Child abuse expert highlights grooming of sexual abuse victims

by Bill Miston

OKLAHOMA CITY - Hundreds of thousands of children are abused or mistreated in the United States each year, and tens of thousands of those children are also victims of sexual abuse. And those cases are the ones law enforcement knows about.

In Oklahoma, there are numerous stories of children being sexually abused or preyed upon: from teachers, family members, to even elected officials. And a recent case highlights how child abuse experts say abuse often starts: by grooming of the victims.

This past weekend, a 70-year-old Oklahoma City man was arrested at a northeast side movie theater on a complaint of lewd acts with a child. The man, Dwight Sulc, is accused of groping a teen girl who he had hired, along with her sister and their mother, to clean two properties he owns.

Police reports said Sulc "kept asking if the girls could stay the night with him at his house." They never did, but according to police, he would bring them to the movies. It was this past weekend the two sisters went to the movie theater with him.

"While they're sitting in the movie theatre, he reached over, groped her, touched her inappropriately. She told him to stop," said MSgt. Gary Knight. "Police ended up being notified."

News 4 made multiple attempts to reach Sulc by phone and at his home, but never got a response.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in 2016, more than 671,000 children suffered abuse in the United States. Of those, more than 57,300 were victims of sex abuse. According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Justice, 93 percent of child sex abuse victims knew the perpetrator, often a family member or acquaintance.

"Grooming is incredibly common in the world of child abuse. But there are signs and symptoms that even that is going on," said Stacy McNeiland, CEO of The Care Center, an Oklahoma City-based child advocacy non-profit.

"Have your alerts on for both situations," McNeiland said. "If you're a parent or caregiver, and you notice a teacher or anyone is paying special attention to your child, sending home gifts, always sitting in their lap in their classroom. I would have a red flag."

Precautions should also be paid to what types of technology children are using, especially internet connected devices, like cell phones and tablets.

McNeiland said secrecy is the enemy when it comes to technology.

"Shouldn't happen in a room, or behind closed doors. It should happen out in the family room and parents need to be actively engaged in what happens on that device

https://kfor.com/2019/01/02/child-abuse-expert-highlights-grooming-of-sexual-abuse-victims/amp/

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Hollywood

Leaving Neverland, a Documentary Based on Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Michael Jackson,

by Tonja Renée Stidhum

Michael Jackson prepares to enter the Santa Barbara County Superior Court to hear the verdict read in his child molestation case June 13, 2005 in Santa Maria, California. After seven days of deliberation the jury has reached a not guilty verdict on all 10 counts in the trial against Michael Jackson. Jackson was charged in a 10-count indictment with molesting a boy, plying him with liquor and conspiring to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion. He pleaded innocent.

The term “problematic faves” has effectively inserted itself in pop culture. But the work of reconciling with the possibility that people you once idolized are not only imperfect, but nefarious, is very real.

While the recent release of Lifetime's Surviving R. Kelly may be the most recent example of that internal war for some people, in reality, the case of Michael Jackson may be the most polarizing.

Leaving Neverland, a documentary chronicling serious accusations of the late pop legend allegedly sexually molesting two young boys is set to premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, according to Rolling Stone. The film's runtime is 236 minutes — nearly four hours of footage.

Per the film's synopsis, via Sundance's site:

At the height of his stardom Michael Jackson began long-running relationships with two boys, aged 7 and 10, and their families. Now in their 30s, they tell the story of how they were sexually abused by Jackson, and how they came to terms with it years later.

Whew, shit. Of course, allegations against Jackson aren't new, but it is important to note that a documentary spotlighting accusations during this particular time period—the era of #MeToo and #TimesUp—is especially significant.

Jackson's estate has commented on the documentary world premiere announcement, citing the names of two particular men, despite their names not being mentioned on Sundance's website.

“This is yet another lurid production in an outrageous and pathetic attempt to exploit and cash in on Michael Jackson,” said the King of Pop's estate, via E! Online. “Wade Robson and James Safechuck have both testified under oath that Michael never did anything inappropriate toward them. Safechuck and Robson, the latter a self-proclaimed ‘master of deception', filed lawsuits against Michael's Estate, asking for millions of dollars. Both lawsuits were dismissed.”

Robson, a choreographer, made “child sexual abuse operation” claims against Jackson's companies MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures in 2016. A judge later dismissed the case in December 2017. According to New York Daily News, Safechuck filed an amended complaint with similar accusations.

Robson also claimed Jackson abused him from the age of 7 until he was 14, filing a child molestation case against Jackson's estate in 2013. It was dismissed in 2015.

Robson and Safechuck have not publicly commented on the documentary at this time. The estate went on to discredit the very existence of the film.

“This so called ‘documentary' is just another rehash of dated and discredited allegations,” the estate added. “It's baffling why any credible filmmaker would involve himself with this project.”

Damn. This is a lot. It's safe to say there will be extremely difficult conversations around this documentary as well, especially once it expands beyond the festival circuit. I suspect it'll land a distributor very soon, if it isn't in talks already.

By the way, Sundance is also premiering a documentary on R. Kelly-apologists' favorite swerve citing Harvey Weinstein, chronicling his sexual assault allegations in a film entitled Untouchable, in case you were sooooo concerned about that.

https://thegrapevine.theroot.com/leaving-neverland-a-documentary-based-on-sexual-abuse-1831647228/amp

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United Kingdom

Childhood abuse increases risk of adult suicide, finds research

Largest study of its kind shows ‘devastating' impact of sexual, physical and emotional abuse

by Denis Campbell, Health policy editor

People who experienced sexual, physical or emotional abuse as children are two to three times more likely to kill themselves as adults, new research has found.

Experts said the findings confirmed the “devastating effects” of child abuse on mental wellbeing, while one suicide charity said 70% of people who had either tried to take their own life or who had thought about it had been abused.

People who were sexually abused as a child were three times more likely than others to try to kill themselves, according to the new study in Psychological Medicine.

And people who were either physically or emotionally abused or neglected in childhood were two and a half times more likely to try to end their lives.

The findings come from research undertaken by academics at the University of Manchester and South Wales University, who analysed the results of 68 previous studies on the subject from around the world.

Dr Maria Panagioti, from Manchester University who led the research, said about “one adult in every three has experienced abuse as a child. This study conclusively gives us solid evidence that childhood abuse and neglect is associated with increased likelihood that they will be at risk of suicide as adults.”

The authors said the paper was the most comprehensive review of the evidence underlying the issue. The 68 studies were based on the experiences of 216,600 adults in countries including the US, Canada and Italy, while two of the studies were from the UK.

The paper said: “We conclude that there is solid evidence that childhood maltreatment is associated with increased odds for suicidality in adults.

“All types of childhood abuse are associated with increased risk for suicide attempts and suicidal ideation in adults independent of demographic, clinical and methodological variations across the studies.”

Men and women were equally likely to think about suicide or act on suicidal impulses, while the risk of suicide rose as the person aged, they found. Those not in contact with mental health services were at the greatest risk.

Dr Bernadka Dubicka, the chair of the child and adolescent faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: “This study confirms the long-term and devastating effects of child abuse.

“Psychiatrists working on the frontline of mental health care witness the damage this causes to children, adolescents and adults on a daily basis.”

Many children cannot get help early in their lives both to prevent them suffering abuse and and to start to recover from its consequences, she added.

Ged Flynn, the chief executive of the charity Papyrus, which works to prevent young people taking their own lives, said: “It is no surprise to us that this study shows that historical abuse contributes to some people experiencing thoughts of suicide.

“Around 70% of calls to our helpline cite childhood abuse of various sorts, some of which are still current. This can include sexual, emotional, financial abuse as well as neglect.”

