http://techcrunch.com/2013/02/10/the-weekly-good-this-analytics-company-wants-to-help-put-an-end-to-human-trafficking/
he Weekly Good: This Analytics Company Wants To Help Put An End To Human Trafficking
DREW OLANOFFposted yesterday0 Comments
Editor’s Note: This is a weekly series. If your company is doing something amazing to help a charitable cause or doing some good in your community, please reach out.
Random acts of kindness and good come from many different sources, some of them being from the last place you thought you’d find it. One such source is a New York City based analytics company called SumAll. What business have trying to put an end to human trafficking? I wasn’t sure, but it’s quite clear that the team has decided to make it its business. That’s exactly how good things get done though, when good people decide to make it so.
Their product brings all of your data together to figure out how much you’re spending and making through services like AWS, PayPal and eBay. It then mashes up your costs and sales with social data from services like Twitter and Instagram to bust down silo walls so you can see everything in one place. That approach and passion easily translates into the non-profit venture SumAll.org.
I”ve witnessed companies attempt to take some parts of their technology or product and make it available to other non-profits, but it seemed force. That is not the case with SumAll. Here’s their approach:
SumAll.org is a non-profit organization dedicated to doing social good by analyzing data. One of the biggest challenges facing charities and non-profits is the lack of resources and data analytics at their disposal. By providing better analytics, we can gauge the success and impact of a social effort and how to improve. Our goal is for charitable organizations to reach more people and to be more effective in the way they do it.
If non-profits knew how successful their fundraising campaigns were, or not, they could use their resources in a better way the next time. There’s nothing worse than watching a charity churn and burn, only to fall flat on its face without ever realizing their original core mission. That’s where SumAll steps in.
Next week, SumAll will be releasing some analytics that focus on different types of current slave labor: a comparison of 1860s slavery vs. 2012 slavery; a comparison of slavery in different countries; and other human trafficking topics. The information will fittingly become available on Abraham Lincoln’s birthday on February 12th. Even though the 13th Amendment abolished human trafficking and slavery, it is still very much an issue all over the world. It’s a dark underbelly of society that nobody wants to talk about, and so it’s difficult to make inroads on eradicating it once and for all.
SumAll raised its Series A funding last November and grabbed $500,000 in extra funding for its non-profit arm, which is a really great approach for any company that is passionate about helping the people around them. When you have core values built into your company culture, you have more in common with your colleagues than just putting in long hours and nightly visits to the local bar to unwind.
This is the type of company that investors get excited about and want to fund.
The company believes that it can crunch all of the information that is out there, be it numbers or social discussions, and put it into formats that can help society understand the issues at hand a bit better, as well as push non-profits to be more efficient in how it handles its time and funds.
Raising money is wonderful, and potentially selling to a larger company could be a huge dream for the whole team, but when you can make a real impact in society by educating people and changing minds of non-believers who are sticking their heads in the sand on a topic, you’ve just effectively changed the world for the better.
Can data make the difference? The whole is always greater than the sum of its parts.
For more information about what you can do to help put an end to human trafficking, visit HumanTrafficking.org and educate yourself and others.
Monday, February 11, 2013
Friday, February 8, 2013
Art or Crime?
This photographer shoots prostitutes in the Bronx. Among them, girls. http://www.flickr.com/photos/arnade/8365386936/in/set-72157627894114489/
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Human Trafficking Talk By ABA President
HUMAN TRAFFICKING TOPIC PRESENTED BY ABA PRESIDENT
AT ORANGE COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION EVENT
Orlando, FL...The Orange County Bar Association (OCBA) in Orlando, Florida, hosted American Bar Association (ABA) president Laurel Bellows, Esq. at its January luncheon. Bellows spoke to a group of 350 attorneys, judges and city and county officials.
Bellows is passionate about raising awareness about human trafficking and eliminating what she terms "modern day human slavery." Under her direction, the ABA established the Task Force on Human Trafficking, which has researched the issue and developed recommendations about how to mobilize the legal profession to combat human trafficking through public awareness, advocacy, training and education.
