Sunday, November 30, 2014
Saturday, November 29, 2014
Friday, November 28, 2014
Thursday, November 27, 2014
13 Somali men convicted of sex ring that involved abuse of teenage British girls
Victims as young as 13 were preyed upon, sexually abused and passed around in Bristol
Defendants were tried in two separate trials at Bristol Crown Court this year.
Thursday, November 27, 2014
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Several of the girls were groomed to the extent they believed abuse was part of loving relationships they were having with the defendants.
Some were persuaded to have sex with their ‘boyfriend’s’ friends as it was Somali “culture and tradition” and “men always have sex with each other’s girlfriends”.
The victims, described as “vulnerable” due to their age and circumstances, were paid as little as £30 or given drugs, alcohol and gifts to perform sex acts on older men.
In one dreadful night, one 13-year-old girl was raped four times by three different men, having been trafficked across the city to a Premier Inn by one of her abusers.
The Bristol case comes after allegations, convictions and resignations over organised child abuse and exploitation across English towns and cities including Rotherham, Rochdale, Oxford and Telford.
Serious case reviews are now underway to try to understand how the girls became victims.
Avon and Somerset Police uncovered a two-year catalogue of abuse against 10 girls during their investigation into the Somali men, codenamed Operation Brooke.
A total of 14 were convicted of charges including rape, sexual activity with a child, facilitating child prostitution, trafficking, paying for the sexual services of a child and drug offences.
Defendants were tried in two separate trials at Bristol Crown Court this year, with eight jailed for between 18 months and 13 years following the first this summer.
The remaining seven, convicted by a jury yesterday following 32 hours and 17 minutes of deliberations, will be sentenced at the court tomorrow.
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Monday, November 17, 2014
Why men who buy sex could face jail
BY Gatonye Gathura
Updated Monday, November 17th 2014 at 22:26 GMT +3
The days when men escaped punishment during swoops on prostitutes are numbered.There is a new push to have the buying of sex criminalised. As part of a campaign that gained momentum at the 2014 Aids Conference in Australia in July that saw the signing of the Melbourne Declaration, about 400 groups, some from Kenya, are looking for innovative ways to make prostitution safe in the fight against HIV and violence against women.
In August, Health Cabinet Secretary James Macharia launched the HIV Prevention Road Map, which among other things, is considering cash handouts for girls and young women to keep them away from risky sexual behaviour.
The map also says in coming years, the ministry will vigorously advocate for legal protection of sex workers and provide them with safe places, together with their clients, where they won't be harassed by police.
Likewise, HIV activists in Kenya, with support from United Nations agencies and Global Fund, have been advocating for the legalisation of prostitution and a stop to the harassment of women who sell sex.
In 2012, the Kenya National Human Rights Commission called for the legalisation of prostitution, claiming the current law was discriminatory against sex workers.
But this path may soon be abandoned for a radical approach that says men who buy sex should be jailed.
The approach adopted in Sweden and now being exported to other countries is reported to have reduced the number of prostitutes dramatically in Stockholm and other cities in that State in the last five years.
STREET PROSTITUTION
"In the capital city, Stockholm, the number of women in street prostitution has reduced by two-thirds, and the number of clients by 80 per cent," said Marie De Santis, director of US-based Women's Justice Centre, which fights violence against women.
Ms Santis said by criminalising the buying of sex in Scotland, the renowned Swedish brothels and massage parlours that were common in the last three decades, when prostitution in Sweden was legal, were gone for the most part.
In 1999, Sweden passed a law that made it a crime to�buy sex and another one that made it legal to sell sex. Explaining the law, Santis said prostitution in Sweden is now regarded as an aspect of male violence against women and children.
http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/health/article/2000141753/why-men-who-buy-sex-could-face-jail
Double trouble: French rape case impeded by twins’ identical DNA
Police in× Marseille have arrested identical twin brothers for a string of sexual assaults. Officers believe one, if not both men are to blame, but cannot be sure as the pair’s DNA is nearly indistinguishable.
