International Sex Slavery

[ramonmercado]

Peru sex slavery: Police free 300 women in Amazon
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-15165339

More than 400 police took part in the three-day operation

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Police in Peru say they have rescued nearly 300 women from sexual exploitation in a raid in the country's Amazon region.

At least four people were arrested in Puerto Maldonado on suspicion of human trafficking.

Among those rescued from about 50 brothels were at least 10 minors - the youngest was a 13-year-old girl.

More than 400 police took part in the three-day operation in the region, known for its illegal gold mining.

The region has seen an influx of fortune-hunters trying to make a living from the trade.

Prosecutors say young girls are lured to the area by women who travel around offering them jobs in shops or as domestic helpers, but that the girls often end up being forced to work as prostitutes in local bars.

Last month, the charity Save the Children said that more than 1,100 underage girls were being used as sexual slaves in illegal mining camps in the south-eastern Peruvian state of Madre de Dios.

Camps set up along the main highway have also attracted unlicensed bars used for prostitution.

The gold rush is contributing to the destruction of the rain forest and contaminating the environment with tons of mercury, used in processing the precious metal.

Peru is the world's fifth largest gold producer.

 

[Zilch5]

That sort of thing is unfortunately very common, and not just in places like Peru.

You'll find similar things happen here in Australia - and I believe in Europe as well. Sad, but true.

 

[ramonmercado]

Argentina as well. This is a moving story. A mother who won't give up.

Confronting Argentina's people-traffickers
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-17560518
By Vladimir Hernandez
BBC Mundo

She has survived two murder attempts, her house was burnt down, she has received countless death threats, but nothing has stopped Susana Trimarco from looking for her missing daughter for the last 10 years.

On 3 April Maria de los Angeles Veron, known as "Marita", went missing.

In February, 13 people accused of kidnapping Ms Veron and selling her to traffickers who forced her into prostitution went on trial in a court in Tucuman province, in the north west of Argentina.

This case has become over the years a symbol of the fight against human trafficking in Argentina and most of South America. Especially because of what Mrs Trimarco has done over the last decade.

In the search for her daughter she infiltrated herself into human trafficking gangs pretending to be interested in "buying" women. The information gathered by these actions led to police raids which rescued dozens of women who were being sexually exploited.

Mrs Trimarco later launched the Fundacion Maria de los Angeles, named after her missing daughter. Since 2007 it has helped rescue hundreds of victims of sexual exploitation and human trafficking.

Acts to commemorate Ms Veron's disappearance will be held today in Tucuman, and her mother is adamant that she will have no rest "until I find Marita".


The issue of missing people has attracted growing attention in recent years
'Collusion by officials'
"3 April 2002 was the saddest day of my life. I will never forget that day, as it was when my daughter's life was destroyed," Mrs Trimarco tells the BBC.

"This is a terrible pain I have permanently carried in my soul. I'm almost used to living with it."

Talking to Mrs Trimarco is telling. Her stern face rarely seems to smile. She is not rude, but is strong in her words and gestures.

"When Marita did not come back that day, I and my husband felt something terrible had happened. As a parent you just sense these things," she says.

She and her husband Daniel, who died in 2010, asked at hospitals, and spoke to police and neighbours about Marita. No-one knew her whereabouts.

After several days there was a breakthrough. Someone had seen her being pushed inside a vehicle by three men.

And weeks later a prostitute confirmed their worst fears. They were told that their daughter had been "sold" to traffickers.

Mrs Trimarco says the authorities in the province at the time, as well as former members of the police and the judiciary, were in collusion with the traffickers, which is why it was so difficult to find her daughter.

She has recently testified in court, giving names and evidence backing her claims.

