Emotional Senate Hearing Finds Backpage.com Complicit in Underage Sex Trafficking as Victim’s Families Testify
Via ABC News
By Gloria Riviera; Jackie Jesko; Sally Hawkins; Jenna Millman
Jan 13, 2017, 5:41 PM ET
“Those children were sold, and they simply tried to sanitize it. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the definition of evil”, said Sen. Claire McCaskill, glaring at the five company executives sitting in front of her. Jan. 10 was a day of reckoning on Capitol Hill for the controversial classified site Backpage.com, as the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations released a new report shaying that Backpage had knowingly facilitated underage trafficking on its site by actively editing ads posted in the “adult services” section.
The website’s top executives were subpoenaed to attend a hearing where the Subcommittee, led by Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and McCaskill, D-Missouri, laid out their findings, which were based on over a million pages of internal company documents.
For parents Tom and Nacole, this was a day they dreamed would come. Their daughter, who ABC News is calling "Natalie," was repeatedly sold for sex on Backpage.com when she was only 15 years old.
“They took everything from my little girl,” said Tom, who asked that ABC News not use his family’s surname. Tom and Nacole traveled halfway across the country to testify at this Senate hearing, hoping that sharing their story may lead to Backpage being held accountable.
Watch the video and read more here.
By Gloria Riviera; Jackie Jesko; Sally Hawkins; Jenna Millman
Jan 13, 2017, 5:41 PM ET
“Those children were sold, and they simply tried to sanitize it. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the definition of evil”, said Sen. Claire McCaskill, glaring at the five company executives sitting in front of her. Jan. 10 was a day of reckoning on Capitol Hill for the controversial classified site Backpage.com, as the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations released a new report shaying that Backpage had knowingly facilitated underage trafficking on its site by actively editing ads posted in the “adult services” section.
The website’s top executives were subpoenaed to attend a hearing where the Subcommittee, led by Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and McCaskill, D-Missouri, laid out their findings, which were based on over a million pages of internal company documents.
For parents Tom and Nacole, this was a day they dreamed would come. Their daughter, who ABC News is calling "Natalie," was repeatedly sold for sex on Backpage.com when she was only 15 years old.
“They took everything from my little girl,” said Tom, who asked that ABC News not use his family’s surname. Tom and Nacole traveled halfway across the country to testify at this Senate hearing, hoping that sharing their story may lead to Backpage being held accountable.
Watch the video and read more here.
Freedom a la Cart helps human-trafficking victims learn new skills
Via The Columbus Dispatch
By Gary Seman Jr.
What started as a seasonal food cart has blossomed into a successful catering venture that helps victims of human trafficking get their lives back together.
Freedom a la Cart is coming off of its most fruitful year yet, earning $255,768 in gross receipts through Dec. 14. That’s a nearly 43 percent increase over last year.
Paula Haines, executive director of Freedom a la Cart, said that while the organization has social services as its goal, the food is not a second thought. She calls it superior in quality and competitively priced.
“It’s exceptional,” Haines said. “Our goal is to keep (customers) coming back.”
Read more here.
By Gary Seman Jr.
What started as a seasonal food cart has blossomed into a successful catering venture that helps victims of human trafficking get their lives back together.
Freedom a la Cart is coming off of its most fruitful year yet, earning $255,768 in gross receipts through Dec. 14. That’s a nearly 43 percent increase over last year.
Paula Haines, executive director of Freedom a la Cart, said that while the organization has social services as its goal, the food is not a second thought. She calls it superior in quality and competitively priced.
“It’s exceptional,” Haines said. “Our goal is to keep (customers) coming back.”
Read more here.
Human Trafficking Court Earns High Marks in First Year
In its first year, the new Human Trafficking Court in Washtenaw County has successfully steered people who were arrested for prostitution or related charges, but then identified as victims of human trafficking, into a diversion program in which they received legal assistance, rehabilitative and treatment services, and an alternative to incarceration, according to a new report. Read more here.
Call For Action From A Survivor Of Trafficking (Yes, It Happens To Men)
The U.S Advisory Council on Human Trafficking issued its first-ever report on Tuesday. This group was founded last year when President Obama appointed 11 people, all of whom are survivors of human trafficking themselves, to run the council.
This council is the first organization of its kind that allows survivors to directly recommend policy to government agencies. The first report offers 15 recommendations on five topics, ranging from seeking and allocating grant funding for survivor services to training law enforcement agents to recognize the signs of human trafficking.
We spoke to Ronny Marty, a victim of labor trafficking who came to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic in 2009. Though today he's an activist against human trafficking and a member of the advisory council, back then, he just wanted the hotel job he'd been promised.
Read more here.
8 pimps busted in West Michigan in nationwide sex-trafficking crackdown, FBI says.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Police arrested eight pimps and recovered a human-trafficking victim in Metro Grand Rapids as part of a nationwide initiative to rescue juveniles being trafficked as prostitutes in the U.S. and overseas.
