Polaris Project Launches TraffickingResourceCenter.org

We are pleased to share this May 22 press release from the Polaris Project:

Dear Supporters,

Polaris Project recently launched the first official website of the National
Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC).

The website provides information on the services
offered by the NHTRC 24-hour hotline (1-888-3737-888), available training
opportunities, and information
and resources on human trafficking within the United States.

• See our Know
  the Signs page to learn about how to recognize and report human
  trafficking to the NHTRC hotline. Many tips received by the hotline
  are called in by individuals like you who see something unusual in their
  everyday lives and want to do something about it.  Once tips are
  received, NHTRC Call Specialists connect victims with law enforcement and
  social service providers in their local area who can help them get out of
  exploitative situations and into safe environments where they have access
  to services, such as emotional support, health care, and legal services.
• View our Training
  page for details on the range of training and technical assistance topics
  offered by the NHTRC.
• Download materials to hand out at awareness
  raising events on our Information
  and Resources page.

Visit TraffickingResourceCenter.org
to learn more about how the NHTRC can be a resource for you. 

To support the work of the National Human Trafficking Resource Center, make
a direct donation today.

Sarah Jakiel
Program Director
National Human Trafficking Resource Center

See also:

Hunt Alternatives Fund: Demand Abolition
Demand Abolition supports the modern-day slavery movement by combating the demand for sex trafficking. By conducting and disseminating research, convening key stakeholders to share best practices, and educating policymakers, Demand Abolition catalyzes systemic social change to reflect the dignity of all people.

MSNBC
Investigates Human Trafficking and Prostitution in the US; Valley
Advocate Advertises “Foreign Fantasies” Where “Everything Goes”
While MSNBC is busy investigating the sex industry, the Valley Advocate
is busy making money from it. The Massage/Escort ads in the 1/10/08
edition below include an advertisement of “FOREIGN FANTASIES” where
“Everything Goes”…

Polaris Project: “The Washington Post: A Paper Pimp?” (Part One)

Polaris Project: “The Washington Post: A Paper Pimp?” (Part Two)

O Tempora, O Mores: “CityBeat’s Community Values” (6/22/08)
A
month ago there was a major prostitution raid in Cincinnati, southern
Indiana and northern Kentucky that shut down a number of Asian massage
parlors. These establishments were well advertised in CityBeat.

The
owners of the parlors/brothels were all of Asian descent. It was
determined by law enforcement the owners had brought young women into
the country for the sole purpose of prostitution. In an effort to give
the appearance of legality the owners stated they were merely receiving
100% of the money the ladies obtained for the legitimate massage and
any profiting by the women was up to those women. They further admitted
that was the only way the ladies were paid…

What really
bothers me is what touched off this debate. One of the indicted owners
of the Asian massage parlors admitted to the police that she had driven
40,000 miles this past year delivering girls to massage parlors
throughout the country…

These people are making a very large
amount of money by dealing in human trafficking aka slavery. If
CityBeat continues to run ads promoting this type of business, they are
turning a blind eye to a shameful problem.

Pasadena Weekly: “Lives for sale”
“They’re
always a point of concern,” Pasadena Police Chief Bernard Melekian told
the newspaper. “We follow up on them fairly regularly. I have always
been surprised that the [Pasadena] Weekly underwrites the exploitation
of women to some degree.”

…“Asian Lovers: Best Young Girls in
Town,” “Asian Girl: Pretty Apples,” “Grand Opening, Young Asian
Cuties,” read several ads that appeared recently in the Weekly…

Ivy
Suriyopaf, an attorney with the Asian-American Defense League, said
that if an ad is suspicious, newspapers shouldn’t run it.

“Publications
have a choice about whether to run certain ads,” said Suriyopaf. “If
they have any reason to believe that businesses are conducting illicit
activities, they have a social responsibility to report it to the
authorities or, at the very least, not run the business’
advertisements.”

Press Release: Action Network to use RNC and Minnesota State Fair to Bring Attention to Problem of Sex Trafficking

New York Times: “The Girls Next Door”; Worldwide Sex Trafficking; Role of
Porn

Gloria Steinem at Smith: Cooperation, Not Domination
…there
are more slaves in proportion to the world’s population–more people
held by force or coercion without benefit from their work–more now
than there were in the 1800s. Sex trafficking, labor trafficking,
children and adults forced into armies: they all add up to a global
human-trafficking industry that is more profitable than the arms trade,
and second only to the drug trade. The big difference now from the
1800s is that the United Nations estimates that 80% of those who are
enslaved are women and children…

Abolishing Prostitution: The Swedish Solution – An Interview with Gunilla Ekberg by the Rain and Thunder Collective