Human Trafficking Research

I'm doing my dissertation on human trafficking, the London 2012 Olympics and the work of Christian organisations. What is really frustrating is that there is hardly any research that is relevant so its proving harder than I originally thought.

There have been a couple of articles that are of some use: one by The Future Group and one by Victoria Hayes.

The other thing that is so frustrating is that the articles that do look like they may be of some use, I can't access unless I buy them and I really am not made of money!!

All the same, it really is very interesting doing this research so I'll just hope for the best :) Although it's a little hard to work with my arm in a sling...

Love 146

Love146 is an organisation that work to eliminate child sex trafficking.

This is the story of how they got their name.

OUR NAME IS HER STORY



"The number pinned to her dress was 146..."



In 2002, the co-founders of Love 146 travelled to South East Asia on an exploratory trip to determine how they could serve in the fight against child sex trafficking. In one experience, a couple of our co-founders were taken undercover with investigators to a brothel, where they witnessed children being sold for sex. This was their experience. This is the story that changed our lives.


"We found ourselves standing shoulder to shoulder with predators in a small room, looking at little girls through a pane of glass. All of the girls wore red dresses with a number pinned to their dress for identification. They sat, blankly watching cartoons on TV. They were vacant, shells of what a child should be. There was no light in their eyes, no life left. Their light had been taken from them. These children...raped each night... seven, ten, fifteen times every night. They were so young. Thirteen, eleven… it was hard to tell. Sorrow covered their faces with nothingness. Except one girl. One girl who wouldn’t watch the cartoons. Her number was 146. She was looking beyond the glass. She was staring out at us, with a piercing gaze. There was still fight left in her eyes. There was still life left in this girl...

"...All of these emotions begin to wreck you. Break you. It is agony. It is aching. It is grief. It is sorrow. The reaction is intuitive, instinctive. It is visceral. It releases a wailing cry inside of you. It elicits gut-level indignation. It is unbearable. I remember wanting to break through the glass. To take her away from that place. To scoop up as many of them as I could into my arms. To take all of them away. I wanted to break through the glass to tell her to keep fighting. To not give up. To tell her that we were coming for her…"

“Because we went in as part of an ongoing, undercover investigation on this particular brothel, we were unable to immediately respond. Evidence had to be collected in order to bring about a raid, and eventually justice on those running the brothel. It is an immensely difficult problem when an immediate response cannot address an emergency. Some time later, there was a raid on this brothel and children were rescued. But the girl who wore #146 was no longer there. We do not know what happened to her, but we will never forget her. She changed the course of all of our lives." -Rob Morris, President and Co-founder

We have taken her number so that we remember why this all started. So that we must tell her story. It is a number that was pinned to one girl, but that represents the millions enslaved. We wear her number with honor, with sorrow, and with a growing hope. Her story can be a different one for so many more.



This is a video recently released by them which is definately worth a watch.

Human Trafficking and Prostitution in Northern Ireland

Amnesty International has raised the issue of inadequate services by the Police Service in Northern Ireland (PSNI).

On average, 880 men use prostitutes a day in Northern Ireland with nearly half a million pound a day spent on prostitution. This is a very high figure. And it is happening in the UK!

It is thought that a large percentage of these women are trafficked and pimped by gangs who offer them a chance of a job, something like a nanny, but end up being advertised as ‘escorts’ for the large demand in Northern Ireland.

This is not something that should be treated lightly, and awareness must be increased.

For some more information - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-14023871

Fashioned for Freedom

There is an event happening in London tomorrow evening to raise awareness of the issue of human trafficking.

Fashion show, music concert, designers, celebrities...

Come along and see what you can do to raise awareness!

Fashioned for Freedom

Freedom

Human Trafficking, EU Directive

Last week I was asked to write a briefing for a parliamentarian regarding the EU Directive for an internship application. (though it wasn't actually going to parliament)

The EU Directive was on Human Trafficking, it would bring in more regulations on human trafficking and therefore make a greater stance against it.

The UK had decided to opt-out of the Directive, even after the coalition government had said that fighting human trafficking would be of great importance.

This meant that the UK were saying 'no' to placing an increase of difficulties on traffickers. They were showing a lenient stance toward human trafficking. This would have been a grave problem with the Olympics arriving in 2012.

Thankfully, due to increased pressure from civil society groups, the UK have decided to opt-in to the EU Directive. Requiring the UK to place a tougher stance against human trafficking, to provide adequate support for those that have been trafficked (especially children), and to provide better training for those dealing with trafficking situations (police, prosecutors, care workers).