Continue reading the main story
Fighting the traffickers

Since Argentina passed a law to tackle human trafficking in 2008:

2,827 people have been rescued from sexual or labour exploitation
122 cases dealing with human trafficking are currently in Argentine courts
In these cases, at least 228 people have been charged and 216 people are considered victims.
At least half those victims are Argentine. 36% are from Paraguay, and 3% from the Dominican Republic.
Only 40 cases have resulted in sentencing, with 71 people convicted and imprisoned.
Former officials or police officers are suspected of involvement in 22% of current court cases
There are former police officers among the 13 people accused of Ms Veron's kidnapping. All deny the charges.

Raid on brothel
A police detective, a friend of her husband, was a key figure in their search.

With the detective's help, three months after Ms Veron's disappearance, they finally gathered enough information for the police to conduct a raid at a suspected brothel where their daughter could have been held.

"There were about 60 women, all scantily dressed. Marita was not among them. I told these women that whoever was there against their will, they should step forward and come with us. Immediately a young girl rushed into my arms and did not let me go until we left that place," says Mrs Trimarco.

The girl was called Anahi. Crucially, she gave details that confirmed that Ms Veron had been there, but was taken away before the raid.

Anahi stayed for some time with Mrs Trimarco, until she was able to return to her family after receiving legal and psychological help. She is now a key witness in the trial.

Armed with the information from Anahi, Mrs Trimarco decided to infiltrate human trafficking gangs, pretending to be a procurer of women.

"I was not a public figure then, so that made it simple. I did not even tell my husband I was going to do this."

She arranged a visit to a brothel in her province, where the women were, literally, sold.

"Each one had a price. There were even underage girls as young as 14. All of them seemed terrified. When you looked at them they would lower their gaze and try to cover their barely dressed bodies with their hands", says Mrs Trimarco.

"The coarse language of these girls showed the terror and pain they were going through," she adds.

Mrs Trimarco did this three more times. The information she gathered led to a police intervention.

At least 129 women were rescued by the authorities as a direct consequence of her actions. Many stayed at Mrs Trimarco's home.

New anti-trafficking law
"It came to a point where I just did not have the capacity to help them all. That is when I decided to open a foundation," she says.

In 2007 she set up her foundation, and today nearly 20 people, including lawyers, psychologists and social workers, help women affected by trafficking.

The foundation has managed to get at least 800 cases of alleged sexual exploitation into Argentine courts, which led to the rescue of almost 400 victims.

Mrs Trimarco was among those given the first US Secretary of State International Women of Courage award in 2007 by Condoleezza Rice, for her efforts against human trafficking.

And in 2008 Mrs Trimarco's struggle and story helped get legislation passed in Argentina that for the first time made human trafficking a crime.

Since this law came into effect almost 3,000 people have been rescued from human traffickers in Argentina.

But Mrs Trimarco's daughter is still missing.

"I have found victims who have been forced into prostitution for up to 12 years. My daughter can still be alive," she says.

She is hoping the current trial, expected to end in the next few months, will provide new information about where her daughter may be.

"I told the accused: 'If I can't have peace, you will never have peace until she is given back to me'.

"I will keep looking for her, until I find her."

 

[Mythopoeika]

What an amazing woman! Deserves some recognition.

 

[Quake42]

What an amazing woman! Deserves some recognition.

She certainly does.

What I find odd about these stories is the role of the punters. Surely it must be obvious that the girl you have paid for is in distress and may be being forced to work against her will? Why don't more of these cases get reported by the customers? I have no issue with consenting adults choosing to trade sex but this is a very long way off that.

 

[OneWingedBird]

Don't know a huge amount about that kind of thing as applies to adults, but I suspect they shut down emotionally quite quickly and don't necessarily show obvious distress after that, especially if there's no perceived or even actual way out, and perceived or actual risk of injury or death for letting on that something is wrong.

Not suggesting that makes it any easier, possibly even more damaging to them as a person but I guess it makes it survivable in the immediate term.

Lack of a crap given by punters probably helps things along quite nicely too.

 

[ramonmercado]

China 'sex slave' case: Li Hao sentenced to death
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-20552956

A court in China has sentenced a man to death for keeping six women as "sex slaves" and for his role in the murder of two of them, state-run media report.

