GO Senator Ron Wyden!

For Immediate Release: June 30, 2011
Contact: Jennifer Hoelzer, 202-224-3789

Wyden Sex Trafficking Legislation Included in Leahy-Brown Trafficking Victims Bill

Creates Shelters for Victims of Sex Trafficking; Breaking the Cycle of Exploitation and Giving Law Enforcement the Means to Put the Pimps and Traffickers Behind Bars

Washington, D.C. – After leading the campaign to put domestic sex trafficking of children on the national agenda, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), worked with Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy to include key provisions of his legislation into the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) of 2011. Nearly 100,000 American girls and young women are trafficked for sex within the United States each year, and the Wyden-authored provision will help put an end to this modern-day sexual slavery.

Similar to the Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act that Wyden introduced earlier this year, the provision authorizes a pilot program that would create comprehensive residential care facilities throughout the country providing a safe haven for minors who are being trafficked and sold into sexual slavery. Importantly, the pilot programs will ensure the active participation and specialized training of law enforcement officers and social service providers in identifying and serving these victims.

The bill also gives law enforcement tools to investigate and incarcerate the pimps and traffickers forcing young women and girls into prostitution and gives the legal system the tools to successfully prosecute the offenders.

“One of the hardest parts of fighting the trafficking of minors for sex in this country is that there are not enough resources to break the cycle of exploitation,” Wyden said. “All too often the real victims of sex trafficking – the young women and girls – do not get the help they need to get back on their feet. Meanwhile, the pimps and traffickers who prey on these vulnerable girls remain on the street. This provision will give social service professionals the ability to give the victims of sex trafficking the aid and care they need while giving law enforcement and the legal system the means to lock up the pimps and traffickers.”

The provision included in the TVPRA creates a pilot program where block grants are given to four areas of the country particularly hard hit by sex trafficking. The grants would be used to create a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary approach to combat sex trafficking of minors. Each block grant would be for $1.5 to $2 million per year for up to four years. The block grants could fund:

· Housing for child victims of sex trafficking
· Clothing and other daily needs in order to keep victims from returning to the street
· Mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment, and case management
· Victims’ assistance counseling and legal services
· Education or job training classes for victims
· Outreach, education, and deterrence/prevention efforts
· Education and training for law enforcement personnel on how to investigate crimes involving the sex trafficking of minors who are United States citizens or aliens admitted for permanent residence, including how to identify minor victims of sex trafficking

To qualify locales would have to demonstrate significant sex trafficking activity; demonstrated cooperation by local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, prosecutors and social service providers; and a workable plan to provide comprehensive, wrap-around services to victims including a shelter, mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment and case management.

Click here to follow Senator Wyden’s previous efforts to combat sex trafficking.

12.3 Million Adults and Children

Wash. AG McKenna launches trafficking initiative

OLYMPIA, Wash. Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna launched a national initiative to combat human trafficking Thursday, saying now is the time for states to marshal resources to protect the vulnerable.

McKenna announced his plans after being unanimously chosen as the new president of the National Association of Attorneys General. During the association's meeting in Chicago, McKenna said increased awareness of human trafficking has reached a tipping point and that attorneys general are in a unique position to rally public support.

"The problem of trafficking is real. It is around us," said McKenna, a Republican who recently announced a bid for governor in Washington. "It is aptly referred to as modern day slavery - the selling of another person's body through the use of force, fear or coercion."

A report compiled by the U.S. State Department found that 12.3 million adults and children are in forced labor, bonded labor and forced prostitution around the world. McKenna said it's not just an international problem but a local one, too.

McKenna's initiative will focus on coordinating data collection, prosecutions of traffickers and buyers, and mobilizing communities to provide support to victims. He also said the initiative would mean altering how prosecutors take on the issue.

"Human trafficking is the only crime I can think of where the victim is more likely to be prosecuted than the perpetrator," McKenna said. "We need to end that."

Alice Hill, senior counselor to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, said human trafficking was a fast-growing area of criminal endeavor, and victims may be hidden from public view and from those who might want to rescue them. They are typically afraid of police because they're involved in prostitution and have been told they are criminals themselves and will be punished if they are caught.

Hill said state and local police sometimes lack training on how to identify human trafficking. But she said it is crucial to find victims, get them support and secure their cooperation and crucial testimony in order to prosecute perpetrators.

"We'll need to have robust information-sharing and partnerships, and this is a great start to making sure that occurs," Hill said.