Police have charged both men, identified as 24-year old unemployed delivery drivers× Elwin and Yohan, over the rapes. Both are being held with bail.
Standard DNA tests are unable to differentiate between their DNA, only far more difficult and potentially cost prohibitive tests would be necessary to figure out who is the culprit.
The pair deny any involvement in the rapes of six women, aged 22 to 76, between× September and January.
Police were able to track down the men after being identified by CCTV footage shot on a bus. A cell phone allegedly stolen from one of the victims was also found in the brothers’ possession. The victims were also able to identify their attacker, but not tell them apart.
"It's a rather rare case for the alleged perpetrators to be identical twins," chief investigator× Kiehl told AFP.
Kiehl said DNA evidence was discovered at some of the crime scenes, though the cost of extensive-enough tests would be "onerous."
Due to the highly complicated nature of the tests, it could reportedly cost up to $1.3 million dollars to carry them out.
One DNA expert told the× French newspaper La Provence "For a normal analysis we compare 400 base pairs[of nucleotides].” In order to differentiate between the twins, "We would be looking at billions," he added.
NYPD officer who sexually assaulted teacher beats rape conviction
Published time: February 11, 2013 21:43
Edited time: February 12, 2013 01:43
Edited time: February 12, 2013 01:43
New York’s state law excludes nonconsensual oral and anal sex from the definition of “rape”, calling them “sexual assault” instead, the New York Daily News reports.
“New York lags behind such liberal bastions as South Dakota and Tennessee in how we define rape,” said Assemblywoman Aravella Simolas, who last year introduced a bill that expanded the definition of “rape”, which failed to get passed. “New York should be at the forefront to protect crime victims.”
Lydia Cuomo, the 25-year-old schoolteacher who was victimized on the first day of her new job at a Bronx charter school, was sexually assaulted by off-duty police officer Michael Pena on Aug. 19, 2011. The cop asked her for directions to the subway at about 6:15 am, while she was waiting to be picked up by her principal.
But the NYPD officer suddenly pointed his 9-mm handgun at the woman’s face, threatening to kill her and violate her in every way imaginable. The officer let her live, but not without sexually assaulting her first.
And the evidence was there: doctors found Pena’s DNA on the victim’s undergarments, a witness testified to seeing the man penetrate the woman, and even NYPD officers admitted that Pena sexually assaulted Cuomo.
“I feel like essentially I had a silver platter of a rape case. I had witnesses, I had DNA, I had my own testimony, I had two cops,” Cuomo said, speaking publicly for the first time in an interview with the Daily News
Pena was found guilty of committing a criminal sex act and predatory sexual assault, but fell short of being convicted of rape in Cuomo’s case – even though he was convicted of rape in several other cases involving different women.
“Anal’s not rape?” Cuomo said. “On what planet do you live? It never occurred to us that that’s not rape.”
The young woman is now going public with her case to try to change the New York statute limiting the definition of rape. States like Tennessee and South Dakota define forced sodomy and oral sex as rape, while New York has repeatedly failed to change its statute.
“I applaud Lydia Cuomo for speaking out and lending her support for the ‘Rape is Rape’ bill. Her courage in coming forward to shed light on this important issue is truly inspiring,” Simolas said in a statement. Although the bill was rejected by the Assembly in 2012, Simotas and Cuoma both hope to eventually get it passed.
Meanwhile, Cuomo has returned to work at the Bronx elementary school, but continues to deal with the trauma from the attack.
“My life has been shattered – my sense of security, my sense of safety, any and all independence,” she said.
Even though Cuomo’s offender has been sentenced to 10 years to life in addition to 75 years to life for two other rape charges that he pled guilty to, she believes it is wrong for the court to refuse to acknowledge that she too was raped. While Pena will likely spend most or all of his life behind bars, Cuomo hopes to change the definition of rape to incorporate other types of sexual assault.
