trafficJAM, int’l                               

dedicated to the prevention of commercial sexual exploitation in countries of origin
 

“More than poverty, military conflict or other social disasters, what drove rural women into the clutches of sex traffickers was a primary factor everywhere I investigated sex trafficking:   Millions of women lived in a world that overwhelmingly disdained them.” -- Siddarth Kara,   Inside the Business of Modern Slavery

Related articles
Check ‘em out

Interview with Lydia Cacho -Mexican Journalist / Activist

Cultural Background on Latin America to U.S. Sex Trafficking.doc

Trafficking in Humans from L.A. to U.S.



http://newmatilda.com/2010/06/02/lone-voicehttp://newmatilda.com/2010/06/02/lone-voicehome_files/Cultural%20Background%20on%20Latin%20America%20to%20U.S.%20Sex%20Trafficking.dochome_files/Cultural%20Background%20on%20Latin%20America%20to%20U.S.%20Sex%20Trafficking.dochome_files/Cultural%20Background%20on%20Latin%20America%20to%20U.S.%20Sex%20Trafficking.dochttp://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/key_workplace/792/http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/key_workplace/792/shapeimage_3_link_0shapeimage_3_link_1shapeimage_3_link_2shapeimage_3_link_3shapeimage_3_link_4shapeimage_3_link_5shapeimage_3_link_6
 
What is the issue?
Commercial sexual exploitation is the recruitment, transportation, harboring, provision, or obtaining of persons for purposes of prostitution or the production of pornography, nude dancing, or live sex shows.  Prostitution and related activities, which are inherently harmful and dehumanizing, significantly contribute to the phenomenon of sex trafficking.

The sale of human beings generates over 32 billion dollars annually:  more than Google, Nike and Starbucks combined.  Just behind illegal drugs, sex trafficking is the second most lucrative illegal industry on the planet.


How do traffickers work? 
Traffickers use:
advertisements in local newspapers and the internet
lies, false promises, fraud:  offers of work abroad, education or romance
bribes
manipulation
kidnapping, force:  victims are violently abused through repeated rapes, beatings, withholding food, sleep, and contact with others 


Who are the victims? 
80% of exploited people in our world are women
50% of these are children

In their daily lives victims of sexual trafficking endure unspeakable acts of physical brutality, violence and degradation including rape by so-called customers and pimps; undergo forced abortions; acquire drug and alcohol dependencies; live in fear of their lives and in fear for the lives of their family and friends; suffer acute psychological reactions as a result of their extreme physical and emotional trauma; and contract sexually transmitted diseases which all too often bring life-long illness or hasten death.  If they survive, the physical, psychological and spiritual impacts of these experiences on victims are devastating and enduring.































What are the causes? 

globalization - the opening of once closed borders, free trade agreements, ease of travel, global communication. 

poverty - severe economic and social decline in her country caused by wars and revolutions, draught, government instability and corruption, lack of education and gender prejudice . . . all motivate her to act on unrealistic dreams of western wealth  

organized crime  - where there is drug trafficking there is also human trafficking.  Organized crime can mean international mafia groups such as the Russian mafia, Albanian mafia, Chinese triads, Mexican Cartels or the Yakuza of Japan.  However, street gangs are organizing and participating in the sale of women and children for sex.

corruption  -  the crucial factors which determine where trafficking will occur are the presence of traffickers, pimps, sex tourism and officials who will cooperate with them.  Government corruption is systemic in the majority of countries where trafficking flourishes. 

religion  - Those who devalue women, and although they may not promote it, at least permit her mistreatment, find support and encouragement in many of the world’s religions and cultural traditions.  A well-known Thai proverbs affirms, “To have a daughter is like having a toilet in your front yard.”  Buddhist teachings, apart from the venerated role of mother, teach that women are seductresses and tempt men to sin.  The muslim culture relegates the woman to her home and prohibits her from participating in male conversations.   

the demand for sex - the components of demand include the men who pay for commercial sex acts and pornography,  the exploiters who constitute the commercial sex industry, the states who are destination countries and the cultures who tolerate and promote sexual exploitation.  “Research proves that men who pay for commercial sex ... are searching for ... either sex acts which their partners will not participate in, or the emotion obtained by “hunting” women.  They are looking for sex without the responsibility of a relationship.” (Donna Hughes, Demand:  Where Sex Trafficking Begins”)



What can be done?

What can I do? 
http://www.ijamtraffic.com/trafficJAM/plan.htmlhttp://www.ijamtraffic.com/trafficJAM/partners.htmlshapeimage_4_link_0shapeimage_4_link_1
traffic signs:

mal-nutrition, stds, bruises, broken bones

no personal documents:  driver’s license, social security, passport

never alone, not allowed to speak with strangers or 
answer questions for her/himself

no personal money

lives where she/he works, bars on windows

disoriented, “just visiting”, doesn’t know what town she 
or he is in or where she/he has come from