The Department of Justice has long opposed the provisions in H.R. 3887 that would make prostitution a federal “sex trafficking” crime. It has complained of resources that have been stretched thin to help labor, child, and other human trafficking victims. At the current funding amounts in H.R. 3887, the DoJ would be unable to go… [Read more…]
August 5, 2008
“U.S. Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine uncovered discrepancies in a program dedicated to cracking down on human trafficking, McClatchy Newspapers report. Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales spent millions of dollars on combating the international trafficking of indentured servants and sex slaves, including by creating task forces across the U.S. that identified and helped victims.… [Read more…]
August 2, 2008
Researchers studying prostitution in South Africa found that the majority of prostitutes were willing sex workers and not victims of human trafficking. The study consisted of 1209 prostitutes in South Africa. Of 1209 interviewed, 8 of the prostitutes reported experiences of trafficking. The Institute for Security Studies, studying prostitutes and prostitution-related activities in South Africa,… [Read more…]
July 30, 2008
H.R. 3887, the controversial anti-trafficking bill, proposes dangerous provisions that equate trafficking with prostitution, a change experts say would endanger real human trafficking victims. But Janice Shaw Crouse, writing for Townhall.com, criticizes the Senate’s decisions to remove the controversial provisions of H.R. 3887. She also opposes several provisions in the Senate bill that would not… [Read more…]
July 29, 2008
Anthony DeStefano for the Chicago Tribune: Federal investigators have uncovered numerous cases of foreign diplomats—mostly in New York and Washington—who abused their domestic workers without fear of prosecution because of diplomatic immunity, according to a government report to be released Tuesday. The level of cruelty of some of the allegations appears similar to those recently… [Read more…]
July 28, 2008
From the National Council of Jewish Women, L.A.: National Council of Jewish Women Los Angeles in conjunction with the Los Angeles County Unity Coalition’s Rescue and Restore Project will host a program focused on labor trafficking in the Asian and Hispanic communities in the Los Angeles area. Moderator for the event will be renowned KNBC… [Read more…]
July 25, 2008
From the NY Times: “Imagine my surprise, then, when the Justice Department started a campaign against a new bill that would strengthen the government’s anti-human trafficking efforts. In a 13-page letter last year, the department blasted almost every provision in the new bill that would reasonably expand American anti-slavery efforts.” John R. Miller, former Director… [Read more…]
July 24, 2008
From Feministing.org: “Current law defines human trafficking to include labor or commercial sex performed under force, fraud or coercion and minors engaged in commercial sex. The definition of trafficking approved by the House, however, removes all together the requirement that force, fraud, or coercion be present in instances of commercial sex. This is not a… [Read more…]
July 22, 2008
From On the Issues Magazine: “With their focus on ending sexual trafficking in women and girls, the abolitionists have succeeded in getting both federal and state legislation passed making trafficking a serious felony offense. But they don’t think that goes far enough.” “Clearly, women and girls face enormous brutality in prostitution, a condition that cries… [Read more…]
July 22, 2008
From Todayonline.com: “Singapore has rejected a United States report’s finding that we do not meet its “minimum standards” in prohibiting and punishing those engaged in human and sex trafficking. It also disagrees with the Republic’s second-tier rating — indicating countries making “significant efforts” to meet those minimum standards — in the US State Department’s Annual… [Read more…]
Elsewhere
August 8, 2008
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