Girl, 15, says cop forced her to strip and prove she wasn't having sex
A Miramar, Florida police captain is being investigated by the department over allegations that he insisted that a 15-year-old girl strip in front of him so he could inspect her body to make sure she wasn’t having sex.
Miramar Police Capt. Juan De Los Rios, 46, is free on bail after being arrested on× Friday over lewd conduct charges stemming from a January 18 incident. According to the victims — a 15-year-old girl and a 19-year-old male — Capt. De Los Rios approached a parked car the teens were in earlier this year, interrogated them and then insisted that the female passenger disrobe and demonstrate to the officer that she was not having sex.
The two teenagers say that they were parked outside of a Miramar, FL industrial complex when a man dressed in dark blue and brandishing a gold badge approached their car and began questioning them through the window.
“Well, were you having sex? What are you doing here?” they say the officer asked.
"No anal sex? No sex in general?" the officer continued.
According to the affidavit, the girl insisted to the officer that they had not been engaged in any sexual activity and that the two were just talking. The officer objected to the claims, though, and told the girl that he “needed to check.”
“Check what?” the affidavit claims the girl asked.
“I need to see inside,” Capt. De Los Rios responded.
From there, the girl claims that the officer used a flashlight to “inspect” her then offered further instructions.
The arrest report reveals that the officer allegedly added, “I need you to pull your pants down. I need you to take it all the way off," then insisting, "I need you to open it."
The male driver of the car adds that the officer then told the girl, “I need you to spread your legs wider so I can see,” after which he insisted that she pull down her blouse to check her breasts for bruising.
Days after the January 18 incident, the girl came forth with her allegations and a complaint was filed. She then later picked the officer out of a line-up. De Los Rios was off of work on administrative leave for the five months since, but volunteered himself in to authorities on× Friday after an arrest warrant was issued. He has since posted the $30,000 bond and is free pending an eventual hearing, where a guilty verdict could come with a 15 year prison sentence. He is being charged with two counts of lewd or lascivious conduct upon a child under the age of 17 by an offender over the age of 18.
Kuwait ‘gay-o-meter’? Clinical screenings to ‘detect’ and ban homosexuals from entry
Published time: October 08, 2013 10:06
Edited time: October 09, 2013 11:06
Edited time: October 09, 2013 11:06
A central committee tasked with the status of expatriates is set to view the proposal on November 11.
“Health centers conduct the routine medical check to assess the health of the expatriates when they come into the GCC countries,” Yousuf Mindkar, the director of public health at the Kuwaiti Health Ministry stressed.
“However, we will take stricter measures that will help us detect gays, who will be then barred from entering Kuwait or any of the GCC member states,” he added, quoted by a local daily Al Rai.
He did not indicate what measures - or how physically intrusive - these might be.
Homosexual acts are banned in the country, and the prison term for them can be up to 10 years if the people involved were under the age of 21.
In 2010, Kuwait banned the screening of a controversial Egyptian film, saying that it promoted a culture of debauchery, Gulfnews.com reported.
The movie was made in 2009 and addressed lifestyles centering on drug use by young people, and lesbianism, a taboo subject in Arab cinema and society.
A member of the censorship board said that some of the scenes were “too hot” and that the lesbianism theme was “too bold.” The member stressed that the scenario was very weak and failed to address the controversial issues properly.
The situation doesn’t differ much in other Arab states in the region: Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Five countries actually mete out the death penalty to gay people – Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Yemen and Mauritania.
In Bahrain, lawmakers push for a crackdown on homosexuals, including the adoption of tougher immigration measures and deportations.
Two years ago, Bahrain arrested 127 people, mainly gays from the Gulf countries, for holding a “depraved and decadent” party.
The participants, most of them from 18 to 30 years old, hired a sports hall in Hidd, a conservative village in the north of Bahrain, and organized a fee-paying party that brought together gay men from the Arabian Gulf countries.
