Girl's Gone Wild in the Red Light District. - Video

I could explain this, but it's more powerful if you watch it first.

Like the description said, This video was an awareness campaign created by Duval Guillaume Modem and produced by monodot in support of STOP THE TRAFFIK. (Visit http://www.stopthetraffik.org/ to get involved.and the music was A-shja by Raveyards vs. DJ Uinkxxx.)

STOP THE TRAFFIK was started when Phil Lane worked at a day centre for vulnerable children in Mumbai, India.

“Phil was concerned about a 7 and 9 year old brother and sister who lived with their parents on Thane station, having attended the centre for a few months they suddenly stopped attending. Phil went to ask the father if the children were alright. Their father told Phil the two children had been sold to a man who offered them work for the equivalent of $20.

The children have never been seen since. Nobody knows for sure what happened to them. In that area of Mumbai children often disappear. They are kidnapped, sold and trafficked into sexual exploitation, forced labor, adoption and even child sacrifice.  Phil was deeply affected by what happened and knew he had to do something to prevent it happening to others. At the same time a number of UK organisations with a global reach wanted to work together to commemorate the 2007 Bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade. Stories and passions from around the world merged together andSTOP THE TRAFFIK was born.”

It’s such a sad, yet touching story. It’s something small, that happens every day all over the world. Many of you will remember our past blog about Demi and Ashton’s DNA Foundation (Here - http://avoiceforheather.blogspot.com/2011/11/sex-trafficking-demi-and-ashtons-dna.html) I'm so excited to see such new, creative, and powerful ways of reaching out and touching people. 

STOP THE TRAFFIK site is VERY informative, artistic, and  informational without being overwhelming. It even has real life stories you can read, or listen too. You can really feel the impact their campaign is having on the world and the hope real survivors have on the people who join.

Sophie - UK

SOPHIE - UK

"Two years ago everything changed. I was trafficked. I was fooled. I was deceived by a man who said that he loved me. The tragedy is that I believed him. Now I know that love is not shown by forcing me to work on the streets, beating me up, force feeding me and turning me into someone with no mind of my own. I had become like a frightened rabbit. I was terrified that he would kill me. Death too often felt like my only way to escape. 

 People are product. I was one of them. But I am a survivor. 

I have a new life but I am haunted by the faces of those who used me, those whom I did not choose, those for whom I was nothing more than a ten-minute thing. 

Please join STOP THE TRAFFIK and make a difference to people's lives... ... people like me."

 So what are their plans for the future? Just to keep reaching out.

 At the end of the two years momentum through the support of 1.5 million activists had been gained.  It was clear this was the beginning of something rather than the end. STOP THE TRAFFIK became an independent charity, and it's founder Steve Chalke became a United Nations Special Advisor on Community Action Against Trafficking.

 With your help STOP THE TRAFFIK will continue to grow and reach those at risk as well as inspire people to become voices against trafficking.

 

Read more at: http://www.stopthetraffik.org/

Check out more about R.I.S.E. at any of the following:

Website: avoiceforheather.tripod.com

Myspace: myspace.com/avoiceforheather

Blog: avoiceforheather.blogspot.com

Facebook:www.facebook.com/avoiceforheather

Twitter: www.twitter.com/VoiceforHeather

Email: VoiceforHeather@yahoo.com

Sex trafficking & Demi and Ashton’s DNA Foundation

Human trafficking is officially defined as the “illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery.” For the purposes of R.I.S.E. I’m going to only discuss the human trafficking that involves sex trafficking.



“Sex trafficking victims are generally found in dire circumstances and easily targeted by traffickers. Individuals, circumstances, and situations vulnerable to traffickers include homeless individuals, runaway teens, displaced homemakers, refugees, and drug addicts. While it may seem like trafficked people are the most vulnerable and powerless minorities in a region, victims are consistently exploited from any ethnic and social background.

Traffickers, also known as pimps or madams, exploit vulnerabilities and lack of opportunities, while offering promises of marriage, employment, education, and/or an overall better life. However, in the end, traffickers force the victims to become prostitutes or work in the sex industry. Various work in the sex industry includes prostitution, dancing in strip clubs, performing in pornographic films and pornography, and other forms of involuntary servitude.”




Statistics vary, but below are some that can help give you a general idea of how severe this problem is:

• In 2005, the Department of Justice reported there have been an estimated 100,000 to 150,000 sex slaves in the U.S. since 2001.

• Official numbers of individuals in sexual slavery worldwide vary. In 2001 International Organization for Migration estimated 400,000, the Federal Bureau of Investigation estimated 700,000 and UNICEF estimated 1.75 million.

