Blog

Traffickers took advantage of the global crisis, capitalizing on peoples’ loss of income and the increased amount of time both adults and children were spending online.

“The pandemic has increased vulnerabilities to trafficking in persons while making trafficking even harder to detect and leaving victims struggling to obtain help and access to justice,” said UNODC Executive Director, Ghada Waly.

“This study is an important new resource for policy-makers and criminal justice practitioners, as it examines successful strategies to investigate and prosecute human trafficking in times of crisis. It also provides recommendations on supporting frontline responders and victims and building resilience to future crises.”

Last week, U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., teamed up with U.S. Rep. John Curtis, R-Utah, to send a letter to the leadership of Facebook, YouTube and Snap, which runs Snapchat, calling on them to do more to ensure children are not on that social media site.

“Big Tech is falling short when it comes to protecting Americans, especially children,” Bilirakis’ office insisted. “The Communications Decency Act was meant to protect our society, specifically our kids. However, Big Tech has been picking and choosing which parts of the law to follow, which is dangerous and inappropriate.  Facebook, for example, is completely ignoring the fact that an estimated half of American children under the age of 13 are using its platform which is a clear violation of the social media giant’s terms of use.”

Bilirakis and Curtis, who both sit on the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, sent out letters on the matter last week.

XTube, a pornography site, owned by MindGeek, will shut down permanently on September 5.

At the time of publishing, there is no definitive statement on why XTube, part of the Pornhub Network, is closing. But the clues are there.

MindGeek has controversially become the largest pornography business in the world. It both owns adult video platforms — such as Pornhub, RedTube, and YouPorn — and production companies, like Brazzers Digital Playground, and Reality Kings.

Hidden Girl: The True Story of a Modern-Day Child Slave
by Shyima Hall, Lisa Wysocky

An inspiring and compelling memoir from a young woman who lost her childhood to slavery—and built a new life grounded in determination and justice.

Shyima Hall was born in Egypt on September 29, 1989, the seventh child of desperately poor parents. When she was eight, her parents sold her into slavery. Shyima then moved two hours away to Egypt’s capitol city of Cairo to live with a wealthy family and serve them eighteen hours a day, seven days a week. When she was ten, her captors moved to Orange County, California, and smuggled Shyima with them. Two years later, an anonymous call from a neighbor brought about the end of Shyima’s servitude—but her journey to true freedom was far from over.

A volunteer at her local police department since she was a teenager, Shyima is passionate about helping to rescue others who are in bondage. Now a US citizen, she regularly speaks out about human trafficking and intends to one day become an immigration officer. In Hidden Girl, Shyima candidly reveals how she overcame her harrowing circumstances and brings vital awareness to a timely and relevant topic.

Enjoy your weekend with family and friends and always remember to #ProtectOurChildren

Please take time this weekend to watch the documentary CHILDHOOD 2.0 and download and keep handy the accompanying handbook “Raising Kids in the Digital Age”

#BeAWarrior

Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that WILLIAM BAZEMORE, a/k/a “Yaya,” a/k/a “Nudie,” a/k/a “Jack,” was sentenced to 327 months in prison for sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion.  BAZEMORE previously pled guilty to that offense, and was sentenced today before U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres.

U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “William Bazemore used violence and coercion to prey on female victims suffering from drug addiction, and he forced a woman to engage in commercial sex for his own financial gain.  His predatory conduct had an irreparable impact on the lives of his victims.  Today, William Bazemore was justly sentenced to more than 27 years in prison for his crimes.”

United States v. Ghislaine Maxwell, 20 Cr. 330 (AJN) 

If you believe you were a victim of Ghislaine Maxwell or have information about the allegations in the Indictment,