United Nations Conference: The Ones Who Wrote The Book are Rereading It.

We all have an opinion of Donald Trump: Whether you think he's evil, stupid or fearless, everyone has their own views on what's going to happen to the country when he steps into office. We at The Roe3 Trafficking Project are thinking of things through a different lens: the lens of human trafficking in our developing and developed nations. 

Now, more than ever, we need the U.N. As you may recall from one of the first articles I wrote for this blog, the United Nations did technically create the first international list of rights every human being is entitled to that didn't have a ton of issues. If we really want to create a way of life in which everyone is safe from being a product rather than a person, we need to make sure our countries still uphold the rights outlined by the U.N. so many years ago. 

Although things do seem to be looking up as the most recent U.N. conference focused on human trafficking and human exploitation, and they've invited people to speak on behalf of the problem, we still have a long way to go. It seems in recent years to always be "one step forward two steps back" when it comes to human rights movements. However, I believe in the American people. We can't stop fighting for the rights we hold dear; for ourselves and others. If we know trafficking still exists, isn't it our duty to put an end to it? Fellow human beings being bought and sold like cattle; that's the kind of behavior that should have ended hundreds of years ago if it ever began at all. 

I personally worry it will be difficult, with America's drastic change in government, to continue tightening the bonds we have with the other nations we share this earth with. I hope I'm wrong. 

Roe3 Needs You!

I've found lately I've been running into more and more writer's block when updating this blog. Every day I look up the newest in human-trafficking related news country-wide, and use that as inspiration for my next article; but is it enough?

We at Students Against Human Trafficking think it'd be very beneficial to me as the writer and you as the reader if we had user-submitted content. Write to us about something specific you know of in your community, so that we can do more research and feature it here!

The main point of this blog is to help people understand just how wide-spread and also close to home the problem truly is. If you live in an area even slightly populated with people, it's happening there. It's happening here. Everyone has their own story and although it's tragic it's important that we include everyone and not just focus on the news stories that have made the front page. Unfortunately, the media focuses on the most "interesting" stories; the ones that people will pay to read about. We don't need that here.

If you look at the front page of this blog, you can see that our email address is roe3blogspot@gmail.com. We encourage you to contact us about things going on in your area; the good and the bad. We want to hear your stories of the traffickers and the organizations put in place to stop them.

With your help, we can cover even more ground and bring more victims into the light.

Domestic Trafficking: The Silent Slaves

Imagine yoou're a poor immigrant with no job prospects and an uncertain future. Would you take a job as a maid? I would. I'm sure most people would if they were offered a visa and free food and housing. Anyone would want to think that these people who hire domestic servants are doing it out of the kindness of their hearts. 

Unfortunately, this isn't always the case. Now imagine they've taken all your identification papers and locked you in their home. Imagine they've given you a small mattress in the attic to sleep on and only let you eat the food they don't finish off their plates; food you cooked for them. Imagine day and night you clean the entire home and sometimes take care of the children. Imagine you've been promised pay for this work but for some reason your paycheck keeps being delayed. Imagine your new "employers" tell you if you try to run away from the house that you'll be arrested as an illegal immigrant. Who would want to leave?

The thing about moving to a new country is that it's terrifying. You don't know anyone, you don't know where to look for a job; all you want is to get out of the poverty-stricken or violence-stricken place you were before. Even if this job is paying you imaginary money for real, tangible work that makes you sick and exhausted, the hope that comes from it may be worth more to you than having to go back to your country where things seemed much worse. 

Unfortunately, many of these people don't realize they're slaves or that the situation they're in is wrong. They may try to justify their situation because they either find it much better than where they came from or they don't think anyone will be able to help theme escape even if they wanted to. 

Yes, places like Hong Kong, Singapore, and Kuwait are currently under fire for domestic slavery; but it doesn't just happen there. You'll notice that the more American the problem is, the less American articles are written about it. The closest you can generally find now are statistics; hardly any stories. Statistics are great, but they don't give you the face and personality that real peoples' stories can. 