Read more: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/06/23/2072091/mckenna-to-launch-national-trafficking.html#ixzz1Qp4JaFjI

Stop these Hotels!

This article is from our friends at Change.org Please hit ctrl and then click on the links to be transported to sign the petition!

From 2006 to 2011, Crips gang members in San Diego ran a child sex trafficking ring out of area hotels that destroyed the lives at least 16 girls.

An 18-month FBI investigation discovered that the gang was able to use two Wyndham-owned hotels (Travelodge and Howard Johnson) regularly for child prostitution with the knowledge and even assistance of staff.

After hearing about these cases, San Diego native Tim Rosner started a petition urging the Wyndham Hotel Group to sign an international child protection agreement for travel and tourism companies, which could have saved those 16 girls from sexual exploitation.

In California, the staff at a Howard Johnson in Escondido, CA, refused to stop sex trafficking -- and at the San Diego Travelodge, staff actively facilitated and profited from the sexual exploitation of children.

Travelodge staff knowingly rented rooms to Crips gang members for use in child prostitution -- and demanded higher rates for these rooms in exchange for cooperation. They even set aside specific areas in the hotel for sex trafficking.

Members of the staff also allowed the gang members to use the hotel computer to post online ads advertising sex with minors and agreed to warn the Crips if police were nearby.

Although Wyndham has a child protection policy, it has failed at least 16 children -- with more cases emerging.

Just last week in Alexandria, Virginia, a grand jury indicted a MS-13 gang member for selling sex with girls as young as 15 on another Wyndham property, a Super 8.

Two major American hotel chains -- Hilton Worldwide and Carlson Companies, an entity that includes Radisson Hotels and other chains -- have already signed the international child protection policy, as have 945 other companies across 37 countries.

Click here to make sure Wyndham is next to sign the Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children and call on the company to implement this stricter child protection policy in order to prevent future instances of child sex trafficking:

http://www.change.org/petitions/stop-wyndham-hotel-staff-from-supporting-child-sex-trafficking-in-wyndham-hotel

Do you have what it takes?

Called To Rescue is forming local task forces to help combat trafficking in the NW. We are looking for people who wish to be trained as eyes and ears for the police. We will train with an emphasis on GREAT CAUTION to help keep you safe as you join us in this battle! So, are you big, strong, intimidating or just plain passionate about combating trafficking?? (There can be a lot of power in small packages, too!) Then we have a place for you!

Our tasks forces will help investigate cases that are sent to our new hotline number below!

NEW HOTLINE NUMBER: 1 360 901 0390

-Use this number if it is a NON-EMERGENCY.

-If you have an EMERGENCY, dial 911.

-If you have a child missing and want the news to go out or for us to look into a situation, please text the above number.

-Put the above number in your phones.

Help!

Do YOU need HELP?! Thanks to the Polaris Project website we have some resources listed for individual states; take a look at Oregon and Washingston's resources and check out your own state as well! They also have international information, what a great resource!

http://www.polarisproject.org/state-map/oregon

http://www.polarisproject.org/state-map/washington

http://www.polarisproject.org/state-map/international-locations

Always remember, if you need help any time during the day, or have a tip on possible trafficking, call the Polaris Project at:

1-888-3737-888

Don't stop now!

US envoy slams Philippine record vs human trafficking

Davao City (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - United States Ambassador to the Philippines Harry K. Thomas Jr. expressed displeasure over the country's performance in the battle against human trafficking, saying there was no reason for the government to "drink champagne" over the number of cases resolved.

"It behooves me to be honest with you but it does not matter what I say because this is your country. It is not my country. It is your country. We are only here to help," said Thomas in a speech to judges and prosecutors who gathered here Thursday for a seminar on combating human trafficking.

"This is a global problem. Yes, we have made progress but we cannot drink champagne," Thomas said.

He was referring to 25 cases involving human trafficking resolved in the country in 2010. In 2009, only 15 cases were resolved.

The cases resolved, he said, showed that the Philippine judiciary was improving.

"These were achieved because of the significant changes in the legal system," he said, citing the 180 day limit imposed by law for human trafficking cases to be resolved.

"But are we satisfied with 25? Is 25 something that we should be proud about? Is this something to celebrate? That is what I ask. Is it something we have to applaud? It is not. And I am not attacking you because this is a global challenge," he said.

Before this, Thomas met with officials of the anti-trafficking advocacy group Visayan Forum and some trafficking victims.