"No less than 100,000 U.S. citizens are coerced and held by force in the labor market or are sexually exploited, and they do not speak up because of the fear of reprisals," said Bellows. "Human slavery is one of the biggest growing organized or individual crimes in our country – bigger than guns, bigger than drugs."
Bellows urged the audience to become active in the push for uniform anti-human trafficking legislation; advocate for individuals caught in the legal net by seeing victims as victims and not defendants and prosecuting the perpetrators; direct victims to public and private support groups; and work with businesses to develop employee standards that address the issue. She noted that lawyers, judges, law enforcement and medical personnel, and non-government organizations are on the forefront as first responders in identifying victims and ensuring appropriate support.
Bellows urged all citizens to become aware of the signs of human slavery and report suspected instances to the Polaris Project at 1-888-373-7888. More information is available on the Polaris Project website at http://www.polarisproject.org.
In addition to discussing human slavery, Bellows spoke on other topics of high importance for the ABA this year, including diversity in the workplace, specifically mentioning gender, racial and ethnic inequities, and the very real threat of cyber security both in terms of protecting confidential records and in terms of the lack of global safeguards for the transfer of data via the Internet.
For these and other ABA initiatives, visit the ABA website at http://www.americanbar.org/aba.html.
The Orange County Bar Association, established in 1933, is a voluntary association comprised of 3,300 judges, attorneys and other legal professionals in Central Florida.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Vermont adds human trafficking charge to a child sexual abuse case
State adds human trafficking charge to child sexual abuse case
KEITH WHITCOMB JR.
Staff Writer
BENNINGTON -- The state has filed a human trafficking charge, as well as a charge of promoting a sexual recording, against a Bennington man already accused of engaging in sexual acts with a 14-year-old early last year.
Peter A. Goewey, 59, of Autumn Acres Road, pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Bennington Superior Court Criminal Division to aggravated human trafficking of a child under 18 years of age, and promoting a sexual recording. He reentered not guilty pleas to repeated aggravated sexual assault of a child, possession of child pornography, and sexual assault - no consent. He was arraigned on the initial charges on April 27, 2012 and has been held without bail since.
Should Goewey be convicted, the human trafficking charge carries a minimum penalty of 20 years in prison, while the aggravated repeated sexual assault carries a base of 25 years.
According to a police affidavit, a 14-year-old boy reported in April of last year that Goewey had touched him, performed oral sex on him, and had him take nude photographs of himself and send them to Goewey’s cell phone. He said some of these incidents happened in 2011. According to the boy, he met Goewey while playing pool at Bennington Lanes, a bowling alley, and while nothing happened the first few times they met, eventually Goewey touched him, and asked him to go to his vehicle to retrieve a pool stick. The boy told police while outside, Goewey pulled his pants down and performed oral sex on him despite being told to stop. He said Goewey also asked for nude pictures, which the boy supplied and was paid not to say anything.
According to a more recent affidavit in which a Bennington police detective writes about digital information recovered from a computer and cell from seized from Goewey’s home, the boy told police that Goewey offered him money for the photos, but the boy refused. He said Goewey gave him $40 all the same then another $50 not to tell anyone. Police said the images found were of male genitals and they were able to match the type of underwear depicted with a pair the boy owns, as well as link the type of tile on the floor to that of the bowling alley’s bathroom, where the boy said he took the photos allegedly sent to Goewey.
Deputy State’s Attorney Christina Rainville said in an interview that the newer charges were only passed in 2011 and given a closer reading by the state, it was determined they applied.
Bennington attorney Daniel M. McManus, who represents Goewey, said in an interview the human trafficking charge was not intended to be applied to the sort of behavior being alleged. He said the state’s reading of the statute is "tortured, at best" and that prosecutors are "Trying to fit a square peg into a round hole."
McManus said the human trafficking statute is aimed at people who kidnap or otherwise coerce others into the sex trade. He said he expects more litigation over the validity of the charge.
KEITH WHITCOMB JR.
Staff Writer
BENNINGTON -- The state has filed a human trafficking charge, as well as a charge of promoting a sexual recording, against a Bennington man already accused of engaging in sexual acts with a 14-year-old early last year.