Luckily, The White House's .gov website does care, and as far as we can tell from that link, they appear to actually be making efforts to end it. 

Even though they are making efforts, and the problem continues to decrease every day, our work is far from over. Pay attention to the homes in your area, especially if you live in a heavily populated or heavily wealthy area. There could be slaves behind closed doors you never would have guessed about. 

Don't Be A Victim: Your Self-Esteem is Your Strongest Weapon

As uncomfortable as it is to think about, 1.2 million children are trafficked every year around the world, and that's only the number that is reported. Countless other children and teens are either targeted for or already victims of trafficking and traffickers. With numbers that high, there's a very good chance you could find yourself a target; adult or not. Sex traffickers, generally referred to as pimps, look for able-bodied young people to make them money. Whether or not they're nice to you doesn't matter; if you're underage and you're performing sexual acts to make someone else money, you're a victim.

So, how did this happen? Why does no one see the danger that is definitely out there? Well, part of it is the language we use. I'm 17 years old myself, and I see jokes about someone being a pimp or someone else needing a sugar daddy all over the social media I have. The thing is, it's not all bad to have a dark sense of humor. Sugar daddy jokes are made for a good laugh. I appreciate that; usually, they're funny. The idea of having a boyfriend who can pay for everything you want and not be restrictive on what you do with your life other than escorting them to dinner sounds awesome. In some cases, it can be a job if you're over 18 and all parties consent. However, in most cases, the girls targeted for these situations are under 18.

Let's write a little story, which is in this particular case fictional, but which is a reality for thousands of girls across the U.S. A 15 year old girl has just shifted from being the big 8th grader to being the small nerdy freshman at her highschool, and she's scared. She has acne, she's gaining weight in places she wishes she wouldn't, and her social anxiety is at an all-time high. Then, all of a sudden, she meets a senior. He's smooth, casual, and appears to be very rich based on the fact that he always has hundreds in his wallet when they're hanging out at school. One day the boy tells her that he makes his money running a modeling page on Facebook which features advertisements. All she has to do is take pictures of herself in different outfits and send them to him to upload to the page, and he'll pay her a percentage of what he makes on ad revenue.

She's confused. She's not pretty; definitely not modeling material. How could she possibly make him any money, and in turn, make herself any money? He offers here a ride home, and she takes it. On the way, he explains to her that he think's she's gorgeous. She's truly the most beautiful girl he's ever seen, and he thinks she'll make the most money of all the models on his page. He "confesses" to her that she's the first girl he's ever offered this to that he actually liked, and didn't just find pretty. After that day, they start dating. They begin to hang out together outside of school all the time. Sometimes, they skip school and do photo shoots in his house.

One of the days she's skipped school to be at his house taking photos, another, slightly older boy enters. While her boyfriend is 18, this older boy looks to be around 23. He says he's going to a party and that they should come, too. The girl's boyfriend tells her that he'd really love it if she could come; that he wants to introduce his beautiful girlfriend to all his best friends. Excited and a little nervous, she follows.

But they never make it to the party.

Instead, as soon as she gets into the back seat, a cloth bag is pulled over her head and her boyfriend is holding her to the floor of the car. She tries to scream, but he tells her just to play it cool, that this is part of the anonymity of getting into the party. She lays still even as they drive for miles, hours, across the border of the state, and eventually, to a building. The building is a brothel.

So, how can you avoid being caught in this trap?

• Be aware. It's easy to think, "My boyfriend would never do that to me. He loves me." This new person in your life could very well be trustworthy, but look out for signs that he may be alienating you from your friends on purpose. Also look out for signs of him making money illegally, or trying to lure you to secluded places far away from home. Another sign is if no one takes your relationship seriously but you. Sex Traffickers don't have one girl that they sleep with regularly; they sleep with the same girls they sell. Don't let yourself be one of them.
• Gender doesn't matter. Although victims are often seen as female and traffickers as male, gender really doesn't play a part. Young boys should be just as wary, especially boys under the age of 13. If an older person appears to only hang out with you or other younger people, stay away from them. They probably don't have good intentions if they're choosing not to have any friends their age. 
• If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. These people will tell you you can make lots of money doing the job they've set up for you. They'll tell you you don't even have to get naked; all you have to do is model. They may try to get you to go to strip clubs with them or meet other girls that "work" for them. Do more investigation before blindly taking a job that you presume will make you wealthy.