Police also temporarily took seven adult prostitutes into custody and advised them of services in the community, such as job training, housing, counseling, medical help and education assistance, the FBI said.
Area police agencies joined the FBI in Operation Cross Country X, or OCCX.
Read more here.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Police arrested eight pimps and recovered a human-trafficking victim in Metro Grand Rapids as part of a nationwide initiative to rescue juveniles being trafficked as prostitutes in the U.S. and overseas.
Police also temporarily took seven adult prostitutes into custody and advised them of services in the community, such as job training, housing, counseling, medical help and education assistance, the FBI said.
Area police agencies joined the FBI in Operation Cross Country X, or OCCX.
Read more here.
Women At Risk International: New café helps victims of human trafficking.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOTV)-There are currently 600 to 800-thousand people trafficked across international borders every year, according to the U.S. State Department–creating a nearly 32-billion dollar per year industry. Here in Grand Rapids, Women At Risk International works to create protection and hope for many of the victims.
Women At Risk International is represented in all 50 states, and continues to expand projects and partnerships to help rescue and protect those who have been silenced. Every purchase made at Women At Risk goes to help the mission. The community is invited to sip tea and shop handmade jewelry and accessories to support the women. Women at Risk is located at 2790 44th St SW in Wyoming.
See more here.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOTV)-There are currently 600 to 800-thousand people trafficked across international borders every year, according to the U.S. State Department–creating a nearly 32-billion dollar per year industry. Here in Grand Rapids, Women At Risk International works to create protection and hope for many of the victims.
Women At Risk International is represented in all 50 states, and continues to expand projects and partnerships to help rescue and protect those who have been silenced. Every purchase made at Women At Risk goes to help the mission. The community is invited to sip tea and shop handmade jewelry and accessories to support the women. Women at Risk is located at 2790 44th St SW in Wyoming.
See more here.
Safe house would help former sex industry workers.
RAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A nonprofit that helps former sex industry workers is working to open a safe home and restoration program in West Michigan, hoping to help women heal and start over.
“These are our daughters, these are our sisters. As a community, I feel like it’s our responsibility to step in and actually do something,” said Anny Donewald, the founder of Eve’s Angels.
Continue reading here.
“These are our daughters, these are our sisters. As a community, I feel like it’s our responsibility to step in and actually do something,” said Anny Donewald, the founder of Eve’s Angels.
Continue reading here.
West Michigan business training employees to help victims of human trafficking.
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LANSING, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - After a watchdog group says Michigan is seeing an increase in human trafficking, a West Michigan business is training its employees to help victims. Representatives from Firekeepers Casino Hotel say they are doing everything they can to halt human trafficking, and they hope that other employers around the state will do the same. Read more here. |
Why human trafficking is a public health problem.
Via CNN and Polaris
There are thousands of human trafficking victims across the United States, and the healthcare sector is one of the fields with the highest exposure to trafficking victims. But often, healthcare workers don’t recognize the signs of a victim. A survivor explains why it's important for health care workers to learn to recognize and respond to human trafficking. Click on the links above to read more.
Trafficking survivor and advocate Margeaux Gray with her guide dog, Junebug. (CNN)
Posters at MI rest stops, strip clubs to combat trafficking.
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — People who make pit stops at Michigan rest stops should run into a new law Monday: They’ll see signs warning people about the signs of human trafficking.
You will also see the signs at bus stations, airports, “adult entertainment establishments” and places that a court has found to be a “public nuisance” because of prostitution or human trafficking taking place there. The Michigan Department of Transportation will
post signs at highway rest stops. Local cities and towns are responsible for putting them up in their own municipalities.
The signs, which have to be in a highly visible place, must read:
“If you or someone you know is being forced to engage in any activity and cannot leave, whether the activity is commercial sex, housework, farm work, or any other activity, please contact the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or text 233733 to access help and services. The victims of human trafficking are protected under U.S. laws and the laws of this state.”
They’ll be written in English, Spanish and any other languages that local governments or agencies might think is appropriate to that area. It’s part of a statewide effort to fight human trafficking.
Source
You will also see the signs at bus stations, airports, “adult entertainment establishments” and places that a court has found to be a “public nuisance” because of prostitution or human trafficking taking place there. The Michigan Department of Transportation will
post signs at highway rest stops. Local cities and towns are responsible for putting them up in their own municipalities.
The signs, which have to be in a highly visible place, must read:
“If you or someone you know is being forced to engage in any activity and cannot leave, whether the activity is commercial sex, housework, farm work, or any other activity, please contact the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or text 233733 to access help and services. The victims of human trafficking are protected under U.S. laws and the laws of this state.”
They’ll be written in English, Spanish and any other languages that local governments or agencies might think is appropriate to that area. It’s part of a statewide effort to fight human trafficking.
Source
Charles Pugh extradited from NY to face criminal sex charges in Detroit.