‘X’ gender: Germans no longer have to classify their kids as male or female
Published time: November 01, 2013 09:33
Edited time: November 03, 2013 22:43
Edited time: November 03, 2013 22:43
The law, passed in August, comes into force on November 1. It was prompted by results of a 2012 study by the German Ethics Council, which found the rights of intersex people weren’t protected well enough.
The legislation is meant to prevent parents from making hasty decisions on controversial genital surgeries for their not-entirely-male-or-female newborns, done to make one of the two gender characteristics prevail.
"This will be the first time that the law acknowledges that there are human beings who are neither male nor female, or are both -- people who do not fit into the traditional legal categories," University of Bremen law professor Konstanze Plett said as cited by AFP.
As adults, German intersex individuals will soon be also spared from the necessity to fit in the conventional gender framework, as the current two options of entering either ‘M’ for male or ‘F’ for female in a passport gender field, will be officially supplemented by a third option: ‘X’.
This kind of three-gender-choice system was introduced in Australia in 2011. New Zealand followed suit a year later. Intersex advocates, however, say that legalizing the status of intersex people is not exactly where the fight for their rights ends.
“As an adult with an X passport I can tell you that actually using that passport is fraught with difficulty. I can’t fly to the US with that passport, indeed I can’t even book a meeting about that with their consulate,” says Morgan Carpenter, president of Intersex International – Australia, in an official late October statement at the group’s webpage.
Still harder than coping with legal confusion is coping with centuries-old stereotypes, the activist believes.
“Intersex people are regarded by medicine as having ‘Disorders of Sex Development’,” Carpenter says. "The term ensures that sterilizations and unnecessary genital surgeries continue today. This remains our most fundamental concern. Genital surgeries continue in Australia to make infants and children ‘appear’ male or female.”
Germany is expected to face some of these issues as well, as the country’s marriage and partnership laws, for example, are based on the binary gender system. Besides there are so many everyday life situations, in which a neither-male-nor-female child might feel ill-at-ease.
"Schools have toilets for boys and toilets for girls. Where will the intermediate child go? There are separate sports activities for boys and for girls, and so many other things like this. The law doesn't change that. It does not immediately create a space for intersex people to be themselves," AFP cites Silvan Agius, policy director at ILGA Europe, a lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex rights group.
It’s estimated that on average one in 2,000 births is of an intersex baby. Advocates argue the actual figure is much larger as intersexuality might sometimes not be immediately defined.
According to German government figures of 2007, cited by Reuters, at least 150 intersex babies are born in Germany each year and 8,000-10,000 people have ‘serious variations’ from physical gender-defining characteristics.
Louisiana decriminalizes oral and anal sex
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India recognizes transgender citizens as ‘third gender’
Published time: April 15, 2014 16:46
According to the court decision, state and federal governments will now allow transgenders to identify themselves on official documents, such as birth certificates, passports and driving licenses, as a third gender along with males and females. Any person who has undergone surgery to change his or her sex will be recognized as belonging to the gender of their choice said the court, adding that transgender people would have the same right to adopt children as other Indians.
"The spirit of the (Indian) Constitution is to provide equal opportunity to every citizen to grow and attain their potential, irrespective of caste, religion or gender," the court said in its decision.
“Recognition of transgenders as a third gender is not a social or medical issue but a human rights issue," said Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan, who headed a two-judge bench on the case.
Transgenders will also be included in welfare schemes offered to other minority groups, and the government will provide public sector jobs, places in schools and colleges and medical care for them, said Sanjeev Bhatnagar, a lawyer representing the petition.
The Supreme Court’s decision comes after representatives of the transgender community in India sent a petition in 2012 to the court, demanding recognition for the transgender population as well as equal rights with other Indian citizens.
According to India’s prominent transgender rights activist, Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, the court decision is a step towards ending discrimination against transgender people.