Flynn stressed that, with the right support, many people who think about suicide can find hope, regardless of how much pain or distress they are in.

https://amp.theguardian.com/society/2019/jan/09/childhood-abuse-increases-risk-of-adult-suicide-finds-research

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Pakistan

Pakistani minister urges global push to curb child sexual abuse

Awareness campaign to launch in schools to educate children how to protect themselves

Islamabad -- Pakistani Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari has called for a greater international cooperation to curb the crime related to child sexual abuse that has become a serious issue in the country.

In an interview with Xinhua news agency on Friday, the minister said that the child sexual abuse had become a serious issue in Pakistan and it was found that their convoluted strings went as far as Europe after some groups involved in child pornography were recently busted.

“It is a universal problem across the world and while every country tries to deal with it, perhaps greater international cooperation will help get rid of this crime much quicker.”

She said that previously this issue was neglected in Pakistan, but now the country was set to play its part in curbing the menace of child sexual abuse by enacting more laws and rigidly implementing the existing laws relevant to child abuse.

Currently, the maximum punishment of child abuser in Pakistan is life imprisonment, but lacunae in criminal justice system and tediously long court proceeding end up in low conviction rate. The same factors account for out-of-court settlements between families of victim and the abuser.

Mazari said that the country's judiciary departments were in the process of forming criminal judicial reforms and once they were finalised, proceedings of criminal cases will no longer be stretched year after year.

The minister said that an awareness campaign will be launched across the country in schools to educate children how to protect themselves from falling prey to sexual abuse.

She said that parents and teachers will be a part of the awareness campaign as they should learn about relevant laws which can help them take sexual abuse culprits to task.

Many people do not seek remedy for the injustice done to them due to lack of awareness. The failure also lead to a continuation of the crime as the culprits feel emboldened and commit more such crimes with impunity.

The minister said it was not possible to stop such incidents from happening overnight, but the number can be reduced by enforcing punishments on the offenders.

She said that they were planning to add human rights as a subject in schools' curriculum to educate kids to take care of each other and protect their rights from an early age.

Mazari added that her ministry will also launch an extensive media campaign and run short TV programmes to educate the overall society that child abuse was a cognizable offence.

https://gulfnews.com/amp/world/asia/pakistan/pakistani-minister-urges-global-push-to-curb-child-sexual-abuse-1.61258434

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Vatican

A global response to abuse: Work already underway, Jesuit says

by Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — By summoning leaders of the world's bishops' conferences and top representatives of religious orders to the Vatican in February to address the abuse crisis and the protection of minors, Pope Francis is sending the message that the need for safeguarding is a global issue.

Even though media attention and public fallout for the church's failings have focused on a small group of nations, abuse experts and victims know that does not mean the rest of the world is immune from the scandal of abuse or can delay taking action to ensure the safety of all its members.

While Catholic leaders in some countries might not recognize it as a global issue, Vatican offices that receive abuse allegations have a “clear idea about what is the situation now because allegations come from all parts of the world,” said Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, president of the Center for the Protection of Minors at the Pontifical Gregorian University and a member of the organizing committee for the February meeting.

Because the Catholic Church mandates that all credible allegations of the sexual abuse of minors by clergy must be sent to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican, “we have one office that has to deal with all of this so, for the time being, we know what are the allegations that come from different parts of the world,” he said.

Allegations coming in from the English- and German-speaking countries that have been the center of the abuse scandal for decades “have diminished considerably” because of the safeguarding measures that have been put in place, he told Catholic News Service in early January.

But in those countries where abuse has not been talked about in society and in the church until recently, he said, allegations are just beginning to surface.

The doctrinal congregation has never released statistics on the geographical distribution of the clerical sexual abuse cases reported to it; in the past, the congregation has published the total number of cases reported and the total number of priests expelled from the priesthood because of abuse.

The last figures published by the congregation were for cases submitted to it in 2015. It said 518 cases involving “graviora delicta” (“more grave crimes”) were submitted in 2015; the majority of those cases dealt with the sexual abuse of minors, including the possession of child pornography, but the category of “graviora delicta” also includes serious offenses against the sacraments.

What is not known, however, is the actual extent of abuse throughout society, Father Zollner said.

“There are no clear and no scientifically verified statistics for the prevalence of sexual abuse in societies worldwide. There are only estimates that range from 7 percent to 25 percent of all young people in a given society and, in some countries, it may be even much worse,” he said.

However, because abuse is a global phenomenon, he said, the church — as a global network with people and institutions in every corner of the world — is perfectly positioned to be part of the solution.

In fact, while the February summit is being designed to bring church leadership together in solidarity, humility and dialogue and to strengthen their commitment to serving the most wounded and vulnerable, a very wide and global grassroots effort in safeguarding has been underway for years.

The Pontifical Gregorian University, the German Archdiocese of Munich and Freising and others established the Center for Child Protection in 2012.

“At the very beginning of the CCP, when we had only the e-learning program, the idea was to spread” its online studies in multiple languages and make them accessible “to the whole world,” he said.

The center also reached out to other educational and academic institutions so that coursework in safeguarding would become part of the “normal curricula” for those studying psychology, social sciences, teaching or theology, said Father Zollner, who is also academic vice rector of the Gregorian University and dean of its Institute of Psychology.

The center has since developed a global alliance of organizations — starting with some pontifical and Catholic universities — who are committed to working with local experts and exchanging concrete information.

The center also offers a multidisciplinary diploma course and master's program in safeguarding for priests, religious and laypeople from all over the world. The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples offers bishops' conferences in Africa and Asia full scholarships for either program for six people each year.

“This is very forward-looking because in those countries there are almost no resources either in society or in the church that have any kind of special training in this field,” he said.

Graduates go back to their home countries, dioceses, orders or institutions, mostly to work in child protection, setting up programs, offering workshops and giving talks for church personnel and anyone who requests their help. In very poor or remote areas, sometimes they are the only experts available even for the government.

The feedback and reception safeguarding graduates have been getting back home, Father Zollner, “is very mixed because there is certainly a certain kind of reluctance and hesitancy and sometimes passive resistance” in some places.

One of the big challenges now, he said, is to give graduates “ongoing support so that they can push through and they can also exchange strategies that will help them and the church to really come to grips of the situation in their countries.”

Father Zollner travels the world doing workshops and talks on child protection at the invitation of bishops' conferences and religious orders.

Just in the past year, he said, “I have been invited by the bishops' conferences of Papua New Guinea and Malaysia — countries where just two or three years ago one would never have thought that there was any possibility to talk about (abuse) either in society or in church, and the church has started to face that now.”

The international members of the papal commission on safeguarding also are invited to speak at seminars, conferences and workshops on every continent and provide education and insight, including survivors' testimonies to new bishops and staff at the Vatican.

Father Zollner said having skilled and motivated people on the ground to implement and share safeguarding measures will be very important for church leaders attending February's summit.

“Because once you have some good people, trained well and very committed, and all of them are really committed, you will find links to others, other church institutions and organizations and possible government structures, (then) you can really make a difference,” he said.

It is a “very unfortunate” misconception that in most places nothing has been done in the area of safeguarding and prevention, Father Zollner said. “In many places in the world, safeguarding procedures are put in place, people are trained, schools, orphanages and so forth now have to have safeguarding training and screening of personnel.”

“Again, this is not 100 percent present in all countries and in all institutions. Far from it,” he said. “But there are very good examples of best practices even in areas where a few years ago no one would have had any clue about what to do and why to do what is necessary to protect minors.”

Not all the world's roughly 200 countries are “doomed to repeat the same mistakes as the 20 countries or so that we know and talk about normally,” he said. “I am positive especially about countries I visited in Central America or some parts of Africa and Asia where the bishops are really on board, the religious are on board; they have at least the potential to do it differently, to act before they are forced to act.”