"Most of them (victims) were for domestics. But we know that there were some of them who were trafficked for sexual purposes. And we know this evening that some ship that will be coming in will be taking some people," he said.

The challenge, Thomas said, was for the authorities to make sure that the ports were well guarded and ensure that no one got aboard to end up somewhere else only to be abused.

Thomas said also that the government must address the underlying reasons for human trafficking - lack of livelihood and employment.

He narrated the story told to him by Filipinas who were supposed to go to Bahrain as domestics but were fearful of what they might have to face.

"I asked why and they said they were afraid they might be sexually abused but they have no opportunity to get a job in the Philippines. And we meet people like them every day. Don't they deserve equal opportunity?" Thomas said.

"So it is up for us, in the United States, to help you with your progress. But we cannot do it alone. We need your help. Your fellow Filipinos need your help. Please help these young boys and girls," he said.

Justice Adolfo Azcuna, chancellor of the Philippine Judicial Academy, agreed with the observation made by Thomas.

"Human trafficking is bad. It is a form of human rights violation... I agree that the Philippines must make improvements and we are grateful for the support that they [US government] are extending to the Philippines for us to fight trafficking in humans," Azcuna said.

Davao Judge Virgina Europa said the judges and the prosecutors who attended the seminar vowed they would help in "curbing or totally eliminating trafficking in persons cases."

She said trafficking in humans was common in the Southern parts of the country, particularly the island provinces of Basilan and Tawi-Tawi -because of their proximity to Malaysia and Indonesia.

http://my.news.yahoo.com/us-envoy-slams-philippine-record-vs-human-trafficking-091002925.html

Front Line Detection!

Immigration agents retrained to boost skills to fight human smuggling

MANILA, Philippines—Immigration officers and intelligence agents at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) have started a re-training seminar to detect fraudulent documents that would improve their capability to fight human smuggling.

Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. said more than a hundred BI employees assigned at the NAIA and at the Intelligence Division are attending the seminar.

The training will include detection of fraudulent travel document such as visas and passports, as well as intelligence data gathering.

“It is important to update their knowledge and skills on airport immigration operations, as well as current immigration practices, policies, structures and procedures,” David said.

David said similar retraining programs will be conducted for Immigration employees assigned in the various ports nationwide including Cebu, Clark, Davao, Zamboanga, Laoag and Subic.

BI Spokesperson, Lawyer Maria Antonette Mangrobang said that the seminar will last for two days, June 22 and 23.

“They will be taught immigration laws and procedures, including fraudulent travel document detection, and the profiling of undesirable aliens,” said senior immigration officer Rodolfo Gino, one of the lecturers in the seminars.

Gino said the bureau is presently designing a new training module for its immigration officers “to enhance their capability to perform their jobs as gatekeepers of the country.”

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/17125/immigration-agents-retrained-to-boost-skills-to-fight-human-smuggling

A Day with a Detective...

Not every day does one get to go undercover with a police officer to fight sex trafficking. And, on this not so ordinary day, I had a personal tour of 2 police precincts and took part in an undercover ride a long in some of the Portland’s most notorious places for prostitution. This particular officer has fought sex trafficking and prostitution for many years, so many that he recognized and was able to name just about every gal on the side of the road on 82^nd Ave.

The first gal….She was blonde, she wasn’t a spring chicken but she wasn’t old. Right off the bat the officer said she was working the street and I didn’t completely understand why- she looked normal. She was nicely dressed, and to me, didn’t fit the picture of a ‘normal’ prostitute with cleavage hanging out or too tight or too short of clothes. She was dressed modestly but something was different about her. I was about to learn how to identify a prostitute- one sign is in the way that she walked as though she had no place to go and she looked around as though she didn’t want to miss anything. She was also on her phone. We pulled over to a parking lot and watched her continue to walk down 82^nd until a blue pickup truck pulled up. She made eye contact, nodded, and walked toward the truck. We moved our vehicle right behind the truck and watched the john invite the prostitute in his truck. Just. Like. That.