"Today I feel a proud citizen of India. This verdict has come as a great relief for all of us," said Tripathi who, along with a legal agency, filed the petition, "Today my sisters and I feel like real Indians and we feel so proud because of the rights granted to us by the Supreme Court."
India's Election Commission has already introduced a law allowing a third gender choice — "other" — on voter registration forms, which was made before the national elections being held in phases through May 12.
Third gender politics worldwide
India’s transgender community, numbering hundreds of thousands people, wasn’t officially recognized by the authorities until Tuesday’s court ruling.Sanjay Srivastava, professor of sociology at the Institute of Economic Growth in New Delhi, defines transgender people as those who have either had sex change operations, or who regard themselves as the opposite of their born gender.
The ruling of the Supreme Court says the law only applies to transgender people and not to gays, lesbians or bisexuals. In December 2013, the Indian Supreme Court upheld a ban on decriminalizing homosexual sex.
India is not the first Asian country which officially recognizes a third gender. Nepal's 2011 census was the first national census in the world to allow people to register as a gender other than male or female.
In Thailand and Cambodia, these are sometimes referred to as kathoey or ladyboys, who are basically males that dress and behave like women.
In November, 2013 Germany became the first European country to allow parents of babies born with no clearly-defined gender characteristics to leave the ‘male/female’ field on birth certificates blank, creating a ‘third sex’ category in the public register.
As adults, German intersex individuals will soon be spared the necessity to conform to the conventional gender framework, as the current two options of entering either ‘M’ for male or ‘F’ for female in passport gender fields, will be officially supplemented by a third option: ‘X’.
This kind of three-gender-choice system was introduced in Australia in 2011. New Zealand followed
Harvard University offers students ‘Anal Sex 101’ class
Published time: November 03, 2014 21:42
Edited time: November 05, 2014 09:32
Edited time: November 05, 2014 09:32
As part of its annual Sex Week, “a week of programming that is interdisciplinary, thought-provoking, scholastic, innovative and applicable to student experiences in order to promote a holistic understanding of sex and sexuality,” a student-run group at the school will be hosting classes that contrast quite sharply with the comparably run-of-the-mill offerings a Harvard education typically involves.
Starting this Monday, Sex Week attendees can sit-in on events that range from a sexual health career panel on Tuesday evening, to a class offered that afternoon called “What What in the Butt: Anal Sex 101.”
“Come learn everything about anal sex from the experts of Good Vibrations, a sex-positive store located right in Brookline!” reads the course description posted on the official Harvard Sex Week website. “They will dispel myths about anal sex and give you insight into why people do it and how to do it well.”
According to the website, topics that will be covered during the class include anal anatomy and the potential for pleasure for all genders; how to talk about it with a partner; basic preparation and hygiene; lubes, anal toys, and safer sex; anal penetration for beginners, and much more!
“Learn the facts about this exciting yet often misunderstood form of pleasure, find out the common mistakes people make, and get all your questions answered!” continues the course description.
This year’s session marks the fourth consecutive run of Sex Week at the school, which is coordinated annually by Sexual Health Education & Advocacy throughout Harvard College, or SHEATH, a student-run group that describes itself as being “dedicated to empowering the Harvard community to explore their experiences with love and sex by providing comprehensive programming addressing a wide range of issues relating to sex, relationships, dating, sexual health, and sexuality.”
California Exotic Novelties, “the world’s largest pleasure product company” according to a recent press release, will also be shipping educational materials to the event all the way from the West Coast to Harvard’s Cambridge, Massachusetts campus.
“We’re always honored to support Harvard Sex Week and everything that SHEATH does throughout the year,” CEO
Susan Colvin said in a statement. “We share a common goal: helping people learn and understand sexual wellness.”