Ex-Detroit City Council president and former TV news broadcaster Charles Pugh appeared in a New York City courtroom today then was extradited to face criminal charges in Michigan, authorities said. Pugh is accused of molesting a 14-year-old Detroit boy while he worked at WJBK-TV (Channel 2) more than 10 years ago.
Read more here.
Ex-Detroit City Council president and former TV news broadcaster Charles Pugh appeared in a New York City courtroom today then was extradited to face criminal charges in Michigan, authorities said. Pugh is accused of molesting a 14-year-old Detroit boy while he worked at WJBK-TV (Channel 2) more than 10 years ago.
Read more here.
Book review: More reveals human trafficking from the villain’s perspective.
One of the many astute moves made by Hakan Günday’s timely and affecting novel More is its choice of narrator. His epic story about the current migrant crisis and the nefarious business of human trafficking isn’t told from the perspective of one of the migrants; rather it is told by Gaza, a young Turk who assists his despicable father Ahad in the family trafficking business from the age of nine.
Read the rest of this review here.
One of the many astute moves made by Hakan Günday’s timely and affecting novel More is its choice of narrator. His epic story about the current migrant crisis and the nefarious business of human trafficking isn’t told from the perspective of one of the migrants; rather it is told by Gaza, a young Turk who assists his despicable father Ahad in the family trafficking business from the age of nine.
Read the rest of this review here.
Ohio truck drivers will be trained to help stop human trafficking.
Via Truckers Against Trafficking:
COLUMBUS (WCMH)–Every day and night, there are thousands of Ohio truck drivers out on the roads. They’re an extra set of eyes who will soon be the state’s newest weapon in the fight against modern day slavery. Starting Friday, CDL schools in Ohio will train all new drivers on how to spot the signs of human trafficking, and how to help. Click here for the story.
COLUMBUS (WCMH)–Every day and night, there are thousands of Ohio truck drivers out on the roads. They’re an extra set of eyes who will soon be the state’s newest weapon in the fight against modern day slavery. Starting Friday, CDL schools in Ohio will train all new drivers on how to spot the signs of human trafficking, and how to help. Click here for the story.
Human trafficking is all around you. This is how it works.
Behind the everyday bargains we all love — the $10 manicure, the unlimited shrimp buffet — is a hidden world of forced labor to keep those prices at rock bottom. Noy Thrupkaew investigates human trafficking – which flourishes in the US and Europe, as well as developing countries – and shows us the human faces behind the exploited labor that feeds global consumers.
Noy Thrupkaew reports on human trafficking and the economics of exploitation through the lens of labor rights. Watch the Ted Talk video here.
Noy Thrupkaew reports on human trafficking and the economics of exploitation through the lens of labor rights. Watch the Ted Talk video here.
The Dark Reason Why You Should Always Take Pictures of Your Hotel Room
You may want to snap pictures of your hotel room when you're traveling because it's luxurious or you want to show off to your friends, but there's a better reason to do so: it may save a child's life.
The TraffickCam app which is free and available for iPhone, iPad and Android allows you to upload pictures of your hotel room, where they are then matched to a database used by law enforcement. This can help the police identify where trafficked children are.
"You just enter your hotel room, and your room number. You take four pictures, and you submit them to the website," Washington University Researcher and TraffickCam developer Abby Stylianou explains.
"And then those become part of the pipeline that law enforcement can use to track down where the victims are being trafficked," she said.
The idea for TraffickCam came several years ago when the police sought help from the non-profit Exchange Initiative, formed by the Nix Conference and Meeting Management to end sex trafficking. Police wanted to identify a hotel where children have been trafficked.
The police showed Nix staff a photo. "One of the girls in our office knew exactly what it was," Nix Principal Molly Hackett said. Exchange Initiative then teamed up with Washington University researchers to make the app.
Photos of victims are all too common, and the internet has made trafficking easier for criminals.
Continue reading here.
The TraffickCam app which is free and available for iPhone, iPad and Android allows you to upload pictures of your hotel room, where they are then matched to a database used by law enforcement. This can help the police identify where trafficked children are.
"You just enter your hotel room, and your room number. You take four pictures, and you submit them to the website," Washington University Researcher and TraffickCam developer Abby Stylianou explains.
"And then those become part of the pipeline that law enforcement can use to track down where the victims are being trafficked," she said.
The idea for TraffickCam came several years ago when the police sought help from the non-profit Exchange Initiative, formed by the Nix Conference and Meeting Management to end sex trafficking. Police wanted to identify a hotel where children have been trafficked.
The police showed Nix staff a photo. "One of the girls in our office knew exactly what it was," Nix Principal Molly Hackett said. Exchange Initiative then teamed up with Washington University researchers to make the app.
Photos of victims are all too common, and the internet has made trafficking easier for criminals.
Continue reading here.
Sex-trafficking survivor: 'They told me it would happen over and over.'