• As of 2009, almost 300,000 American children are at risk for trafficking into the sex industry.

• There are girls as young as 5 and 6 years old in the U.S. that are forced to do sexual acts for economic gain by their pimp.

• The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention reported 1,600 juveniles were arrested for prostitution and commercialized vice in 2006; 74% were female and 14% were under 14 years old.

• Since 2003, 308 pimps and hookers have been convicted in (U.S.) state and federal courts of forcing youngsters into prostitution and 433 child victims have been rescued.

• 797,500 children (younger than 18) were reported missing in a one-year period of time studied resulting in an average of 2,185 children being reported missing each day.

• UNICEF reports approximately 30 million children have lost their childhood through sexual exploitation over the past 30 years.

• People are trafficked from 127 countries to be exploited in 137 countries.

• The total market value of illicit human trafficking is estimated to be in excess of $32 billion.

• The International Labor Organization—the UN agency charged with addressing labor standards, employment, and social protection issues—estimates that there are at least 12.3 million adults and children in forced labor, bonded labor, and commercial sexual servitude at any given time. Of these victims, 1.4 million are victims of commercial sexual servitude. Also, 56% of all forced labor victims are women and girls.

• It was reported in 2010 that Thailand and Brazil were considered to have the worst child sex trafficking records.

Real victims, real abuse. Below are some stories of survivors of the sex trafficking trade:

• In 2008, a mother and the man she lived with made her a dominatrix and schooled her in the ways of violent sex when she was only 12. By the time she reached 14, they had billed her as “Mistress Alisha,” and they offered her online for two years to service the sadomasochistic fantasies of anyone willing to pay.

• In 2009, two Macon, Georgia men were indicted on charges that they locked a 14-year-old girl in a house and forced her to have sex with up to 15 people, then sold her for $500.

• In many parts of the world, child prostitution is tolerated and ignored by the authorities. Reflecting an attitude which prevails in many developing countries, a judge from Honduras says, on condition of anonymity: "If the victim [the child-prostitute] is older than 12, if he or she refuses to file a complaint, and if the parents clearly profit from their child's commerce, we tend to look the other way."

• Debbie – Kidnapped from her own driveway, gang raped, and forced into prostitution for more than 40 days, being kept and treated worse than a dog, too scared to leave for fear of them hurting her family.

• Miya – Lured into a modeling job, kidnapped, and trapped into prostitution far away from home.

Read both Debbie and Miya’s stories here: http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=1596778&page=1#.TriUi_QUqso

So what’s being done about all this?

“The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (also referred to as the Trafficking Protocol) was adopted by the United Nations in Palermo, Italy in 2000, and is an international legal agreement attached to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime

The Protocol is the first global, legally binding instrument on trafficking in over half a century and the only one that sets out an agreed definition of trafficking in persons. The purpose of the Protocol is to facilitate convergence in national cooperation in investigating and prosecuting trafficking in persons. An additional objective of the Protocol is to protect and assist the victims of trafficking in persons with full respect for their human rights.

The Trafficking Protocol entered into force on 25 December 2003. By June 2010, the Trafficking Protocol had been ratified by 117 countries and 137 parties.”



Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher have a foundation called “Demi and Ashton DNA Foundation.” They do a very good job breaking down what human trafficking is, and how you can help.




“The DNA Foundation supports and develops innovative programs that address the root causes of child sex slavery. Our programs focus on reducing demand, disrupting the marketplaces in which these transactions take place, and helping educate vulnerable children about the realities of trafficking. DNA is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization.”

If you would like to read more about DNA or donate you can visit their page at: http://www.demiandashton.org/ or visit their facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/dnafoundation?sk=info

Pictures courtesy of DNA’s facebook page and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map3.3Trafficking_compressed.jpg

More Statistics and info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_trafficking
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_trafficking
http://www.crisisaid.org/ICAPDF/Trafficking/traffickstats.pdf
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/slaves/etc/stats.html
http://cup.columbia.edu/book/978-0-231-13960-1/sex-trafficking/excerpt
https://www.humantrafficking.neu.edu/
http://istoptraffic.com/html/human_trafficking_info.html

Check out more about R.I.S.E. at any of the following:
Website: avoiceforheather.tripod.com
Myspace: myspace.com/avoiceforheather
Blog: avoiceforheather.blogspot.com
Facebook:www.facebook.com/avoiceforheather
Twitter: www.twitter.com/VoiceforHeather
Email: VoiceforHeather@yahoo.com