Li Hao, 35, from Henan province, was convicted on charges including murder, rape, organised prostitution and illegal detention, Xinhua says.

The court heard how he built a dungeon in his basement where he forced the women to work as prostitutes.

Three of the women he held were given leniency for their role in the murders.

One received three years and the two others were put on probation, according to Xinhua. Police were quoted as saying that he coerced them to kill two others being forced to work alongside them.

Eventually, one of the women managed to escape and approach the police.

An investigation by police revealed that Li dug the basement in 2009 and held the women for between two to 21 months.

He repeatedly raped the women, forced them to have sex with other men for money and made them perform in pornographic web shows.

The women had worked at nightclubs and karaoke bars.

Li, who is married, worked as a local government clerk.

 

[ramonmercado]

Must look out for analysis of this story.

Argentina Marita Veron sex slave trial clears accused
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-20691385

Susana Trimarco has vowed to continue her search until she finds Marita

Related Stories
Susana Trimarco's story

A court in Argentina has found 13 people not guilty of abducting a woman and forcing her into prostitution 10 years ago, in a case that shone a light on sex-trafficking in South America.

Marita Veron's mother Susana Trimarco has rescued hundreds of women from sex slavery in the search for her.

People in the court sobbed and shouted after the verdict was announced.

The judges said there was no evidence linking the defendants to Marita Veron, who remains missing.

The accused, seven men and six women, had all insisted on their innocence and argued that the case brought against them was politically motivated.

They had been on trial in Tucuman province, in north-west Argentina since February, accused of kidnapping Ms Veron and selling her to traffickers who forced her into prostitution.

The trial heard more than 130 witnesses, including a dozen women rescued from brothels by Susana Trimarco.


Marita's whereabouts have never been established
There were emotional and angry scenes in the courtroom, after the three judges reached their verdict.

Among the few people not crying was Ms Trimarco, who sat grim-faced.

After Marita disappeared in April 2002, she launched a campaign to find her.

Ms Trimarco infiltrated herself into human-trafficking gangs pretending to be interested in "buying" women. The information she gathered led to police raids which rescued dozens of women who were being sexually exploited.

She also launched a foundation which since 2007 has helped to rescue hundreds of victims of sexual exploitation and human trafficking.

Her efforts led to the passage of legislation in Argentina making human-trafficking a crime.

Ms Trimarco, who was given a human rights award on Sunday by President Cristina Fernandez, said the president had called her to express her support.

 

[ramonmercado]

Twelve arrested in US raid on Latin sex-trafficking ring
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-21083159

Mr Morton said the case should be a 'wake-up call'

Authorities in the United States have arrested 12 people in connection with a people-trafficking prostitution ring.

Another 44 people have been detained. Eleven women from Central America and Mexico, most in their 20s, were freed.

The women were reportedly forced to have sex with up to 30 men a day, charging $30 (£19) for each act.

The gang is thought to have been smuggling women since 2008, moving them to different cities every week in the south-eastern US.

The US authorities have indicted eight men and four women. Most of the other detainees are said to be clients.

The sex-trafficking ring served mostly ethnic Latino immigrants in larger cities and rural communities of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, the authorities said.

One of the indicted, a Mexican citizen, is accused of having threatened to send one woman back to Mexico if she did not have sex with at least 25 men a day.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton said 967 arrests in connection with people trafficking and sex tourism were made last year alone.

"To those who would believe that sex trafficking doesn't happen in America, reflect on this case and think again," Mr Morton said at a news briefing.

Most of the 44 detainees were reportedly non-Americans and would face court action. Those who were illegal in the country would be deported, said Mr Morton.

The scale of human trafficking in the US is hard to gauge, but the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline, operated by Polaris Project since December 2007, has received more than 57,000 calls from every state in the union.