It was a casual encounter from what I could see, it seemed normal to both of them. Well, the officer honked a few times and I could see the look on their faces in the rearview mirror. Why would two civilians be honking at a blue truck that just picked up a gal? They were hesitant to leave, but finally did so and we followed them. We followed them a block to where they turned off and so did we, never did the officer let up his pursuit. The john must have felt something was up and stopped to have the woman get out of the truck. She got out and he sped off. Now, we were undercover, nothing on our vehicle or the clothes we were wearing gave any clue to law enforcement. So, we pulled up next to the gal who proceeded to walk over to our car. My window was rolled down as she leaned over to talk with us, but she still kept her distance as she was unsure of what was going on. He asked her a couple of questions, she made some excuses, he pulled out his badge and showed it to her, telling her that today she will not be arrested, but that she shouldn’t be doing this and she needs to just go home. She stammered a bit, made some excuses and then the officer made himself a little more clear about what she needed to do and she left, quietly. Both of them would have been arrested and charged with attempt to prostitution and a monetary fine if we were in an actual police car or had proper back up.

I personally could not believe that the FIRST woman we saw on our patrol took to a john and planned to go off and do her thing.

We didn’t see any minors out and about being sold. It seems as though that the younger girls are sold through websites- a john visits the site, orders the girl he wants and they agree on the location. The police have set up similar appointments used for stings- the girl shows up and gets arrested and then the police attempt to get information. Attempt is the key word. Many don’t talk or fill the police in with false information.

I asked the officer what he attributes to younger girls getting into this sort of mess and what causes the inability to get out of it. He replied that the family system break down is a huge cause as well as the culture that glorifies this kind of behavior. Not only does familial dysfunction (abuse, etc.) make children vulnerable to being trafficked, but look at our sex crazed culture, even in rap music. Think about the lyrics behind the rap songs- they talk about pimpin’, ho’s and cash in a glorified manner. The majority of the girls come into the game by some smooth talking pimp who tells them how much he loves them and how he will take care of them and offers them stability that they have never experienced before, only to be brought into an even worse form of their own personal hell. The pimps get into the girls’ minds and twist them so much more beyond any dysfunction they’ve previously known. And, after a while…. That is life for the girl. Unfortunately, even if the girl is arrested, she usually doesn’t talk or give any information to the police. If she’s charged with prostitution, then she can get services from Department of Human Services, if she’s not charged with prostitution, she’s released. Either way, her chances of going right back to her pimp are EXTREMELY high. However, this officer spotted one girl on the side of the road waiting for a bus and was eager to talk with her…

The girl was this officer’s only success. We pulled around the bus stop and parked while this young lady, maybe early twenties, walked up to us as we exited the car. She was so happy to see the officer and I can’t tell you how many times she said ‘Thank you’ to him. She started to tear up when she revealed how GOOD she was doing, they were tears of joy and again she said ‘Thank you’. I myself started to tear up- this excited me, seeing this girl saved from the evil bondage and hearing about her life that is back on track, after trafficking. We all parted ways from the joyous ‘run in’ and I felt so blessed to have witnessed both an attempt to prostitution with the first gal and then his only success story all in the same day. Little did I know, this officer went out on a limb for this gal. He had arrested her and then learned she had kids. He told her if she got a job, used him as a reference, made all her court dates and really put forth the effort of getting out of this, he would work with the court system in her favor. Since that arrest, she has been working and making a living for herself off of the streets and away from the pimps. Unfortunately there are no more success stories like this- at least for this particular officer. And even more unfortunate, the success rate of girls getting out and staying out is slim to 0%.

So, you may are sitting there, wondering “how I can prevent sex trafficking and prostitution?” Well, the United States has some pretty clear laws against this and the officers are doing all they can. It is a very tough crime to fight. What you can do as a citizen and as a parent is raise your kids correctly. Raise them with boundaries, with a good head on their shoulders as moral, upstanding citizens. Because, when a child loses their way, it starts to break down the family unit and when families are broken, communities are broken and the snowball effect occurs. Keep tabs on your children- KNOW what they’re doing and WHERE they are at, KNOW their friends, BE INVOLVED. Protect them because you love and care for them. Discipline them out of loving, kindness so that they may NEVER find themselves looking for attention and love in the wrong place and winding up on the streets.

Oregon is Catching On!

It's official! Look at the 2 new laws that Oregon's Governer Kitzhaber just signed off on! The contents of this post were from an email sent from the City of Portland Commissioner's Office.

Governor Kitzhaber has signed two key pieces of sex trafficking legislation, Senate Bill 425 and House Bill 2714, into law.

HB 2714 levies a fine of $10,000 for a first time conviction of purchasing sex from a minor. The fine rises to $20,000 following a second conviction. The bill also distinguishes the crime of patronizing prostitution from offering prostitution. Currently, both are the same crime and classified as a Class A misdemeanor. Also under the bill, johns will no longer be able to declare as a defense that they did not know that a victim was under 18 year of age.