“The only choice they have is either we deal with it today, which needs courage and energy, or you will be forced or your successors will be forced to deal with it tomorrow,” he said. “But there is no choice to avoid it or not to avoid it. You have to face it sooner or later.”

http://catholicphilly.com/2019/01/news/world-news/a-global-response-to-abuse-work-already-underway-jesuit-says/

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CULTURE

The LGBTQ

Hart Attack is a Good Thing

by Lloyd Marcus

I am not suggesting that we should experience schadenfreude (feel pleasure from witnessing someone's troubles, failures or humiliation). However, LGBTQ enforcers viciously seeking to destroy the career of comedian/actor Kevin Hart for tweets he made 9 years ago is encouraging. Finally, even leftists are beginning to see the take-no-prisoners intolerance and bullying LGBTQ enforcers have been applying to everyone who does not celebrate their lifestyle.

Many of us have been sounding the alarm for years that LGBTQ enforcers are relentlessly targeting Christian businesses for destruction; solely for the purpose of forcing Christians to betray their God by bending a knee in worship of leftists' god of debauchery.

German pastor Martin Niemofller was imprisoned in Dachau concentration camp from 1941-1945. In his famous poem, Niemofller laments that when they came for the Communists, Socialists, Trade Unionists, and Jews he did not speak out because he was none of these. Niemofller wrote, “And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out.”

Not only did leftists not speak out against LGBTQ bullying, they cheered when LGBTQ bullies came for Sweet Cakes by Melissa. The Christian bakery happily served their lesbian customer for several years. When she asked them to bake a cake for her lesbian wedding, the owners said to do so would betray their faith. The husband and wife bakery owners with five kids were driven out of business.

Well now, LGBTQ enforcers have come for Kevin Hart who many leftists consider one of their own.

Leftist Snoop Dogg, who shot president Trump in the head in his music video, passionately expressed his support for Hart. Several leftist celebs are expressing their support for Hart. As I stated, the good news for America in the Hart attacks is that leftists are waking up and smelling the tyranny coming from their side of the political aisle by LGBTQ enforcers.

“The Devil's greatest achievement is convincing people that he does not exist.” LGBTQ enforcers' greatest achievement and deception is convincing people they are the victims and we, mainstream Americans, are the aggressors.

Kevin Hart was scheduled to host the Oscars. In a video, Hart said, “I swear man, our world is becoming beyond crazy. My team calls me, Oh my God Kevin. The world is upset about tweets you did years ago. Oh my God.” LGBTQ enforcers deemed Hart's nine-year-old tweets anti-homosexual.

Hart received a call from the Academy telling him to apologize again for his old tweets or be replaced as host of the Oscars. Hart said he has repeatedly addressed the issue and acknowledged the rights and wrongs. Hart said he has evolved since making the tweets years ago. Hart said to apologize again for something so far in the past would be a step backwards rather than moving forward. Therefore, he chose to pass on hosting the Oscars.

The American Left's response was mixed. Many rallied behind Hart. Others were furious over Hart refusing to apologize, calling him defiant. Leftist Kathy Griffin disturbed millions with her photo in which she held a bloody severed head of President Trump. In response to Hart refusing to apologize again, Griffin said, “F*** him.”

Hart did not realize that LGBTQ enforcers have zero-tolerance for anyone who does not fully embrace their lifestyle. Anyone who dares to dis the LGBTQ lifestyle in the slightest must fall on their face and beg forgiveness or suffer complete personal destruction.

Many Americans believe the LGBTQ community is 23% or more of the population. The truth is, they are 3.4 percent.

Witnessing LGBTQ enforcers' relentless media assault on Hart and their efforts to destroy him, I could not help thinking, “Welcome to our world, Mr Hart.” This is the tyrannical assault on free speech Americans face everyday by the LGBTQ thought police. Again, I take no pleasure in seeing Mr Hart suffer.

It was stunning to hear even extreme leftist Joy Behar and leftist women on The View say that the attack on Hart puts all comedians at risk. Numerous other high-profile leftist voices are speaking out in agreement.

LGBTQ enforcers attacking Hart is a real eye-opener for many Americans – a small victory in the war between totalitarian political correctness and constitutional free speech.

http://cowgernation.com/2018/12/21/the-lgbtq-hart-attack-is-a-good-thing/

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Technology

Microsoft Bing not only shows child pornography, it suggests it

by Josh Constine

Illegal child exploitation imagery is easy to find on Microsoft's Bing search engine. But even more alarming is that Bing will suggest related keywords and images that provide pedophiles with more child pornography. Following an anonymous tip, TechCrunch commissioned a report from online safety startup AntiToxin to investigate. The results were alarming.

[WARNING: Do not search for the terms discussed in this article on Bing or elsewhere as you could be committing a crime. AntiToxin is closely supervised by legal counsel and works in conjunction with Israeli authorities to perform this research and properly hand its findings to law enforcement. No illegal imagery is contained in this article, and it has been redacted with red boxes here and inside AntiToxin's report.]

The research found that terms like “porn kids,” “porn CP” (a known abbreviation for “child pornography”) and “nude family kids” all surfaced illegal child exploitation imagery. And even people not seeking this kind of disgusting imagery could be led to it by Bing.

When researchers searched for “Omegle Kids,” referring to a video chat app popular with teens, Bing's auto-complete suggestions included “Omegle Kids Girls 13” that revealed extensive child pornography when searched. And if a user clicks on those images, Bing showed them more illegal child abuse imagery in its Similar Images feature. Another search for “Omegle for 12 years old” prompted Bing to suggest searching for “Kids On Omegle Showing,” which pulled in more criminal content.

The evidence shows a massive failure on Microsoft's part to adequately police its Bing search engine and to prevent its suggested searches and images from assisting pedophiles. Similar searches on Google did not produce as clearly illegal imagery or as much concerning content as did Bing. Internet companies like Microsoft Bing must invest more in combating this kind of abuse through both scalable technology solutions and human moderators. There's no excuse for a company like Microsoft, which earned $8.8 billion in profit last quarter, to be underfunding safety measures.

Bing has previously been found to suggest racist search terms, conspiracy theories, and nude imagery in a report by How To Geek's Chris Hoffman, yet still hasn't sanitized its results

TechCrunch received an anonymous tip regarding the disturbing problem on Bing after my reports last month regarding WhatsApp child exploitation image trading group chats, the third-party Google Play apps that make these groups easy to find, and how these apps ran Google and Facebook's ad networks to make themselves and the platforms money. In the wake of those reports, WhatsApp banned more of these groups and their members, Google kicked the WhatsApp group discovery apps off Google Play and both Google and Facebook blocked the apps from running their ads, with the latter agreeing to refund advertisers.

Unsafe search

Following up on the anonymous tip, TechCrunch commissioned AntiToxin to investigate the Bing problem, which conducted research from December 30th, 2018 to January 7th, 2019 with proper legal oversight. Searches were conducted on the desktop version of Bing with “Safe Search” turned off. AntiToxin was founded last year to build technologies that protect networks against bullying, predators and other forms of abuse. [Disclosure: The company also employs Roi Carthy, who contributed to TechCrunch from 2007 to 2012.]

AntiToxin CEO Zohar Levkovitz tells me that “Speaking as a parent, we should expect responsible technology companies to double, and even triple-down to ensure they are not adding toxicity to an already perilous online environment for children. And as the CEO of AntiToxin Technologies, I want to make it clear that we will be on the beck and call to help any company that makes this its priority.” The full report, published for the first time, can be found here and embedded below.

TechCrunch provided a full list of troublesome search queries to Microsoft along with questions about how this happened. Microsoft's chief vice president of Bing & AI Products Jordi Ribas provided this statement: “Clearly these results were unacceptable under our standards and policies and we appreciate TechCrunch making us aware. We acted immediately to remove them, but we also want to prevent any other similar violations in the future. We're focused on learning from this so we can make any other improvements needed.”

Microsoft claims it assigned an engineering team that fixed the issues we disclosed and it's now working on blocking any similar queries as well problematic related search suggestions and similar images. However, AntiToxin found that while some search terms from its report are now properly banned or cleaned up, others still surface illegal content.