Incidences of sex and labour trafficking have been reported in all 50 states in the US, and the District of Columbia, in the two years leading up to 2012.

 

[ramonmercado]

Sometimes NGOs will over-egg it to raise funds but Somaly Mam seems to have a policy of fraud. Full text at link.

Sex Slave Story Revealed to be Fabricated
By Simon Marks and Phorn Bopha - October 12, 2013

In June 1998, Somaly Mam stood on the stage of Spain’s Campoamor Theater shoulder to shoulder with six of the world’s most celebrated women as she received the prestigious Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation. Six months prior to winning the award, and sharing that podium with, among others, Emma Bonino, a former European Commissioner for humanitarian aid, and Olayinka Koso-Thomas, a Nigerian-born doctor who had campaigned for decades against the circumcision of women, Ms. Mam had been virtually unknown.

Six months earlier, in January 1998, Ms. Mam was propelled from relative obscurity into the international media spotlight largely owing to the harrowing on-camera testimony of the young Meas Ratha and other alleged victims of Cambodia’s child sex industry.

Meas Ratha stands outside her home near Phnom Penh last month. (Simon Marks/The Cambodia Daily)

Ms. Mam’s work as president of her own Phnom Penh-based NGO, Agir Pour Les Femmes en Situation Precaire (Afesip), was being featured on French television as part of the popular weekly show “Envoyé Spécial.”

The documentary opens with the camera focused on Ms. Ratha, who was then a chubby teenager of about 14-years-old from Takeo province. Ms. Mam is seated at the young girl’s side as she tells a dismal tale of sexual slavery in an unnamed brothel somewhere in Phnom Penh.

“My name is Meas Ratha and I am 14 years old. I was born in the province of Takeo and I have seven brothers and sisters. My family is very poor. My father has disappeared. One year ago my mother fell seriously ill. I was completely distraught. I was very young and I didn’t know what to do,” the young Ms. Ratha says to the camera. She then cries and receives a comforting squeeze of support from Ms. Mam.

“They locked me up in a room and at that time I knew I had been deceived,” she continues.

The documentary goes on to explain how the young girl had been promised a job as a waitress in Phnom Penh, but wound up a captive in a brothel. Later, she is filmed playing musical chairs, skipping rope, singing alongside other girls being cared for inside the Afesip center and helping Ms. Mam treat an AIDS patient called Tom Dy.

Sixteen years since the documentary was televised, Ms. Ratha—now 32 years old and married—said her testimony for the France 2 channel was fabricated and scripted for her by Ms. Mam as a means of drumming up support for the organization.

“The video that you see, everything that I put in is not my story,” Ms. Ratha said in an interview last month. Ms. Ratha, who was simultaneously anxious and determined to let people know the truth, said that she did not want to cause trouble for Ms. Mam’s NGO, which had provided an education for her, but that she could no longer continue a lie that had followed her for half her life.

“Somaly said that…if I want to help another woman I have to do [the interview] very well,” Ms. Ratha said. ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/secre ... ies-44964/

 

[GNC]

This really doesn't help at all. What was wrong with seeking out genuine cases to highlight? Now everyone will be suspicious.

 

[ramonmercado]

This really doesn't help at all. What was wrong with seeking out genuine cases to highlight? Now everyone will be suspicious.

And there are plenty of genuine cases. Somaly Mam used a girl because she was articulate. But her subsequent behaviour, re her daughter etc, suggests she (Mam) has gone gaga.

 

[ramonmercado]

Arrests in Manchester and Spain, the Voodoo Rituals were used to terrorise the victims into compliance.

A woman suspected of helping run a sex trafficking gang who made victims eat raw chicken hearts in voodoo rituals has been arrested in Manchester.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) said the Spanish woman was a "key member" of an international sex ring.

Police in Spain arrested 11 people as part of the network that allegedly trafficked women from Nigeria.

The Spanish woman arrested in Manchester was held under a European Arrest Warrant on 2 February.

She is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London in April.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-43153616