This happens too often to ignore. If you're in a situation that seems sketchy, consider how an extremely confident person would react. Consider how to fight back and avoid dangerous situations, and know when to ask for help. Your family and friends exist to keep you safe. 

Black Friday Shopping: How Can You Reduce Your Human Trafficking Footprint? (And an Apology)

Today I want to start with an apology specifically from myself, Lydia Taylor. Several days ago, I began this exact post and at one point I accidentally closed the page and it was deleted forever. I was so frustrated I gave up on it entirely for a few days. That's no excuse; and I plan to continue updating every day (at least every week day) for the foreseeable future. Human Trafficking is an issue that goes beyond daily annoyance and I should've had better willpower than I had in that moment. So, if you're still with us, thank you, and prepare to see a new post every day from now on!

Now for our real topic: Black Friday. Everyone loves a good sale, and Black Friday is the one day a year when we are guaranteed to find one no matter where we go to shop. So, it might be easy to head to every store in our town looking for deals; but are we feeding slavery in the process?

It's not a fun thing to think about; that your cheap clothing and electronics were most likely touched by slaves. None of us want to think that simply by being consumers in America we're contributing to the human trafficking plague. However, it's a tragic fact that we need to be more careful which companies we buy from or people less fortunate than us may pay the price.

Let's use Wal-Mart, for example. This one may not come as a surprise to most of you; which is why it's a little disheartening that so many people still shop there. If you watch John Oliver like I do, or follow the news in a different way, you'll have probably heard about Wal-Mart's scandals with factories which make the clothes they sell really being sweatshops filled with slaves in 3rd world countries. You may also have heard that these factories seem like they came straight out of early 1900s America; no fire escapes, windows, etc.  The question here is: how did Walmart react to those claims? Basically, they pretended to have no part in it. They said the factories had not been approved by Wal-Mart. Why is this questionable? The clothes being made in these factories were being shipped to and sold by several Wal-Mart stores; how could that have happened if the factories were not approved? Another fishy fact in the hunt for answers was that there were floor plans of the buildings which showed fire escapes. However, the fire escapes straight up didn't exist. Reporters followed the plans to find them; and found nothing but wall and slavery.

So, Wal-Mart is out, and that might have already put a big gap in your shopping plans for that great day of spending which ironically comes soon after the day for being thankful for what we already have. Does this mean your day has been ruined? Surely not! My biggest advice is to head to secondhand stores which may have some sales of their own while also being cheap to begin with and having no affiliation with the stores the items they carry came from. Even if, say, a T-Shirt at your local resale shop came from Wal-Mart, that shirt no longer makes Wal-Mart money. Another thing I like to do is shop online and then do some quick Googling to make sure my online shopping cart isn't messy. Amazon is a good option as long as you check to see which parent company Amazon is selling the product for. You can also go onto smaller websites; such as online stores specifically for funny T-shirts or nerdy pop culture merchandise that is for-sure made by the owners or a small group of well-paid workers by those owners. Youtubers such as John and Hank Green and Jennamarbles also tend to have Black Friday sales, so check up on your favorite social media celebrities to see if they're selling anything on their websites. Big-name celebrities can still have affiliation with human trafficking, but again, a quick Google search can help you avoid that.

Thanks for staying with our project, and happy shopping!

Your Human Trafficking Footprint: Thanksgiving

With the holidays approaching fast, it might be easy to overlook Thanksgiving and Black Friday. However, they'll still come and go before the gift-giving ensues, and most of us will find ourselves sitting around a table with family or friends fighting over the last piece of turkey, the last spoonful of mashed potatoes, or even the last dinner roll.

