Due to the presence of the Super Bowl and it propensity to attract the worst in human nature, the Indiana Legislature passed tough laws against human trafficking in time for the event.

Speaking about the law State Sen. Randy Head said,

“The Super Bowl is a huge human trafficking event. They’re running sophisticated rings — trading girls from city to city.”

The Super Bowl tend to attract various types of organized crime and different gangs. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children estimates 10,000 prostitutes were brought to Miami for the Super bowl in 2010.

Head say that Indiana will not tolerate the exploitation of women for a sporting event.  he said that the law was meant to send their message to all the pimps and johns out there.

The new law extends the definition of sex trafficking and increases penalties. There are also new training recommendations for hotel employees and cab drivers. The employees can look for warning signs in possible victims. Experts say red flags include young girls, dressed inappropriately, who seem quiet, insecure and avoid eye contact. They also say it’s suspicious when this profile of a girl checks into a hotel with no luggage.

Linda Smith who is the president and founder of Shared Hope International, a non-profit which deals with the issue had nothing but praise for Governor Mitch Daniels and the legislature.

She said,

“What they did is amazing. I met with the governor less than two months ago. He met with the legislature that same week. They fast-tracked a piece of legislation to warn the traffickers – this is not a good place to do business. We’ve got a long way to go, but they made a strong first statement at a perfect time because a lot of people will now know Indianapolis is now watching. Buyers might now think twice before they buy.”

Smith said that it is precisely this type of law passed at the right time that raises the issue to a national cause and gets the country thinking about exploited women and children.

She said,

“The Super Bowl — or any large sports game — always draws traffickers and they bring the product line because there are a lot of men that are used to buying commercial sex around these events. Unfortunately, it draws minors as a product line. People bring in kids. So what has happened in Indianapolis is absolutely amazing. The leadership standing up saying – we’re going to send a message to traffickers saying we’re not a good place for you to be bringing kids or vulnerable women to sell.”

Do you think the Indiana Legislature stepped up at the right time?

Human Trafficking at the Super Bowl is a post from: The Inquisitr

One would think that in our modern world things like slavery would be relegated strictly to our history book but unfortunately it isn’t. In fact slavery is very much alive in our world with an estimated 27 million people around the world to be considered as slaves.

Even though we may yank Google’s chain about the tarnishing of their once proud motto “do not evil” the fact is the company is heavily involved in many philanthropic endeavors through it Google.org philanthropic arm with the fight against modern day slavery being one.

In order to help with the fight Google selects organizations it believe to have proven records in this area and this year the company has donated $11.5 million to a group of organizations fighting slavery, To lead its efforts in this area Google selected Washington-based International Justice Mission which is a human rights organization working globally to rescue victims of slavery and sexual exploitation.

Jacquelline Fuller, the director of charitable giving and advocacy at Google says that we would be surprised by the number of people that are trapped in slavery to the degree that there are more people in slavery now than at any other time of our history.

Google.org – the philanthropy arm of the Silicon Valley firm – announced the anti-slavery effort as part of its $40 million in end-of-year giving that brings its charitable donations to more than $100 million in 2011. The grants will also support science, technology, engineering and math education; girls’ education in the developing world; and the use of technology for social good.

Justin Dillon, the founder of Slavery Footprint, said the Google grant would allow the movement to move from “anecdote and emotion,” to tangible action that could make a dent in history.

via PhysOrg

Google is putting up $11.5M towards the fight against modern slavery is a post from: The Inquisitr

We all know the dark side of the Internet, one of which is using it to facilitate human trafficking. It is good to know also that it can be harnessed to monitor and combat this same form of modern-day slavery.

The finding is result of a year-long investigation by the Center on Communication Leadersip & Policy (CCLP) at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism. The report, Human Trafficking Online: The Role of Social Networking Sites and Online Classifieds, focuses on how technology and online tools can be used to prevent trafficking, protect victims and prosecute perpetrators.

Just as the Internet has given traffickers easier means of exploiting their victims, online technologies also offer new ways to combat human trafficking, according to the report. For example, online communications from or to traffickers leave behind traces in cyberspace. This information provides important glimpses into criminal behavior, techniques and patterns. And if anti-trafficking investigators can assemble enough of it, they can take specific actions to help victims and prosecute traffickers.

A common starting point for investigators is combing through photos and online advertisements searching for potential victims of sex trafficking, particularly girls who seem younger than their advertised ages, the report reveals.

CCLP research director Mark Latonero, PhD added what law enforcement can do:

“Data mining, mapping and advanced analytics can be developed to support law enforcement and other organizations in fighting human trafficking. The report also describes how mobile phone applications, crowdsourcing and other new technologies might be used to help victims.”

Human Trafficking Online is available at humantraffickingonline.org or by sending an email to commlead@usc.edu.

It is high time that we fight the misconception that the Internet has nothing but its dark sides by using the technology itself to proactively fight human trafficking.

The Internet as Weapon Against Human Trafficking is a post from: The Inquisitr

Moore, a passionate advocate for victims of human trafficking herself, partnered up with the CNN Freedom Project team to meet with 2010 CNN Hero of the Year Anuradha Koirala and some of the thousands of women and girls that Maiti Nepal- Koirala’s organization – has rescued from forced prostitution.

According to the U.S. State Department, a staggering 10,000 to 15,000 women and girls- half of which are still children- from Nepal are trafficked to India and then sexually exploited each year.

“Girls are brought from the villages by people who can lure them and tell them they are getting a nice job,” said Koirala.

Since 1993, Maiti Nepal has rescued 12,000 victims from sex slavery, many of them trafficked through help from relatives or acquaintances.

To aid the efforts of Maiti Nepal, Demi Moore and her husband Ashton Kutcher have founded their own organization, The Demi and Ashton Foundation (DNA).

Nepal’s Stolen Children will premiere this Sunday, June 26, 2011 on CNN.

In the clip below, Moore interviews volunteers who diligently watch the India-Nepal border in hopes of spotting children in danger.

via CNN Freedom Project
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Demi Moore Documentary to Shed Light on Sex Slavery in India-Nepal is a post from: The Inquisitr

Craigslist recently implemented a telephone verification system for the “erotic services” section of the site, requiring a working phone number for advertisers, and enabling blacklisting of phone numbers for those who post inappropriate ads. Phone verification resulted in an 80% reduction in ad volume, and significantly increased compliance with site guidelines.

Craigslist will soon require credit card verification and a small fee per ad for posting in “erotic services,” to further encourage compliance with site guidelines. Paid ads that violate site guidelines will be removed without refund. The company intends to donate 100% of net revenue generated from these ads to charity, with net revenue to be verified by an external auditor.

The end goal should be to avoid this, this, this, and this.

Craigslist working with law enforcement authorities to prevent illegal activities is a post from: The Inquisitr