Others aren’t so optimistic, though, and have raised concerns about the types of classes that are offered during Sex Week. One Harvard student, Molly Wharton, reportedly told The College Fix website that she wasn’t initially well versed in what this year’s installment will involve, but added, “after looking at the schedule of events, though, I do question the amount of time and resources that went into planning and funding these events, some of which are downright vulgar, at a place like Harvard.”
“I can’t imagine that there are not more worthwhile educational programs and initiatives to which Harvard’s resources should be devoted,” the student said.
A review of the SHEATH website, however, suggests that such concerns aren’t likely to cause any changes: according to the group’s site, the anal sex class has previously been offered to attendees at least once, during Sex Week 2012.
‘Use lots of lube and enter the anus slowly’: Chicago schools teach anal sex to 5th graders
Published time: November 17, 2014 19:38
Andrew Jackson Language Academy (AJLA) hosted several parent workshops during report card pickup on Wednesday, including a meeting on Chicago Public Schools’ (CPS) sex ed curriculum. Parents were given a binder that included the materials and topics that would be discussed, including the benefits of female condoms for extending sex and increasing pleasure, the use of lubrication and how to insert condoms into the anus for anal sex.
Parents were notified of Wednesday's presentation in a letter from school principal Mathew Ditto. The letter said a CPS representative would be at the meeting where "we will share the lessons and information that will be taught to your child." CPS has said some of the lessons are even intended for children in kindergarten, DNAinfo reported.
The letter said the topics included personal safety, human reproduction and childbirth, puberty, abstinence and healthy relationships. Fourth-graders and above would also learn information about HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections. Students in fifth grade and above would also learn about contraception and pregnancy prevention, and lessons would include a condom demonstration, the letter stated.
The chairwoman of the Local School Council, Angela Bryant, has two children who attend AJLA, which has 565 students. She called the way the information was to be presented to students "appalling," “obscene” and not age-appropriate.
"The curriculum is appalling," Bryant told DNAinfo. "The language to me was the most offensive part initially. Pop and lube, lube lube, and those kind of things. ... [It] serves to rob many of our children of their innocence."
"The language for me is very much concerning to me as a parent. The content goes beyond what I feel is age-appropriate for a fifth-grader," she added. Fifth graders are usually between 10 and 12 years old.
Another Chicago elementary school, Waters Elementary, posted the materials and slides that were included in the AJLA binder online. The presentation links to demonstration videos from Planned Parenthood, the Female Health Company and Teaching Sexual Health. The latter provides guidance on age appropriateness: “These videos should only be used for grades 8-12.” It also includes material called The 411 on Female Condoms that was developed by the Chicago Female Condom Campaign.
Bryant told DNAinfo she is in favor of health education that explains sex in an informative way, but said that the CPS handouts were composed "in a manner that actually is piquing curiosity about sexual pleasure."
In a statement Friday afternoon, CPS officials said that the objectionable material presented at AJLA was a mistake.
“The objectionable material presented at Andrew Jackson Language Academy this week is not and never was part of the student sexual education curriculum,” CPS spokesman Bill McCaffrey said in a statement. “It was mistakenly downloaded and included in the parent presentation, and we agree with parents it is not appropriate for elementary school students.”
“As part of our sexual health education policy approved by the Board of Education in 2013, Chicago Public Schools offers a comprehensive sexual education curriculum that is designed to ensure age-appropriate material and minimum instructional minutes for every grade level, consisting of family and sexual health education topics for K-12 students,” McCaffrey continued.
Only teachers were supposed to see the material, WBBM reported. School officials say they’re taking steps to make sure teacher resources and supplemental materials are kept separate from the curriculum.
CPS passed a new, comprehensive sex ed policy in February 2013. At the school board meeting when the curriculum passed, Dr. Stephanie Whyte, chief officer of student health and wellness at CPS, presented statistics showing that Cook County, Illinois ‒ where Chicago is located ‒ ranks first nationally for rates of gonorrhea and syphilis among all counties and second in Chlamydia, DNAinfo reported.