The company tells me it's changing its Bing flagging options to include a broader set of categories users can report, including “child sexual abuse.” When asked how the failure could have occurred, a Microsoft spokesperson told us that “We index everything, as does Google, and we do the best job we can of screening it. We use a combination of PhotoDNA and human moderation but that doesn't get us to perfect every time. We're committed to getting better all the time.”

Microsoft's spokesperson refused to disclose how many human moderators work on Bing or whether it planned to increase its staff to shore up its defenses. But they then tried to object to that line of reasoning, saying, “I sort of get the sense that you're saying we totally screwed up here and we've always been bad, and that's clearly not the case in the historic context.” The truth is that it did totally screw up here, and the fact that it pioneered illegal imagery detection technology PhotoDNA that's used by other tech companies doesn't change that.

The Bing child pornography problem is another example of tech companies refusing to adequately reinvest the profits they earn into ensuring the security of their own customers and society at large. The public should no longer accept these shortcomings as repercussions of tech giants irresponsibly prioritizing growth and efficiency. Technology solutions are proving insufficient safeguards, and more human sentries are necessary. These companies must pay now to protect us from the dangers they've unleashed, or the world will be stuck paying with its safety.

https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/10/unsafe-search/amp/

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US Child Brides

US approved thousands of child bride requests

by COLLEEN LONG, Associated Press

Thousands of requests by men to bring in child and adolescent brides to live in the United States were approved over the past decade, according to government data obtained by The Associated Press. In one case, a 49-year-old man applied for admission for a 15-year-old girl.

The approvals are legal: The Immigration and Nationality Act does not set minimum age requirements for the person making the request or for that person's spouse or fiancee. By contrast, to bring in a parent from overseas, a petitioner has to be at least 21 years old.

And in weighing petitions, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services goes by whether the marriage is legal in the spouse or fiancee's home country and then whether the marriage would be legal in the state where the petitioner lives.

The data raises questions about whether the immigration system may be enabling forced marriage and about how U.S. laws may be compounding the problem despite efforts to limit child and forced marriage. Marriage between adults and minors is not uncommon in the U.S., and most states allow children to marry with some restrictions.

There were more than 5,000 cases of adults petitioning on behalf of minors and nearly 3,000 examples of minors seeking to bring in older spouses or fiances, according to the data requested by the Senate Homeland Security Committee in 2017 and compiled into a report. The approval is the first of a two-step visa process, and USCIS said it has taken steps to better flag and vet the petitions.

Some victims of forced marriage say the lure of a U.S. passport combined with lax U.S. marriage laws are partly fueling the petitions.

"My sunshine was snatched from my life," said Naila Amin, a dual citizen born in Pakistan who grew up in New York City.

She was forcibly married at 13 in Pakistan and later applied for papers for her 26-year-old husband to come to the U.S. at the behest of her family. She was forced for a time to live in Pakistan with him, where, she said, she was sexually assaulted and beaten. She came back to the U.S., and he was to follow.

"People die to come to America," she said. "I was a passport to him. They all wanted him here, and that was the way to do it."

Amin, now 29, said she was betrothed when she was just 8 and he was 21. The petition she submitted after her marriage was approved by immigration officials, but he never came to the country, in part because she ran away from home. She said the ordeal cost her a childhood. She was in and out of foster care and group homes, and it took a while to get her life on track.

"I was a child. I want to know: Why weren't any red flags raised? Whoever was processing this application, they don't look at it? They don't think?" Amin asked.

Fraidy Reiss, who campaigns against coerced marriage as head of a group called Unchained at Last, has scores of similar anecdotes: An underage girl was brought to the U.S. as part of an arranged marriage and eventually was dropped at the airport and left there after she miscarried. Another was married at 16 overseas and was forced to bring an abusive husband.

Reiss said immigration status is often held over their heads as a tool to keep them in line.

There is a two-step process for obtaining U.S. immigration visas and green cards. Petitions are first considered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS. If granted, they must be approved by the State Department. Overall, there were 3.5 million petitions received from budget years 2007 through 2017.

Over that period, there were 5,556 approvals for those seeking to bring minor spouses or fiancees, and 2,926 approvals by minors seeking to bring in older spouses, according to the data. Additionally, there were 204 for minors by minors. Petitions can be filed by U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

"It indicates a problem. It indicates a loophole that we need to close," Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, told the AP.

In nearly all the cases, the girls were the younger person in the relationship. In 149 instances, the adult was older than 40, and in 28 cases the adult was over 50, the committee found. In 2011, immigration officials approved a 14-year-old's petition for a 48-year-old spouse in Jamaica. A petition from a 71-year-old man was approved in 2013 for his 17-year-old wife in Guatemala.

There are no nationwide statistics on child marriage, but data from a few states suggests it is far from rare. State laws generally set 18 as the minimum age for marriage, yet every state allows exceptions. Most states let 16- and 17-year-olds marry if they have parental consent, and several states - including New York, Virginia and Maryland - allow children under 16 to marry with court permission.

Reiss researched data from her home state, New Jersey. She determined that nearly 4,000 minors, mostly girls, were married in the state from 1995 to 2012, including 178 who were under 15.

"This is a problem both domestically and in terms of immigration," she said.

Reiss, who says she was forced into an abusive marriage by her Orthodox Jewish family when she was 19, said that often cases of child marriage via parental consent involve coercion, with a girl forced to marry against her will.

"They are subjected to a lifetime of domestic servitude and rape," she said. "And the government is not only complicit; they're stamping this and saying: Go ahead."

The data was requested in 2017 by Johnson and then-Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, the committee's top Democrat. Johnson said it took a year to get the information, showing there needs to be a better system to track and vet the petitions.

"Our immigration system may unintentionally shield the abuse of women and children," the senators said in the letter requesting the information.

USCIS didn't know how many of the approvals were granted by the State Department, but overall only about 2.6 percent of spousal or fiance claims are rejected. A State Department representative said the department is committed to protecting the rights of children and combatting forced marriage.

Separately, the data show some 4,749 minor spouses or fiancees received green cards to live in the U.S. over that 10-year period.

The head of USCIS said in a letter to the committee that its request had raised questions and discussion within the agency on what it can do to prevent forced minor marriages.

USCIS created a flagging system when a minor spouse or fiance is detected. After the initial flag, it is sent to a special unit that verifies the age and relationship are correct before the petition is accepted. Another flag requires verification of the birthdate whenever a minor is detected. Officials note an approval doesn't mean the visa is immediately issued.

"USCIS has taken steps to improve data integrity and has implemented a range of solutions that require the verification of a birthdate whenever a minor spouse or fiance is detected," USCIS spokesman Michael Bars said. "Ultimately, it is up to Congress to bring more certainty and legal clarity to this process for both petitioners and USCIS officers."

The country where most requests came from was Mexico, followed by Pakistan, Jordan, the Dominican Republic and Yemen. Middle Eastern nationals had the highest percentage of overall approved petitions.

https://www.wate.com/news/national-world/apnewsbreak-us-approved-thousands-of-child-bride-requests/1697209533

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Child abuse

Inside Whatsapp groups with child sex abuse content: What a cyber specialist found

Nitish Chandan simply ran an internet search for apps that had been removed from app stores for having child sexual abuse material. What he found was shocking.

Two weeks ago, Tech Crunch published an article on how two Israeli NGOs had found third-party apps that were allowing people to find and join WhatsApp groups sharing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and enabling commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEoC). As a result, Google Play Store removed at least five such apps.

However, an Indian cyber security specialist has now found that these apps are still available online and, worse, are still broadcasting CSAM. Nitish Chandan, founder of The Cyber Blog India and project manager of Cyber Peace Foundation, decided to run a simple internet search for the third-party apps mentioned in the Tech Crunch article that lead to WhatsApp groups broadcasting CSAM. While removed from the app stores, he found that their apk files (which are downloadable for Android) were readily available online.

