Friday, August 10, 2012
Peace Corps Pledges $20,000 For 4 Girls Sexually Abused By Volunteer
August 10, 2012
The Internet Newspaper: News, Blogs, Video, Community
08/09/12 04:18 PM ET 
In this photo taken Monday, Aug. 8, 2011, children walk
past the Umvoti AIDS Centre in Greytown, South Africa. The words of
little children from an isolated town in rural South Africa may have
stopped an international sex predator. U.S. investigators say Jesse
Osmun confessed that as a Peace Corps volunteer, he for months sexually
molested at least five girls at a South African shelter for AIDS orphans
and other children. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Jesse Osmun pleaded guilty in June in U.S. District Court in Hartford to traveling from the United States to engage in illicit sexual conduct with children. Authorities say the victims were 3 to 6 years old at the time.
Osmun's attorney, Richard Meehan Jr., said the Peace Corps offered the contribution at a hearing Thursday in Hartford. Meehan says Osmun's family also plans to donate $10,000 to the fund to help the victims.
Osmun faces between 14 to more than 21 years in prison under federal guidelines when he is sentenced Oct. 10. Meehan has described Osmun as remorseful.
A Peace Corps spokeswoman confirmed the donation.
A Peace Corps representative and the U.S. Attorney's Office both said the donation was not an indication that the Peace Corps bore any responsibility for the crime, Meehan said.
The Peace Corps has said it was made aware of the allegations after Osmun resigned and has called the crimes "reprehensible."
Peace Corps volunteers, who are provided with a living allowance and receive transition funds after they complete 27 months of service, provide hands-on assistance in areas including health education, information technology and environmental preservation. The Peace Corps has sent more than 200,000 Americans to serve in 139 countries.
War on International Sex Trafficking Isn't a War on Sex
August 10, 2012
The Internet Newspaper: News, Blogs, Video, Community
Renee Olstead
Let's be clear here, the 'war on international sex trafficking' isn't a 'war on sex.' I personally believe that the war on sex trafficking would receive more support from the public if they truly knew the atrocities committed against the world's women and children, and could see that this great war is in fact a fight against the issue of modern day slavery.I consider myself both pro-sex and pro-human rights. In fact, its my opinion that prostitution should be legalized and regulated in our own country for the health and safety of its workers, but that's another blog.
The international sex trade, however, is a different story and the stories of its victims are often silenced. Many readers may not know that children as young as four are commonly kidnapped or sold into the sex trade, at the rate of two to four million a year. Many of the worst abuses occur in countries such as Cambodia, where overwhelming poverty can persuade a family to sell their daughter to a brothel owner for as little as USD $10. After purchase, these children spend the next several years of their lives being abused, raped, and subjected to forced abortions. These children have no control over whether or not their client will wear a condom, whether or not they'll be infected with HIV, or even if the client will physically abuse them before he leaves. Many of these children will never live to survive their days in this brutal trade.
One of the most disturbing things I've learned about the Cambodian sex trade is that it's commonly thought that the virginity of a young child can cure HIV/AIDS. Children barely older than toddlers are commonly sold at a premium to infected clients looking to rid themselves of diseases. Often, after the client is finished, the child is 'stitched up' to simulate a still intact hymen and sold again. Older children who attempt to refuse a client (usually between ten and fifteen men a day) are tortured, beaten, or electrocuted as punishment.
Life for child sex-workers has held little hope until recently. The Somaly Mam Foundation, founded by a courageous Cambodian sex-trade survivor, aims to offer support to these forgotten children. Her foundation currently operates three centers that house, care for, and counsel sex-trade survivors. The Somaly Mam Foundation also offers AIDS prevention education, condoms, traditional schooling, and important job skills to the women and children of the sex-trade ensuring that they receive the life skills necessary to build a life for themselves beyond the confines of a brothel.
Watch this video:
Or my personal fundraising page:
http://www.stayclassy.org/fundraise?fcid=207017
Or http://www.empowermentstore.org/ for more information on how you can help the women and children of this heartless multi-billion dollar industry.
Follow Renee Olstead on Twitter: www.twitter.com/renee_olstead
Let's be clear here, the 'war on international sex trafficking' isn't a 'war on sex.' I personally believe that the war on sex trafficking would receive more support from the public if they truly knew the atrocities committed against the world's women and children, and could see that this great war is in fact a fight against the issue of modern day slavery.