Peter A. Goewey, 59, of Autumn Acres Road, pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Bennington Superior Court Criminal Division to aggravated human trafficking of a child under 18 years of age, and promoting a sexual recording. He reentered not guilty pleas to repeated aggravated sexual assault of a child, possession of child pornography, and sexual assault - no consent. He was arraigned on the initial charges on April 27, 2012 and has been held without bail since.
Should Goewey be convicted, the human trafficking charge carries a minimum penalty of 20 years in prison, while the aggravated repeated sexual assault carries a base of 25 years.
According to a police affidavit, a 14-year-old boy reported in April of last year that Goewey had touched him, performed oral sex on him, and had him take nude photographs of himself and send them to Goewey’s cell phone. He said some of these incidents happened in 2011. According to the boy, he met Goewey while playing pool at Bennington Lanes, a bowling alley, and while nothing happened the first few times they met, eventually Goewey touched him, and asked him to go to his vehicle to retrieve a pool stick. The boy told police while outside, Goewey pulled his pants down and performed oral sex on him despite being told to stop. He said Goewey also asked for nude pictures, which the boy supplied and was paid not to say anything.
According to a more recent affidavit in which a Bennington police detective writes about digital information recovered from a computer and cell from seized from Goewey’s home, the boy told police that Goewey offered him money for the photos, but the boy refused. He said Goewey gave him $40 all the same then another $50 not to tell anyone. Police said the images found were of male genitals and they were able to match the type of underwear depicted with a pair the boy owns, as well as link the type of tile on the floor to that of the bowling alley’s bathroom, where the boy said he took the photos allegedly sent to Goewey.
Deputy State’s Attorney Christina Rainville said in an interview that the newer charges were only passed in 2011 and given a closer reading by the state, it was determined they applied.
Bennington attorney Daniel M. McManus, who represents Goewey, said in an interview the human trafficking charge was not intended to be applied to the sort of behavior being alleged. He said the state’s reading of the statute is "tortured, at best" and that prosecutors are "Trying to fit a square peg into a round hole."
McManus said the human trafficking statute is aimed at people who kidnap or otherwise coerce others into the sex trade. He said he expects more litigation over the validity of the charge.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Human Trafficking: A Big Business Built on Forced Labor
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/neha-misra/human-trafficking-a-big-b_b_2602398.html
Human Trafficking: A Big Business Built on Forced Labor
Trafficking in persons has become a big business. Globally, it's a $32 billion industry involving 161 countries -- including the United States. Trafficking in persons involves activities where one person obtains or holds another person in compelled service. While many people are aware of sex trafficking, human trafficking that involves forced labor is far more prevalent. Some 78 percent of forced labor is based on state- or privately-imposed exploitation, not forced sexual exploitation.
It's likely you have encountered at least one of the 21 million people in forced labor. In developed economies such as the United States, Europe and Japan, we are seeing an increase in cases of trafficked immigrant teachers, nurses, construction and service workers -- all who hold valid visas. Their presence shines a light on the structural failures within our economic and employment systems that increase immigrant workers' vulnerability to severe forms of labor exploitation. Multinational corporations, employers, businesses, labor recruiters and others exploit these failures.
In other words, human trafficking is not only a big business. Trafficking in humans is increasingly a legitimate business.
While the media portray traffickers as organized criminal syndicates or underground blackmarketeers who exploit undocumented workers, today's traffickers can also be licensed labor recruiters -- those who solicit workers for jobs in other cities or countries -- employers or even government officials. Trafficking for labor exploitation occurs within the legal framework of employment and business and through documented visa programs.
Trafficking for labor exploitation often goes undetected and gets little attention. Immigration officials may categorize immigrant workers who are trafficked as undocumented workers and deport them. Police and labor inspectors may view involuntary servitude or debt bondage in sectors such as agriculture, construction, manual labor and manufacturing as "mere" worker rights abuses, and so not justifying a remedy. Prosecutions for forced labor are far fewer than those for trafficking for sexual exploitation (and even those are low).