It's easy for us to give thanks for these things, but we don't always consider how much others had to work to get them to us (and no, I don't mean the worker who stayed over late on Thanksgiving to sell you that last minute pumpkin pie, although they should be appreciated, too). What we're going to look into in this article is the sad truth about who's doing the dirty work that eventually turns into the delicious food we dig into at our dinner tables (sorry for the holiday downer 2 days in a row, but this is a human trafficking blog. Go to Pinterest if you want cute ideas for how to decorate your table). For the purpose of this list, we're going to list the food, with a link for further information on what the problem is all about. To see a full list of products to watch out for by country, click here (this list includes clothing and other products). 

• Alcoholic Beverages
• Baked Goods
• Beef
• Broccoli
• Cashews
• Citrus Fruits
• Chili Peppers
• Cocoa
• Coffee
• Corn
• Cucumber
• Garlic
• Green Beans
• Oil (food oils)
• Olives
• Onions
• Peanuts
• Pepper
• Pineapples
• Potatoes
• Poultry
• Salt
• Soybeans
• Sugarcane
• Tea
• Tomatoes
• Wheat
• Zinc

Human Trafficking and Halloween: How to Stay Safe

If you love Halloween like us, you may be dressing up tonight and heading out of your house into the dark world of spooky happenings. Whether you're attending a smashing party, taking the whole family out for trick-or-treating, or just heading out with some friends to a haunted house, you won't be the only one seen in a cute or scary costume on this October eve.

However, with the trick-or-treat season comes lots of chances for those who want to hurt people to..well..hurt people. Kids, teens, and adults alike are heading out onto the streets in dark costumes; and so are the people who want to kidnap them. That's not to say every person you meet is going to snatch up your child, younger sibling, etc. and ship them off to a foreign country, but it does mean it's important to be cautious when you're out there. Here are 8 tips we've compiled to help you and/or your kids stay treat-filled and trick-free.

1. Don't send your child to houses alone. This may seem like a given, but I recall begging my parents to let me go up to houses alone simply because it made me feel older. It's fun to feel like a big kid; but it's important to make sure those big kids stay safe. Unless they wan't to head up grandma's front walk by themselves; it's better to go with them, just to play it safe.
2. Don't let your child go to a car on anywhere that isn't a house. This also seems like a given; but it's important. If someone is saying they're keeping their candy in their car, or "out back", don't let them go to get it. Most likely, there's no candy, and if there is, then that person should know better than to keep it anywhere except in plain sight. 
3. Don't let your kid go inside the house; even if they say you can come in, too. I remember a family I used to go see who had their candy buckets laid out maze-style throughout their living room and dining room. As cute as it was, and as innocent as that family was; even with them letting my mom come with me, it could still be shady in bigger towns. If a person is inviting your child inside instead of just giving them a handful of candy, feel free to exit the situation. 
4. This one applies to kids, teens, and adults: Don't stay and talk to anyone who pulls up to you in a vehicle. There are plenty of friendly people out driving on Halloween night. Maybe they're offering you a ride to that house or party because it's chilly outside and your costume doesn't look very warm. Maybe they're out looking at lights and want extra company. Regardless, unless you know them personally, don't stay and find out what someone who just pulled up to you in a vehicle wants. It isn't always a good thing. 
5. Stay together. Don't let your kids run ahead of you, even to catch up with friends they see at another house. If you're in a group at a party, keep tabs on your friends and make sure that if you came together, you're leaving together. If you're haunted house hopping, make sure that you all share a ride and don't get caught up in the crowd of people doing the same thing. It's important to stay with your group and not get caught up in heading off by yourself; even if you are intrigued with something the rest of your group isn't. 
6. Avoid shortcuts. It may be tempting to walk through someone's back yard if you know it will get you to your destination sooner, but it's better to stay where the streetlights are, and where the witnesses are. If you head off into the dark underbrush of your neighborhood, you could be at risk of meeting whoever else decided to hang out back there. 
7. Don't trust people who continuously follow you. If you meet another group and decide to continue walking together, that's one thing. But if one person or just a couple people continuously follow you without your consent, get out of there. Their reason for following you can't be all that good if they won't tell you why. 
8. Know what to do if you are grabbed; and teach children what they should do. Make sure your kids know that if a stranger does happen to grab them, to make a scene. They should know to make sure everyone in the immediate area can hear that this person is a stranger; and that they want to get back to their parents. Make sure they know to fight back as hard as they can and get the attention of any passersby. There should be passersby if you have followed my previous advice and stayed in the lit sidewalk area. If you're a teenager/adult, the best idea would be to yell "fire" to get other peoples' attention, as an adult yelling "help" doesn't have the same effect as a child yelling the same thing. Fight back as hard as you can if anyone grabs you, and, like I said before, stay in a well-lit area so there are a lot of witnesses if you are grabbed.