I consider myself both pro-sex and pro-human rights. In fact, its my opinion that prostitution should be legalized and regulated in our own country for the health and safety of its workers, but that's another blog.
The international sex trade, however, is a different story and the stories of its victims are often silenced. Many readers may not know that children as young as four are commonly kidnapped or sold into the sex trade, at the rate of two to four million a year. Many of the worst abuses occur in countries such as Cambodia, where overwhelming poverty can persuade a family to sell their daughter to a brothel owner for as little as USD $10. After purchase, these children spend the next several years of their lives being abused, raped, and subjected to forced abortions. These children have no control over whether or not their client will wear a condom, whether or not they'll be infected with HIV, or even if the client will physically abuse them before he leaves. Many of these children will never live to survive their days in this brutal trade.
One of the most disturbing things I've learned about the Cambodian sex trade is that it's commonly thought that the virginity of a young child can cure HIV/AIDS. Children barely older than toddlers are commonly sold at a premium to infected clients looking to rid themselves of diseases. Often, after the client is finished, the child is 'stitched up' to simulate a still intact hymen and sold again. Older children who attempt to refuse a client (usually between ten and fifteen men a day) are tortured, beaten, or electrocuted as punishment.
Life for child sex-workers has held little hope until recently. The Somaly Mam Foundation, founded by a courageous Cambodian sex-trade survivor, aims to offer support to these forgotten children. Her foundation currently operates three centers that house, care for, and counsel sex-trade survivors. The Somaly Mam Foundation also offers AIDS prevention education, condoms, traditional schooling, and important job skills to the women and children of the sex-trade ensuring that they receive the life skills necessary to build a life for themselves beyond the confines of a brothel.
Watch this video:
Or my personal fundraising page:
http://www.stayclassy.org/fundraise?fcid=207017
Or http://www.empowermentstore.org/ for more information on how you can help the women and children of this heartless multi-billion dollar industry.
Follow Renee Olstead on Twitter: www.twitter.com/renee_olstead
Let's be clear here, the 'war on international sex trafficking' isn't a 'war on sex.' I personally believe that the war on sex trafficking would receive more support from the public if they truly knew the atrocities committed against the world's women and children, and could see that this great war is in fact a fight against the issue of modern day slavery.
I consider myself both pro-sex and pro-human rights. In fact, its my opinion that prostitution should be legalized and regulated in our own country for the health and safety of its workers, but that's another blog.
The international sex trade, however, is a different story and the stories of its victims are often silenced. Many readers may not know that children as young as four are commonly kidnapped or sold into the sex trade, at the rate of two to four million a year. Many of the worst abuses occur in countries such as Cambodia, where overwhelming poverty can persuade a family to sell their daughter to a brothel owner for as little as USD $10. After purchase, these children spend the next several years of their lives being abused, raped, and subjected to forced abortions. These children have no control over whether or not their client will wear a condom, whether or not they'll be infected with HIV, or even if the client will physically abuse them before he leaves. Many of these children will never live to survive their days in this brutal trade.
One of the most disturbing things I've learned about the Cambodian sex trade is that it's commonly thought that the virginity of a young child can cure HIV/AIDS. Children barely older than toddlers are commonly sold at a premium to infected clients looking to rid themselves of diseases. Often, after the client is finished, the child is 'stitched up' to simulate a still intact hymen and sold again. Older children who attempt to refuse a client (usually between ten and fifteen men a day) are tortured, beaten, or electrocuted as punishment.
Life for child sex-workers has held little hope until recently. The Somaly Mam Foundation, founded by a courageous Cambodian sex-trade survivor, aims to offer support to these forgotten children. Her foundation currently operates three centers that house, care for, and counsel sex-trade survivors. The Somaly Mam Foundation also offers AIDS prevention education, condoms, traditional schooling, and important job skills to the women and children of the sex-trade ensuring that they receive the life skills necessary to build a life for themselves beyond the confines of a brothel.
Watch this video:
Or my personal fundraising page:
http://www.stayclassy.org/fundraise?fcid=207017
Or http://www.empowermentstore.org/ for more information on how you can help the women and children of this heartless multi-billion dollar industry.