It is noteworthy that according to anti-harassment algorithm start-up AntiToxin, these apps were sustained by ads run by Google and Facebook's advertising networks, Tech Crunch reported. Not only had Facebook and Google been lax in monitoring the removal these apps, but even WhatsApp moderators had not flagged and removed these groups.

To investigate further, Nitish downloaded one of these applications, ‘Unlimited Whats Groups.'

“I had no idea what was on these apps or the groups that they pointed to. What the app did offer was a button to search and before I would turn on the investigator mode to use some catch phrases and jargon for CSAM, I thought of just typing “child.” Yes, this search led to hundreds of groups like Only Child Pornography, Cool Child Pornography Group, Gay Kids Sex Only, [names withheld] etc.,” Nitish noted.

He found that most of these groups had the maximum number of members, and were unable to accept more participants. What's more, the groups alarmingly were not even trying to conceal their purpose. The profile photos, their names, descriptions were all sexual and even their content contained images of children, solicitations and offers like “video chat with children at Rs 500 for 10 minutes and sexual intercourse at Rs 5,000.”

The groups also lack any sort of screening for people who want to join. This is unlike the CSAM forums and groups that operate on the dark web (the part of the World Wide Web that is not indexed, and hence not accessible by commonly used browsers), which can be member-only, are wary of accepting new members and make an attempt to conceal their purpose.

Nitish told TNM that while several of these groups seem to be hosted by US numbers, most descriptions are in Hindi, and a significant number of the group members are Indian, with their real names and profile photos on their WhatsApp profiles. “On numbers that are not Indian, some of their profile pictures are images of Indian boys and girls most likely on virtual numbers of the United States. The rest of the user majority is from Pakistan, the Middle East and the United States,” Nitish observed.

Even the messages sent on the groups made no attempt to veil their illegal and disturbing activities. “One group that stood out in this investigation was called [name withheld]. This was one group with the maximum number of participants who were Indian, created using a virtual number from the United States and the biggest aggregator of CSAM where people readily posted messages like “CP (child porn) Bhejo,” “CP send karo,” “Bacho ke video dikhao” (Send CP, show children's videos) etc. And videos did follow as well,” Nitish said.

“Proactive investigation into these groups is needed in order to bring in deterrence against consumption of CSAM content which is an offence in India,” he added.

Nitish also told TNM that while there seem to be plenty of such groups on the app, the apps are not exclusively dedicated to CSAM. They also have WhatsApp groups for hacker services, children's gaming groups, mobile wallet cashback and so on. “These applications are essentially aggregators,” he explained.

Further, considering that many of the numbers appear to US-based on these groups, there may be an issue with India having jurisdiction to take action against these people. However, given that most of the group descriptions were in Hindi and had Indian members, there is a good chance that the admins who have non-Indian numbers may be based in India, but are using technology like VPNs to conceal their locations and IP addresses to avoid detection.

“Upon further investigation, I found that the US numbers being used are all virtual numbers. They have been purchased from legitimate websites. So, law enforcement can request data on who took these numbers. Even if they are using VPNs, the VPN service providers are likely to comply and reveal information to track the users once they know that the case is about CSAM and child exploitation,” Nitish said.

He has sent his findings along with screenshots to law enforcement officials as well as the Ministry of Home Affairs. The latter has assured action.

WhatsApp reached out to to TNM on January 11 with their response on the matter. A WhatsApp spokesperson said, “WhatsApp has a zero-tolerance policy around child sexual abuse. We deploy our most advanced technology, including artificial intelligence to scan profile photos and actively ban accounts suspected of sharing this vile content. We also respond to law enforcement requests in India and around the world. Sadly, because both app stores and communications services are being misused to spread abusive content, technology companies must work together to stop it.”

https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/inside-whatsapp-groups-child-sex-abuse-content-what-cyber-security-expert-found-94618?amp

Child abuse ups suicide risk in later life

Children who experience physical, sexual, and emotional abuse are significantly more likely to attempt suicide in later life, a study has found.

The analysis of 68 studies by psychologists at the University of Manchester and University of South Wales in the UK showed that suicide attempts were three times more likely for people who experienced sexual abuse as a child.

People who experienced physical abuse as a child were two and a half times more likely to attempt suicide.

The research, published in the journal Psychological Medicine, also showed that children who experienced multiple abuse are as much as five times higher to attempt suicide.

As the people who experienced abuse as children get older, the risk of suicide attempts increases, researchers said.

People not in contact with mental health clinicians were found to be at the highest level of risk.

The sixty-eight studies were carried out across the world, producing about 262 thousand adults aged 18 years or older, who were exposed to childhood abuse and neglect.

"Around one adult in every three has experienced abuse as a child," said Maria Panagioti, from The University of Manchester, who led the research team.

"This study conclusively gives us solid evidence that childhood abuse and neglect is associated with increased likelihood that they will be at risk of suicide as adults," said Panagioti.

"And that has important implications on healthcare. Other studies have shown that in the US, for example, the economic burden of childhood maltreatment is estimated to be around USD 124 billion," she said.

"These findings not only provided a clear picture of the connection between abuse or neglect in childhood and suicide attempts later on in life, but also recognised that efficient interventions should take a broader community-based approach," said Ioannis Angelakis from the University of South Wales.

https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/international/319481-child-abuse-ups-suicide-risk-in-later-life?amp

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New Mexico

Bill would bring justice, recovery for sexual assault victims

Healing from sexual assault is a long, arduous process.

The path to recovery is filled with milestones: points of strength highlighted by newfound senses of safety and stability, understanding and acceptance. These points of growth do not necessarily occur linearly, nor do they follow a distinct timeline. Rather, they build upon one another, lifting you to new perspectives, eventually leading you to absolution — which is different for everyone.

Another milestone on the path to recovery from sexual assault is justice. Justice is a milestone that all desire, but very few actually reach. Because, unfortunately, justice is a milestone that is often complicated by a deadline: an insufficient statute of limitations. Imposing a deadline for healing is not only unreasonable, it is unjust.

I have been working to find justice. Not only for myself, but for all sexual assault survivors.

I am Abrianna Morales — an advocate and activist for the rights of survivors everywhere. I am Miss New Mexico's Outstanding Teen 2018, and the founder of the Sexual Assault Youth Support Network (SAYSN), a community organization dedicated to the support, empowerment, and connection of youth sexual assault survivors. And foremost, I am a sexual assault survivor.

I am very familiar with the path to recovery. It is not easy. It follows no schedule and meets no deadlines. Two years after my own sexual assault, I am still healing. And I am still seeking justice for what happened to me.

In the state of New Mexico, the current statute of limitations for sexual crimes against a child (for second, third and fourth degree felonies) varies between five and six years after the victim has turned 18. This means that a victim of child sexual abuse must report by the time they are 23 or 24 years old, or they will never be able to find justice in a court of law.

In the eyes of the law, once the statute of limitations expires, so does a survivor's story. They lose the opportunity to find legal absolution, a perpetrator walks free, and a milestone to recovery is forever out of reach.

This is not acceptable. Though I am not personally encumbered by the statute of limitations, I very strongly believe that every person deserves the opportunity to come forward and find justice for themselves and others — even if that justice does not always result in a “guilty” verdict.

A verdict is not the sole validator of a survivor's trauma, but the opportunity to reach a verdict — to pursue justice — is paramount.

Cultivating a community that supports sexual assault survivors is invaluable. Shedding light on the realities of child sexual abuse, identifying perpetrators, and encouraging people to speak up is instrumental to creating a safe world for current and future generations. The first step to this is abolishing the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse crimes in the state of New Mexico.

It is time to take that step.