When such cases do make it to the justice system, they provide a rare look into the struggles of these exploited workers. In 2010, the U.S. Justice Department investigated the case of 400 Thai migrant workers who were allegedly trafficked to the United States under the H-2A visa program through false promises of decent work. The Thai workers "took on crushing debt to pay exorbitant recruiting fees," ranging from $9,500 to $21,000. After they arrived in the United States, according to the indictment, their passports were taken and they were set up in shoddy housing and told that if they complained or fled they would be fired, arrested or deported.
Human trafficking thrives in an environment of worker exploitation and engenders forced labor, debt bondage and other egregious labor abuse. The creation of so-called guest worker programs and the rise of "labor recruiters" have exacerbated the vulnerabilities for workers inherent in labor migration. Many labor recruiters charge exorbitant fees for their services, forcing workers into debt bondage. Temporary labor migration or "guest worker" schemes promoted by governments to fill demand for cheap labor often create a legalized system for employers to exploit workers, deny them their rights and increase their vulnerability to trafficking and forced labor.
If we want to end trafficking, forced labor and other forms of modern slavery, we must address these broader underlying root causes, including failures to protect workers and enforce labor standards. One of our most important weapons in the fight against trafficking is the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), currently pending reauthorization but languishing in Congress. The TVPA provided critical resources and important tools. Its reauthorization is critical to maintaining U.S. leadership on this important issue.
Other steps to address forced labor through human trafficking include:
· Reforming labor laws to cover people now excluded from legal protection, such as domestic workers, and ensuring such laws are implemented and enforced.
· Providing safer migration processes for workers.
· Boosting scrutiny of imports and exports to ensure goods made by trafficked or forced labor are not allowed in the marketplace. U.S. law does not allow evidence collected by unions (and, hence, from the exploited worker themselves) or non-governmental sources to be the basis for restricting the importation of products made by trafficked or slave labor.
· Increasing pressure on companies to map their supply chains and make such information public.
· Promoting freedom of association and the right to organize -- worker reporting and worker representation over unenforceable codes of conduct and third-party monitoring -- as an effective way to monitor supply chains for trafficking and forced labor.
· Regulating labor recruiters and subcontractors more strictly, ensuring the elimination of fees for jobs and the imposition of strict liability for employers for the actions of their recruiters/subcontractors.
Human Trafficking: A Big Business Built on Forced Labor
Trafficking in persons has become a big business. Globally, it's a $32 billion industry involving 161 countries -- including the United States. Trafficking in persons involves activities where one person obtains or holds another person in compelled service. While many people are aware of sex trafficking, human trafficking that involves forced labor is far more prevalent. Some 78 percent of forced labor is based on state- or privately-imposed exploitation, not forced sexual exploitation.
It's likely you have encountered at least one of the 21 million people in forced labor. In developed economies such as the United States, Europe and Japan, we are seeing an increase in cases of trafficked immigrant teachers, nurses, construction and service workers -- all who hold valid visas. Their presence shines a light on the structural failures within our economic and employment systems that increase immigrant workers' vulnerability to severe forms of labor exploitation. Multinational corporations, employers, businesses, labor recruiters and others exploit these failures.
In other words, human trafficking is not only a big business. Trafficking in humans is increasingly a legitimate business.
While the media portray traffickers as organized criminal syndicates or underground blackmarketeers who exploit undocumented workers, today's traffickers can also be licensed labor recruiters -- those who solicit workers for jobs in other cities or countries -- employers or even government officials. Trafficking for labor exploitation occurs within the legal framework of employment and business and through documented visa programs.
Trafficking for labor exploitation often goes undetected and gets little attention. Immigration officials may categorize immigrant workers who are trafficked as undocumented workers and deport them. Police and labor inspectors may view involuntary servitude or debt bondage in sectors such as agriculture, construction, manual labor and manufacturing as "mere" worker rights abuses, and so not justifying a remedy. Prosecutions for forced labor are far fewer than those for trafficking for sexual exploitation (and even those are low).
