kansas Attorney General Steve Six said in a statement.
Read more!

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Egypt: Trafficking continues, young girls at risk

CAIRO: An Egyptian report published earlier this month by the Unit for the Prevention of Trafficking Children of the ministry of state for family and population, revealed the many challenges facing this growing phenomenon. The report said there is a new subculture of brokers existing in Egypt that are promoting the benefits of marrying off underage girls, but the statistics remain the government’s biggest shortcoming.

There is little "accurate information about the size of the actual and the various dimensions of the issue of child trafficking at the domestic and international levels in Egypt because it is a secret trade that takes place."

The ministry’s report noted that it is difficult even to call it a phenomenon due to the overall lack of quantified statistics.

However, the report said Egypt is attempting to prevent trafficking "due to the success of brokers and this is one of the top priorities" of the ministry.

The report, which was conducted from June 2009 to June 2010, said "there were no controls to regulate the employment of children and domestic workers, despite the adoption of the Children Act and that there were no accurate statistics available on them in addition to child labor, which is one of the issues intertwined with the issue of trafficking in children, marriage and require coordination with various parties."

Yussra Abdel-Ghany, a ministry spokeswoman in Alexandria, told Bikya Masr that in order to fully gauge the situation, "we must start to correlate all the available information into hard facts so we and other institutions know how to tackle the issue."

She added that the use of hotlines has "increased dramatically and this is a sign that the problem is not going away and that there are many young girls out there that need our help."

Read more: http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=15991
Read more!

Monday, August 23, 2010

Afghan Women and the Return of the Taliban

Dear Friends:

As many of you know, I sometimes circulate articles pertaining to women's human rights on this list. Accordingly, below are brief excerpts from a Time Magazine article discussing women's perilous situation in Afghanistan. I strongly encourage you to read the full article, and view the photographs. Be forewarned: some of the images are brutal and haunting.

For those of us reading this article in the West, let's not take our right's for granted. Let's also not forget that the raw misogyny that produces disfigured faces like that of Aisha's is the expressed throughout the world -- in ways like sex trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation, domestic violence, and rape as a weapon of war.

Please keep Aisha and the women of Afghanistan in your prayers.

Abolition!

Lisa


video link:
http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,308943282001_2007270,00.html

Afghan Women and the Return of the Taliban

The Taliban pounded on the door just before midnight, demanding that Aisha, 18, be punished for running away from her husband's house. They dragged her to a mountain clearing near her village in the southern Afghan province of Uruzgan, ignoring her protests that her in-laws had been abusive, that she had no choice but to escape. Shivering in the cold air and blinded by the flashlights trained on her by her husband's family, she faced her spouse and accuser. Her in-laws treated her like a slave, Aisha pleaded. They beat her. If she hadn't run away, she would have died. Her judge, a local Taliban commander, was unmoved. Later, he would tell Aisha's uncle that she had to be made an example of lest other girls in the village try to do the same thing. The commander gave his verdict, and men moved in to deliver the punishment. Aisha's brother-in-law held her down while her husband pulled out a knife. First he sliced off her ears. Then he started on her nose. Aisha passed out from the pain but awoke soon after, choking on her own blood. The men had left her on the mountainside to die. . . .

Traditional ways, however, do little for women. Aisha's family did nothing to protect her from the Taliban. That might have been out of fear, but more likely it was out of shame. A girl who runs away is automatically considered a prostitute in deeply traditional societies, and families that allow them back home would be subject to widespread ridicule. A few months after Aisha arrived at the shelter, her father tried to bring her home with promises that he would find her a new husband. Aisha refused to leave. In rural areas, a family that finds itself shamed by a daughter sometimes sells her into slavery, or worse, subjects her to a so-called honor killing — murder under the guise of saving the family's name.

Read more:
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2007238-1,00.html
Read more!

Human Trafficking Webinars set for September

Dear Friends:

Here is some exciting news from Truckers Against Trafficking. They will be hosting a series of webinars to engage truckers in anti-trafficking efforts. This is a great idea that can be replicated in countries around the world.

Please forward this information to any truckers you know.

Abolition!