She said more than half of all CPS high-school students report having had sexual intercourse, 12 percent before the age of 13. More than a third reported not using a condom during their last sexual intercourse, and more than a quarter say they've never been taught about HIV.
In a 2013 press release, CPS officials said implementation of this type of comprehensive education policy "helps to reduce school-level incidents of sexual misconduct and harassment and positively impact rates of [sexually transmitted diseases] and unintended pregnancy among Chicago’s youth."
Many parents told WMAQ that, although they support sex education, the material went too far for elementary school students.
“Sexual awareness, OK ‒ but how to use a condom, and that it was going to be shown how, is a little bit extreme,” said parent Tamara Gear.
"It definitely gets to an inappropriate level, things I wouldn’t even discuss in my own personal life," AJLA parent Rachel Gigliotti said. "Sex with a condom, sex without a condom, sex with lube ‒ things that no sixth grader should ever be exposed to.”
“To tell my 5th-grader, who’s still into ‘Little House on the Prairie,’ that it’s OK to have safe anal sex ‒ I’m sorry. That’s just not appropriate,” another parent, Amy Miller, told WBBM.
Whyte plans to schedule a meeting with the AJLA staff to review the curriculum by grade. A community meeting will also be planned, McCaffrey said.
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
‘Abuse of workers not behind Kenya maid ban’
JEDDAH: ARAB NEWS
Published — Wednesday 29 October 2014
Last update 29 October 2014 12:42 am
Ahmed Al-Faheed, Saudi Ministry undersecretary for international affairs, said the× Kenyan government stopped sending workers to all× East countries because it is investigating its own recruitment agencies for human trafficking.
He said the× Kenyan government has asked all recruitment firms in the country to reapply for their licenses.
Al-Faheed denied allegations that the× Kenyan government has complained to the× Ministry about the abuse of its workers in the× Kingdom. In addition, the× Kenyan government did not seek to sign a labor agreement with× Arabia as a condition for lifting the ban, he said.
“According to a statement from the× Kenyan government, the decision was taken to stop the export of all× Kenyan workers and cancel the endorsement certificates issued to recruiting offices, to all× East countries for the time being,” Al-Faheed said.
The Kenyan newspaper× Coastweek reported on Monday that the country’s Labor Ministry had suspended all recruitment offices in the country.
Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary in the× Ministry of Labor, Social Security and× Kambi told journalists in× Nairobi that the move aims to protect× Kenyan migrant workers from exploitation by their foreign employers.
“Cases of mistreatment of× Kenyan workers, particularly house help in the× East, has been on the rise and continues to attract international and local attention,” Kambi said.
“All private employment agencies will be required to undergo fresh vetting before they are accredited,” he said.
“Working abroad is the main job opportunity for many× Kenyans. Both the× East and the Gulf countries are still main work destinations for them to earn a good income. Nonetheless, exporting labor to these regions faces many challenges,” he said.
The Kenyan press has recently highlighted the conditions of the country’s workers abroad, most recently a story by the newspaper× Digital about a Kenyan family alleging that their daughter has been abused in Saudi Arabia.
Jane Wangari said that her daughter, Virginia Wanja, 24, arrived in the× Kingdom in June this year, and has allegedly been locked up.
Wangari said the recruiting agency in× Kenya had promised her a job as a computer teacher at a college. However, when× Virginia arrived in the country, she was forced to work as a domestic worker for SR419 a month.
“My daughter decided to escape from her employer and went to the nearest police station to seek help so that she could return to her country, but was arrested and jailed for escaping from her employer,” Wangari was quoted as saying.
‘Plenty of Indonesian maids’
By FARRAH NAZ KARIM AND TASNIM LOKMAN - 1 November 2014 @ 8:09 AM
The catch is they have to be willing to fork out between RM1,000 and RM1,200 a month for their services, without making deductions.
The good news is, unlike the many already in employment here, these maids will be trained cooks as well as good caregivers including to newborns and the aged.