I have been working with Senator Jeff Steinborn to introduce a bill during the 2019 legislative session that will abolish the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse crimes in our state. Senate Bill 55 will hopefully spark discussion and widespread change of the attitudes surrounding sexual abuse in the state of New Mexico and beyond.

The goal of this legislation is to give youth sexual assault survivors a voice and a renewed opportunity to share their stories, heal and find justice.

If we can agree that there is no timeline for overcoming trauma, and no expiration date on a sexual assault survivor's story, why must New Mexico's legal system impose one?

https://amp.lcsun-news.com/amp/2560695002

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Bristol

These are the men who have an addiction to child abuse images and are asking for help

“I was contributing to the abuse of children. That was something I'd never considered before"

"Too many people, especially men across all age groups, seem to think it is okay to view sexual images of under 18s online. It is not"

The number of people asking for help to stop viewing indecent images online is up by 50 percent in Bristol

*These are the words of a man who was arrested for viewing indecent images of children online. He has told his story in the hope other people who are accessing these sorts of materials get help before it is too late.

“I remember when they read out the charges. I was surprised, and shocked because they were not just arresting me for possession of indecent images of children, they were investigating me for making and distributing them.

“Hearing that for the first time, I realised I had been uploading these things as well as downloading them.

“I was contributing to the abuse of children. That was something I'd never considered before," he said, as he describe the moment police came to his door.

“I just thought, ‘Jesus, of course I was distributing them'.

“It really got to me when the police said that by downloading these images and creating copies on my computer I was actually creating a demand and fuelling a supply."

He was immediately arrested under suspicion of viewing sexual images of children online and was taken to the police station.

At the police station he faced formal questioning about what he had done online, an experience he described as "nerve-racking".

"I had to wait a few hours in a cell before I had my interview. I'll never forget those two hours in a cell. I was just curled up in the corner with my eyes shut, huddled under a blanket, thinking my entire world has just imploded in on itself," he said.

“It's not just something that you one day choose to do"

“It was hard when they started describing the different categories of indecent images of children and the graphic nature of what they might involve and it sort of hit me how far I'd come.

“I think I had been in denial before that."

Being charged with such a serious crime, particularly one of this nature, took a toll on his life and continues to do so in more ways than one. To begin with he lost his job and therefore his income.

“That started putting a lot of things at risk including my property, where I was going to live, keeping up with various payments and bills and how I was actually going to support myself,” he said.

“But, I was also put on the sex offenders register so there are restrictions to where I can travel.

“I also have to disclose it to any future romantic partners at some point so that they're aware. And that does worry me.

“Whatever I thought at the time, I now know I've contributed to one of the most heinous offences going on today. That is incredibly painful to accept, and it is going to stay with me for the rest of my life,” he admitted.

“I thought the only person I was doing damage to was myself but realising it causes harm to children means I can no longer justify it in any way whatsoever."

'I feel I'm on the path to recovery'

Only a few weeks after his arrest he rang the Stop it Now! helpline for help. They are a child sexual abuse prevention project run by child protection charity The Lucy Faithfull Foundation.

"I did feel nervous when I did it. I had no real idea of what to expect even though I had been told it would be supportive and non-judgemental," he said.

"But now I feel I'm on the path to recovery, I'm empowered to get help and I feel confident that I won't go back and commit those offences," adding that he had help working out what triggers the behaviour and how he can avoid it.

“There may be other people out there who haven't admitted to themselves what they are doing," he said.

“Telling themselves that it's not something that they're doing wrong, but I think there needs to be a wake-up call.

“If it doesn't feel right, it must not be right. Listen to that feeling and get some help. Just picking up the phone and getting some help and advice is the best way to stop yourself going any further."

Over 200 people a month in the South West are now asking for help with online sexual behaviour towards children.

Rise in those asking for help

In Bristol specifically, the number of people asking for help has risen by 50 percent in the six months between February and August this year, compared to the previous six months.

Overall, in the Avon and Somerset area the figure is up by 26 percent, with the South West as a whole recording an increase of 28 percent.

A major public awareness campaign by Stop it Now! was carried out in February backed by South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SW ROCU) and police forces across the region.

Fitness photographer convicted of sexually abusing men - again

The volume of people being detected accessing indecent images of children and being taken to court is on the rise, and they set out to make the public more aware of the growing problem.

Police activity in the South West has increased to tackle this issue, meaning it is more important than ever that offenders are educated on the harm it causes the children involved in the abuse as well as the consequences for the perpetrator, who will have to go through arrest - possible imprisonment, break up of family and being put on the Sex Offenders Register.

Donald Findlater, director of the Stop it Now! Helpline, said most of the people contacting them are currently men, but a growing number are wives, partners or parents who are concerned about the online sexual behaviour of someone they love.

'Offenders put at risk everything they take for granted'

He said: "There will be hundreds more people in the South West continuing to view sexual images of children online. Just as there are thousands more wives, partners and parents who are, or who should be, worried about the online behaviour of someone they love.

“People engaged in this behaviour need to be clear that sexual images of children are illegal, that children are harmed when they are made, and also every time they are viewed. Offenders put at risk everything they take for granted or have worked hard to achieve – family, friends, work, their liberty

https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/child-abuse-addiction-lucy-faithfull-2339152.amp

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International

Human trafficking remains a critical global problem

As we mark International Human Trafficking Awareness Day on Jan. 11, USC Dornsife scholars explore the worldwide abuse of migrant workers that subjects millions to misery, injustice and poverty through coercion and duplicity.

by Susan Bell

Despite toiling up to 18 hours a day, Rhoda, a Filipina migrant domestic worker in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was given food only once every 24 hours by her employers, who insisted she must finish all her daily chores before eating.

“They expected her to survive just drinking water throughout the day,” said Rhacel Parrenas, professor of sociology and gender studies at USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and an expert on human trafficking.

Parrenas is the author of Illicit Flirtations: Labor, Migration, and Sex Trafficking in Tokyo (Stanford University Press, 2011), which explores the working conditions of what in the mid-2000s was the largest group of human trafficking victims — Filipino migrant hostesses in Japan.

She interviewed Rhoda — whose last name is omitted to protect her identity —for her current research on Southeast Asian migrant domestic workers in the UAE. It is one of 165 in-depth interviews Parrenas has completed on workers' experience of what she prefers to term “unfree labor,” but which is often described by those within the trafficking community as modern-day slavery.

Trafficking, Parrenas explains, differs very little whether it occurs in the United States or in the Middle East. “In the U.S., it's very hard to quantify the extent of trafficking because it's a hidden problem,” she said. “A lot of trafficked people don't speak out, so we never really know about them.”

However, Parrenas notes, the National Human Trafficking Hotline, which is run by Polaris, reports that in 2017 it received calls from around 10,000 people.

California Superior Court Judge Curtis Kin agrees that in the U.S. we tend to underestimate the scale of human trafficking, believing it occurs in other countries rather than right here on our doorstep.

“It's the type of crime that can go unnoticed due to its hidden nature, so raising awareness among the community so that it can be discovered and reported is the best way to combat trafficking,” he said.

Kin, who earned his bachelor's in international relations from USC Dornsife in 1993, first got involved in fighting human trafficking as a federal prosecutor working for the U.S. Department of Justice in Los Angeles. As head of the unit specializing in sex and labor trafficking, he supervised cases and trained prosecutors to work with federal agents to bring traffickers to justice.

A victim-centered approach

In 2008, Kin successfully prosecuted what at the time was the largest international human sex trafficking case ever brought by the U.S. Department of Justice. It involved Guatemalan minors and young women forced into prostitution in the U.S.

Heightened awareness helps people understand that many who once were prosecuted for prostitution might actually be the victims, with the real crime being trafficking, Kin said. “This victim-centered approach needs to be shared not only in the law enforcement community but also in the community at large.”

To that end, Kin has also trained government officials, law enforcement officers and victim rights advocates in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Moldova, Egypt and throughout the U.S.