Follow Renee Olstead on Twitter: www.twitter.com/renee_olstead
Rights So Divine by Youngbee Dale
Photo: Associated Press
2012 — A recent announcement by the Adult Entertainment Association of Canada (AEAC) outraged Canadian human rights advocates. Joy Smith, a member of the Canadian Parliament, pledges to protect high school and college students from the AEAC’s recruitment in the sex industry. While many Canadians are against human trafficking, Ms. Smith argues that they are unaware of the crime occurring on their own soil.
Recently, the AEAC announced its plan to recruit high school and college students to fill the demand for sex workers. The announcement came after the Canadian government banned visas allowing foreigners to work in the sex industry. The AEAC said it had already created flyers targeting high school and college students highlighting the benefits of working as exotic dancers.
Ms. Smith, however, says that she and many other advocates will fight to protect young Canadian women and children from the AEAC’s recruitment on campuses. While the AEAC argues that the sex industry is a safe place to work for any woman, Ms. Smith says that couldn't be further from the truth.
“There is a misconception that sex trafficking isn’t a prevalent issue in Canada when in reality it is. While the majority of people are against human trafficking, many Canadians do not realize that prostitution, strip clubs, and massage parlors, are where the majority of victims of human trafficking are found.”
Human Trafficking in Canada is an international issue. According to a 2010 study by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Canadian law enforcement found that women were trafficked from Canada to the United States for sexual exploitation.
Canada also remains a gateway for many Asian and Eastern European sex trafficking victims to the U.S. Many traffickers have taken advantage of Canada’s lax immigration policy to smuggle foreign trafficking victims into the United States.
Mimi was smuggled from South Korea to the U.S. through Canada in 2006 after responding to a false employment opportunity. During the following four years, organized criminals forced her into prostitution across the country. Eventually police rescued and safely returned her to her family in South Korea. However, not long after that, she committed suicide.
Up until the visa ban on foreign sex workers, many Eastern European traffickers used Canada’s lax immigration policy to traffic foreign women into Canada. The 2010 RCMP study notes that in 2008, Canadian authorities discovered an attempt to use fraudulent Latvian passports to transport enslaved sex workers into the country. Most were forced to migrate to Canada. In some cases, foreign sex workers came to Canada of their own will. But, they were subject to coercion and threats upon their employment in the sex industry. The study further notes that escort agencies confiscated their documents and placed the workers under debt bondage to pay off their travel costs.
Since 2010, Ms. Smith has been working to combat trafficking in Canada. In particular, she and other advocates have focused on tackling child sex trafficking issues.
"In 2010 my legislation amended the Criminal Code, which brought in mandatory minimum sentences for people trafficking minors. This past year I introduced legislation to amend the definition of Human Trafficking in the Criminal Code in order to provide the necessary tools for law enforcement to apprehend traffickers. This legislation also included extraterritorial jurisdiction in the Criminal Code, which enables police officers to apprehend Canadians and permanent residents when they enslave children or adults."
Ms. Smith continues to work toward implementing better legal tools to fight trafficking in Canada. She also focuses her efforts on raising awareness to the Canadian public.
“Our greatest weapon for safeguarding our youth from traffickers is education. So I am encouraging everyone to contact my office for a free anti-human trafficking resource kit. As high schools are within provincial jurisdiction, it is crucial that provincial governments take action. Thus, I am strongly encouraging them to take decisive action to protect our youth from those who are seeking to lure them into sexual exploitation. I am continuing to work alongside our federal government, and doing all that I can to mobilize Canadians in every region of the country."
In response to the recent announcement by the AEAC, Ms. Smith and many advocates in Canada are planning to fight back with a strong response to protect children from sex trafficking. Regardless of increasing anti-trafficking efforts, Canada remains a destination, transit, and source of global sex trafficking victims. For that reason, advocates around the world must pay attention to Canada’s battle against sex trafficking.
Deadly escape: falling from 12th floor to first floor
Friday, August 10, 2012
LBCI News reported two days ago that Alani Silvo, born in 1988, attempted to escape from 12th floor of her employer's house, after arguing with the employer. But she fell on the balcony of the first floor and died instantly. Investigations are ongoing. Original Arabic text:
فرّت الاثيوبية الاني سيلفو - من مواليد1988بعدما رمت بنفسها ولخلافات
سابقة، من الطابق الثاني عشر من منزل مخدومتها (ل.ص. ر) في شارع ماغي
الحاج في سد البوشرية لكنها سقطت على شرفة الطابق الاول، ما أدى الى مقتلها
على الفور والتحقيقات مستمرة.
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