For further reading and to see other safety tips involving Halloween and even just abduction in general, click here or here.

Human Trafficking: What is Being Done?

Although human trafficking is still a huge problem, there are lots and lots of organizations combating it. As well as those, which you can donate to, there are lots of hotlines you can call within your county, state, and even the national hotline. Today, rather than telling stories, we wanted to just compile a list of organizations you can join/donate to. To find your state's human trafficking hotline, click here.

Organizations

• ABC-Nepal, working against trafficking in Nepal.
• CEASE (center to end all sexual exploitation).
• Chab Dai, working together to end all sexual abuse and trafficking.
• London Anti-Human Trafficking Committee
• Love 146: The Abolition of Child Trafficking and Exploitation
• Maiti Nepal- A Society Free From Trafficking Of Children and Women
• Men Against Sex Trafficking- Men as Peace Makers
• Ratanak International- Renew Hope. Restore Cambodia.
• Tiny Hands International- Do justice. Love mercy. Prevent human trafficking.
• Truckers Against Trafficking- Make the call. Save lives.

Human Rights and Human Trafficking

After the United Nations was formed, several countries came together and decided on a few rights that were inherently given to all humans at birth. If you're not familiar with them, click here to be familiar with them.

Although every one of these rights has the potential to be violated, there are a few specific ones that are automatically violated if a situation can have the label of human trafficking on it.

The two I want to focus on for this story are the right to be free from slavery, and the right to work for pay and have humane working conditions. These rights are violated by domestic slavery, which occurs every day in the U.S. Most of the time we don't realize it; we think slavery is a thing of the past in our country, and some of the time the slave doesn't even realize it. Domestic slavery often begins as a promise for a household job, and ends with the domestic slave being forced to stay in the home and work long hours for little pay. Sometimes they are promised enough money to eventually move into their own home, but they never make enough to feed themselves and leave the home.

Here are a few stories I've collected which can allow us all to inform ourselves on this tragic reality:

Ima Matul, who was ecstatic when promised a $150/month nanny job in a household which spoke the same language she did. She soon realized the trap; the woman she was to work for took her passport, withheld all the money she earned working there, and threatened to turn her in for being an illegal migrant if she ran away from the home. 

Flor Molina, who became a victim of slavery in the garment industry in Los Angeles.

Shiyma, who lived as a domestic servant in the wealthy Northwood district of Irvine, California. Shiyma lived a tragically real Cinderella story. 

Kika Cerpa, who, promised a job as a nanny in the U.S. at 14, was really sent there to be a sex slave. 

A look inside legal slavery within our prison system (yes, this type of slavery is exactly the same. Even incarcerated individuals should, according to the UN, be exempt from any form of slavery, and yet in our American constitution it is legal for prisoners to be slaves) 

Trafficking Victims: What Puts Someone at Risk?

I want to give a short disclaimer before I begin this article: NEVER BLAME THE VICTIM. Even if someone does possess qualities that put them at risk to be trafficked, it's not their fault someone else decided to take advantage of them. 

