“Detective Superintendent Philip Marshall said there were currently five investigations into organised crime gangs forcing women into prostitution. He said fifteen men would be targeted in an attempt to deter them from using such services. He said the words “clients” or “punters” should in fact be replaced with “exploiters, or dare I say it, rapists”.

He said the UK sex industry had moved in recent years from the street corner to private rental accommodation and hotels.”

CURB urges the Trinidad and Tobago Government to proclaim the Trafficking In Persons Act No. 14 of 2011. We look forward to seeing similar proactive policing from our local and regional law enforcement officials to deter persons from continuing to provide the demand for sex trafficking services. These range from prostitution to pornography, lewd dancing, sensual massages and escort services.

In many of our Latin American and Caribbean jurisdictions, such action would need to be coupled with strict regulation of activities such as massage parlours and escort services as well as the weeding out of corrupt law enforcement officers from the ranks of the respective police services.

Due to the shift from street prostitution to indoor venues, it is important that landlords and hotel operators to be held accountable for illegal activities such as human trafficking which occur on their premises, whether rented out to others or not.

In much the same way as certain categories of individuals are required by law to report any suspicions of child sexual abuse, such proprietors must also be encouraged or required by law to report to law enforcement officials any and all activities occurring on their leased or otherwise tenanted premises which may be related to illegal activities such as prostitution or human trafficking.

Hospitality establishments as well as landlords may also benefit from exposure to information and training to enable them to more accurately understand the dynamics of human trafficking and the red flags associated with possible instances of the crime and the identification of possible victims.

BBC News – PSNI to visit men who paid for sex with trafficked women.

CURB encourages our readers to peruse the list and see how they may implement these suggestions in a regional context to fight against this abuse in Latin America and the Caribbean.

20 Ways You Can Help Fight Human Trafficking.

“This piece of legislation applies to any company with $100 million in worldwide sales and some connection to California and requires them to make full disclosure about their supply chains and whether they regularly check them for possible slavery or trafficking conditions — and if so, what they do about it.

Companies must disclose whether they conduct audits that might protect workers — including children — from slavery, and whether they require suppliers to abide by standards of morality and decency. Companies must also attest to whether they conduct training on foreign worker abuses or whether they have installed any internal practices that could detect slavery in the production of their supplies.

Knowing they will be judged by lawmakers, peer competitors, business partners and, most importantly, their customers, most companies will adjust their behavior. Scrutiny, public protest and lost business will result if they don’t.”

While it is still too early to see how effective this mechanism will be to impact slave conditions in labour chains in other countries, previous legislation which dealt with environmental issues have proven relatively successful in encouraging corporate entities to change their business practices.

For us in the Caribbean who increasingly import household, clothing and other products from countries around the globe, legislation which requires our importers and businessmen to make inquiries of their supply chain could prove helpful in sensitising the business community as a whole to the problem of global labour trafficking.

This may be especially important for those regional companies which conduct business with countries which have been identified by the United States Departments of State and Labour and the International Labour Organisation as major offenders in terms of human trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation.

The shift to this form of corporate responsibility could possibly promote new opportunities for industry in this part of the world. A possible result could be one in which the Caribbean develops new or revamps previous labour intensive industries – with fair working conditions and wages – to produce quality products which are slave-free.

That way, we would build an economic culture where we shy away from the items manufactured in other parts of the world at lower costs but with a hefty price tag in terms of the extent of human misery and exploitation they cause.

Food for thought…

California’s new anti-slavery law.

CURB looks forward to similar initiatives here in the Caribbean where, in many nations, massage parlours and escort services are unregulated activities. This state of affairs leaves room for the infiltration of organised crime and the exploitation of vulnerable persons particularly in relation to the commercial sex trade.

We continue to be disturbed by the advertisements running in the classified section of the daily newspapers in Trinidad and Tobago which seek to recruit young females to the aforementioned ‘industries’.

We eagerly look forward to the proclamation of the Trafficking In Persons Act No. 14 of 2011 and the passage and enforcement of related legislation to ensure the prevention and protection of our nation’s women and youth from sex trafficking and other forms of human trafficking.

Group Working to Regulate Massage Parlors in Warren – WKBN – 27 First News – Local News – Youngstown, Warren, Columbiana, Ohio – Sharon, Pennsylvania.

They also contract the services of medical, legal, accounting and similar professionals who receive above average fees to provide discreet services to traffickers and their victims.

The Caribbean associations which cover the various respective professions must be made aware of the evils of human trafficking and encouraged to take a strong stand against members who profit from modern-day slavery.

The article below illustrates the case of an Illinois dentist who assisted sex traffickers and was sentenced to prison.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/crime/9448993-418/dentist-who-helped-pimps-wants-to-work-again.html

It is they who know the key roles played by the various stakeholders in the human trafficking process as the crime continues to evolve.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2011/12/14/nyregion/council-to-seek-penalties-for-prostitutes-drivers.xml

http://m.jamaicaobserver.com/mobile/news/BUSTED—-Suspected-human-trafficker-arrested–cops-trying-to-find-17-kids_10387006

The article highlighted the website of Slavery Footprint which was launched on 22 September 2011 – the 149th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln which freed American slaves.

Visitors to the Slavery Footprint website are encouraged to answer questions based on their consumption habits and, based on their responses, they are told how many persons are exploited to manufacture the products they purchase.

In view of the fact that the Optional Protocol to the U.N. Transnational Organized Crime Convention which addresses human trafficking came into effect on Christmas Day 2003, this is truly a relevant season for all of us to examine the link between our consumption habits and modern day slavery.

As we rapidly approach Christmas and persons are caught up in the ‘spirit’ of purchasing, we encourage readers of this Blog to take the survey to better know which products on your gift list may be tainted by injustice and exploitation.

Do all you can to ensure that you as well as vulnerable persons around the globe enjoy a Merry Christmas.

http://slaveryfootprint.org/#where_do_you_live

Details are available via the following link.

Google joins fight against slavery – The CNN Freedom Project: Ending Modern-Day Slavery – CNN.com Blogs.

Black Women Share With Sisters and Daughters: 5 Ways Pimps Recruit Their Prey | Rolling Out – Black News, Celebrity Videos, Entertainment, Business & Politics.