While acknowledging the extreme seriousness of sex trafficking, Parrenas argues that it represents a smaller problem than the widespread labor trafficking faced by many temporary migrant workers whose legal resident status is conditional upon their working solely for one employer. This, she notes, makes them very vulnerable to abuse. In many cases, she found, migrant workers only discover upon arrival that they will be paid far less than originally promised — often less than half.

“That psychological toll of thinking you're going to get something and then you arrive and discover you're going to receive half of what you thought, and the work is more challenging than you ever imagined it to be, and yet you can't quit your job because you need your employer's permission, is huge,” Parrenas said.

Modern-day slavery

Kin says that while it's important to note that trafficking doesn't usually resemble slavery in the traditional sense, where people are chained or beaten — although that can still occur — at its root, modern day traffickers are still compelling or coercing somebody to do something against their will, either in terms of labor or commercial sex.

This, Kin points out, can be done in subtle, hidden ways involving sophisticated psychological or economic coercion and nonviolent threats, potentially to the victim's family.

For example, Joy, another Filipina worker interviewed by Parrenas, was not given a single day off by her employers, a Yemeni family, during the five years she worked for them. The family also refused to allow her to quit her job and held her salary, on the pretext that they did not want her to “squander” it. Joy only learned her rights after visiting a UAE government office. Armed with an official letter, she finally persuaded her employers to let her go.

Her troubles were not over, however. Her next job, with a Saudi household, lasted 14 years, during which she still didn't receive a day off.

Parrenas stresses that while Rhoda and Joy's cases are shocking, they're certainly not the worst she has uncovered. Many migrant workers face even more appalling abuses, including being beaten or starved.

“In those cases, especially if they don't have a day off — which is also normal —, it's very hard for these women to escape. Also, they can't leave their job unless they have the permission to quit of the employer who's hitting them,” she said.

Parrenas thinks anti-immigrant sentiment in the U.S. is to blame for the failure to take the legal steps necessary to protect migrant workers and prevent human trafficking.

“It's important that we use International Human Trafficking Awareness Day to call attention to how receiving countries put migrants in a legal position of vulnerability,” she said. “That should be front and center of our discussion of immigration today.”

https://dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories/2936/human-trafficking-awareness-must-increase/

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from White House

PRESS RELEASE on Human Trafficking

President Donald J. Trump Is Fighting to Eradicate Human Trafficking

This is an urgent humanitarian issue. My administration is committed to leveraging every resource we have to confront this threat, to support the victims and survivors, and to hold traffickers accountable for their heinous crimes.

COMMITTED TO ERADICATING HUMAN TRAFFICKING: President Trump has signed four bills in recent weeks that demonstrate the bipartisan commitment to end human trafficking.

Today, the President is signing the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (S. 1862) which tightens criteria for whether countries are meeting standards for eliminating trafficking.

The President signed the Abolish Human Trafficking Act in December, which strengthens programs supporting survivors and resources for combating modern slavery.

President Trump signed the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act, authorizing $430 million to fight sex and labor trafficking.

The President signed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (S. 1312), establishing new prevention, prosecution, and collaboration initiative to bring human traffickers to justice.

In addition to these efforts, Congress needs to pass legislation that strengthens border security and prevents human trafficking in all forms.

GOVERNMENT-WIDE EFFORT: President Donald J. Trump has dedicated the full resources of his Administration to work towards ending human trafficking.

The President's Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons is working across the United States Government to prosecute traffickers, protect victims, and prevent these crimes before they take place.

In one of his first acts in office, President Trump signed an executive order to combat transnational criminal organizations that engage in international trafficking and exploit people.

The Administration is fully enforcing our laws to ensure human traffickers receive the full measure of justice they deserve.

In FY 2018, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) made 1588 Human Trafficking arrests while identifying and assisting 308 victims of the same heinous crime. ICE-HSI also made over 4,000 criminal arrests for human smuggling violations.

1543 of the 1588 arrests HSI made in FY 2018 for human trafficking were for sex trafficking violations.

The new United States Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) negotiated by President Trump includes tough forced-labor provisions.

The Department of Labor has led efforts to combat child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking by cataloging goods made with forced labor and child labor and developing tools for companies and other stakeholders to address these abuses in their global supply chains.

Reaffirming this Administration's commitment to abolish modern slavery, President Trump proclaimed January 2019 as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.

THE HUMAN TRAFFICKING THREAT: The heinous crime of human trafficking is a horrific assault on human dignity that impacts people here in the United States and around the world.

There are nearly 25 million victims of human trafficking worldwide.

In the United States, more than 8,500 human trafficking cases were reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline last year alone.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trump-fighting-eradicate-human-trafficking/

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UN Report

Almost A Third Of Human Trafficking Victims Are Children:

UN Report -- World Press Trust of India

The ''Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2018'' from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) draws on information from 142 countries, examining trafficking trends and patterns.

The report said sexual exploitation amongst victims is the main driver W8United Nations: Trafficking victims from South Asian countries including India are detected in many parts of Europe, according to a new UN report that said human trafficking has taken "horrific dimensions" with children accounting for a third of those being trafficked.

The ''Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2018'' from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) draws on information from 142 countries, examining trafficking trends and patterns.

The report said human trafficking is taking on "horrific dimensions", with sexual exploitation of victims the main driver. Children now account for 30 per cent of those being trafficked, and far more girls are detected than boys.

Victims from South Asia (and South-West Asia) are also detected in many parts of Western and Southern Europe. They account for about 5 per cent of the total detected victims in this sub-region.

"Victims are trafficked from most South Asian countries, including Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, and to a limited extent also from Nepal and Sri Lanka. Victims from Afghanistan have been detected in the Nordic countries, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom," it said.

The report further said that as an origin area for trafficking to the rest of the world, victims from South Asia have been detected in more than 40 countries around the world. The main destinations appear to be the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council in the Middle East. To a lesser extent, victims from South Asia have been detected in Western and Southern Europe and in North America. Victims from South Asia - Bangladesh and India - have also been detected in South-East Asia.

Based on the limited information available for Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal and Pakistan, female victims in this sub-region account for 59 per cent of the total detected victims.

UNODC Executive Director said Yury Fedotov said that "human trafficking has taken on horrific dimensions as armed groups and terrorists use it to spread fear and gain victims to offer as incentives to recruit new fighters," citing child soldiers, forced labour and sexual slavery as examples.

While the average numbers of reported victims had fluctuated during the earlier years for which UNODC had collected data, the global trend has shown a steady increase since 2010.

Asia and the Americas are the regions which have seen the largest increase in the numbers of victims detected, which may be explained by improved methods of detecting, recording and reporting data on trafficking - or a real increase in the number of victims.

Most victims of trafficking detected outside their region of origin are from East Asia, followed by sub-Saharan Africa: whilst there has been an increase in the number of convictions for trafficking in these regions, the study concluding that large areas of impunity still exist in many Asian and African countries, and conviction rates for trafficking remain very low.

Trafficking for sexual exploitation is the most prevalent form in European countries, whilst in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, forced labour is the main factor driving the illicit trade.

Women and girls make up most trafficking victims worldwide: almost three-quarters of them are trafficked for sexual exploitation, and 35 per cent (women and girls) are trafficked for forced labour.

The main focus of the report is on the impact of armed conflict on trafficking. In conflict zones, where the rule of law is weak, and civilians have little protection from crime, armed groups and criminals may take the opportunity to traffic them. One example given in the study is the phenomenon of girls and young women in refugee camps in the Middle East being "married off" without their consent and subjected to sexual exploitation in neighbouring countries.

Addressing human trafficking is a key part of the UN Sustainable Development Agenda, requiring Member States to monitor progress in tackling the problem, and report the number of victims by sex, age and form of exploitation.