When such cases do make it to the justice system, they provide a rare look into the struggles of these exploited workers. In 2010, the U.S. Justice Department investigated the case of 400 Thai migrant workers who were allegedly trafficked to the United States under the H-2A visa program through false promises of decent work. The Thai workers "took on crushing debt to pay exorbitant recruiting fees," ranging from $9,500 to $21,000. After they arrived in the United States, according to the indictment, their passports were taken and they were set up in shoddy housing and told that if they complained or fled they would be fired, arrested or deported.
Human trafficking thrives in an environment of worker exploitation and engenders forced labor, debt bondage and other egregious labor abuse. The creation of so-called guest worker programs and the rise of "labor recruiters" have exacerbated the vulnerabilities for workers inherent in labor migration. Many labor recruiters charge exorbitant fees for their services, forcing workers into debt bondage. Temporary labor migration or "guest worker" schemes promoted by governments to fill demand for cheap labor often create a legalized system for employers to exploit workers, deny them their rights and increase their vulnerability to trafficking and forced labor.
If we want to end trafficking, forced labor and other forms of modern slavery, we must address these broader underlying root causes, including failures to protect workers and enforce labor standards. One of our most important weapons in the fight against trafficking is the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), currently pending reauthorization but languishing in Congress. The TVPA provided critical resources and important tools. Its reauthorization is critical to maintaining U.S. leadership on this important issue.
Other steps to address forced labor through human trafficking include:
· Reforming labor laws to cover people now excluded from legal protection, such as domestic workers, and ensuring such laws are implemented and enforced.
· Providing safer migration processes for workers.
· Boosting scrutiny of imports and exports to ensure goods made by trafficked or forced labor are not allowed in the marketplace. U.S. law does not allow evidence collected by unions (and, hence, from the exploited worker themselves) or non-governmental sources to be the basis for restricting the importation of products made by trafficked or slave labor.
· Increasing pressure on companies to map their supply chains and make such information public.
· Promoting freedom of association and the right to organize -- worker reporting and worker representation over unenforceable codes of conduct and third-party monitoring -- as an effective way to monitor supply chains for trafficking and forced labor.
· Regulating labor recruiters and subcontractors more strictly, ensuring the elimination of fees for jobs and the imposition of strict liability for employers for the actions of their recruiters/subcontractors.
Monday, February 4, 2013
SLAVERY SUNDAY: Attorney General: Super Bowl Is Largest Human Trafficking Incident In U.S.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/03/super-bowl-sex-trafficking_n_2607871.html
Super Bowl Is Single Largest Human Trafficking Incident In U.S.: Attorney General
The Huffington Post | By Eleanor Goldberg
Posted: 02/03/2013 9:04 am EST
When it came time for the Super Bowl, Clemmie Greenlee was expected to sleep with anywhere from 25 to 50 men a day. It’s a staggering figure, but it doesn’t shock advocates who say that the sporting event attracts more traffickers than any other in the U.S.
"The Super Bowl is the greatest show on Earth, but it also has an ugly underbelly," Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott told USA Today in 2011 when his state was gearing up to host the event. "It's commonly known as the single largest human trafficking incident in the United States."
The influx of fans fosters the optimal breeding ground for pimps looking to boost their profits. Experts say that the sheer number of men looking to pay for sex substantially increases demand and the massive crowds allow for pimps and victims to essentially go unnoticed, newsnet5.com reports.
"It's not so much that you become a victim at the Super Bowl, but that many victims are brought in to be used for all the men at the Super Bowl," Stephanie Kilper, a representative for Operation Freedom Taskforce in Akron, Ohio -- an organization which aims to end to human trafficking –- told newsnet5.com
According to Forbes, 10,000 prostitutes were brought to Miami for the Super Bowl in 2010 and 133 underage arrests for prostitution were made in Dallas during the 2011 Super Bowl.
Greenlee, a former sex trafficking victim who was abducted and raped by her captors at 12, told the Times-Picayune that she was shuttled around cities in the South to work as a prostitute at large-scale events. The 53-year-old, who now works as an advocate for sex trafficking victims in Louisiana, said there was immense pressure to meet her traffickers’ demands at events like the Super Bowl.
