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March 16, 2022

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office announced that it had made more than 100 arrests, including four Walt Disney World employees, during a recent undercover human trafficking operation.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said during a press conference on Wednesday that the agency had made 108 arrests during a sting operation entitled “Operation March Sadness 2” across Central Florida.The operation, which began on March 8 and lasted a total of six days,  was a multi-law enforcement agency undercover investigation that focused on human trafficking, prostitution, and child predators, the sheriff’s office said in a release.

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The new bill adds to a stack of proposed legislature drawn up to curb social media’s influence over young people.

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March 4, 2022

Open Letter to John Oliver: Stand with Sex Trade Survivors, Not Pimps and Sex Buyers

We, the undersigned are survivors of the sex trade, come from all walks of life, races, religions,
ethnic groups, from heterosexual and LGBTQ+ communities.
What binds us is that, collectively, we have been bought, sold, and exploited on the streets and in
escorting in fancy hotels, in legal strip clubs and illicit “massage parlors,” in our homes and on
“sugar dates,” and everywhere in between. Collectively, we have experienced hundreds of rapes,
burns, beatings, chokings, and myriad forms of abuse at the hands of sex buyers and our
exploiters, causing long-term physical and psychological harm.
We are collectively shocked and disgusted that you, Mr. Oliver, decided to celebrate and glorify
the sex trade on your show, Last Week Tonight, aired on HBO on February 27, 2022. Despite
your reputation for producing thoroughly researched segments, this 25-minute report relied
exclusively on information given to you by lobbyists who promote the decriminalization of the
sex trade. Where was the discussion of the harms inflicted by sex buyers on women and others
they purchase? Where was the analysis of the well-documented methods used by both
international and domestic traffickers or the court cases that expose the sex trade as an orgundersigned are survivors of the sex trade, come from all walks of life, races, religions,
ethnic groups, from heterosexual and LGBTQ+ communities.
What binds us is that, collectively, we have been bought, sold, and exploited on the streets and in
escorting in fancy hotels, in legal strip clubs and illicit “massage parlors,” in our homes and on
“sugar dates,” and everywhere in between. Collectively, we have experienced hundreds of rapes,
burns, beatings, chokings, and myriad forms of abuse at the hands of sex buyers and our
exploiters, causing long-term physical and psychological harm.
We are collectively shocked and disgusted that you, Mr. Oliver, decided to celebrate and glorify
the sex trade on your show, Last Week Tonight, aired on HBO on February 27, 2022. Despite
your reputation for producing thoroughly researched segments, this 25-minute report relied
exclusively on information given to you by lobbyists who promote the decriminalization of the
sex trade. Where was the discussion of the harms inflicted by sex buyers on women and others
they purchase?

Learn more.

SIRET, Romania (AP) — One man was detained in Poland suspected of raping a 19-year-old refugee he’d lured with offers of shelter after she fled war-torn Ukraine. Another was overheard promising work and a room to a 16-year-old girl before authorities intervened.

Another case inside a refugee camp at Poland’s Medyka border, raised suspicions when a man was offering help only to women and children. When questioned by police, he changed his story.

As millions of women and children flee across Ukraine’s borders in the face of Russian aggression, concerns are growing over how to protect the most vulnerable refugees from being targeted by human traffickers or becoming victims of other forms of exploitation.

“Obviously all the refugees are women and children,” said Joung-ah Ghedini-Williams, the UNHCR’s head of global communications, who has visited borders in Romania, Poland and Moldova.

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The sexual exploitation of children is, sadly, not a new phenomenon. It has existed for many
centuries, has victimized children of any age from all countries, and has been committed by
offenders of all backgrounds from around the world. What has changed however, are the ways
in which these offences occur and the mechanisms that facilitate these types of abuse.
In the last fifteen years there has been a significant increase in the use of technologies
internationally. Across much of the globe, it is hard to find a person without at least one
mechanism that allows them to access the Internet at the mere touch of a button. However, as
history will teach us, with every new invention there will be misuse – this has never been more
evident than with online technologies and the Internet.

Technological advancements have changed the ways through which children are sexually
exploited – online child sexual exploitation continues to grow exponentially with hotlines
around the world reporting a consistent and continual increase in number of cases every year.
Efforts internationally are responding to these increases. We are seeing police agencies utilizing
technology to help them further investigations and more and more industry partners are
exploring how they can be part of the solution. Additionally, non–government agencies continue
to seek out new opportunities to enhance their support to victims in their communities through
supporting criminal justice and social service system development, survivor care, and
community–based support mechanisms. Never before has it been more important to work
together to protect children. But in order to do just that, it is imperative that we know more
about these crimes against children. We must know how they are occurring, who is committing
them, and who is being victimized in order to more fully protect this vulnerable population. 

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The children were sexually abused and neglected while at The Refuge, a facility located in Bastrop contracted by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, according to a report from a current employee

Employees of a Texas-contracted facility meant to care for female foster children who are victims of sex trafficking were discovered to be trafficking the same children, according to a federal judge.

Seven children, ages 11 to 17, were victimized by nine alleged perpetrators, according to discussions held during an emergency court hearing called by U.S. District Judge Janis Jack on Thursday. The children remained in the facility for over a month after the abuse was first reported before they were removed.The children were sexually and physically abused and suffered from neglectful supervision and medical neglect while at The Refuge, a facility located in Bastrop contracted by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, a current Refuge employee reported to state authorities on Jan. 24.

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The Dirty Dozen List is an annual campaign calling out twelve mainstream entities for facilitating, enabling, and even profiting from sexual abuse and exploitation. Since its inception in 2013, the Dirty Dozen List has galvanized thousands of individuals like YOU to call on corporations, government agencies, and organizations to change problematic policies and practices. This campaign has yielded major victories at Google, Netflix, TikTok, Hilton and more. 

TAKE ACTION. Learn more and how you can become a “Warrior” by adding your name to fight these major corporate offenders.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has triggered a mass exodus of civilians scrambling to escape what is the first major armed conflict in Europe since the Second World War.

The United Nations reported that more than 1.5 million refugees have crossed from Ukraine into neighbouring countries in just the past eleven days amid bitter urban fighting and Russian bombing campaigns against major cities.

But many of the women and children desperately trying to flee the wrath of Russian President Vladimir Putin are now facing another horrific threat. Police and aid workers in Poland have warned that sex traffickers are attempting to snatch up vulnerable girls weary from their perilous journeys away from the frontlines of their war-torn homeland.

Sex trafficking. Read more here.

Not just today but, every day should be women’s day.