Lisa


Human Trafficking Webinars set for September

via AskTheTrucker by Allen Smith on 8/19/10

Truckers Against Trafficking

Truck drivers across the country have been called on by Chapter 61 ministries to be the eyes and ears for the human trafficking crisis in America. The partnership between the Transport for Christ and Chapter 61 organizations, the Truckers Against Trafficking, along with many others, have led to a much greater awareness of this problem, not only in the United States but abroad. Recent headline news is focusing on this $32 billion a year business, which destroys countless lives and enslaves its victims . . . the majority of whom are women and children:

Global human trafficking roundup (August 18, 2010)
US-Philippines project to combat human trafficking
Ohio in "Dirty Dozen" because of lax anti-trafficking effort
6 arrested in human trafficking case involving teen girl in Jacksonville, FL
Human traffickers supply nail-salon workers

These are just a few of the most recent cases involving human trafficking. Most Americans are aware of the problem in Asia and Africa, but are oblivious to that fact that it is big business here in the United States. Chapter 61 ministries will be presenting another set of online informational webinars in September, 2010. The webinars are set for the following dates :

09/01/10
09/02/10
09/07/10
09/15/10
09/16/10 and
09/23/10

All webinars will begin at 9 p.m. EDT. Because members of the trucking and travel plaza industry represent the eyes and ears of America on those highways, they can play a critical part in fighting this crime and those who perpetrate it. They simply need to know what to look for, what questions to ask and what steps to take.

If you would like to attend one of these webinars, please send your name and the exact email address to : tfcio@transportforchrist.org – (this will be the address you use for the webinar). For more information, please contact Scott Weidner, President and CEO of Transport for Christ at (717) 426-9977. Please title request "Trafficking webinar."
Read more!

'2,600 Sex Workers Trafficked' Study Says

Dear Friends:

The news item below merits a couple of comments: 1) If you are trafficked for prostitution you are a victim of serial paid rape, not a "sex worker." Thus the title of this article is yet another offense against the victims. 2) I'm surprised at the lack of recognition of domestic sex trafficking (trafficking of a country's citizen's within its own borders) that is implied by this report. Perhaps the focus was only about international sex trafficking; should that be the case please be aware that in many countries -- including the U.S. -- there is a very serious problem of domestic sex trafficking.

Abolition!

Lisa


'2,600 Sex Workers Trafficked' Study Says
Thursday, 19 August 2010

The number of migrant women trafficked into Britain to work as prostitutes is lower than previously thought, a report has claimed.

Around 2,600 migrant women have been trafficked into England and Wales and forced to work as prostitutes, according to the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo). A further 9,600 sex workers were judged to be "vulnerable migrants", many of whom were abused and exploited, but researchers could not be sure they had been trafficked.

This is far lower than previous estimates, which have ranged from 4,000, according to a 2003 Home Office study, to the 18,000 announced by the then Chief Constable of Gloucestershire, Tim Brain, in 2008.

The latest Acpo study found that 17,000 of the 30,000 women involved in the off-street sex trade are migrants, mostly from China, Thailand and eastern Europe. They said at least 2,600 of these were trafficked into the country and made to work as prostitutes, often with threats of violence.
Read more!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

15 Men Arrested in Undercover Sting

Dear Friends:

The story below reports on the arrest of 15 men in central Florida on charges related to their attempts to have sex with a 14-year-old child. I strongly encourage you to follow the link and view the arrest photos of the men. They are haunting images to say the least. As much as we may harbor feelings or rage or even hatred toward such men, please remember that they were once innocent little boys themselves. Somewhere along the line someone or something corrupted their hearts and minds.

I have a strong feeling that a major component of that "something" was pornography. Pornography grooms young boys and men to become offenders. Exposure to pornography is linked to such things as: believing a rape victim enjoys rape, more using physical coercion to have sex, more sexual attraction to children, etc.

Look at the eyes of these offenders; look at their faces. . . imagine instead of these faces you saw one belonging to your husband, son, brother, father, boyfriend. It's high time we started fighting back against the tide of pornography.
See: http://www.salem-news.com/articles/july072010/porn-politics.php
and http://www.pornharms.com/ to join the battle.

Abolition!

Lisa

P.S. Don't miss the craigslist connection.


15 Men Arrested in Undercover Child Sex Sting in Florida

Fifteen men allegedly looking to have sex with underage girls were arrested in an undercover sting in Florida over the weekend, law enforcement authorities said.

The suspects were arrested between Thursday and Sunday and charged with traveling to meet a minor for sex or related crimes, during an extensive undercover operation conducted by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, along with state and federal officials.

Police said 12 of the 15 suspects responded to ads authorities posted on Craigslist that shared the common theme "mom or dad seeking guidance for my daughter" for girls between 10 and 14 years old. The other three used chat rooms.

After the suspects answered the ads, they engaged undercover detectives in e-mails, instant messages and telephone calls, during which time the detectives told the suspects to come to an undercover location in Polk County, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said.

"These men expressed specific desires to prey upon who they believed were innocent children," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said Monday at a news conference.

One of the suspects, Brandon Cashen, 31, asked a detective if she had a daughter younger than the one advertised, and when she said she had an 8-year-old, expressed a desire to have sex with the younger daughter, the sheriff's office said.