So, what exactly are these qualities? Trafficking happens to everyone in every area of the world of any social class, so there can't possibly be things in common, right? 

Actually, there are a few things you can point to from victim to victim and say "that put them at risk", even though it seems difficult to do so. 

Safe Supportive Learning's website tells us that the factors generally include the following:

• lack of personal safety
• isolation
• emotional distress
• homelessness
• poverty
• family dysfunction
• substance abuse
• mental illness
• learning disabilities
• developmental delay
• childhood sexual abuse
• promotion of sexual exploitation by family members or peers
• lack of social support

If a child grows up in a household that locks them out at night, or is strict enough to keep them from having friends, or possibly with parents that emotionally/mentally abuse them, they are at risk. 

If a child is kicked out at a young age by their parents and have a hard time making it without being old enough to have a job, possibly turning to selling drugs just to pay for food, they are at risk. 

If a child has a disability that could make them naive to risky behavior of those around them, they are at risk. 

If a child grew up in a household where they were sexually abused, or possibly even trafficked by their parents/family members, they are (obviously) also at risk. 

It's so important to be supportive of those around you; because it's rare that the child growing up in a broken household will be willing to announce it to people they hardly know. Sometimes victims are embarrassed to admit their situation, seeing themselves as weak, especially if they're already being trafficked. They can't imagine how they could have allowed themselves to be taken advantage of. 

Here is a link to a resource you can turn to if you believe someone is being trafficked. 

Who are the Victims of Human Trafficking?

In our last post, we discussed the sad truth that human trafficking is a problem in small villages, large cities, and even in your own home town. It's not that it could potentially be an issue. It's happening, and it happens every day in every area of the world; even the lightest-populated areas can be targeted. Today, we wanted to delve a little deeper; stories from our own state, Illinois.



An article was brought to my attention this morning, posted April 2, 2016 by the State-Journal Register, telling the story of Patricia McKnight, who grew up in Freeburg, Illinois, and found herself to be the victim of the sex trafficking industry. These stories aren't uncommon, and they're fully preventable if we all came together to stop them before they take place.
Saving women after they've been shut up in small, inconspicuous apartments, or hotels, or the back rooms of businesses is better than nothing, but it isn't enough. We need to prevent these situations before the women ever leave safety; and if they're born into danger, as Patricia was, with an abusive stepfather and a mother who felt he was her only option for financial stability, they need to be removed and placed into a place of comfort as soon as they can be.
To read more about Patricia and the Butterfly Dreams Abuse Recovery, which she herself founded, click here. 

Where does Human Trafficking Happen?

So, we know what human trafficking is, and we know that it should be stopped. Now the question is: where does it happen? Where do we need to be the most wary of it?

                                                               

The answer to that turns out not to be as simple as you'd think. Generally speaking, people tend to believe trafficking only happens in poor areas or third world countries. The truth is, it can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time, including in the richest parts of the United States. All it takes is one unlucky person and a trafficker to manipulate them.




Don't just take our word for it. Here we've collected stories from several different countries you can read at your leisure and see just how widespread this problem truly is.

Karla, who, coming from an abusive family, was persuaded to follow a 22 year old man when she was only 12 into what she believed to be a new, happier life, and turned into a first-hand experience in the sex trafficking industry (Mexico City)

Anya, who, promised a job as a waitress in Europe, was trafficked to Ireland

Shandra, who, during the financial crisis, lost her job in Indonesia, was then promised a job in Chicago, a city which she was repeatedly promised she'd have a job in if she came to the U.S. and yet never got to see during her time as a slave.

Jennifer, who, growing up in Columbus Ohio, found herself also being the property of several pimps there, each tattooing their name or symbol on her skin.

Sadly, these are only a few of the millions of stories from men, women, and children of all ages throughout every part of the world. Even in Effingham, where our highschool is located, trafficking is a problem. Most people know someone who has almost been coerced into the trafficking industry; something as innocent-sounding as a modeling gig can be a part of something much larger and much more evil.
Stay safe out there.