Those paying the maximum pay rate can expect to have well-manicured lawns and, for× Muslim families, their children taught to read the× Quran, as this category of maids would have undergone special training for these extra services.
Even after the more than two-year freeze on the employment of× Indonesian maids was lifted in 2011, many× Malaysian employers in need of maids from the country had not been able to employ one.
Maid agencies have said they had not been able to secure the workers, blaming their non-availability and high costs.
Indonesian Manpower Services Association (Apjati) president× Basalamah, in denying suggestions that there was no supply of maids for the× Malaysian market, said it could meet the demand of× Malaysian households, which averages between 5,000 and 7,000 maids a month.
“We think that is not a fair price. RM800 to work in× Malaysia is not high, as even by doing odd jobs back home they can earn up to RM700.
“But Malaysian employers can rest assured that these maids could come their way if they are willing to pay. The maids are well-trained not only in handling chores, but also to understand× Malaysia’s cultures and laws. They would have undergone a strict medical check-up, too,” he told the New Straits Times after meeting Indonesian Manpower and Transmigration Minister Hanif Sidak.
Ayub said the meeting touched specifically on the sending of workforce with quality to× Malaysia and that Apjati (the largest association formed by private recruitment agencies in Indonesia) gave the undertaking that it was what it wanted to do.
Agencies under× Apjati, he said, would charge employers a one-off fee of between RM5,000 and RM6,000 and that it had no control over agencies here if they doubled the cost.
Apjati said its members send out some 40,000 Indonesian maids abroad every month, mostly to the× East.
Malaysian Association of Foreign Maid Agencies (Papa) on× Thursday said Malaysians could forget about hiring× Indonesian maids, citing high costs to middlemen in the country.
This, it said, would inadvertently force employers to fork out between RM10,000 and RM15,000 for an× Indonesian maid.
Ayub said while× Apjati had worked closely with× Papa, it was not legally bound to have an exclusive relation with the agency of some 200 members.
However, under× Indonesian law, recruitment agencies must work with× Malaysian employment companies to bring in the maids and must never deal directly with employers.
“If there are agencies in Malaysia willing to work with our members and settle for a lower profit margin, Malaysian employers can expect to pay much less than what they had been told,” he said, adding that Apjati was ready to engage parties other than Papa, in facilitating the sending over of trained Indonesian domestic workers.
The Malaysian Maid Employers Association (Mama) said it was willing to work together with Apjati to bring in the maids.
If this arrangement works out, Malaysian employers will pay no more than RM7,300 (one-off) for a maid from Apjati’s members.
Its president, Engku Ahmad Fauzi Engku Muhsein, said Mama was even looking at RM6,300 as the maximum cost.
The association, he said, had secured the Human Resources Ministry’s approval to engage local employment agencies (two are already signed up with Mama) to work with Indonesian recruitment agencies.
Engku Fauzi said the fees on the Malaysian side would be capped at RM1,300, which came with, among others, a “warranty” for employers to replace their maids and health screenings.
Mama said the maids would also undergo an orientation programme before being sent to households.
The maids would be given access to a helpline in case of emergencies.
“The best arrangement would be RM5,000 for the Indonesian side and RM1,300 for our side. So employers pay RM6,300.
“But if Apjati sets it at RM6,000, we will ask it to justify and then go back to the employer. If the employer has no problems paying another RM1,000, perhaps for the maid’s additional skills, there should be no problems.”
The Malaysian Human Resources Ministry yesterday said it was looking at several countries, including Nepal and Bangladesh, as new source countries to meet the demand for domestic helpers.
However, these countries, along with the existing ones, had requested for better benefits for their domestic workers and implied that the cost of engaging them would not be easy on employers’ pockets.
It said source countries, such as the Philippines, Cambodia and Vietnam, had asked that a Memorandum of Understanding be drawn up to provide for better salaries, inclusion of days off and ample protection for the workers.
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