"If you don't make that number (of sex customers), you're going to dearly, dearly, severely pay for it," Greenlee told the Times-Picayune."I mean with beatings, I mean with over and over rapings. With just straight torture. The worst torture they put on you is when they make you watch the other girl get tortured because of your mistake."
As of Friday, five women were rescued and eight human-trafficking related arrests were made in New Orleans, according to FOX 8.
To help crack down on the number of sex trafficking cases this weekend, law enforcement agencies and advocacy groups are collaborating with local businesses.
They’re handing out pamphlets to local clubs and bars, explaining what to look out for and advocacy groups have been doling out bars of soap to hotels that have hotline numbers etched on them so that victims in need of an escape know where they can turn for help.
"We treat these people as victims,” Ray Parmer, the local special agent-in-charge with Immigration and Customs Enforcement told FOX 8. “They are not arrested, they are not removed from the United States, we treat them as victims.”
Super Bowl Is Single Largest Human Trafficking Incident In U.S.: Attorney General
The Huffington Post | By Eleanor Goldberg
Posted: 02/03/2013 9:04 am EST
When it came time for the Super Bowl, Clemmie Greenlee was expected to sleep with anywhere from 25 to 50 men a day. It’s a staggering figure, but it doesn’t shock advocates who say that the sporting event attracts more traffickers than any other in the U.S.
"The Super Bowl is the greatest show on Earth, but it also has an ugly underbelly," Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott told USA Today in 2011 when his state was gearing up to host the event. "It's commonly known as the single largest human trafficking incident in the United States."
The influx of fans fosters the optimal breeding ground for pimps looking to boost their profits. Experts say that the sheer number of men looking to pay for sex substantially increases demand and the massive crowds allow for pimps and victims to essentially go unnoticed, newsnet5.com reports.
"It's not so much that you become a victim at the Super Bowl, but that many victims are brought in to be used for all the men at the Super Bowl," Stephanie Kilper, a representative for Operation Freedom Taskforce in Akron, Ohio -- an organization which aims to end to human trafficking –- told newsnet5.com
According to Forbes, 10,000 prostitutes were brought to Miami for the Super Bowl in 2010 and 133 underage arrests for prostitution were made in Dallas during the 2011 Super Bowl.
Greenlee, a former sex trafficking victim who was abducted and raped by her captors at 12, told the Times-Picayune that she was shuttled around cities in the South to work as a prostitute at large-scale events. The 53-year-old, who now works as an advocate for sex trafficking victims in Louisiana, said there was immense pressure to meet her traffickers’ demands at events like the Super Bowl.
"If you don't make that number (of sex customers), you're going to dearly, dearly, severely pay for it," Greenlee told the Times-Picayune."I mean with beatings, I mean with over and over rapings. With just straight torture. The worst torture they put on you is when they make you watch the other girl get tortured because of your mistake."
As of Friday, five women were rescued and eight human-trafficking related arrests were made in New Orleans, according to FOX 8.
To help crack down on the number of sex trafficking cases this weekend, law enforcement agencies and advocacy groups are collaborating with local businesses.
They’re handing out pamphlets to local clubs and bars, explaining what to look out for and advocacy groups have been doling out bars of soap to hotels that have hotline numbers etched on them so that victims in need of an escape know where they can turn for help.
"We treat these people as victims,” Ray Parmer, the local special agent-in-charge with Immigration and Customs Enforcement told FOX 8. “They are not arrested, they are not removed from the United States, we treat them as victims.”
Friday, February 1, 2013
We Can All Be Part of the Solution
We All Contribute to Modern-Day Slavery
JANUARY 29, 2013
CAMERON CONAWAY
The take-home lesson from Human Trafficking Awareness Month is that we are all part of the problem and the solution.
