Indiana State students continue efforts to stop human trafficking ahead of Indy 500

Sex trafficking occurs whenever a person, often the young and vulnerable, is forced into the commercial sex trade against his or her will. According to the U.S. State Department, child and human trafficking is the second largest criminal enterprise in the world after the illegal drug trade.

Whether it's at the Super Bowl or the Indy 500, for Ritika Latke, a graduate student from Mumbai, India who is studying clinical mental health counseling, the outreach is all about helping victims find a way out of their situations.   Fast cars may lure many to Indianapolis this time of year, but for a group of Indiana State University students the mission this Saturday (May 17) will be to shine a light on human traffickingahead of next week's Indy 500.

On May 17, 2014 After a 10 a.m. required training with SOAP (Save Our Adolescents from Prostitution) at New Wineskin Ministries, 4501 W. 38th St., volunteers will split into teams and visit hotels, bars and strip clubs near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to distribute soap labeled with the human trafficking hotline number, 1-888-373-7888, and provide information on identifying and reporting human trafficking. A suggested donation of $10/per person for the training will cover materials and lunch.

"It's important for graduate students in counseling to participate in events like this because it helps them understand on a very personal level what is required to make positive change in society," said Catherine Tucker, associate professor of counseling in Indiana State's Bayh College of Education, who will join students for the outreach. "When they participate in grassroots efforts to end a terrible social injustice, like sex trafficking, students learn to advocate effectively."

This will be the second human trafficking outreach program Indiana State students participated in this year. They traveled to New Jersey prior to the Super Bowl to work with the New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking, Be Free Dayton and SOAP.

"I was intrigued by what I learned and when we were finished there, I said I would love to head up a team in the Indianapolis area during the Indy 500," said Tracy Pruitt, an Indiana State adjunct professor who joined the group from ISU on the Super Bowl outreach. "We'll go to local hotels around Speedway and share with them information about human trafficking, like we did at the Super Bowl, and ask if they'll put the soap in their hotel rooms."

More at http://www.indstate.edu/news/news.php?newsid=3990

Rowan County to address human trafficking

May 22, 2014, According to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center, the practice of forcing men, women and children into labor and sex trades is a $32 billion industry with 4.2 million victims. And it’s growing. The center experienced a 259 percent increase in calls between 2008 and 2012. The U.S. is the hub and one of the top destinations for human trafficking victims, the Southeast is one of the nation’s hot spots for human trafficking, and North Carolina is among the states with the most calls to the Human Trafficking Resource Center’s hotline.

In Rowan County, men, women and children are used for labor, trade and sex.  A proactive effort has started by Salvation Army, a lead agency to address the human trafficking. 

A past chairman of the Rowan United Way campaign, Duncan joined hands with Salvation Army started researching the problem over a year ago and personally has been creating a policy and procedures manual and a business plan for a Project Fight team in Rowan County. He is also looking at ways to help train law enforcement in the human trafficking issues. 

In advisory board meeting of the Salvation Army, Chasy Morse says “It’s happening right underneath our noses,” and there’s evidence of sex and labor trafficking, primarily among immigrants.

By effective  addressal system, efforts, policy and procedures, hope  Salvation Army recognize the human trafficking and stop it in Rowan County. 

Top Indonesian Official wants Representative Officials to understand human trafficking

A training program on victim identification held by ministry and the United Nations Office on Drug and crime(UNODC) in order to create a more effective strategy and approach to human trafficking cases involving Indonesians abroad.

Fifty- two participants comprising consular officials and staff members were arranged to attend the training.

Top foreign ministry official Tatang Budie Utama Razak expressed his view about the training course on victim identification for consular officer and staff. He also said, “The number of human trafficking cases has continued to increase and the trend is getting more complex and varied.”

The government’s policy to temporarily halt the dispatch of Indonesian workers in several countries had led human trafficking cases to increase. The policy was regarded by certain groups as an opportunity to send Indonesian workers abroad illegally

Indonesian Ambassador Salman Al-Farisi said apart from an early detection capacity, a more balanced understanding of the legal perspective on worker recruitment and placement among countries also needed to be created to better handle human trafficking cases.

More efforts are required to strengthen early detection and preventive measures to fight human trafficking faced by Indonesians, with the training, foreign ministry official expects that officials and staff members in Indonesian representative offices will more comprehensively understand human trafficking as well as its related aspects.

An Intelligence based approach, bridging system would help the situation to help in the Prediction and as well as effective control of the trafficking of the source and Transits in addition to the destination spots (like hotels, clubs, resorts where these visitors, sponsors, Athletes are placed). Let’s hope technology will be used by the Social Organization in curbing the evil rate – Human Trafficking.

Glasgow 2014 could lead to an influx of victims of human trafficking

Studies have shown that authorities must be alert to human trafficking during High-profile sporting events, such as the World Cup and the Olympics, resulted in a spike in sex crimes.

MSPs raised fears last year that the Games, which are expected to attract one million visitors to Glasgow, would lead to an influx of victims of human trafficking in Scotland.

According to the United Nations, it provides up to 32 billion of profits a year to the traffickers. By following the money, thorough financial investigations and ensure better prosecutions and convictions.

Senior police officers say they do not expect an increase in criminal activity but they have devised an action plan with the help of officials who were involved in the London Olympics, determined to support the efforts to coordinate action to tackle organised crime.

A strategy designed to tackle sex trafficking and prostitution is being put in place, together with a campaign aimed at changing attitudes around violence against women. Specialist officers in human trafficking are involved in to tackle any increase in organized sex crime during the event in Scotland.

An Intelligence based approach would help the situation to help in the Prediction and as well as effective control of the trafficking at the source and Transits in addition to the destination spots ( like hotels, clubs, resorts where these visitors, sponsors, Athletes are placed). Lets hope technology will be used by the Social Organization in curbing the evil rate – Human Trafficking.