However, significant gaps in knowledge remain, with many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and some parts of East Asia still lacking sufficient capacity to record and share data on trafficking in persons. "This report shows that we need to step up technical assistance and strengthen cooperation, to support all countries to protect victims and bring criminals to justice, and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals," the UNODC Executive Director said.

https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/almost-a-third-of-human-trafficking-victims-are-children-un-report-1974354?amp=1&akamai-rum=off

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Pennsylvania

Know the signs of human trafficking

Harrisburg, PA – Executives from the Pennsylvania departments of Transportation (PennDOT) and Human Services (DHS), Pennsylvania State Police (PSP), and the Governor's Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs were joined by advocates and a human trafficking survivor today to discuss efforts to combat human trafficking and educate the public on the issue.

Human trafficking is the exploitation of people using force, fraud, or coercion for the purposes of commercial sex, forced labor, or domestic servitude.

According to the International Labor Organization, there are 21 million victims of human trafficking globally generating $150 billion annually for traffickers.

January is recognized as Human Trafficking Awareness Month, with January 11 marking #WearBlueDay to raise awareness of trafficking.

"Human trafficking is happening across the world, and unfortunately, right here in Pennsylvania," PennDOT Secretary Leslie S. Richards said.

"We and other agencies are addressing this issue, and we're also raising public awareness about this horrible practice."

PennDOT is one of the first state government agencies nationwide to educate its employees on human trafficking awareness, with all staff at driver's license centers and Welcome Centers receiving training.

The training was also made available to other department employees, transit agency employees, and is available online under the"Human Trafficking" Media Center at www.penndot.gov.

The National Human Trafficking hotline (1-888-373-7888) is a 24/7 resource for victims and service providers that also collects data about human trafficking for every state and the District of Columbia.

Since 2007, the hotline has received a total of 3,994 calls that generated 1,046 cases in Pennsylvania. As of June 2018, the hotline received 246 calls that led to 127 reported cases in Pennsylvania.

Of those cases, 106, or 83 percent, dealt with sex trafficking. Fourteen cases, or 11 percent, dealt with labor trafficking, three cases were not specified as either sex or labor trafficking, and four cases were a combination of both.

In 2017, 562 calls were received, and they led to 199 reported cases, of which 154 dealt with sex trafficking, 23 dealt with labor trafficking, 15 were not specified as either, and seven were a combination of both.

Most of the individuals who placed calls were concerned community members who knew the signs of trafficking and how to report to the authorities.

Members of the PSP Organized Crime Task Force participate in human trafficking investigations that lead to arrests and prosecutions with multiple federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the PA Office of Attorney General.

"The Pennsylvania State Police works every day with our local and federal law enforcement partners to prevent, identify, and investigate human trafficking, but we cannot be everywhere," said Captain Derrick Baker, Director of PSP's Special Investigations Division.

"By educating themselves on the warning signs, and calling authorities when things don't seem right, the public can help police in our mission to fight human trafficking in Pennsylvania."

While demographic data isn't available for every 2017 case in Pennsylvania, available data illustrates the lives impacted by human trafficking: 168 of the survivors were female and 19 were male.

Fifty-four were children and 120 were adults, and 41 victims were U.S. citizens or legally present residents, while 27 were foreign nationals.

"As we work to help child victims of human trafficking, we must provide services and support necessary to help live safe, healthy lives and cope with the trauma they experienced," said DHS Deputy Secretary for Children, Youth, and Families Cathy Utz.

"We continue to work with advocates and our partners at the federal and local level to ensure the availability of quality services to meet their unique needs."

The public is urged to report potential human trafficking situations to the national hotline, which coordinates with law enforcement and other professionals, at 1-888-373-7888.

While it is challenging to identify a trafficking situation, potential warning signs could include:

lack of knowledge of a person's community or whereabouts;

restricted or controlled communication where people cannot speak for themselves;

people not in control of their own identification documents; or

signs of branding or tattooing of a trafficker's name (often on the neck).

Concerned citizens are urged to say something if they see something.

If you suspect a trafficking situation, it is better to call the hotline and be wrong than to not call at all.

"Human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world, targeting the most vulnerable in our communities – and is destroying the lives of an entire generation of victims," said Governor's Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs Executive Director Tiffany Chang Lawson.

"It is a human rights crisis that cannot be fought alone by local law enforcement agencies, and that's why partnerships like these are so incredibly important."

Representatives from the Villanova Law Institute to Address Commercial Sexual Exploitation, including Director Shea Rhodes and Survivor Leader Tammy McDonnell, participated in the event and shared first-hand experiences in human trafficking.

The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency and the University of Pennsylvania's Field Center for Children's Policy, Practice & Research also joined the event. PennDOT has compiled resources from the U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Blue Campaign to end human trafficking, Pennsylvaniabased resources as well as related videos and graphics in its "Human Trafficking" Media Center at www.penndot.gov.

http://www.thecarbondalenews.com/news/20190111/know-signs-of-human-trafficking?template=ampart

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United Nations

Human trafficking takes ‘horrific dimensions' in Europe: UN

“Stop Almost a third of victims are children, says report

Press Trust of India Trafficking victims from South-Asian countries including India are detected in many parts of Europe, according to a new UN report that said human trafficking has taken “horrific dimensions” with children accounting for a third of those being trafficked.

The ‘Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2018' from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) draws on information from 142 countries, examining trafficking trends and patterns.

The report said human trafficking is taking on “horrific dimensions”, with sexual exploitation of victims the main driver. Children now account for 30 per cent of those being trafficked, and far more girls are detected than boys. Victims from South Asia (and South-West Asia) are also detected in many parts of Western and Southern Europe. They account for about 5 per cent of the total detected victims in this subregion.

Main destinations

“Victims are trafficked from most South Asian countries, including Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, and to a limited extent also from Nepal and Sri Lanka. Victims from Afghanistan have been detected in the Nordic countries, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, it said.

The report further said that as an origin area for trafficking to the rest of the world, victims from South Asia have been detected in more than 40 countries around the world. The main destinations appear to be the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council in the Middle East. To a lesser extent, victims from South Asia have been detected in Western and Southern Europe and in North America. Victims from South Asia — Bangladesh and India — have also been detected in South-East Asia.

Based on the limited information available for Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal and Pakistan, female victims in this sub-region account for 59 per cent of the total detected victims.

Yury Fedotov, UNODC Executive Director said: “Human trafficking has taken on horrific dimensions as armed groups and terrorists use it to spread fear and gain victims to offer as incentives to recruit new fighters,” citing child soldiers, forced labour and sexual slavery as examples.

Main focus

Asia and the Americas are the regions which have seen the largest increase in the numbers of victims detected, which may be explained by improved methods of detecting, recording and reporting data on trafficking — or a real increase in the number of victims.

Most victims of trafficking detected outside their region of origin are from East Asia, followed by sub-Saharan Africa: whilst there has been an increase in the number of convictions for trafficking in these regions, the study concluding that large areas of impunity still exist in many Asian and African countries, and conviction rates for trafficking remain very low.

Trafficking for sexual exploitation is the most prevalent form in European countries, whilst in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, forced labour is the main factor driving the illicit trade.

Women and girls make up most trafficking victims worldwide: Almost three-quarters of them are trafficked for sexual exploitation, and 35 per cent (women and girls) are trafficked for forced labour.

The main focus of the report is on the impact of armed conflict on trafficking. In conflict zones, where the rule of law is weak, and civilians have little protection from crime, armed groups and criminals may take the opportunity to traffic them.

Key process

Addressing human trafficking is a key part of the UN Sustainable Development Agenda, requiring Member States to monitor progress in tackling the problem, and report the number of victims by sex, age and form of exploitation.

However, significant gaps in knowledge remain, with many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and some parts of East Asia still lacking sufficient capacity to record and share data on trafficking in persons. “This report shows we need to step up technical assistance and strengthen cooperation, to support all countries to protect victims and bring criminals to justice, and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals,” Fedotov said.