There have been a ton of great conversations this month about human trafficking, including the historic Google+ Hangout with Nicholas Kristof, Somaly Mam and Rachel Lloyd. Though we ran The Misconceptions of Human Trafficking, what stood out most to me about January’s awareness campaign was the sheer number of people getting involved. Great organizations who once only got a few retweets or “Likes” are now consistently getting hundreds, and I’ve watched on more than one occasion this month as somebody wrote something like “I had no idea this existed” or “I can’t believe men are trafficked too” or even “Sex trafficking is just one of many forms of human trafficking.” There’s more buzz, there’s more interest. Artists and poets are using it as subject matter. Businesses are being held more accountable for their supply chain and some have for the first time witnessed the horrors of where their goods come from. Of all these brilliant happenings, the most consistent message being spread is that we are all in this together. Even the most conscientious consumer can trace the roots of something they’ve purchased back to a devastatingly brutal situation. One of the clearest messages out there, in my opinion, is a short piece that came from the US State Department and their collaboration with SlaveryFootprint.org. It was published in July 2012 but resurfaced thousands of times this month. Check it out:
6:00 am: Wake up and get ready for work:
The clothes on your back could have been produced by a man, woman, or child in a garment factory in Asia, the Middle East, or Latin America who is subjected to forced labor, including withholding of passports, no pay, long working hours to meet quota, and physical and sexual abuse. To complete your outfit, the jewelry you put on this morning may include gold mined by trafficked children in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
8:00 am: Sit down at your desk:
The electronics you use may be dependent on minerals that are produced in conflict-affected areas in Africa. Children and adults are forced to work in mines under conditions of forced labor and sexual servitude. The PDA you use may also be produced in Asia by adults and children – some as young as nine years old – who are sold or deceived into working in electronic factories under conditions of forced labor, including excessively long hours, minimal or no pay, and threats.
10:00 am: Take a caffeine break:
The coffee you drink to keep you energized may have been touched by modern slaves. Some men and children work under conditions of forced labor on coffee plantations in Latin America and Africa. The sugar you put in that coffee may have also come from plantations where children and men in Latin America, Asia, and Africa are subjected to conditions of forced labor and debt bondage. These victims were exposed to high levels of pesticides and potential injuries from machetes, which are used to cut sugar cane.
12:00 pm: Eat lunch:
The fish you eat for lunch may have been caught by men in Southeast Asia and children as young as four years old in West Africa, who are subjected to conditions of forced labor in the fishing industry. While catching your lunch, these victims may have been deprived of wages, food, water, and shelter, worked extremely long hours, and suffered physical and sexual abuse.
2:00 pm: Afternoon snack:
The chocolate dessert you eat may have been touched by modern slaves, primarily in Africa. Children that work on plantations that produce cocoa – the key ingredient in chocolate – are subjected to conditions of forced labor. There are an estimated 300,000 children who work in cocoa production worldwide.
4:00 pm: Drive to a meeting:
The tires on the car you drive are made of rubber, which is produced in Asia and Africa on rubber plantations. Adults and children, including entire families, are forced to work on these plantations for little to no pay, excessive hours to meet quotas, and in hazardous working conditions.
6:00 pm: Arrive at home:
The bricks in the walls of your house may have been produced by bonded labor victims, including men, women, and children, in brick kilns primarily in Asia and Latin America. Children and adults are forced to work in hazardous working conditions in brick kilns for long hours and minimal pay.
8:00 pm: Enjoy dinner:
The food you cook and eat for dinner may have been touched by men and children subjected to forced labor on cattle ranches and farms in the United States, Latin America, and Africa. These victims work long hours, receive little or no pay, and suffer physical and emotional abuse to herd the cattle that will eventually make it to your dinner table.
11:00 pm: Go to bed:
The cotton in your bedroom may have been picked by men, women, and children – some as young as three years old – in cotton fields, primarily in Central Asia and Africa. While you rest easy on your cotton pillow, children are forced to leave school to work under arduous and abusive conditions, sometimes with no pay, during the annual cotton harvest.
Source: A Day In Your Life: Touched By Modern Slavery
Read more at http://goodmenproject.com/social-justice-2/social-justice-we-all-contribute-to-modern-day-slavery/#DI1tf2yPC2w0ttDJ.99 cnn.com
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