"Some of the men even sent pornographic images of themselves to the detectives and made very specific requests about what they wanted these children to do to them," Judd said.

When the suspects arrived at the undercover location, they were met not by children wearing lingerie, but by undercover agents in vests, who placed the men under arrest.

"It's still a shock to me …when we have a predator show up with condoms in one hand and candy bars in the other hand," Judd said at a press conference Monday afternoon.

Judd said one of the agents was shocked to discover that a suspect, 33-year-old Tommy Dupre, had been his son's former baseball coach. . . .

For the full story see: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/08/16/arrested-undercover-child-sex-sting-florida/?test=latestnews.
Read more!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Pimps force Mexican women into prostitution in US

By KATE BRUMBACK and MARK STEVENSON
The Associated Press
Monday, August 9, 2010; 12:01 AM

TENANCINGO, Mexico -- In this impoverished town in central Mexico, a sinister trade has taken root: entire extended families exploit desperation and lure hundreds of unsuspecting young Mexican women to the United States to force them into prostitution.

Those who know the pimps of Tlaxcala state - victims, prosecutors, social workers and researchers - say the men from Tenancingo have honed their methods over at least three generations.

They play on all that is good in their victims - love of family, love of husband, love of children - to force young women into near-bondage in the United States.

The town provided the perfect petri dish for forced prostitution. A heavily Indian area, it combines long-standing traditions of forced marriage or "bride kidnapping," with machismo, grinding poverty and an early wave of industrialization in the 1890s that later went bust, leaving a displaced population that would roam, looking for elusive work.

For full article go to:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/08/AR2010080801654.html
Read more!

Monday, August 9, 2010

Brazil's sex tourism boom

Young children are supplying an increasing demand from foreign tourists who travel to Brazil for sex holidays, according to a BBC investigation. Chris Rogers reports on how the country is overtaking Thailand as a destination for sex tourism and on attempts to curb the problem.

Her small bikini exposes her tiny frame. She looks no older than 13 - one of dozens of girls parading the street looking for clients in the blazing mid-afternoon sun. Most come from the surrounding favelas - or slums.

As I park my car, the young girl dances provocatively to catch my attention.

"Hello my name is Clemie - you want a programme?" she asks, programme being the code word they use for an hour of sex. Clemie asks for less than $5 (£3) for her services. An older woman standing nearby steps in and introduces herself as Clemie's mother.

"You have the choice of another two girls, they are the same age as my daughter, the same price," she explains. "I can take you to a local motel where a room can be rented by the hour. . . .
For the full report:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-10764371
Read more!

China police rescue 22 abducted women, children

BEIJING

Police rescued 22 women and children abducted by a human-trafficking ring that operated in southern China for two decades, state media reported Thursday.

Eighteen victims were reunited with family members during an emotional ceremony Wednesday in Nanning city in southern Guangxi province, the official Xinhua News Agency said. . . .

For the full report: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9HD9LN80.htm
Read more!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Fifth Annual International Weekend of Prayer and Fasting for Victims of Sexual Trafficking

Dear Friends:

Here's a reminder that the Fifth Annual International Weekend of Prayer and Fasting for Victims of Sexual Trafficking is fast approaching -- the dates are Sept 24-26. To register and for resources please go to:
www.traffickingprayerandfasting.org.

Resources include items such as Bible studies, a code of conduct for men, 2010 flyers, an intercessory prayer station guide, community prayer guides, a fasting fact sheet, etc. There are also prayer guides in English, Dutch, French, Korean, Romanian, Russian, and Spanish. Please check out the website for these and other materials, and don't forget to register!

Abolition!

Lisa

Read more!

Former Swedish police chief is jailed for rape

By Allan Hall in Stockholm
Saturday, 31 July 2010


A former chief constable in Sweden, who was known for lecturing on gender equality and sexual harassment, has been jailed for six and-a-half years for rape and other sex crimes.

Goran Lindberg, former head of the country's police academy, was found guilty on 17 out of 23 charges including one of aggravated rape, three charges of rape, 10 charges of pimping and eight counts of paying prostitutes for sex. He was cleared of "preparing to rape a child". What made Lindberg's crimes so shocking to Swedes was that he was the police force's top expert on morality and ethics and had been described as "the face and future of policing".

The court in Stockholm heard how Lindberg had been under police surveillance in January this year when he was stopped as he drove to meet a 14-year-old girl he had groomed for sex online. The court was told that Lindberg had a bag full of sex toys he had taken along for the encounter.
He was then arrested. . . .

For the full article: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/former-swedish-police-chief-is-jailed-for-rape-2040046.html

Read more!