Senate Bill 425 similarly eliminates a commonly used defense for traffickers who claim ignorance of a victim’s underage status. This bill would remove that defense for traffickers who sell sex with underage minors. SB 425 also includes key language from an amendment that Portland City Commissioner Dan Saltzman proposed.

The additional language include the words “aids or facilitates” into the Compelling Prostitution statute, so that if a pimp’s actions in any way aids or facilitates a child into trafficking, he could be held guilty to Compelling Prostitution.

“For too long, pimps have used the legal language to say that they did not ‘induce or cause’ a girl into trafficking. They say that they were merely helping her post an ad online or giving her a ride,” said Commissioner Saltzman. “Both this bill and House Bill 2714 send the message that exploitation of children will not be tolerated in Oregon.”

Senate Bill 425 was introduced by the Senate Judiciary Committee and was championed by Representative Carolyn Tomei (D-Milwaukee). Representative Tomei also introduced House Bill 2714.

Why does this happen?

Some of the American readers may be asking why children in the Philippines (or other SE Asian countries) become sex trafficked. Well, this article published by Expertlaw.com, written by Judge Nimfa Cuesta Vilches in 2004 sheds some light on some very serious human rights issues that make Filipino (and many other children around the world) vulnerable to sex trafficking:

"A girl child in the Philippines is discriminated upon early in life due to culture-based and family reinforced gender biases. For instance, despite her special nutritional needs in preparation as future mother and nurturer, the girl child is allotted less food than her father and her brothers. When money for education is scarce, her brothers are given the preference.

The Filipino girl child takes the stereotyped role of her mother who is portrayed as an abused and submissive woman relegated to domestic work. Moreover, the public considers girls and women as sex objects and typifies them as club/bar entertainers, beauty pageant contestants, and racy or pornographic film stars.
The pejorative expectations that Filipino society has on women and children are compounded by problems of extreme poverty; massive labor export; globalization; porous borders; aggressive tourism campaigns; negative portrayal of women by mass media; pornography on-line and internet chat-rooms; the practice of mail-order brides; inter-country adoption; and joint military exercises in the country with visiting forces from abroad. These factors cause women to become easy victims of sex-trafficking and other forms of sexual exploitation either in the Philippines or in countries of destination.

To date, more than 4 million Filipinos are unemployed and 40% of them are women. There were around 600,000 prostitutes in the Philippines in the year 2000 and 50,000 of them were children. In September 2002, a staggering number of 1.6 million Filipinos left the country to work abroad and 48% of them are female. In the first quarter of the year 2003, there were 2,872 sexually abused and exploited children. Further, the number of girl children in the year 2000 which was estimated at 16.7 million will significantly increase to 17.4 million in 2005."

The link for this article: http://www.expertlaw.com/library/domestic_violence/Philippines_trafficking.html

Every 12 Minutes....

Did you know that every 12 minutes a Filipino child is sex trafficked- that's 120 CHILDREN A DAY!

AND did you know that Filipino children represent 1 out of every 10 children in the world that are trafficked?

We're here to help put a stop to this.

Filipino sex trafficking victims and those in crises now have a hotline to call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for help - 0906 3063889.

For more information, check out the full article published on:

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=685522

Welcome to the Called To Rescue Blog!

Welcome!! You are here by invitation or by clicking the link on the Called To Rescue (CTR) webpage:

http://www.calledtorescue.org/index.html

Whatever the case may be, we are grateful you are here and that you have shown interest in a world wide problem- human trafficking. For those of you who may be unaware of what human trafficking is, please allow this explanation taken from the United Nations website (http://www.unescap.org/esid/gad/issues/trafficking/index.asp):

...human trafficking is “The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation". "

Human trafficking is a very real problem and it comes in many forms; sex, labor, organ and child soldier trafficking. This blog is a place for information, awareness, discussion and advocacy for not only children and adults over seas but also for those who are a part of this epidemic on a local level. A posting will occur once a week which will include everything from personal stories from those of us here at Called To Rescue, newspaper articles of encouraging news and of that not so encouraging as well as useful information that anyone can apply to their life to help combat this problem.

Please bookmark, favorite, or however you mark this blog spot to remind yourself to come back soon!

Thank you for visiting,
Amanda